ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

Gosh, I can't imagine why this sci-fi/comedy just happened to come out in 1977!

Was there a movie released that year that might have encourage the creation of a science fiction series set in space? Hmmm?

Naw, that's probably not the reason.
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____________________ Quark S01E01 - Pilot


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

The show came out in 77, the pilot was broadcast in 76.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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Well, that blows my theory that it was Star Wars inspired, like Battlestar Galactica.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Here's episode 2!

Enjoy it now. You can thank me later.

__________ s01e02 May the Source Be With You


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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It's ironic that the humorous premise for this show has now become something supremely important to mankind's exploration of space!

Earth is surrounded by a veritable barrier of orbiting space junk — millions of objects, some as small as pebbles, others much larger. This cloud of space trash threatens our vital satellites, as well as our spacecraft during near-orbit or outbound missions.

Here's how Wikipedia describes Quark.
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The show was set on a United Galaxy Sanitation Patrol Cruiser, an interstellar garbage scow operating out of United Galaxies Space Station Perma One in the year 2226. Adam Quark, the main character, works to clean up trash in space by collecting "space baggies" with his trusted and highly unusual crew.
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Eventually we'll have to clean up the mess we've created, either with automated spacecraft or with manned missions. In fact, we'll probably need to use a combination of the two.

This looks like a job . . . for Space Force!

__________Quark - S01E05 - Goodbye Polumbus


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[johnnybear]

UFO actually did an episode about space junk and the aliens using it to attack earth while hidden! At the end of the episode it was agreed that this junk needed to be cleared away in order to prevent future accidents and further alien sabotage upon the earth!
JB

[Pow]

The TV Guide Review for Quark, April 1, 1978, by Critic Robert MacKenzie.

"This is a Red Alert emergency, but don't panic," says Richard Benjamin, his voice cracking just a little. And we're off on another thrilling adventure with NBC's Quark.

If ever a target was overripe for spoofing, it is the space epic, the Star Trek --- "Star Wars" genre of intergalactic pomp. And Richard Benjamin may be the perfect spoof hero, with his matinee profile and glum, hypertense delivery. With a bit of dramatic shading, Benjamin could be convincing as a hero. He gives it just enough wobble.

Benjamin is Commander Adam Quark, whose space vessel's mission is to pick up interstellar garbage in the Milky Way. "It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it." The ship scoops up "space baggies" by opening its jaws. "We have a grab," says Quark proudly.

His sterling crew includes an argumentative plant (Richard Kelton), a timid robot (Bobby Porter) and a sexual hodgepodge named Gene/Jean (Tim Thomerson), who is a bloodthirsty macho type except when his female half takes over; then she likes to do needlepoint. There are identical girls named Betty, one of whom is a clone, but nobody knows which.

Quark gets his orders from Palindrome (Conrad Janis), a Madison Avenue type who brags about his "space savy." He in turn answers to The Head, a big-dome who appears on a video screen in various states of wounded dignity.

The premiere lampooned "Star Wars" with a Darth Vader-like villain (Henry Silva) and a cosmic power called The Source. "Don't use it to clean portholes," said Benjamin. "Save it for biggies, like Good versus Evil."

When Andy the cowardly robot was captured by the villain, Andy clattered, "I've heard a lot of good things about you." Quark rescued Andy and groaned, "I think I'm having a warm moment with a robot."

Other episodes lift all the ideas Star Trek lifted from Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. In one, the crew is split into its good and evil counterparts. When the evil Quark calls for a fight to the death, the good Quark gulps, "Fight to the death? I just wanted to meet with him."

In another, they land on a planet where dreams come true just by thinking about them. Sound familiar?

When Quark is ordered to "spend an extended romantic interlude with a beautiful princess," a mysterious aging disease turns him into a cackling octogenarian by the time he arrives at the panting princess boudoir.

The ship has a computer named Vanessa who gets huffy and closes doors on Quark's air hose. When the atomic disintegrator beams Quark down to a strange planet, he lands in uncomfortable places like bathtubs. In other words, the show leaves no science fiction cliche unzapped.

Most of this is funny stuff. The problem with satire is that it makes it's point quickly. If it has to go on making the same point, the labor starts showing.

Buck Henry, a known loony who contributed to "Candy" and other comic assaults, created the series. If he stays around to keep it funny, space opera may never recover.

[Bud Brewster]