Last TV show you watched

[Ditchy McAbandonpants]

The Spectacular Spider-Man's "Persona"; my LORD, this show is SO GOOD!

I've mentioned a couple of times how in awe I am of this cartoon, but I don't really feel as though I've done it justice, so I'm just going to throw it out there: this is, in my eyes, the single best adaptation of Spider-Man ever made. Every character I've ever loved is here, acted and characterised perfectly; every theme I've ever recognised and identified with is here, explored in a fresh and intelligent way; everything, frankly, that's ever been fun and awesome about Spider-Man and his universe is represented here with glorious colour, sparkling wit and ass-kicking slickness.

My hat is fully off to Greg "Gargoyles" Weisman and his team; not only do they know their Spidey inside-out and back-to-front, they are absolute masters of edge-of-the-seat serialised story-telling, with every second layering on extra levels of intrigue, setup and reward, often beyond what even seems possible. Today's "Persona" was a case in point: we had the symbiote discovery, tangles with Black Cat, a caper with Chameleon, Quentin Beck and Phineas Mason AND the establishment of the black suit, not to mention key character development for Jameson, Flash, Capt. Stacy, Dr Connors and Aunt May. It's five times what any of the live-action films took on, even the garbled mess that was Spider-Man 3, in barely one-eighth of the running time, and did it miss even a single beat? No chance; it was smooth, breathless and unrelentingly enjoyable.

What else can I say? This show has me wrapped around its little finger, and I can't wait to see where it goes next. I absolutely, wholeheartedly recommend that anyone with the slightest interest in Spider-Man, or the superhero genre, or even just a taste for good, rollocking adventure stories, go and check out this...well, spectacular cartoon as soon as possible. You won't regret it; that's a "Ditchy Guarantee"*.

* - as opposed to a legitimate, binding guarantee.