Shows : The Electric Company : Season 4 (74/75)

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"Spidey Meets the Spoiler"

Spiderman comes across a rubber glove sandwich and a fire plug with a "No Dogs Allowed" sign hanging on it and decides only one man could be responsible for what is designed to ruin someone's day - the Spoiler. Said villian immediately reveals himself and his diabolical plans to spoil everyone's ice cream (and he promptly smashes an ice cream cone a woman is enjoying). The Spoiler then declares his plan to spoil Spiderman's day: "I've always wanted to hear the world say, 'the Web-Head is dead!'" But Spidey gets the upper-hand following a G-rated push-and-shove fight.

This was the very first Spider-Man episode produced by TEC. Note that Spider-Man also appeared in the opening sequence of the actual episode, as follows: Crank looks around for Spiderman, but only comes upon Easy Reader. Behind him, Spiderman walks around. In the end, Crank never finds him and walks off, frustrated. Spidey: "What a Yo-Yo!"

"A Night at the Movies"

Synopsis: A couple is enjoying a Spiderman movie, cheering him in his on-screen battle with the Green Glob. Luis leaves to get some more popcorn, and Spidey takes his seat. Just then, Count Dracula appears and is ready to bite Judy's neck. Spidey tells Drac: "Not so fast!" and slings his web on him. Luis returns and tells Spidey he's in his seat; Spidey gives up his seat to take Drac to jail. Luis (who's clueless as to what just happened): "The nerve of some people!" Judy: Quiet! You'll miss the best part!"

Count Dracula made regular appearances on TEC. Based on the famous Brams Stoker literary character, Drac and his friends, the Werewolf (played by Jim Boyd) and Frankenstein (played by Skip Hinnant) helped children to read, often scaring the other regulars in the process.

Drac especially likes dark places (including movie theaters, his casket and dance halls); running after people who trespass on his property while singing about whistling; scaring the female members of the Short Circus (June Angela, Ragine Magloire and Jannina Matthews); and biting necks of women (because they "want a drink of blood").

He hates trick-or-treaters who errantly visit his home on Halloween; trespassers; the cross, garlic and light (of course); and especially superheroes who spoil his fun (especially Spiderman).

"Dr. Fly"

No origin given, Dr. Fly was "half man, half-fly, and all evil!" Intending to turn everyone in the world into the same type of mutant hybrid, Dr. Fly concocted a formula of "fleas and flies" and injected it into hot dogs, then ventured forth disguised as a hot dog vendor in order to distribute it. Spiderman saved a prospective customer from a tainted hot dog and caught Dr. Fly in his web, but got a ticket for operating a pushcart without a license (Quoth Spidey, "Why me?").

"The Can Crusher"

When the Can Crusher was just a little boy, he visited a soup factory and his pet frog jumped into a vat of tomato soup. Obsessed with finding his lost pet, the Can Crusher ventured forth in a black jumpsuit w/crazy hair & red nose, invading supermarkets and such, crushing every can he could get a hold of. Spiderman never caught this one. The Can Crusher defeated him in battle and escaped.

"Spidey Up Against the Wall"

Spidey decides to take in a baseball game on a rare day off, cheering for the Mets and his favorite player, "Gumbo" Grace Ivy. The Wall sneaks up behind Gumbo and knocks him down from behind, causing him to miss a flyball (which June terms "a cheap home run"). It's explained the Wall was once a normal high school student until a chemistry experiment went wrong. The umpire yells at the Wall, but is knocked down for his trouble. Spidey catches the Wall, but the umpire throws him out because no spectators are allowed on the field. The umpire even confiscates our hero's scorecard.

"The Funny Bunny"

Once an ordinary little girl until a bully sat on her Easter basket, she became the un-funny Funny Bunny to steal from other kids' baskets. She went to the White House to steal all the eggs for the annual Easter egg roll on the White House lawn, but Spiderman was lying in wait for her and caught her in his web.

The role of The President in this particular episode was played by Melanie Henderson, who's not only female, but African-American as well! Talk about being ahead of it's time (The Electric Company, I mean)! Then again, Morgan Freeman played both Christopher Columbus and George Washington (a few times), so what have you?

"Dr. Fright"

Dressed in a tuxedo w/tails, Dr. Fright had a face so horrible (concealed by an oversized top hat) that anyone who saw it would freeze right in their tracks. Just as he was about to expose his face to Spiderman, Spidey held up a mirror, thus freezing Dr. Fright.

"Meet Mr. Measles"

No origin given, Mr. Measles, looking kind of like Uncle Sam (w/a grey suit), was a fiendish villain who planned to give everyone the measles with his bag of spots, thus forcing them to spend ten days in bed ("In the dark! No books! No magazines! Nothing to read!" - horror of horrors!). Spiderman caught him in his web before he could infect too many people, but unfortunately not before he infected Spidey.

"Spidey Meets The Beekeeper"

A half-human, half-bee mutant who governed an entire colony of same, The Queen Bee plotted the takeover of the entire world. Spiderman never caught her, either. Although he foiled her plans, she left him to be stung by her cronies whilst she escaped.

"The Thumper"

The Thumper was once an ordinary spoiled brat, until she didn't get a yellow pony she had desired for her eighth birthday. So, she began donning a Napoleon Bonaparte costume and began thumping people atop the head in retaliation. She thumps Luis (who's in awe of standing next to "that legendary French hero, Napoleon Bonaparte") and Skip (whom, in accent, asks for directions to Sesame Street). Spidey, who's flying overhead, senses trouble, and asks the Thumper if there's any problems. The Thumper thumps Spidey, who responds "What a thump," then captures the villianess. She tries unsuccessfully to bribe Spidey into letting her go by promising him a yellow pony (Spidey: Fat chance!).

"The Bookworm"

Easy Reader & Valerie are at the library and start to notice huge holes run through the books. The culprit? The Bookworm, the scourge of libraries, a large purple & green striped sock puppet who eats books! Spiderman never caught this one, either. Although Spidey gives him a good fight, The Bookworm escapes from Spidey's web. Spidey took that unusually hard, too.

(Unknown Title)

Little Miss Muffet rushes up to Spiderman w/the news about the spider that's been terrorizing her. Spidey follows her to the scene of the crime, meets the spider (a very large prop) and promptly recognizes him as a long-lost uncle. As Spidey & the spider engage in conversation, Miss Muffet walks off in disgust at the whole stupidity of the situation and story.