Below is a collection of quotes from John Semper Jr., posted on the Usenet forums back in the late 1990s, about Spider-Man: The Animated Series and more. Check them all out below, copied without permission for achival purposes.

[02/08/97]
>What I find strange is that Y-tv in Canada hasn’t run any repeats of Spiderman. In fact for most of this season Y-tv has been running episodes a week in advance of FOX.

From the start, the “Spider-Man” production schedule was geared toward producing more episodes each season than were actually needed for airing on Fox Children’s Network. New World (the entity producing the series) sold the series in overseas syndication and foreign territories very aggressively and promised those markets many more episodes per year than FCN needed.

As of this writing, most of Spider-Man’s 65 episode production order had been completed, and those episodes will be sent out into syndication ouside [sic] of the U.S. as quickly as possible. Fox has the option of airing as many of these new episodes this season as they want, or holding some back for next season.

I personally hope they air them all this season!

John Semper

Producer “Spider-Man”

[02/14/97]
>Er…does this mean that Spider-Man is near the end of its run, or will episodes beyond the 65 needed for syndication be produced?

Fox doesn’t want to continue Spider-Man. It has nothing to do with ratings, since Spidey has been very successful. It’s personal. Fox now wants to do all its Marvel animation with Saban, period. They dedicated themselves to shutting down Marvel Films Animation (the company that produced Spider-Man) and they have. End of story. If they were to pick up Spider-Man for more episodes, they’d probably have to do so under an existing contract that would exclude Saban, so they just won’t continue the series. Seems silly doesn’t it?

But it’s okay with me. By episode 65 I wrapped up the “saga” that I wanted to tell, so I feel like my work had a beginning, middle and end. The last episode is entitled “Farewell Spider-Man” and I meant it.

>The last few years, it seems Saturday morning has been the only place to find the characters I remember so fondly from my
>youth. They certainly haven’t been seen at Marvel comics lately!

From the beginning I wanted to make watching Spider-Man “feel” like reading a comic from his heyday in the sixties and seventies. Back then the Spidey stories were good adventure and good, complicated soap-opera. I was fortunate enough not to have to answer to anybody at Marvel Comics (all of whom have been fired by now — ha!) so I was able to keep my Spidey universe free from all of the weak writing that was destroying the comics. So you are the kind of viewer that I especially wanted to reach with the series.

John Semper

Producer: Spider-Man

[02/22/97]
>>>Now my question: The first three arcs are 40 episodes in total.
>>How long is “Partners in Danger,” and what comes after that?

Partners in Danger is eleven “chapters” (episodes). Then there’s a single episode in between. The next arc is “Six Forgotten Warriors”, followed by a two-part “Return of Hydro-Man”. Then three chapters of “Secret Wars” (yes, we did a version of that!) are followed by a two part finale entitled “Spider-Wars”.

Actually, “Six Forgotten Warriors” isn’t an “arc” as it is a “movie”. I figured that the powers-that-be at Marvel would never officially let me write a Spider-Man movie, so I used five episodes of the series to write my own. Unlike the other arcs which were all plotted as single episodes, “Six Forgotten Warriors” was plotted and paced like a movie. The idea is that when it airs, you can tape it, string the episodes together on your own, delete the recaps, and voila, instant Spidey Animated Feature!

Also, the concept of “arcs” was something that Marvel Films Animation NEVER wanted me to do, and something that Fox, although they allowed it and deserve credit for that, was never too keen on (in the end I was expressely told not to have cliffhangers any more). But I always pushed for it because I felt that a continuing story arc was the only way to go for “Spider-Man”. After all, wasn’t that really the main charm of the comic book when it was good?

John Semper

Producer:Spider-Man

>Well said, Mr. Semper! I want to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed watching your version of Spider-Man, and you certainly
>have a creation to be proud of. Hats off on an extremely well-written, well-drawn cartoon that I think appeals to Spidey
>fans of all ages. I know I’ve enjoyed seeing the “classic” stories re-told in a slightly different way. I hope I will be
>able to see Season # 5.
>Thanks for bringing us Spidey!!

Thanks for being such a supportive fan, Mike. I must say, the fans of Spidey are a classy, well-spoken, intelligent group of folks, and that suits me just fine. Thanks to you all for making it a joy to have been associated with the show.

By the way, I can’t take any credit for the appearance and animation of the show. That was in the hands of Bob Richardson who supervised all the animation and post production. (There is some evidence that Bob occasionally tried to supervise me, but he can’t be blamed for failing at what is essentially an impossible task. I have a nasty habit of grinning like an idiot and agreeing with authority figures, only to turn around and do what I want anyway ;-)

Semp.

>>> Thank you for putting the time and effort into what can be now called the best Spider-Man tv show ever..

Thanks for the high praise, Panch. We tried….Heaven knows, we tried……

Semp.

[02/25/97]
>So the official word, I take it, is that these final episodes will be different from the other 52 in that they’ll be *GOOD*? If this final run manages less infantile scripts and more coherent editing, I’ll be glad to see it come around.

Nope, sorry Terence. Same old stuff that reflects what I like on TV. You better not watch anymore. ;-)

>But the regular readers may know the
>reasons behind Spiderman’s demise, for producer
>John Semper himself posted them…..

etc., etc.

Your paraphrasing of me is more convoluted than one of my scripts, but even though I stylistically approve of it, I’m not sure I actually said all of that. You go on about how monopolistic the cartoon market is today.
But Saturday morning animation has always been monopolistic in all of the 17 years that I’ve been working in it (heck, when I started, Hanna-Barbera did EVERYTHING!), so monopolies are nothing new. Nor is competition, limited markets, or erratic behavior on the part of networks. The game is what it is, and nothing new is happening here.

Wait. I take that back. Never have the goofy actions of the major players in Sat. AM been so carefully scrutinized by outsiders before as they are now by our audiences, which I think is healthy overall (whether those audiences share my narrative tastes or not).

All that I was addressing in my earlier messages was the unfortunate situation for myself and the (MANY) fans of the “Spider-Man” series that we’re ending after 65 <<highly-rated>> episodes. The end. I am not waging war against Fox, which has every right to do what it wants, nor TV networks, nor production companies, nor the U.S. Government, nor God.

You are obviously not a fan of the show, so this doesn’t really affect you. That’s fine with me. You can insult the series, criticize the scripts, and do it all in the nude at your keyboard. Just don’t misquote me.

We do agree on one thing, though — that never before has there been so much interesting animated activity on the airwaves, which allows for the kind of experimentation that we fostered in “Spider-Man.” And that’s good for all of us animation lovers.

>The point, you ask? Semper’s not alone in losing out for not being one of the crowd at Fox, and we have better shows to complain about :)

I don’t like to “complain” about “better” shows, but obviously you do.
Does that mean that if you’re downright insulting, as you are toward “Spider-Man”, that you really think it’s great? I’ll sleep better tonight just thinking so. ;-)

By the way, all those “good” writers that you mentioned were chosen by me to work on the show because I think they’re the best and I only wanted the best. And many of them felt that they did some of their finest work on “Spider-Man.” Just ask ’em. More importantly, many of them had fun, ’cause I’m so lovable to work with (and when you do this stuff for a living, that’s sometimes more important than everything else, sorry to say). I think their work was stellar and I look forward to working with them all again soon.

>Peace to you, and good luck on your next project, Mr. Semper.

Peace to you too, Terence. And, really, I like criticism. It keeps me from getting a swelled head, and I like to see if others catch the flaws that bug me. (But you are, of course, wrong. “Spider-Man” is the greatest animated show on TV. How can I think otherwise?) ;-)

John Semper

Producer:Spider-Man

[07/13/97]
Nate,
Here’s the answer to your query. Everything is in the correct order.

The ‘Partners in Danger’ Arc:

“Guilty”
“The Cat”
“The Black Cat”
“The Return of Kraven”
“Partners”
“The Awakening”
“The Vampire Queen”
“The Return of the Green Goblin”
“The Haunting of Mary Jane Watson”
“The Lizard King”
“The Prowler”

“The Wedding”

The ‘Six Forgotten Warriors’ Arc:
“The Six Forgotten Warriors”
“Unclaimed Legacy”
“Secrets of the Six”
“The Six Fight Again”
“The Price of Heroism”

“The Return of Hydro Man Part 1”
“The Return of Hydro Man Part 2”

The ‘Secret Wars’ Arc:
“Arrival”
“The Gauntlet of the Red Skull”
“Doom”

The ‘Spider Wars’ Arc:
“I Really, Really Hate Clones”
“Farewell, Spiderman”

>Am I missing any?

Nope.

>Also, does anyone know if “Farewell, Spiderman” is the final episode? It’s a great episode but I hope they don’t end the series with Mary Jane and the original Green Goblin still missing.

“Farewell Spider-Man” was <my> last episode as producer/head-writer. I have a two-parter plotted for how Peter links back up with Mary Jane, but it’ll probably never see the light of day.

The original order was for 65 episodes. We thought they’d continue and go on to 100, (which was why I plotted the two-parter), but they fooled us and shut down the show at the height of its popularity. Clever them.

I think they think “Silver Surfer” is going to be a bigger hit, so we’ll see if they’re right.

As for me, I’m busy right now doing other stuff. But thanks for watching. I really am proud of the Spider-Man show and the work that <all> of the writing staff did..

John Semper

Producer/Writer

“Spider-Man”

P.S. This message is suitable for posting on network executives’ doors.

[10/03/99]
<<That alone is a telltale symptom of creative impotence on the part of animation writers, Scooby-Doo suffered from the same fate.>>

Comments like this are ignorant of the realities of animation production during that decade. In the eighties, cartoon writers had nothing to do with decisions that led to the creation of characters like Scrappy Doo. Those decisions were made exclusively by cartoon company executives and network executives. The writers were hemmed in by all sorts of stupid restrictions dictated by executive-types who didn’t have a clue how to write a grocery list, let alone a cartoon. Every word written was gone over by the network powers that be. As a cartoon writer of the eighties, I always take offense at the idea that we writers had control over anything. We had none, whatsoever. Period. We were constantly under the authority of an endless parade of genuinely stupid network executives who found themselves (sometimes rather inexplicably) in the position of telling us what to do, and many of them were learning the job as they were doing it. We knew more about cartoons than they did, but they were still in charge. Frequently, network execs would openly express great disdain for cartoons, which many of them had never watched or liked as kids. And they were all putting in their time working in the kids TV departments while hoping to “move up” to the more “prestigious” prime-time TV. ( In fact, the few that are still around are all now working for studios as live-action executives).

Look at the evidence. Many of the so-called “animation gods” of today that you all worship worked during that decade on a lot of that crap that you all hate so much. Just as they do today, they knew back then what a good cartoon was. So why weren’t they making them? Simple. They weren’t allowed the freedom to make one back then, because they had no control. None.

So don’t ever blame writers for that eighties crap. The writers all knew it was crap at the time, but it was what the executives wanted. Simply put, if you wanted to write cartoons back then, you had to do it the way they wanted.

John Semper
Producer: “Spider-Man”
Survivor of the eighties

[09/24/95]
To all Marvel, Spider-Man and X-Men fans:

Marvel animation history will be made on two consecutive Saturday mornings when the animated X-Men characters will be appearing on the animated SPIDER-MAN TV series on Fox. The dates are 9/30 and 10/7. This two-parter is actually chapters four and five of an ongoing fourteen part mini-series currently airing on the Spider-Man series entitled “NEOGENIC NIGHTMARE”.

This TEAM UP is not a brief cameo or small appearance. It is a full-blown team up between Spidey and the X-guys as they help Spidey solve one of the biggest challenges of his (animated) life.

Creative talents from X-MEN TAS joined with the creative staff of “Spider-Man” to make this event true to the spirit of both series. Don’t miss it! It’s only on SPIDER-MAN. It’s only on FOX! You have been warned!

John Semper

Producer/Writer: Spider-Man

Just a note to all you animated Spider-Man and animated X-Men fans out there. Over the next two Saturdays (9/30 and 10/7) the X-Men will be guest-starring on the Spider-Man TV series on Fox. The two-parter is actually chapters four and five of the ongoing fourteen part mini-series entitled “Neogenic Nightmare” that is currently airing on Spider-Man this season. It’s TV’s X-Men, exactly as they appear on their own hit series, joining Spidey in his. Hope you can make it. See ya!

John Semper

Producer/Writer: Spider-Man

[09/26/95]
>Isn’t this, like, the entire season? Why not go “all the way” and plan a Gargoyles/Exo-Squad/Babylon 5-like continuous flow of story?

We have gone “all the way”. The Spider-Man episodes are all continuous from this point on, even beyond “Neogenic Nightmare”. Actually, I wanted to start that way but production realities wouldn’t allow it.

>This line comes across, to me, like an ad for FOX. Is that your intent? [I think it’s the word “only”.]

Nah, I have no vested interest in advertising Fox. It is merely a point of clarification. I don’t want people looking for this on “Marvel Action Hour” which is a syndicated show across the nation. Some misinformed souls get Spidey confused with MAH, which is different.

[11/03/95]
: These may be the production numbers and not the order in which they should be viewed.
: Does anyone know for sure??

The production numbers for the episodes of the first season of “Spider-Man” are not in any way related to the order in which they should be viewed. The list in Marvel Age was in the correct order.

All episodes after season #1 have chapter headings and numbers to avoid this confusion. From season #2 on, the episodes are chapters in one continuous story which must be aired in correct order, like a giant mini-series.

Again, the production numbers were for internal use only and have no bearing on the order in which the episodes should be viewed.

John Semper

Producer “Spider-Man”