Captain Nice

I watched the reruns of this lost TV series few years ago and I've to say isn't that bad. Of course is dated, most of it is completely non-sense and it's clearly a low cost production but it's still watchable, it's possible to find several good moments and... I really like Captain Nice costume!

The pairing of Williams Daniels, an early king of sarcasm and snark, and Buck Henry, co-creator of Get Smart, seemed a perfect match to warp the image of the stalwart superhero. I don't remember much about the show, except it started off strong, writing-wise ... then seemed to peter out, becoming family friendly and silly, eventually being canceled early (15 episodes back then, more than most current shows single season!). I do remember one of my all-time my favorite lines from a comedy show. Now, I'm paraphrasing here, but I recall an exchange between Capt Nice and an outraged spectator: Bystander: You can't arrest that man! Captain Nice: This is a democracy .... we can arrest anyone we want. With Buck Henry behind the wheel, this could've been the best show ever, at the time. Still, it had it's moments. Worth a watch!

Back then we appreciated almost anything with a 'kid theme', especially in the evening. There were a few tantalizing bits thrown at us back then, Top Cat and Bugs Bunny were prime time a few years earlier. But to have a whole non-animated series devoted to being able to drink a potion, ala NICE or eat a pill, as in Mr. Terrific and become super, now that was GREAT FUN. After all these years I remember Captain Nice leaping from a van where in the dark he dressed in culottes and the time the secret formula dripped into a gutter to powerize a 'HIC-BOOM' worm. Even then I knew it was cheap, but I watched it, right after Mr. Terrific.

I was about 16 when the show premiered and already a fan of comic book superheroes and comedy, so I HAD to watch this show. And I LOVED it. A shame it only ran one season.

What I also remember that in the promotion of the show, there was this great comic book art poster drawn by the legendary Jack Kirby of Marvel Comics fame but I only saw it on TV. I would love to own a copy of it if it exists anywhere.

One of the things I remember was a running gag used by the writers. The Commissioner (played by Liam Dunn, a thin balding older man, famous for being a comic foil in many Mel Brooks films) would say something like, "Don't tell me the bank was robbed again" to which the chief would echo the words, "The bank was robbed again." Then Dunn would say with great exasperation. "I asked you not to tell me that." It still makes me laugh today. Even fellow schoolmates would echo this gag.

With great comic talent like Alice Ghostly and Liam Dunn as backup, and on the heels of the ultra campy Batman series (which I hated at the time for making a mockery of a great comic book hero) it should have been a huge hit.

The public! Go figure.

I vaguely remember this show. Of course, I was only ten when it was on, and our TV watching was limited. But I remember William Daniels was in it, as this hapless superhero. And he would use some potion to give himself superpowers - which were temporary. I seem to remember an episode where his powers dissipated when he was in the middle of something, like flying, and he had to quickly take more.

I had mostly forgotten about this show until my favorite, St Elsewhere, came on. Then the familiarity of William Daniels voice brought it back.

It was a humorous show, like "It's about Time," and didn't lend itself to scary dreams like the shows Chiller or The Outer Limits did.