The Good, the Bad, and the Ficus (10 Mar. 1978)

Quark and his crew leave Perma One on their usual mission to collect garbage, but this is no ordinary mission. Their starship is sucked into a black hole causing the it to vibrate and ... See full summary »

Director:

Hy Averback

Writers:

Buck Henry (creator), Stuart Gillard

Stars:

Richard Benjamin, Tim Thomerson, Richard Kelton

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Richard Benjamin	...	Adam Quark
Tim Thomerson	...	Gene / Jean (as Timothy Thomerson)
Richard Kelton	...	Ficus
Patricia Barnstable	...	Betty (as Tricia Barnstable)
Cyb Barnstable	...	Betty
Conrad Janis	...	Palindrome
Bobby Porter	...	Andy
Alan Caillou	...	The Head
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Admiral Flint
Sean Fallon Walsh	...	Commander Kroll
Lee Travis	...	Commander Stark

Storyline

Quark and his crew leave Perma One on their usual mission to collect garbage, but this is no ordinary mission. Their starship is sucked into a black hole causing the it to vibrate and putting the ship under abnormal pressure. But, instead of the ship exploding, they survive the passage though the black hole only to be split into two separate starships. Ficus soon determines that the black hole they passed through was an antiuniverse and Quark now faces his antiself, an evil Adam Quark who vows to destroy the good Adam Quark. To make things worse Quark finds out that all of the forces of the United Galaxy have been sent to destroy him, making him realize that it isn't very pretty what a Galaxy without pity can do. Quark's only hope is to fight his evil self; a fight that will be to his death. But good always wins over evil and Quark is able to vanquish his antiself and send the evil starship back into the black hole thus saving himself and his crew for future adventures.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 1978 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

David Gerber Productions, Columbia Pictures Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Otto Palindrome: I'm sorry to bother you, sir, were you thinking?
The Head: What else can I do? I'm not that good at athletics.

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Connections

Spoofs Town Without Pity (1961)

User Reviews

Another enjoyable episode

A black hole splits the crew into good and evil counterparts with the notable exception of science officer Ficus (the excellent Richard Kelton). Director Hy Averback, working from a sharp and witty script by Stuart Gillard, relates the entertaining story at a constant brisk pace and maintains a winningly smart tongue-in-cheek tone throughout. The able cast has a field day with the hip and crafty material: Richard Benjamin anchors everything with his deft dry'n'deadpan presence as Quark, Tim Thomerson does his trademark cool'n'funny thing as Gene/ Jean, Conrad Janis positively oozes smarm from every slimy pore as the oily Otto Palindrome, Bobby Porter is a complete hoot as unreliable abject coward robot Andy, and, last but certainly not least, the insanely gorgeous Tricia and Cyb Barnstable are both alluring and appealing as lovely'n'perky lookalike clone engineers Betty I and Betty II. Special guest star Geoffrey Lewis contributes a fine huffy turn as the hard-nosed and overzealous Admiral Flint. The regulars are hilarious as their hammy wicked alternative selves; the sneering nasty Quark in particular is sidesplitting and the climactic duel between the radically contrasting Quarks is highly amusing. The tacky (not so) special effects possess a certain lovably cheesy charm. A hugely delightful show.