Occasionally rival networks have put out television shows that mirror each other in their design or plot. The most notable example was the joint appearance of THE MUNSTERS and THE ADDAMS FAMILY on rival stations in the middle 1960s. That was a rarity though - both shows were funny and maintain audience affections to this day. But about the same time two shows comedies appeared that both had the same concept. Both dealt with the secret life of a superhero (like Batman or Superman, both of which had been turned into successful television series). But in the two shows CAPTAIN NICE and MR. TERRIFIC, the idea was lampooned. William Daniels ("Captain Nice") and Stanley Strimpell ("Mr. Terrific") were shown as drudge-like nice guys in the course of their normal lives, who suddenly took on the heroism of Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman in their "public" lives (complete with capes and odd costumes.
Daniels would, eventually, put together a first rate career in stage and film (as John Adams in 1776) and television (as "Dr. Mark Craig" in ST. ELSWHERE) while Strimpell would languish somehow only in supporting parts and stage work. For neither could their joint efforts at comic heroism in 1967 be more than a matter of mild interest to most viewers. The fact was that both CAPTAIN NICE and MR. TERRIFIC were not well written series. They were doomed from the start.
So, if they were equally mediocre, why do I write this about CAPTAIN NICE, and not about MR. TERRIFIC? It's because I actually recall seeing this episode (I can't recall anything from MR. TERRIFIC at all, even though John McGiver was in some of the shows and I liked that porcine actor). This episode also had an actor I liked in it - John Fiedler. And for once the casting was good.
Fiedler, small and mouse-like usually (a performance as "Jack the Ripper" in a Star Trek episode was a weird exception to the norm for him), plays a hit man hired to try to kill Captain Nice with his machine gun. He kidnaps several people (including the Chief of Police and Nice's girlfriend) to lure him into a deadly trap.
In the end he and his cohorts miscalculate on one point: bullets bounce off Nice's body due to his invincibility powers. They ricochet, and hit the bad guys (including Fiedler). Throughout the episode Fiedler keeps showing a morose conscience about the evil he has to commit. Before he collapses from the bullets he looks at the camera and says, "I'm my own worst enemy!"
One wishes (given that Fiedler's performance was typically good) that the writing had been better. it wasn't. For John Fiedler (and William Daniel) I am giving this a "5". Without both of them, I'd be hard pressed to go beyond a "2" (if I had bothered to remember the episode at all!).
Daniels would, eventually, put together a first rate career in stage and film (as John Adams in 1776) and television (as "Dr. Mark Craig" in ST. ELSWHERE) while Strimpell would languish somehow only in supporting parts and stage work. For neither could their joint efforts at comic heroism in 1967 be more than a matter of mild interest to most viewers. The fact was that both CAPTAIN NICE and MR. TERRIFIC were not well written series. They were doomed from the start.
So, if they were equally mediocre, why do I write this about CAPTAIN NICE, and not about MR. TERRIFIC? It's because I actually recall seeing this episode (I can't recall anything from MR. TERRIFIC at all, even though John McGiver was in some of the shows and I liked that porcine actor). This episode also had an actor I liked in it - John Fiedler. And for once the casting was good.
Fiedler, small and mouse-like usually (a performance as "Jack the Ripper" in a Star Trek episode was a weird exception to the norm for him), plays a hit man hired to try to kill Captain Nice with his machine gun. He kidnaps several people (including the Chief of Police and Nice's girlfriend) to lure him into a deadly trap.
In the end he and his cohorts miscalculate on one point: bullets bounce off Nice's body due to his invincibility powers. They ricochet, and hit the bad guys (including Fiedler). Throughout the episode Fiedler keeps showing a morose conscience about the evil he has to commit. Before he collapses from the bullets he looks at the camera and says, "I'm my own worst enemy!"
One wishes (given that Fiedler's performance was typically good) that the writing had been better. it wasn't. For John Fiedler (and William Daniel) I am giving this a "5". Without both of them, I'd be hard pressed to go beyond a "2" (if I had bothered to remember the episode at all!).