Could Mr. Terrific appear on DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Ian K McLachlan]

One old television series that I remember is Mr. Terrific. So far it has not made its way onto DVD. Does anyone know if it might in the near future along with Captain Nice (which I have never seen). I have heard rumours that all of Mr. Terrific might not still exist. Does anyone know for certain please?

 

[wizard55]

Well I was able to tape 2 episodes of this series when they aired on Tvland and it was pretty interesting! lol. I wouldn't mind seeing it released on DVD. I never heard about episodes "not existing anymore". If anyone can spread some light on that bit...I'd be interested in hearing it as well.

 

[Matt Hough]

Both MR. TERRIFIC and CAPTAIN NICE were midseason replacements and each only lasted that one half a season before cancellation, so there aren't many episodes of either series to even preserve.

Of the two, I much preferred CAPTAIN NICE (made by the same folks who did GET SMART so it was much more satiric, and Alice Ghostley who played Williams Daniels' mom on NICE was always hysterical.)

 

[Bert Greene]

I caught one of the episodes of "Mr. Terrific" on TV-Land. A bit silly, but nonetheless colorful and easy-to-take. I think I read that the gent who played him died not too long ago. As for a dvd-release, yep, I'd grab it, but I do have an inordinate fondness and/or curiosity for vintage, short-lived series. Actually, a lot of them are quite good (although, ahem, I'm not quite ready to grant such an appraisal on the pill-popping "Mr. Terrific"). It's happened repeatedly that decent series often find themselves in killer time-slots, and can't overcome them, no matter the level of quality they offer. The small number of episodes for such series would make for such nice done-in-one dvd releases.

"Captain Nice" seemed a little more intriguing, especially due to William Daniels and Alice Ghostly. But, when viewing some, I grew a bit weary of how every character (other than Daniels, who played the bookish hero) had the same style of Maxwell Smart wisecracks. It was indeed like "Get Smart," but with EVERYONE except Daniels talking like Max. It didn't seem to really work out as well, with that approach. That is, the whole cast dropping those nonstop smart-alecky comments (even if they were pretty funny on occasion). Just my opinion, though.

 

[David Grove]

Since "Mr. Terrific" and "Captain Nice" were each partial seasons, and sort of the same offbeat kind of show, maybe they could be a single box set.

I remember (vaguely) watching several of each of them when they originally aired.

Which of these series had the father always sitting in an easy chair in the living room, and never really spoke any lines? And, sort of like a precursor to Wilson on Home Improvement, you never saw any of him except for maybe the top of his head, if even that (over the newspaper) and his hands (holding the newspaper). At least that's the shadowy image I have in my mind.

DG

 

[Ian K McLachlan]

Still no news of a possible release of this series on DVD....But when it was shown on TV Land does anyone know how many episodes were shown please? I believe that only 17 episodes were made - were they all kept? Thanks. Ian.

 

[Hank Dearborn]

Unless a show is "orphaned", of course it is kept. Universal owns the show so unless they go through a radical restructuring, they have shown zero interest in mining their vast 50s and 60s television catalog. Captain Nice, however, at least had some rerun exposure in the early 90s, running on WOR satellite service as well as HA. So at least we were able to record that show.


There is a re-edited Mr. Terrific movie called The Pill Caper, which is 4 episodes strung together. That ran a lot in the 80s.

 

[progrocktv]

It's being released on Region 2 in Germany (according to the description, English audio should be included as well)

Immer, wenn er Pillen nahm - Die komplette Serie Folgen 01-17: Amazon.de: Stephen Strimpell, John McGiver, Richard Gautier: DVD & Blu-ray

 

[Ian K McLachlan]

Great news. Thanks for letting me know. The print quality looks very good.

 

[Jon_Are]

I remember loving both of these (hey, I was nine years old!). I'd love to see them again.

Similarly, do y'all remember "Run, Buddy, Run"? This was another half-seasoner, in late '66-early '67.

I liked 'Buddy' even more than The Captain & Teriffic.

Jon

 

[wh5916]

That was Captain Nice. The character was the father of Carter Nash (aka "Captain Nice.") His lines typically consisted of little more than "yes, dear."

 

[Seaview7]

Stephen Strimpell gave an interview to Filmfax (or Outre) magazine around 2001, a really candid chat about how much he disliked working on the Mr. Terrific show but he was also very funny, a great wit. He died a few years ago.

 

[pitchman]

After reading this thread, I wandered over to YouTube, and sure enough, there are a few clips of both Mr. Terrific and Captain Nice available for viewing. Although I remember watching these short-lived series, I had no recollection that William Daniels was the lead in Captain Nice or that Buck Henry and Jay Sandrich (among others) were responsible for it. In hindsight, it looks like both of these 1967 series were designed to cash in on the runaway success of the 1966 campy Batman series, but they quickly faded into oblivion... And Batman followed them in early 1968.

 

[rcbrad]

I wonder if this would ever be released in the US? I guess many reasons why older shows do not get released are due to sales projections and the cost of preparing/restoring the show for dvd release. At least the show has already been transferred to disc and is available in english. I would rather buy it in the US as it would be less expensive and I would like the package to be in English.
I guess if the price was really good, I may buy it from outside the US.

 

[DeWilson]

Perhaps it was a cult hit in Germany?

 

[cajunhillbilly]

Is there a way to translate the German to English at the German amazon site?

 

[cajunhillbilly]

I remember all 3 shows. They were great little comedies. Would love to see them again.

 

[Seaview7]

One noteworthy thing about Mr. Terrific is that it didn't do badly during its brief run on CBS in the ratings. If you look at the 1966-67 ratings list (compiled by AC Nielsen for all 90 shows that year), Mr. Terrific ranked a healthy 36th - ahead of The Invaders (39) F Troop (40), UNCLE (42), Lost in Space (44), Gilligan's Island (49), The Fugitive (50), Star Trek (52), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (63), Girl from UNCLE (70), Time Tunnel (76), etc.

 

[progrocktv]

Not that I saw, hoerver I used

Yahoo! Babel Fish - Text Translation and Web Page Translation

which helped me stumble around enough to be able to order it. Apparently the series aired a couple of times on a cable channel over there.

 

[Rob_Ray]

I'd buy the complete box set of Captain Nice. It's spooky how much Ann Prentiss looks and sounds like her sister, Paula. I never heard that they were twins, but they could almost pass for them.
***
"Mother, what would you do if I told you that I have discovered a way to take on the characteristics of a giant bird?"

"I think I'd lay down some newspapers." -- William Daniels and Alice Ghostley in "Captain Nice."