Captain Nice
Captain Nice | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy |
Created by | Buck Henry |
Starring |
William Daniels Alice Ghostley Ann Prentiss |
Theme music composer | Vic Mizzy |
Composer(s) |
Vic Mizzy Jerry Fielding |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 15 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Buck Henry |
Producer(s) | Jay Sandrich |
Location(s) | Paramount Studios |
Cinematography | W. Wallace Kelley |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company(s) | NBC Productions |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | NBC |
Original run | 9 January 1967 – 28 August 1967 |
Captain Nice is an American comedy TV series that ran from 9 January 1967 to 28 August 1967 on NBC. Reruns on Ha! (Comedy Central) in 1991.
Plot
Riding the tide of the camp superhero craze of the 1960s, the show's premise involved police chemist Carter Nash (William Daniels), a mild-mannered mama's boy who discovered a secret formula that, when taken, transformed him in an explosive burst of smoke into Captain Nice.
Captain Nice didn't behave much differently from Carter. In fact, the good Captain ran around in a white, red, and blue pajama-like costume complete with cape lovingly sewn by his domineering mother who had basically bullied him into his crime-fighting career. Carter selected the name "Captain Nice" since he already had items monogrammed "CN." His superpowers included superhuman strength, invulnerability and the ability to fly, but he was nervous about doing the latter as he was afraid of heights, and his natural clumsiness was increased exponentially whenever he drank his super serum.
Carter had a would-be girlfriend in the police department, beautiful young meter maid Sgt. Candy Kane, although he seemed mostly oblivious to her obvious attentions.
Production
The series was created by Buck Henry, who was a co-creator of the hit series Get Smart. The show's premise is similar to that of CBS's Mister Terrific, which preceded Captain Nice on Monday nights.
Ann Prentiss, younger sister of actress Paula and sister-in-law of actor Richard Benjamin, played Candy.
Alice Ghostley played Carter's mother. She later won fame as neighbor Bernice on the comedy Designing Women. She also played the klutzy nanny Esmerelda on Bewitched.
Carter's father, never seen in face, was portrayed by one of the movies' most prolific character actors, Byron Foulger. In a reverse of Foulger's ubiquity and familiarity in movies, his appearances in this series generally found him hidden behind a newspaper and not making a sound.
Episode list
Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate | Short Summary |
---|---|---|---|
1-1 | "The Man Who Flies Like A Pigeon" (pilot) | January 9, 1967 | Carter tries to explain the importance of his new formula. |
1-2 | "How Sheik Can You Get?" | January 16, 1967 | Captain Nice helps rescue a woman from Sheik Abdul. |
1-3 | "That Thing" | January 23, 1967 | Caterpillar develops a ravenous appetite and super powers when it accidentally drinks Nice's secret formula. |
1-4 | "That Was the Bridge That Was" | February 6, 1967 | Carter searches for con artists who built a faulty bridge and kidnapped Mayor Finley. |
1-5 | "The Man With Three Blue Eyes" | February 20, 1967 | A mentalist is kidnapped by thugs who think he can find a fortune in stolen money. |
1-6 | "Is Big Town Burning?" | February 27, 1967 | Carter risks being unmasked as Captain Nice in order to reveal the identity of an arsonist. |
1-7 | "Don't Take Any Wooden Indians" | March 6, 1967 | Captain Nice prevents a disgruntled explorer from murdering his benefactor. |
1-8 | "That's What Mothers Are For" | March 13, 1967 | Carter is dismissed in an economy move and Mrs. Nash retaliates by stealing his costume. |
1-9 | "Whatever Lola Wants" | March 20, 1967 | While trying to stop a jailbreak, Captain Nice is slipped a pill that makes him appear intoxicated. |
1-10 | "Who's Afraid Of Amanda Woolf?" | March 27, 1967 | Captain Nice breaks up a potential massacre, so in retaliation, the gang invades the Nash home. |
1-11 | "The Week They Stole Payday" | April 3, 1967 | Carter discovers that the Bigtown payroll has been replaced with counterfeit money. |
1-12 | "It Tastes Okay, But Something's Missing" | April 10, 1967 | Carter Nash lacks the secret formula he needs to turn into Captain Nice in order to prevent a robbery. |
1-13 | "May I Have The Last Dance?" | April 17, 1967 | Carter and Sergeant Kane are captured by fur thieves. |
1-14 | "One Rotten Apple" | April 24, 1967 | A nightclub owner (played by Bob Newhart) must be protected from potential killers. |
1-15 | "Beware Of Hidden Prophets" | May 1, 1967 | Carter is fired when a quack mentalist predicts a criminal will escape from jail. |
External links
- Captain Nice at the Internet Movie Database
- Captain Nice Program Intro at YouTube