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Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Episode Review

Episode #110, "Flash Memory"
Original Episode Airdate - August 29th, 2003
Remedial twins, Jack and Mack rob an armored car then throttle up their motorcycles for a clean getaway until Spider-Man intervenes. However Spider-Man is surprised at how smart Jack and Mack were in plotting the robbery. At the Empire State University campus Flash Thompson flaunts the fact to Mary-Jane Watson that he doesn't have to study anymore because he has landed himself a tutor. What a surprise when Flash learns that his tutor is actually Dr. Zellner who is actively testing his new "smart drug" - the first subjects being Jack and Mack - with substantially impaired IQs. Flash's fame evolves from athleticism to intellectualism as he charms members of the female student body with his wit and knowledge of everything from American Literature to a bilingual recitation of Shakespeare. However, soon it becomes obvious that there are physical side effects of this smart serum. DR. Zellner is stumped as to why this is occurring and decides that he find an antidote via a more intelligent candidate Peter Parker! Jack and Mack continue to have Dr. Zellner pump them full of the "smart drug" in an effort to pull off more elaborate crimes that only Spider-Man stop along with rescuing Flash from Dr. Zellner.

Credits
Screenplay By: Whip Lipsey, Scott Lipsey
Directed By: Tim Elerad
Music By: John Digweed, Nick Muir and William Anderson
Animation By: Mainframe
Guest Starring: Jeffrey Combs as Dr. Zellar, David Delouse as Mack and Jack., Devon Sawa as Flash Thompson, Angelle Brooks as Indy.



Review and Media by Stu:
This episode finally sees another character introduced, or re-introduced in this show, as Flash Thompson finally makes his small screen presence found carrying on from the movie.

Thankfully, Flash he was nothing like his awful dull one-dimensional movie counter-part, who simply hated Parker for the hell of it, here Flash doesn't like smart people at all. He's still about as 3d as a sheet of cardboard in this series, only he's pretty amusing to watch. It's done in a very, very stupid manner, of course.

The villain was something a little bit more original than some of the previous offerings, he actually reminded me of The Scarecrow from Batman: The Animated Series, which may be what the producers wanted as they are both voiced by the same person. Zeller was experimenting the effects of trying to make stupid people (Flash) into geniuses. Jeffrey Combs once against proves that he is the master of voicing creepy/weird characters, only this time he's not obsessed with boy-bands.

The twins were lame, there's no denying it. Despite some clever dialogue after they become intelligent, they were simply dull. There designs weren't anything special compared to the other villains we've seen, their voice work wasn't anything that stood out and there motive was lacking once again. Good thing Zellar made up for these too.

Mary Jane seemed a little off in this episode, I'm not sure why she was so drawn to Flash, as he treated her like a jerk in high school, and they used to be engaged, if the press releases about this show being tied into the movie are right. There are far too many inconsistencies to believe that this show is tied into the movie. This is simply another to add to the list.

The episode wasn't short of its amusing moments, particularly Spider-Man being injected with so much morphine that his webs kept screwing up, and just how much of a dumb ass Flash actually is. Indy popped by, but she wasn't as annoying in this episode as she is in most, I even got a chuckle out of when she got out-scooped. She even served a purpose other than being Peters 'other' girl, the foil for the MJ relationship. She actually proved useful in this episode too, as she helped Spider-Man capture the villain, in what was again, a beautifully animated fight on the train. The lighting style really brings a lot of life to these characters, especially how the animators shade the characters and how they use the shadows. It makes for some great looking models; it animates well, and offers a little something to the eye.

Overall, the episode was enjoyable, even if you're just looking for a laugh, or you want to see some damn nice animation from Mainframe. Once again, nothing too deep, but ... we are talking about an episode focused on Flash here.

Screenshots







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