Mr. Terrific

I can't believe someone else remembers this show! For twenty five years I've had a picture in my head of a portly guy in a suit talking across a desk to a skinny guy with a cape. They were in a high-rise building and the skinny guy flew out the window. I remembered he was some sort of secret agent. No one else remembered it and they thought I was thinking of Get Smart. I finally found it! I can now die in peace!

Like the previous comment, no one I know has any memory of "Mr. Terrific" whatsoever. I was five years old when this show aired, but remember that "Mr. Terrific" had to take some abnormally large pill to get his superpowers, which he kept secreted in his ring. He would make several funny faces when he swallowed it, which of course was hysterically funny to a five-year-old! He always had to wear his "flying jacket" when he flew, and he would flap his arms as he did so. Whenever his boss called for "A-C-T-I-O-N", Mr. Terrific would swallow that pill & save the day. I thought I was the only guy on Earth who remembered it!

I was studying acting with Stephen Strimpell at the HB Studio in New York City when he got the offer to fly to Hollywood to do MR. TERRIFIC. He was a wonderful instructor and told me, "you don't need to study anymore, really. You need to go out and ACT. That's the best way to become a good actor." I took his advice and struck out on my own. But, not before studying with William Hickey ("Prizzi's Honor" "Hat Full of Rain"). Mostly, he'd observe my classroom scenes and then start talking about HIMSELF! He was not in the same class as Strimpell.

Of course, since I knew Stephen, I watched MR. TERRIFIC religiously every week and thought it was cute, but a waste of good talent. Looking at Mr. Strimpell's film output surprised me. An actor THIS good, should have been used to better advantage by Hollywood.

As a result, I auditioned and got many parts on the New York stage. For that, I am eternally grateful to Stephen Strimpell. My experience on stage will live with me forever.

I also remember this sitcom fondly. I remember the balding man who was the superhero's mentor. That was the man who invented the pill. Mr. Terrific pops a pill, then his face turns one color after another, then he gets super powers. I've always thought the pill was the reason this show got axed. It was a good show! But with all the pill-popping going on during the psychedelic sixties, I would imagine the network caught some blowback.

They had a fine concept, good writers and a fine cast. The shows were crazy-popular, both, "Mr. Terrific" and "Captain Nice". This one was conceived FIRST, and if somebody hadn't leaked the concept to another network, it would have run at least a few seasons. Mr. Strimpell's work, in the title role (Mr. Terrific), is more than adequate, he does what he needs to do, within the confines of the script. "Captain Nice", was a carbon copy, except not as funny, and since they were on at the same time, on the same day, the public got worn out on the idea, pretty quickly. Lines became blurry as to which show was, "the funny one". Both series were very formulaic. This is the superhero version of, "Get Smart". Blaming Mr. Strimpell for the show's failure (and frankly, I believe the networks came to an agreement to pull the plugs of both series together and prematurely), is absurd. I, as everyone else here has said, was a kid when they were on, I loved them both, and they were the rage. Kids didn't count, back then, however, as the networks hadn't yet done the math on the amount of dollars children pulled in. It should also be noted, that although Buck Henry was the creator and head writer of the other show, the experience was such a negative one, that he seems to have expunged his name from the records.