‘DOWN TO EARTH’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

I can’t think of anything interesting to say about this episode. Basically because, ‘Down to Earth’ is a remake of the Season 2 episode ‘Neptune’s Nose Cone’! Except this time, the story and action takes place in the North Pole as opposed to the South Pole. Words fail me on how this series has become.

The animators try to change things with making the landscapes all snowy and such. But they’ve still got the natives green-skinned and they’ve still got that monster from ‘Neptune’s Nose Cone’ looking green-skinned and having red table tennis bats for eyes. This is also the show’s penultimate episode.

Yeah, we’re reaching the end of Season 3 of the original 1960s ‘Spider-Man’ series and it happens to be a remake of a Season 2 episode. I know I keep repeating myself, but the 1990s TV series is better. I actually felt for the characters in that version of ‘Spider-Man’ and at least there were stories to tell.

As opposed to this 1960s incarnation of ‘Spidey’ which is running flat on ideas. They couldn’t even make the pilot Mary Jane Watson since she had red hair. I mean, I know Mary Jane’s red hair is different in ‘The Big Brainwasher’ compared to the pilot’s red hair, but it would have suited me fine.

There are also some shots of the red-haired girl pilot (forgotten her name, sorry) being carried to the volcano in some shots like in ‘Neptune’s Nose Cone’. Except she wasn’t captured by the natives in this episode! In fact, she seems to come and go as she pleases once Peter is dressed up as Spidey. 😐

I really wish I could praise the 1960s TV series like some others have praised it, but this series lacks inspiration and excitement as opposed to other versions of Spider-Man I’ve seen in films, TV and video games. Even the conversations between Peter Parker and J. Jonah Jameson are getting boring!

If they wanted to make this episode different to ‘Neptune’s Nose Cone’, at least have the snowmen in the North Pole blue or white-skinned. Even have that monster with table tennis batted-eyes looking blue or white-skinned. Might not make much of a difference, but it could make it less silly. 😐

If I should ever see Ralph Bakshi’s version of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ someday, I hope to have an open mind about it and not judge it too harshly. At present, I can’t see the 1960s ‘Spider-Man’ series ending on a high in the final episode. Why couldn’t they have stuck with the Season 1 animation?! 🙁

‘Down to Earth’ rating – 0/10