A season finale, a Josh Keaton quote, & summer plans for "The Spectacular Spider-Man"

School's almost out ... the seasons continue to change ... the Lakers are toast ... yes, all good things do come to an end -- but it's nice to know they'll all be back AND better than ever. Well, we hope the Lakers will improve. But "better than ever" is definitely the case for "The Spectacular Spider-Man," which ends its first season with an all-new, action-packed episode entitled "Nature vs. Nurture" this Saturday, June 14 at 10:00 a.m. ET/PT on CW4Kids.

Coincidentally, "The Spectacular Spider-Man" voice cast recorded its final episode of the series' second season on Thursday, June 12 -- culminating another 13-episode arc that promises more familiar characters, unprecedented action and shocking twists than viewers can begin to imagine (though message board participants have certainly outdone themselves in their speculation). Even the cast -- which includes self-professed comic book geeks like Josh Keaton (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), James Arnold Taylor (Harry Osborne), Steve Blum (Green Goblin, Chameleon) -- admitted they were caught off-guard when reading the script prior to entering the recording booth.

"This show has actually gotten me watching Saturday morning cartoons again," Keaton said. "I'm in front of the TV with my bowl of cereal every Saturday morning and, even though I'm about 13 episodes ahead of everyone else – I already know what's going to happen – I still love
waking up and watching because it's so much fun to see how it all comes together. And if you liked the first season, well I'll say this: You may think you know what happened in the first season, but the second season is going to change all that. Prepare to be surprised."

"Nature vs. Nurture" opens on Thanksgiving as Aunt May Parker is released from the hospital – but Venom has no intention of letting May and Peter Parker enjoy a family celebration. Knowing all of Spider-Man's secrets – even some Pete isn't consciously aware of – Venom threatens to destroy Pete and everyone he loves most. Will Pete embrace his destiny in time to defeat this new arch-nemesis?

"Nature vs. Nurture" is written by Kevin Hopps and directed by series producer/supervising director Victor Cook.

Prior to the premiere of "Nature vs. Nurture," CW4Kids will air a repeat of "Persona" at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT.

"The Spectacular Spider-Man" was the top-rated broadcast network series last Saturday, June 7, continuing to build on its already significant ratings (according to Nielsen). Those ratings have grown with the premiere of each original episode this season, easily trumping the competition -- which is now taking the if-you-can't-beat-'em approach. As further testament to the series' drawing power, the 9:30 a.m. "The Spectacular Spider-Man" encore presentation was the second-most watched show among broadcast network series last week.

Starting next Saturday, June 21, CW4Kids will make some changes to its lineup -- although "The Spectacular Spider-Man" will remain unchanged, airing each Saturday morning at 9:30 & 10:00 a.m. Moreover, CW4Kids will air the entire 13-episode first season in order -- two episodes at a time, and running for seven consecutive weeks.

Joining the lineup are three highly-rated series from another network: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fast Forward," "Chaotic" and "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX," and triumphantly returning to the CW4Kids lineup is the five-time Emmy Award winning series "The Batman."

For June and July, the CW4Kids schedule will air each Saturday as follows:

7:00 a.m. -- Will & Dewitt
7:30 a.m. -- Magi-Nation
8:00 a.m. -- Tom and Jerry Tales
8:30 a.m. -- Tom and Jerry Tales
9:00 a.m. -- Chaotic
9:30 a.m. -- The Spectacular Spider-Man
10:00 a.m. -- The Spectacular Spider-Man
10:30 a.m. -- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fast Forward
11:00 a.m. -- Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
11:30 a.m. -- The Batman