1977’s Quark rode the Star Wars wave of popularity to television, but this sci fi comedy left the average Prime Time viewer befuddled and it disappeared far too quickly.
What Is It?
Adam Quark is the commander of a United Galaxy Sanitation Patrol Cruiser that boldly travels around the galaxy with its crew of misfits… collecting trash. And from time to time, they save humanity from imminent threats.
Aired: NBC, 1977-78, 1 Season Totaling 8 Episodes
Starring: Richard Benjamin, Tim Thomerson, Richard Kelton, Tricia Barnstable, Cyb Barnstable, Conrad Janis
Created By: Buck Henry
Legacy:
This quirky, blink-and-you-missed-it sci-fi spoof offered an early version of a workplace comedy set in space with one heck of a good cast, and it delivered its share of laughs over its short run.
A Closer Look:
The pilot for this series aired in May of 1977—just a little over two weeks prior to the debut of Star Wars in theaters—and offered a fun sci-fi comedy that drew heavily on Star Trek as its source of parody. A year later, NBC decided to bring it back as a series when the networks scrambled to get sci-fi entries on their schedules to capitalize on Star Wars mania. The show was created by Buck Henry, who had previously co-created the spy spoof Get Smart with Mel Brooks back in the 1960s. Those familiar with the humor from that show will know what to expect from Quark, just on a slightly more cosmic level.
In many ways, Quark gives us an early version of the workplace comedy because it is much more about people carrying out mundane activities in the course of their regular duties than it is about grand adventure and cosmic tales. Sure, some of the latter factors into the storylines, but mostly by accident, as Quark and his crew find themselves pulled into situations that they are not necessarily trained to handle. This group may have aspirations for greater things, but when it comes down to it, they just want to get through their day and go about their jobs.
The series certainly delivered some humorous moments, and it could be spot-on with its parody at times. But it had as many misses as hits, and Buck Henry did not appear to be closely involved with the show after the pilot phase. This one has also not stood the test of time very well and could likely fall flat with modern-day viewers due to its dated production values and very ’70s sensibilities. But it had promise and a great cast—all perfectly selected for their roles—and could have developed into a decent series if given some time and if the characters were allowed to develop into more than just caricatures. It’s still worth a look, especially for fans of sci-fi from that era. Don’t expect to find a hidden gem, and give it some leeway for dated jokes, but there are some laughs to be found here.
Cancelled Too Soon?
Yes. I can’t find any information on ratings from the pilot, but as mentioned above, I’m guessing the series was given the greenlight mostly as an attempt to ride the wave of the Star Wars phenomenon. When it made it to the schedule as a weekly series in the spring of 1978, it did not find much of an audience on Friday nights, airing against Donny & Marie on ABC and competing for the genre audience with Wonder Woman on CBS. The show was quickly cancelled after only seven episodes were produced past the pilot, and it has since mostly faded from memory.
Should It Be Rebooted?
Not necessarily. This does not count as a classic, and it never had much of a following to begin with, so there is little in the way of name recognition. But it did have a good premise to work from, and current SFX technology could do a much better job with the visuals. I don’t see this getting a high priority in the reboot queue at this point, but a similar sort of sci-fi spoof might be fun.
Interesting Facts:
Richard Benjamin discovered that the show was in development with Buck Henry attached after reading an issue of Variety and requested an audition. He took a pay cut for the part because he wanted to work with Henry that much.
Real-life twins Tricia and Cyb Barnstable portrayed a single character — Betty — who had a “clone” sister, and they were always arguing over which was the original and which was the clone. This was a tongue-in-cheek way of parodying sci-fi duplication tropes.
Many of the sound effects used in the show were borrowed from Star Trek: The Original Series.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD, but that has since gone out of print and fetches a pretty high price from third-party sellers. It is not currently available for streaming on any of the major services, but you can find episodes on YouTube from time to time.
