STAGE TUBE: Post-Reviews, SPIDER-MAN Tagged 'National Joke'

After many major newspapers published their reviews for SPIDER-MAN Turn Off the Dark on Tuesday, other major news outlets are picking up on the buzz: the $65 million (and counting) spectacle was essentially lambasted across the board.

With a headline that screamed "THE NATIONAL JOKE", NBC's The Today Show spoke with critic Ben Brantley and producer Michael Cohl, and had a look at the reviews, saying "[The reviewers note that] the show is 'hanging on by a thread'...'laughable'...and these are the good ones."

New York Times critic Ben Brantley, whose review was perhaps the harshest, told The Today Show: "It just unravels before your eyes, and you wonder, where did all that money go?"

The story also touched upon the injuries suffered by some of the actors in the production - four in total - however, producer Michael Cohl also spoke out, saying that "They're all recovering. We're in previews...it's way better than it was two months ago."

Still, despite the reviews, SPIDER-MAN is doing well in sales, consistently finishing among the top sellers for weekly grosses. Brantley thinks he knows the reason for the success - "People are hoping they'll see a 'Boy Fall From the Sky'. Literally."