From that long, long list of TV shows that came and went quickly but which should have stuck around for a while, we bring you Captain Nice, created by Buck Henry, no doubt capitalizing on the "heat" he had in the business due to the success of Get Smart. The title role was played by William Daniels and the series debuted on NBC on January 9, 1967 — the very same night that another super-hero parody sitcom, Mr. Terrific, debuted on CBS. Both were pretty clever shows, though I liked Captain Nice better. (If all goes well, we'll be featuring Mr. Terrific tomorrow in this space.)
Captain Nice went off in May of 1967 and the fifteen episodes were barely rerun thereafter. I have a 93rd generation VHS tape of a few episodes and they hold up pretty well. The series also starred Ann Prentiss (Paula's sister), Byron Foulger and the wondrous Alice Ghostley. A few years ago, I directed Alice on a cartoon series and she looked exactly the same as she did in '67 and she was even funnier.
This is the first four minutes of what I believe was the first episode of Captain Nice, including the opening titles. I don't know this for a fact but I have the feeling that this gag was shot as a quickie pilot/demo and that the network bought the series from it. (NBC bought Get Smart off one scene — the one of Maxwell Smart and The Chief trying to discuss a mission inside The Cone of Silence.) Perhaps I'm wrong about this. I may also be wrong but I think that's Buck Henry doing the narration and I'm pretty sure that in the theme song, one can hear our old friend Dick Beals doing the kid's voice. Have a look and then come back here tomorrow for Mr. Terrific. Thanks to Stan Tychinski for the suggestion.
