Simon Dunn

Scriptwriter and Comedian

Quark and Captain Nice

Buck Henry won an Academy Award for his screenplay for The Graduate, and co-created the smash hit TV show Get Smart with Mel Brooks. In amongst that though, he created two much more short-lived shows, Quark and Captain Nice.

Quark aired as a mid-season replacement on NBC in February of 1978, and was cancelled less than three months and eight episodes later. It starred Richard Benjamin, as the commander of a trash collecting space ship.

As you can see from the title sequence, it was a clear parody of Star Trek – listen again to the music – as well as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars.

It’s on DVD and YouTube if you want to see it for yourself.

A decade earlier, Henry tried his luck with Captain Nice, which happened to air at the same time as CBS’s Mr. Terrific (well, half an hour before it actually).

Here’s a promo for the show too:

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