"Quark" (1977) TV series 1977-

Creator:

Buck Henry
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

7 May 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

May The Source Be With You.

Plot:

The misadventures of an outer space garbage collector and his crew.

Plot Keywords:

Outer Space | Clone | Spoof | Garbage | Plant

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Richard Benjamin	...	Adam Quark (8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Tim Thomerson	...	Gene / ... (8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Patricia Barnstable	...	Betty (8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Cyb Barnstable	...	Betty (8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Conrad Janis	...	Palindrome (8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Alan Caillou	...	The Head (8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Bobby Porter	...	Andy (8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Richard Kelton	...	Ficus (7 episodes, 1978)
Ann Prentiss	...	Gene / ... (7 episodes, 1978)

Series Directed by
Hy Averback		(5 episodes, 1978)
Bruce Bilson		(2 episodes, 1978)

Series Writing credits
Buck Henry		(8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Bruce Kane		(2 episodes, 1978)
Jonathan Kaufer		(2 episodes, 1978)

Series Produced by
David Gerber	....	executive producer (8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Mace Neufeld	....	co-executive producer / executive producer (8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Bruce Johnson	....	producer (7 episodes, 1978)
Cliff Fenneman	....	associate producer (3 episodes, 1978)
Mack Bing	....	associate producer (2 episodes, 1978)

Series Original Music by
Perry Botkin Jr.		(8 episodes, 1977-1978)

Series Cinematography by
Gerald Perry Finnerman		(4 episodes, 1978)
Harry J. May		(3 episodes, 1978)

Series Film Editing by
Anthony Redman		(4 episodes, 1978)
Melvin Shapiro		(3 episodes, 1978)

Series Casting by
Boland Wilson		(5 episodes, 1978)
Diane Lomond		(3 episodes, 1977-1978)

Series Art Direction by
Ross Bellah		(8 episodes, 1977-1978)
Zoltan Müller		(7 episodes, 1978)

Series Set Decoration by
Jim Duffy		(8 episodes, 1977-1978)

Series Costume Design by
Grady Hunt		(8 episodes, 1977-1978)

Series Makeup Department
Ben Lane	....	makeup supervisor (8 episodes, 1977-1978)

Series Production Management
Mack Bing	....	unit production manager (6 episodes, 1977-1978)
Ray DeCamp	....	unit production manager (2 episodes, 1978)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mack Bing	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1977-1978)
Bob Bender	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1978)
Ray DeCamp	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1978)

Series Special Effects by
Bill Clove	....	special effects (7 episodes, 1978)

Series Stunts
Walter Robles	....	stunts (3 episodes, 1978)
Dick Durock	....	stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Casting Department
Al Onorato	....	casting supervisor / supervising casting director (7 episodes, 1977-1978)

Series Other crew
Bruce Johnson	....	executive story consultant / story consultant (7 episodes, 1978)
Bruce Kane	....	story editor (7 episodes, 1978)
Jonathan Kaufer	....	story editor (7 episodes, 1978)
Steve Zacharias	....	executive story editor (7 episodes, 1978)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Television
• David Gerber Productions

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Columbia TriStar Domestic Television (2001)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (complete series)
• Sony Pictures Television (2002-)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

30 min (9 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Columbia Pictures Television

Trivia:

Patricia Barnstable and Cyb Barnstable live in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky and host one of the biggest celebrity-filled parties just prior to the running of the Kentucky Derby.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Laserblast (#8.6)" (1996)

Small comedy gem, seemingly forgotten

I was very sorry when "Quark" was taken off the air. The writing was brilliant, and ahead of its time. This is no wonder, with Buck Henry in charge. After all, Henry is the man that brought us "Get Smart", among others.

Richard Benjamin was very good as the idealistic galactic sanitation worker, Adam Quark, and Tim Thomerson, often seen as a heavy, was hilarious as "Gene/Jean", the male-female crewperson. Patricia and Cyb Barnstable carried on ably as the brainless blonds, Bettys I and II, arguing the question of which was the clone and which was the original. Bobby Porter as "Andy the Android", Conrad Janis as "Otto Palindrome", and Alan Caillou as "The Head" were very good in their roles. My favorite was Richard Kelton as "Ficus Panderata", the highly evolved plant man, a Vegaton. I would swear that his was the character in mind when they created the character of Data for Star Trek:TNG.

This show was witty, bright, and more than a bit sarcastic and cheesy. I have read in another comment that a winter storm that knocked out power in the Midwest was responsible for the demise of "Quark", but in my never-to-be-humble opinion, it was that the majority of viewers simply couldn't deal with the fact that it was so different from anything else on TV at that time.

Considering some of the stuff out on DVD today, I don't see why Rhino can't put "Quark" out for us, "Quark"'s small, loyal fan following.