Quark (TV Series) Quark (1977) User Reviews

A forgotten gem..think 'galaxyquest, the series' 20 years early...

[arthurthedented · 7/10 · 12 July 2005]

In the vast sci if wasteland that was TV after the cancellation of star trek this show rose above and decided to be sci if spoof. I haven't seen it in 20 years but more than a few moments still come to mind....

the familiar heroic tableau of the landing party on the transporter.... then cut to same heroic tableau on the surface...and then the camera pans downward and they're waste deep in swamp...

a good gag.

then there were 'the Bettie's'... in a society with harsh taboos against sleeping with clones, our gallant captain had a pair of busty beautiful semi clad blonde women in his crew both of whom were very much in love (or at least lust) .. the catch, and the captains endless dilemma was that one of them was the clone of the other and he never found out which was which...(in one episode his dying request was 'which one of you is the clone' and the two Bettie's in tearful chorus cried 'she is!.. sob') the intrepid adventures of this space going garbage scow (literally) deserve far better remembrance ESPECIALLY at sci if cons than ever it got... and I hope the copyrights are clear and that in our day of UNLIMITED channels and 24/7 sci if coverage this hokey pre-computer effects era gem will re-emerge as the camp comedy treasure it was deliberately made to be...

Hilarious pilot for this sadly short-lived sci-fi spoof series

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 19 August 2011]

Bumbling space garbage man Commander Adam Quark (excellently played to deadpan perfection by Richard Benjamin) and his crew of wacky misfits are assigned to destroy an enzyme cloud that threatens the safety of the galaxy. Director Peter H. Hunt, working from a wickedly witty script by Buck Henry, relates the entertaining story at a constant zippy pace and maintains an engaging tongue-in-cheek tone throughout. The pilot does an ace job of introducing the appealingly quirky main characters: Bobby Porter as Andy, a clunky and cowardly rust bucket of a robot made out of spare parts; gorgeous real-life identical twin sisters Tricia and Cyb Barnstable as Betty I and Betty II, a pair of sexy and vapid blonde bimbo engineers (one's an actual person and the other is her clone, but the smitten Quark doesn't know which is which); Tim Thomerson as first mate Gene-Jean, a transmute who alternates between being an aggressive macho male and a more demure and retiring female; Conrad Janis as Quark's nerdy fussbudget superior Otto Palindrome, and Alan Caillou as formidable boss the Head (yep, he's a grouchy giant floating noggin who only materializes on a computer screen). Popping up in nifty guest roles are Misty Rowe as ditsy four-armed communications technician Interface and Douglas Fowley as doddery science officer Dr. O.B. Mudd. Quark's pesky plastic bag pet alien and Andy falling for a control console provide the biggest belly laughs. The pretty primitive special effects possess a certain cruddy charm. Perry Botkin Jr.'s groovy throbbing disco theme hits the get-down funky spot. A total riot.

Another show ruined by a godawful and ever-present laughtrack!

[planktonrules · 1/10 · 18 April 2024]

When I was a kid, I liked "Quark" and was sad when it was canceled after only eight episodes. However, I've re-watched a few shows I loved as a kid...and some really suck when you see them today! Will "Quark" be one of these? And, the best place to start to see if it's any good is the pilot episode.

The show begins by showing Quark and his ship...a giant galactic garbage truck in space. Then, as a quick way quickly introduce the characters, Captain Quark talks to his computer about their mission. However, unlike the following episodes, Ficus is not in the cast and instead Professor O. B. Mudd appears.

The mission that Quark is given is a suicide mission, which doesn't bother his superiors very much. Instead, however, the ship's horny robot manages to accidentally find a non-suicidal way to solve their problem.

So is it any good? No. The biggest problem is the way that the laughtrack was used...which was near-constant AND never seemed to be whenever anything funny actually happened...which was never now that I think about it. Unfunny, annoying and I am hoping things will change for the better with the first regular episode. If not, I'll bail on this series.

By the way, sensibilities have changed since this show was aired. The bi-sexual type character is bound to offend many today.

Think the worst episode of Get Smart mixed with Space Balls

[danielsaks · 1/10 · 8 March 2009]

In 1977 I was a HUGE sci fi fan. Star Wars had just come out and science fiction was all the rage. At the are of 13 I really wanted to like this show. I wanted it to be good. It was the lamest thing I had ever seen. The sluggish "comic timing" holding for laughs that would be put in later (wether or not the joke was funny), was deadly. It is just so weird a very respectable cast working so hard to make the lame writing work. It was all so derivative. I loved Star Wars and Star Trek they are great shows. There is however a lot of comic gold that could be mined from those great shows. Quark misses the mark by Billions and billions of light years!