Hey all, how's life treating all of you? Afraid I haven't bee on all week and so haven't been able to comment on any blogs, so I hope you're all well.

The main reason I haven't been able to get on is because of a job interview I had today. It was an internal vacancy at work so it was a bit different to a usual job interview as I new the people doing the interview really well because I already work with them! Despite that I was a bit nervous about it, however it went ok.... I think. So hopefully I'll be getting a promotion before too long, but we'll have to wait and see.

Other than that, Max's dead in Hollyoaks! I should clarify that Hollyoaks is a crappy British soap that is, well, crap. Soaps are inexplicably popular over in the UK, however even so Holloaks isn't one of the most appreciated ones. It's main selling point is that where most British soaps are about folks in the forties with the odd hot twenty-something for good measure, Hollyoaks is full of hot twenty-somethings with the odd forty year old for good measure. The stories aren't particularly deep, but having watched it on and off for the last ten years I was shocked when long term character, Max Cunningham, was killed. It was tragic and surprisingly emotional for the show. Regardless of how poor a show is you're going to get attached to the characters after so long watching them and that was the case here.

Still enough of that rubbish and so onto the opposite end of British scripted television: Doctor Who.

The finale was immense, loved it! I don't want to go into too much detail because it's a few weeks behind in the States (which makes a nice change!). Still pretty much every major character from the last four years was in it and while this could've really bogged the story down, it worked brilliantly. Now I really can't say anymore than that because otherwise it'll ruin the cliffhanger ending from the penultimate episode. Needless to say that if you don't watch Doctor Who, why not? It may have some cheesy moments, but in a good way like Buffy. And me comparing anything to Buffy is pretty much the highest complement it can get!

Well that's it for today, have a good weekend. Oh, and in case any of you wonder why I bother watching a tat soap, take a look at a few pics of some of the main cast.

I think that speaks for itself!

A wee while ago WolfSeyonne tagged me and I hadn't gotten around to doing it until now, so here's five more fascinating facts about me.

1. I recently finished Metal Gear Solid 4 and it was amazing!

2. My three year anniversary on this site was a fortnight ago.

3. I'm 6"3. (Might have already mentioned that one in a previous blog)

4. On a night out I'll happily drink any shot with the exception of Tequila cos that just makes me spew!

5. I'm gonna go see Hancock this week cos it'll be awesome! (Can you tell I'm running out of things to write about myself? )

In other news Spain won the 2008 European Championship final last night. They beat Germany 1-0 and it was a really good game, with the Spaniards deserved winners. On the TV side of things Doctor Who finished in the UK next week. Last week's ep was awesome and I can't wait for the finale! I don't want to say too much about it in case any of my American friends watch it and I don't want to ruin it for them.

Also in Spectacular Spider-man news series creator Greg Weisman did an interview on IGN.com that was really interesting. He talked about various things including some of the villains that'll be in season 2 and what his vision is for the show in the long run. It's pretty cool, and if you're interested you can find it here: http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/884/884897p1.html

Well, until next time, as the Doctor would say, "keep being brilliant!"

Spider-Man is probably my favourite superhero. His powers and the enemies he faces give him a good balance of being the underdog at times as well as an adept fighter at others. He's witty, smart and has an appropriate tragic back-story that keeps the fact that he's constantly risking his life for others believable. I read a few Spidey comics, but it was really the 90s cartoon that I loved.

Despite various restrictions put on it after complaints about Power Rangers being too violent (for example Spidey wasn't allowed to even punch someone in the face) there was a good mix of action and well told stories. In fact the characters were quite surprisingly deep for a kids cartoon, probably because they couldn't rely on as much action as other comic based cartoons, such as the Justice League (which was still great though), tend to.

Since that show there have been several attempts to bring Spider-Man to life, most notably the movie franchise.

Now these films were certainly not bad (with the exception of the third one which was awful), but I felt they didn't truly capture Spider-Man as well as they could. The other one that comes to mind is a short lived CGI cartoon that aired on MTV which gave the show a slightly more mature theme with references to sex, alcohol and even mild swearing.

Again, while not bad it was certainly not great.

So when I heard that a new Spider-Man cartoon was coming out I wasn't all that excited as I didn't think it'd be too great. How wrong I was! This show is amazing and is the best adaptation since the great 90s version. It has the luxury of being able to take from the original comics, the re-done "Ultimate" series and of course the films. And it does so brilliantly to make its own version of the Spider-Man universe.

In this incarnation of Spider-Man, his alternate identity, Peter Parker, is in his junior year at high school along with Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborne. Flash Thompson is the star football player who picks on Pete and there are several other core characters at the school that make it seem like more than just a background setting. Outside of school Peter lives with his Aunt May and is oddly friends with Eddie Brock, who is in his first year at university. As for Spidey himself the main thing to note is that unlike the films he has home made web-shooters as opposed to organic webbing.

As I said the setting is a mix of the various Spider-Man incarnations, but how do the stories and individual episodes hold up? Throughout the first season many Spider-Man super-villains have been introduced beginning with The Vulture in the first episode. This seemed like an odd choice to open the show with as Adrian Toomes isn't exactly the biggest Spider-Man foe. However the first episode was more about introducing this Spider-Man's world and that it did brilliantly. Although The Vulture was the main villain, many major characters, both good and bad, were introduced. Flint Marko, Alex O'Hirn and Norman Osborne, who later become The Sandman, The Rhino and The Green Goblin(although not yet) respectively, were all thrown in as well as a mysterious "Big Man" who seemed to be running things from behind the scenes.

In fact most every episode introduced some new Spider-Man character, some more well known than others, and all done very well. But the show wasn't just about set-up; each episode had a distinct threat to deal with that was satisfyingly resolved by the end. Spidey's battles with his opponents were always exciting and fun to watch and there would usually be some clever or unique way in which he finally took them down. Some villains came off better than others, but each one still worked and made for entertaining television.

That was pretty much the first half of the season which was essentially freak-of-the-week storylines with ongoing background stories. Now that was great, but what they then went for was awesome! They did a three part episode involving The Green Goblin, which came together brilliantly. As a bit of a twist instead of Norman Osborne being the first Green Goblin, it was Harry. The show managed to combine this with a drug addiction story for Harry (that's right, in a kid's cartoon!) which was the moment when I realised that this wasn't just a great animated show, but a superb show in any genre.

The last few episodes introduced the symbiote which culminated with Spider-Man battling Venom in the season finale. This started great and ended great, but to be honest the middle was just good. The first episode involving the symbiote had Spidey team up with The Black Cat (voiced by Battlestar Galatica's Tricia Helfer) which was one of the highlights of the season. The finale was also superb as in this version of Eddie Brock (Venom) was Peter's childhood friend. This allowed for some very dramatic scenes between the two as well as being particularly brutal! Spidey full on lamping Venom while the two were falling off a building was awesome to see! Unfortunately whilst the symbiote was bonded to Spider-Man it didn't quite seem to reach the story peak that other versions did. While still very good he wasn't quite as dark as I would've hoped for. That said at least he didn't put on eye-liner and get an emo haircut and the symbiote did a bit more to him than just make him dance and take milk and cookies from his neighbours...

That said it's little more than a difference of opinion as to how I would've liked to see the Spider-Symbiote done. The main issue however was the character of Eddie. For the majority of the season he seemed a decent and down-to-earth guy, however in the last few episodes he just went off the deep end for no apparent reason. The sudden gear change to allow him to become Venom was a bit jarring and could maybe have done with a bit more time having been put into it. Still that's the only real story complaint in an otherwise excellent season.

As an animated show the first thing to notice is the artistic design, and at first glance I wasn't sold of The Spectacular Spider-Man's. They went for a more cartoony look than a realistic one, although fortunately that's only for the character's appearance. The way they move and act is done in a realistic manner and the more simple art design is most likely as a trade off between detail and animation. And man did they make the right choice! The animation is great for the most part. There are a few small instances where it isn't perfect, but they're hard to notice. What is near perfect however is the action sequences. The speed and pace of the fights easily rival the films and are great to watch.

Like I said the show takes from various different versions of the character and implements them together brilliantly. Each character is excellently written and all feel very real. Even Flash Thompson who could easily have just been the school bully is actually quite likeable. He has a great "Cordelia" moment in the 2nd last episode where he lays some home truths of Peter after he'd went off at his friends (similarly to what Cordy did with Buffy in the season 2 premiere, in case you didn't get the reference). Also most of the super-villains were subtly introduced before they gained super-powers which made for more rounded characters and didn't just feel like an excuse for a fight.

That said I do have a couple of issues with the show; the main one being that it seems to be under the misconception that the movies were good. Okay, I'll clarify that a bit. There are several moments throughout the season which have aspects taken straight from one of the films. For example one episode opens with Spider-man stopping a truck with no brakes in the same way he stopped the train in Spider-Man 2. Another had The Rhino threaten J. Jonah Jameson for the whereabouts Spider-Man's photographer which was very similar to The Green Goblin's tactic in Spider-Man. Now while some of these work as little nods to the film franchise, others just feel out of place. For example the when The Rhino was threatening Jameson it was used as an act break cliff-hanger, despite the fact he obviously wasn't going to tell him where Peter was. The worst example however is the 2nd last episode where we've given Spidey's origin story. It had a feel that they'd put it in for good measure and it wasn't really needed, but most of it was taken straight from the first film. There's even the heart-to-heart between Peter and his Uncle Ben in the car with almost identical dialogue to the film. Now while none of this was bad I'd have preferred if the cartoon had managed it's own take on Spidey's origin, it just felt like a cop out blatantly copying the movies.

There's also a few strange artistic tricks they use occasionally. First off there's the Spider-Sense which is just waving lines around Spidey's head. While there's nothing wrong with that a bit more effort put into it wouldn't have hurt. For example both the films and the 90s cartoon and even the GCI MTV one managed to have really cool takes on the power. The weirdest one however is that at the end of most episodes the background turns red with black webbing like the costume. I'm told that this is something done in the comics, but it comes off as a bit weird. Of course considering how superb the show is these things feel more like eccentricities which are easily forgivable.

All that and I haven't even mentioned Mary-Jane, the Sinister Six or some of the genuinely hilarious lines throughout. The Spectacular Spider-Man is a finely written and brilliantly put together piece of television. It may be a children's cartoon, but it has the quality to rival any show of any genre. Any Spider-Man fan should definitely check this show out, as should anyone aching for a good super-hero TV show (i.e. Smallville fans). This isn't just the best new show this season, but simply one of the best shows, new or old, that's been on this year.

I was in two minds whether or not to give a score, but I thought why not. Using the TV.com rating system I'd give the first season of The Spectacular Spider-Man