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Mr. Terrific (TV series)

October 18, 2023

Mr. Terrific is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS on Mondays at 8:00 p.m., from January 9 to August 28, 1967. Stephen Strimpell starred in the title role. A similar series on NBC, Captain Nice, also aired that season on Mondays, at 8:30 p.m.

Mr. Terrific
GenreSitcom
Directed byByron Chudnow
Arthur Lubin
Jack Arnold
StarringStephen Strimpell
Dick Gautier
Paul Smith
John McGiver
Voices ofPaul Frees
Theme music composerGerald Fried
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes17 (+1 unaired pilot)
Production
Executive producerJack Arnold
ProducerBudd Grossman
Running time25 minutes
Production companyUniversal Television
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseJanuary 9 (1967-01-09) –
May 8, 1967 (1967-05-08)

The show was an attempt to capitalize on the "camp superhero" craze sparked by the success of the 1966 Batman TV series.[1]

Premise Edit

Riding the tide of the camp superhero craze of the 1960s, the show's premise involved gas station attendant Stanley Beamish (Strimpell), a mild-mannered scrawny youth who secretly worked to fight crime for a government organization, "The Bureau of Secret Projects," in Washington. All he needed to do was to take a "power pill" which gave him the strength of a thousand men and enabled him to fly, much like Superman, albeit by furious flapping while wearing the top half of a wingsuit. To the often-lamented misfortune of the Bureau of Secret Projects, he was the only person on whom the pills worked. It was established that, although the pill would give him high strength levels, he was still vulnerable to bullets. Furthermore, each power pill had a time limit of one hour (like Underdog and DC Comics's Hourman), although he generally had two 10-minute booster pills available per episode. Much of the show's humor revolved around the tendency of the amiable yet gullible Beamish to lose Mr. Terrific's powers at inopportune times, before he completed his given assignment.

Beamish's government employers were Mr. Barton J. Reed and Mr. Harley Trent, and his day-job partner at the service station was Hal Walters. Beamish was sworn to secrecy concerning his alter-ego and super-powers.

Alan Young, who had just completed his run as Wilbur Post on Mister Ed, was the original choice to play Stanley H. Beamish, and appeared in the original 1966 unaired version of the pilot, which featured a different supporting cast (Edward Andrews as The Chief, All Checco as Dr. Kramer, Dick Merrifield as Tony Lawrence, Sheilah Wells as Gloria Dickinson, and Jesse White as Mr. Finney).

Cast members Edit

Episode list Edit

Episode # Episode title Original airdate Plot
1-1 "Matchless" January 9, 1967 Mr. Terrific must locate the inventor of a hotly-pursued Power Paralysis device, unaware that the device is concealed in a book of matches in his coat pocket.
1-2 "Mr. Big Curtsies Out" January 16, 1967 Stanley is assigned to locate and identify an elusive and mysterious crime boss known only as "Mr. Big" — who turns out to be a woman.
1-3 "I Can't Fly" January 23, 1967 When a distress call arrives about a malfunctioning Air Force One that Mr. Terrific could repair easily, Stanley discovers that his power pills inexplicably have stopped working.
1-4 "My Partner, the Jewel Thief" January 30, 1967 Concerned that Stanley's behavior suggests that Stanley may be turning into a criminal, Hal decides to block Stanley from any wrongdoing — and keeps getting in the way of Stanley stopping a major jewel heist.
1-5 "The Formula Is Stolen" February 6, 1967 Spies steal Mr. Terrific′s power-pill formula, and because the pills only work on Stanley, the thieves also need to kidnap Stanley, brainwash him, and sell him to the highest bidder.
1-6 "Stanley the Safecracker" February 20, 1967 The government sends Stanley on a mission to catch a crime gang that requires him to impersonate a safecracker who looks exactly like him, fool the man's girlfriend, and somehow convince the gang that he knows how to break into bank vaults.
1-7 "Stanley the Fighter" February 27, 1967 Stanley goes undercover as a boxer to obtain evidence that a gymnasium is actually a front for a counterfeiting ring.
1-8 "Stanley the Jailbreaker" March 6, 1967 To find out where $2 million in stolen money is hidden, Stanley goes undercover as "Slippery Sloan" to help bank robber "Blackjack" Clayton escape from prison so that Clayton will trust Stanley enough to tell him where the money is.
1-9 "Fly, Ballerina, Fly" March 13, 1967 Stanley poses as a ballet dancer to help a Soviet prima ballerina defect to the United States, but he grabs the wrong woman. Barrie Chase guest-stars.
1-10 "Harley and the Killer" March 20, 1967 Stanley tries to protect Harley Trent after an escaped murderer vows to kill Trent for prosecuting him.
1-11 "Stanley and the Mountaineers" March 27, 1967 Stanley is assigned to infiltrate a family of mountain moonshiners, and Hal ends up headed for a shotgun wedding.
1-12 "Has Mr. Terrific Sold Out?" April 3, 1967 When a dignitary visits, enemy agents abduct Stanley, and Reed and Trent are concerned that he might betray the United States and its allies for his own financial gain.
1-13 "Stanley Goes To the Dentist" April 10, 1967 Stanley goes undercover to investigate a dentist who seems to be successfully prying U. S. Government secrets from normally reliable agents.
1-14 "Stanley the Track Star" April 17, 1967 Stanley is assigned to learn the location of a U. S. track and field champion enemy agents have kidnapped.
1-15 "Try This On For Spies" April 24, 1967 Stanley is assigned to let the enemy get their hands on fake plans for a missile system, but a mix-up causes him to give them the actual plans, and he must figure out a way to get them back.
1-16 "Stanley Joins the Circus" May 1, 1967 Stanley goes undercover as a circus strongman to discover which of the show's performers stole a government code book and to get the book back.
1-17 "The Sultan Has Five Wives" May 8, 1967 Stanley is assigned to discreetly protect the polygamous sultan of an oil-rich Middle Eastern nation.

The Pill Caper Edit

  • Episodes 1, 3, 5 and 9 of Mr. Terrific were edited together and combined with new footage filmed in 1967 to create a movie titled The Pill Caper, which was released in 1967. Hal Smith has a cameo in The Pill Caper as a passenger on a train.

DVD release Edit

The entire 17-episode series of Mr. Terrific was released commercially on DVD by Ufa/DVD in Germany under the title Immer wenn er Pillen nahm (Whenever He Took Pills) on July 17, 2009. The episodes can be heard in the original English, or in German.

References Edit

  1. ^ Wells, John (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 146. ISBN 978-1605490557.

External links Edit

  • Mister Terrific at IMDb
  • Episode list

October 18, 2023
terrific, series, terrific, american, television, sitcom, that, aired, mondays, from, january, august, 1967, stephen, strimpell, starred, title, role, similar, series, captain, nice, also, aired, that, season, mondays, terrificgenresitcomdirected, bybyron, chu. Mr Terrific is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS on Mondays at 8 00 p m from January 9 to August 28 1967 Stephen Strimpell starred in the title role A similar series on NBC Captain Nice also aired that season on Mondays at 8 30 p m Mr TerrificGenreSitcomDirected byByron ChudnowArthur LubinJack ArnoldStarringStephen Strimpell Dick Gautier Paul SmithJohn McGiverVoices ofPaul FreesTheme music composerGerald FriedCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons1No of episodes17 1 unaired pilot ProductionExecutive producerJack ArnoldProducerBudd GrossmanRunning time25 minutesProduction companyUniversal TelevisionReleaseOriginal networkCBSOriginal releaseJanuary 9 1967 01 09 May 8 1967 1967 05 08 The show was an attempt to capitalize on the camp superhero craze sparked by the success of the 1966 Batman TV series 1 Contents 1 Premise 2 Cast members 3 Episode list 4 The Pill Caper 5 DVD release 6 References 7 External linksPremise EditRiding the tide of the camp superhero craze of the 1960s the show s premise involved gas station attendant Stanley Beamish Strimpell a mild mannered scrawny youth who secretly worked to fight crime for a government organization The Bureau of Secret Projects in Washington All he needed to do was to take a power pill which gave him the strength of a thousand men and enabled him to fly much like Superman albeit by furious flapping while wearing the top half of a wingsuit To the often lamented misfortune of the Bureau of Secret Projects he was the only person on whom the pills worked It was established that although the pill would give him high strength levels he was still vulnerable to bullets Furthermore each power pill had a time limit of one hour like Underdog and DC Comics s Hourman although he generally had two 10 minute booster pills available per episode Much of the show s humor revolved around the tendency of the amiable yet gullible Beamish to lose Mr Terrific s powers at inopportune times before he completed his given assignment Beamish s government employers were Mr Barton J Reed and Mr Harley Trent and his day job partner at the service station was Hal Walters Beamish was sworn to secrecy concerning his alter ego and super powers Alan Young who had just completed his run as Wilbur Post on Mister Ed was the original choice to play Stanley H Beamish and appeared in the original 1966 unaired version of the pilot which featured a different supporting cast Edward Andrews as The Chief All Checco as Dr Kramer Dick Merrifield as Tony Lawrence Sheilah Wells as Gloria Dickinson and Jesse White as Mr Finney Cast members EditStanley Beamish Mister Terrific Stephen Strimpell Barton J Reed John McGiver Hal Walters Dick Gautier Harley Trent Paul Smith Episode list EditEpisode Episode title Original airdate Plot1 1 Matchless January 9 1967 Mr Terrific must locate the inventor of a hotly pursued Power Paralysis device unaware that the device is concealed in a book of matches in his coat pocket 1 2 Mr Big Curtsies Out January 16 1967 Stanley is assigned to locate and identify an elusive and mysterious crime boss known only as Mr Big who turns out to be a woman 1 3 I Can t Fly January 23 1967 When a distress call arrives about a malfunctioning Air Force One that Mr Terrific could repair easily Stanley discovers that his power pills inexplicably have stopped working 1 4 My Partner the Jewel Thief January 30 1967 Concerned that Stanley s behavior suggests that Stanley may be turning into a criminal Hal decides to block Stanley from any wrongdoing and keeps getting in the way of Stanley stopping a major jewel heist 1 5 The Formula Is Stolen February 6 1967 Spies steal Mr Terrific s power pill formula and because the pills only work on Stanley the thieves also need to kidnap Stanley brainwash him and sell him to the highest bidder 1 6 Stanley the Safecracker February 20 1967 The government sends Stanley on a mission to catch a crime gang that requires him to impersonate a safecracker who looks exactly like him fool the man s girlfriend and somehow convince the gang that he knows how to break into bank vaults 1 7 Stanley the Fighter February 27 1967 Stanley goes undercover as a boxer to obtain evidence that a gymnasium is actually a front for a counterfeiting ring 1 8 Stanley the Jailbreaker March 6 1967 To find out where 2 million in stolen money is hidden Stanley goes undercover as Slippery Sloan to help bank robber Blackjack Clayton escape from prison so that Clayton will trust Stanley enough to tell him where the money is 1 9 Fly Ballerina Fly March 13 1967 Stanley poses as a ballet dancer to help a Soviet prima ballerina defect to the United States but he grabs the wrong woman Barrie Chase guest stars 1 10 Harley and the Killer March 20 1967 Stanley tries to protect Harley Trent after an escaped murderer vows to kill Trent for prosecuting him 1 11 Stanley and the Mountaineers March 27 1967 Stanley is assigned to infiltrate a family of mountain moonshiners and Hal ends up headed for a shotgun wedding 1 12 Has Mr Terrific Sold Out April 3 1967 When a dignitary visits enemy agents abduct Stanley and Reed and Trent are concerned that he might betray the United States and its allies for his own financial gain 1 13 Stanley Goes To the Dentist April 10 1967 Stanley goes undercover to investigate a dentist who seems to be successfully prying U S Government secrets from normally reliable agents 1 14 Stanley the Track Star April 17 1967 Stanley is assigned to learn the location of a U S track and field champion enemy agents have kidnapped 1 15 Try This On For Spies April 24 1967 Stanley is assigned to let the enemy get their hands on fake plans for a missile system but a mix up causes him to give them the actual plans and he must figure out a way to get them back 1 16 Stanley Joins the Circus May 1 1967 Stanley goes undercover as a circus strongman to discover which of the show s performers stole a government code book and to get the book back 1 17 The Sultan Has Five Wives May 8 1967 Stanley is assigned to discreetly protect the polygamous sultan of an oil rich Middle Eastern nation The Pill Caper EditEpisodes 1 3 5 and 9 of Mr Terrific were edited together and combined with new footage filmed in 1967 to create a movie titled The Pill Caper which was released in 1967 Hal Smith has a cameo in The Pill Caper as a passenger on a train DVD release EditThe entire 17 episode series of Mr Terrific was released commercially on DVD by Ufa DVD in Germany under the title Immer wenn er Pillen nahm Whenever He Took Pills on July 17 2009 The episodes can be heard in the original English or in German References Edit Wells John 2014 American Comic Book Chronicles 1965 1969 TwoMorrows Publishing p 146 ISBN 978 1605490557 External links EditMister Terrific at IMDb Episode list Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mr Terrific TV series amp oldid 1149171043, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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