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
Release
Original network NBC
Original release 9 January – 28 August 1967

Captain Nice is an American comedy TV series that ran from 9 January 1967 to 28 August 1967 on NBC. The show was similar to CBS' Mr. Terrific, which aired right before Captain Nice on Monday nights. Reruns aired 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 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. He was christened Captain Nice on his first appearance by a bystander who noticed that his belt buckle was monogrammed "CN." On that occasion the explosion that transformed him blew off most of his clothes, leaving him in long underwear and with the remnants of his shirt suggesting a cape.

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, 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 the witch Esmerelda on Bewitched, and as neighbor Bernice on the comedy Designing Women.

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

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