"
Spidey Super Stories" was a
live-action, recurring
skit on the
PBS children's television series
The Electric Company. Episodes featured the
Marvel Comics character
Spider-Man, provided to the
Children's Television Workshop free of charge, and was played (always in costume) by puppeteer Danny Seagren. It premiered during the season premiere of
The Electric Company<nowiki>'</nowiki>s fourth (1974–1975) season, show 391.
Stories involved the masked superhero foiling mischievous characters who were involved in petty criminal activities (such as burglary or assault). The cast of
The Electric Company played the roles of the various characters in each story, with another serving as narrator. In many of these sketches, viewers were addressed as "true believers."
Unlike other live-action and cartoon productions of
Spider-Man, this version of the web-slinging hero does not speak out loud, instead communicating only with
word balloons (having a similar role to
Clarabell the Clown of
Howdy Doody), in order to encourage young viewers to practice their reading skills. He also never appears out of his costume as Peter Parker and, given the series' budget limitations, uses his
web-shooters sparingly. (Many times, the scene cut to a pre-drawn panel of Spidey using his web-shooters, with the caption, "Take that!")
The theme song that plays at the beginning and end of the shorts was written by
Gary William Friedman. The lyrics...
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