‘VINE’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

For the most part, Season 2 of the 1960s ‘Spider-Man’ TV series has been pretty dire, dreary and disappointing so far. But with ‘Vine’, I did find myself enjoying this episode a lot. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a great episode, but I did find there was more ‘story’ to enjoy from watching it on the DVD.

In the episode, Peter Parker helps a friend of his to clear out the house of a missing scientist. The friend happens to be a girl called Jackie. Now Jackie seems to be nicer girl compared to Susan and Sonya. I’m not sure if Jackie ends up being a love interest for Peter, but I’d like this to happen here. 🙂

The missing scientist happens to be Professor Smithers. Peter and Jackie discover a seed that they accidentally unleash upon New York and a vine-like monster attacks the city. They also discover a time machine that Professor Smithers has used to travel back in time to the year 300,000,000 BC. 😀

It’s more ‘The Time Tunnel’ time machine than ‘Doctor Who’. Peter goes back in time and meets up with the professor as Spider-Man in order to find a way to stop the vine-like monster attacking New York. Smithers informs Spider-Man that he needs two gems of radium so he can defeat the monster.

I do like the quest theme featured in this ‘Spider-Man’ episode where Spidey has to get two gems of radium and he has to overcome the plant-like monsters that are rulers in this time-zone. There are issues regarding the web-slinging shots and such, but it’s not distracting to spoil my enjoyment of it.

Mind you, I am curious about why Professor Smithers decided to stay and live in the past with his blue giant friends. Didn’t he want to go home at all? Also, he looks well-dressed to have lived for 30 years in the past in tie; suit and all. Wouldn’t he have changed his clothes in all that time in 30 years?

The ‘king’ of the plant-like monsters that are the rulers of the ‘forbidden city’ is a bit silly. For you see, it’s a plant that happens to have a talking mouth. Plus, the ‘king’ considers the plants to have ‘vegetarian superiority’ and is disgusted by the animals’ protein-like bodies and that includes Spidey.

In the end, Spidey overthrows the plant-like oppressors of the past and soon returns to the future to stop the vine-like monster attacking New York with the radium gems he’s collected. Soon, the vine-like monster withers and dies. Peter Parker meets up with Jackie at their school by the story’s climax.

‘Vine’ rating – 7/10