  
Unfortunately
I consider ‘The Prison Plot’ to be one of the poorer episodes of the series.
Indeed, if someone were to mention Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends
to me, this particular episode would not spring either immediately or fondly
to mind. The factors comprising this story might well have been successful;
Magneto, Niagara Falls, The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. This could
have worked, but the story never quite managed to leave the ground. So
what happened? We know that when purchased by NBC the story was considered
‘sloppy and incomprehensible’ and a re-write was issued, but to appease
NBC most of the original story had to be left intact and worked around.
In my opinion, unfortunately it didn’t quite come together; not surprising
perhaps considering the rather erratic journey undertaken to get it on
the air. There was one aspect of the episode however that I did enjoy,
the sub-plot involving Peter's true feelings for Angelica. Perhaps
I am just a hopeless romantic but I find that it’s little insights like
these that give the characters more depth and in a sense make the show
more realistic. Plus it was just really sweet! -Don’t groan
at me guys!-
Okay, I know I am going to be giving this the highest rating
of the three of us but I always liked this episode. I'm not sure why a
re-write would have been issued. The writers were veteran writers who not
only wrote for shows like Get Smart but also the 1960s animated Fantastic
Four series. Anyway, yes, the subplot was the best part and this episode
gives us a clue that there is more to the innocent flirting that goes on.
The boys seem to have it real bad for Firestar. It's also good to see them
earning some extra money as you always kind of wonder where Angelica & Bobby
get their income. Apparently it comes from these temporary employment
services. Also "You forgot my lemonade" is a classic
Spider-Friends line and one of my favorites. Oh yeah...those cameos of the
Evil Mutants too! They sure know how to tease us with those cameos.
No matter what Jon says is wrong with this episode, I know he just wants to get
back at the writers for getting his hopes up when Ms. Lion jumped out of the
boat and appeared to have drowned.
Caroline, I've got to agree with you. (It goes beyond that
Ms. Lion tease Mark!) All around B-A-D. The worst of the bunch.
It hurts to watch this one...and it has not improved with age. Magneto is
a cardboard cut-out of his comic book counterpart. (Say that three times
fast!) Where's the charm?
The witty dialogue? All mostly non-existent in this episode. Yet in the midst of all this muck is that deeply poignant conversation between Pete & Bobby discussing their feelings for
Angelica. (We didn't "groan" Caroline.) I wish it had been followed up in some other episode but it is probably best that this episode is left forgotten.
One HALF of a star is more than this one deserves. (Hey...every series has a few
clunkers!)
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