more than a pastime than reading comics. Mark was inspired by Spider-Man's alter ego, Peter Parker. The series was in pre-production for two years and took a year and a half to complete the first season. Matt Ficner designed the computer-generated characters for the series and also provided the voices of Zip and Snip in the first season. The series was shot in Toronto in 2001 between 23 June and 22 November of that year. Reception According to the 2003–2004 annual review of BBC Worldwide's children's products, the series was a success and translated into different languages and forty countries, gaining high ratings in the United States on DIC Kids Network. The series received 1.2 million viewers on average during the first season's airing in the United Kingdom. However, a social argument occurred in 2004 regarding the series' content in relation to the Children's Television Act. Children's television analyst Dale Kunkel, a communication professor at the University of Arizona, described the series and Stargate Infinity as "anti-social". The opinions were shared by the activist groups of the United Church of Christ and Center of Digital Democracy, viewing both programmes as violent. Former CEO of DIC Entertainment, Andy Heyward, defended Ace Lightning, taking the educational requirement very seriously for each episode. Heyward also had the support of Donald F. Roberts, who believed the descriptions given by the activists "mischaracterizes" the series they were attacking. Video game adaptation A video game adaptation titled Ace Lightning was released on PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, and Game Boy Advance on 25 October 2002. The game was developed by Absolute Studios and Tiertex Design Studios, and published by BBC Worldwide's game division, Gamezlab. It was only released in Europe. References External links 2002 British television series debuts 2004 British television series endings 2000s British children's television series BBC children's television shows British children's action television series British television series with live action and animation English-language television shows 2002 video games Action video games Europe-exclusive video games Game Boy Advance games PlayStation 2 games Windows games Superhero television series Television series by Alliance Atlantis Television series by BBC Studios Television shows set in the United States Television shows filmed in Toronto