Spider-Man TV (1967) - Season 3, Episode 11

 Posted: Jun 2010

Background

The Master Technician returns with another scheme to destroy New York. Agh!!!! Not this tired plot again! This can't be by popular demand.

Story 'Specialists and Slaves'

  Spider-Man TV (1967) - Season 3, Episode 11
Summary: First Aired May 31st 1970 (full-length episode)

The Master Technician is released from prison (although he refers to himself as The Radiation Specialist). He proceeds to take over the nearest nuclear reactor, which he uses for his base of operations. He plans to subjugate humanity with special radiation that will turn them into mindless robots.

His first task in his plan is to get Spider-Man out of the city. The Specialist dispatches a robotic-controlled car that lures Spider-Man miles out of the city.

With Spider-Man distracted he proceeds to phase two of his master plan. [All together class:] encase New York in a dome and raise it into the sky.

The Specialist causes the car to crash. When Spider-Man investigates, The Specialist informs him that this was part of his plan - lure him away from the city and take over. Now all of the citizens are under his control.

Spider-Man returns and sneaks into New York, exactly as The Specialist had anticipated. Spider-Man enters the facility as he did during their last battle.

The mindless crowd alerts The Radiation Specialist of spider-man's presence. he causes a localized earthquake that sends spider-man to the ground, knocking him out.

Captain Stacy is placed in charge of the retrieval of Spider-Man's body. Luckily for Spider-Man, Stacy is able to fight off the Specialist's influence and makes sure that he's taken to the prison infirmary. Stacy convinces everyone else involved that it's what the Specialist would want.

Once spider-man awakens in the infirmary he realizes that he has an ally. This lucky break doesn't last long as a small group of convicts - also able to withstand the Specialist's radiation - decide to stage a breakout. Spider-man pretends to throw in with them to free Stacy. [Hmm... I liked this better the first time during "To Cage a Spider"]

The Specialist hasn't heard a report on the capture of Spider-Man since his return. To punish his drones, he decides to turn off the city's power. Spider-man uses this sudden blackout to recapture the convicts. [Great way to retro-fit that, guys. Not.]

Spider-Man resumes his journey to the reactor where the Specialist tries to break his will with additional radiation. He shakes this off and defeats the Specialist as before and gently lowers the city down to ground level.. as before.

General Comments

Another pastiche of otherwise decent episodes that become a lackluster one. Classic case of 2 + 2 = 3.

The reuse of "To Cage A Spider" was completely out of left field and lessened the quality further.

Overall Rating

1/2 web. The fact that they have reused this basic story three times is inexcusable.

 Posted: Jun 2010