Synopsis:

In early 2000, Sam Raimi was approached by Columbia Pictures to direct and produce a TV Pilot for a new series based on the popular Marvel comic book character Spider-Man. After a series of script drafts, the pilot was cast with a few big names and filmed in late 2001. Ultimately, the pilot was passed on and locked away in Columbia's vaults, and was not released in any form officially, but a VHS tape was passed around after the production was complete, in the form of low-generation bootleg VHS tapes. Presented here for the first time as a high quality VHS copy, it's the unaired pilot of Spider-Man: The Series!

Intentions:

I wanted to take the opening act of the first Raimi Spidey film and present it as a standalone early 2000s TV Pilot that was never picked up. A few of the cheesier moments are gone, along with all of Norman Osborne and the Green Goblin, to keep the focus on a teenager and the changes his body goes through as the becomes the hero we all know and love. Just to clarify, this isn't a real lost pilot, but a fun mix of the 2002 film to be presented as a lost pilot.

Change List:

I edited the pilot together normally through the DVD, cutting things here and there until I ended up at a TV Episode length I was happy with. After that was over, I added the details, like a warning screen, title cards, credits over the first scene, and a new end credits sequence. I rendered a copy and had run it through my VCR, putting the edit onto a physical tape to give it that bootleg feeling, and then captured the tape again, doing some minor tweaks to alter the extreme colouring the tape ended up with.

Additional Notes:

- New studio logos (Screener warning, Columbia TV and Marvel) - Opening credits are now over the bus scene instead of the web sequence - Cut Harry and Norman's intro outside the science excursion - Cut "Or his father will fire your father" - Cut Peter moaning like a sex pest while taking MJ's photo - Cut scene of Norman at Oscorp with the General telling him he has a deadline - Cut scene of Norman giving himself the Goblin serum - Cut Pete following MJ and talking to himself - Cut scene of Norman waking up and discovering the scientist was killed - Cut Pete's backflip during the Flash fight - Cut MJ's "Help him Harry?" - Cut Flash's croney's "He's all yours" - Cut a shot of Pete jumping over an alleyway as the shot is repeated twice - Cut scene of Norman looking at the Daily Bugle - Cut the graduation scene - Cut the talking heads in the Spider-Man montage - Some new score in the montage - Added "Spider-Man" title to the end of the pilot - Custom credit sequence.

Other Sources:

Spider-Man (2002) Full Screen DVD - I chose the 4:3 DVD over the 1.85:1 Blu-Ray as I felt the DVD has more of a TV feel reminiscent of the era.

Special Thanks: