In spite of the claim that this series was set in the same universe as the Sam Raimi movies, there's enough evidence there - the most damning being, somehow, hair colours - that it's not, and so I find it easier to consider this to be set in a universe inspired by the Raimi movies. (Side note: the Marvel wiki agrees with me and lists them as different universes). It's an apt claim, however, as like those films, it's inoffensive, but most of the time isn't what I'd consider to be a great or essential Spider-Man experience.
I can absolutely understand the desire to ground the series a bit more, as even without the influence of the movie, it gives the show a bit more of its own identity, and could in theory be used to show a side of Spider-Man we haven't seen before. Heck, if it makes the show more appealing to people outside the usual superhero demographic, that's a bonus too. Most of the time, however, the efforts are a bit lackluster - is there anyone out there that prefers Talon to Black Cat? Did anyone think that Christina, the antagonist of Head Over Heels, is more realistic or relatable because she's a young adult who's yandere towards Spider-Man, as opposed to being a villain in tights? Most of the original villains are fairly forgettable, and the classic ones more often than not had at least one or two problems. Grounding a work can definitely be successful, but in my personal opinion, I usually find that superhero works are more enjoyable when they embrace the fantastic and quirky.
I will gladly say that while most episodes had a few questions or complaints from me that weren't adequately addressed, I don't think that there was a single episode here that I'd call abysmally bad, which might be a first out of all of the series I've watched. The plots flowed along fairly well and usually had decent enough pacing. This might sound like I'm damning the show by faint praise, but I honestly do appreciate it; it's the little things that can sometimes make or break a work. The CGI, which I was a little worried about, usually worked pretty well too; some shots of the city could definitely do with some work, but overall everything looked pretty smooth and natural.
If I had to time travel back and give some advice to the writers, it'd be to embrace more of the show's premise. We've got Peter, Harry, and Mary Jane all being friends and going to the same college, and when the show did focus on them just hanging out and watching people make out talking, it was pretty enjoyable. I'm not saying that this needs to turn into a slice-of-life show, but this is a good group of characters we've got - especially once you factor in Indy - and I think there was some good potential there. (The other pieces of advice that I'd give, of course, is to add in more comic book villains and to make up their minds on what Peter and Mary Jane want from one another).
Some final, miscellaneous thoughts before going through my top three and bottom three so
that you, the intelligent reader, know what to look forwards to and what
to avoid if you decide to check out this series:
- With the exception of a few times when he used his Oscorp connections for the plot, Harry mostly just hung around, made some quips, and day drank (that's what all the hip young adults we want to watch the show do, right? Day drink?) And you know what? It worked quite well. Harry is Peter's friend, and he acted like a normal person. A lot of mediums - I'm looking at you, certain periods of the comics and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - tell us that Harry and Peter are best friends then don't show them living up to it. Here they honestly did feel like two people who enjoyed each others' company.
- If Harry's the surprisingly enjoyable civilian friend, then Mary Jane is his dark reflection. Holy crap. First she and Peter are making out; now they're not; now she wants him to show up to her play; now she's going out with her coworker; now she's kissing Peter. This is just in the first three episodes, by the way. And then Peter somehow ends up casually doing stuff with both her and Indy? The show really, really needs to decide what it wants to do with the two of them and stick to it.
- I never really commented on it in my reviews, but the place where Harry and Peter live in has a weird, clock tower-esque structure towards one end, which Peter usually exits as Spider-Man. I sort of see what they were going for, but it feels kind of bizarre at the same time.
- I realise that this is a thing for most superhero stories (heck, for most adventure stories), but I feel like in this series more than any other Peter was constantly right around the corner whenever a crime or something that required him to be Spider-Man was going on. I can't recall a single sequence of him having to actively search for someone or something in the city.
