The Flying Nun

I grew up with this really cute series from the late 1960's, starring one of my favourite actresses, Sally Field. Back when I was a teenager, every girl's actress heroines were Sally Field, Patty Duke (The Patty Duke Show), and Hayley Mills (The Parent Trap and many other movies).

The series portrays the adventures of an airborne nun, Sister Bertrille, at the hilltop Convent San Tanco in Porto Rico. The fresh faced young sister is able to fly due to the combination of her light 90 pound weight, the elaborate, stiffly starched bird wing-like cornette of her habit, and catching whatever breeze chances to be blowing. She's a bubbly, free spirited young novice, whose unusual methods often bring her into conflict with the convent's more traditional & stern Reverend Mother. Other convent sisters also appear in the show, including her sidekick, Sister Jacqueline. The well intended Sister Bertrille endeavours to use her aviation skills to help people in trouble, but more often than not, instead gets HERSELF into trouble. She frequently runs into the charming casino playboy, Carlos Ramirez, disrupting his romantic activities with beautiful women. In fact, quite often Sister Bertrille requires Ramirez, who is the owner of a local disco and also a patron of the convent, to come to her rescue.

Sister Bertrille's adventures are many and varied. She has been mistaken for an enemy aircraft, had a pelican fall in love with her, inadvertently landed in the middle of a mobster's meeting, and ascended to the clouds to bring snow for a Norwegian nun's white Christmas. Occasionally she crash lands into a tree or whatever, but simply picks herself up and carries on.

True, nuns can't really fly so some complain that this program involves too unbelievable a premise. To them I would respond that the ideas behind other popular comedies of the 1960's aren't exactly realistic either, for example...Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan's Island, and Hogan's Heroes, to name but a few.

Sally Field is cast in the whimsical role of Sister Bertrille and makes this series fly in more ways than one. This versatile and talented star of Gidget later went on to a brilliant movie career with Oscar winning dramatic roles in Norma Rae & Places of the Heart, also starring in countless others including one of my favourite romantic comedies, Murphy's Romance. Yes, we do indeed really like her, and any success achieved by this series is undoubtedly due to Sally Field's legendary charm and appeal.

This show is simply pure whimsical and heartwarming fun. Pity there aren't more mindless but wholesome TV programs like it these days.

"The Flying Nun" was developed by Screen Gems writer Bernard Slade ("Bewitched", "The Partridge Family") from a book by Tere Ríos titled "The Fifteenth Pelican". Following the cancellation of "Gidget", ABC rushed to get Sally Field into her second starring sitcom- a role she was reluctant to accept and grew to hate. Field later stated that she was not treated with respect by some of her directors, and at times more like a prop. The hour-long pilot was filmed on location in San Juan, Puerto Rico with shots used as the series' opening and closing. The series hit the ground running as an instant hit but ratings dropped throughout the first season. The producers tried to compensate by changing the comedic format to broad slapstick in the second season before returning in the third and final season to its sweet, heart over laughs, light nature. During its run, co-star Marge Redmond, who also narrates each episode, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Reflecting upon the series after recently watching each episode, "The Flying Nun" was a ludicrous sitcom in an era of ludicrous sitcoms. Unfortunately, it was nowhere as sophisticated as "Bewitched", as endearing as "I Dream of Jeannie", as affable as "Mister Ed", or even matching the entertaining level of "Gilligan's Island". "The Flying Nun" was a series continually searching for its identity, reformatted each season. It struggled to find the balance between heart and laughs, but the rare times it did was very enjoyable. Plot lines were often dry and predictable, and at times completely misguided and lacking execution. Episodes excelled when it combined an engaging plot, clever dialogue, the warmness of the convent's heartfelt work, and well-placed comedy. Some of the best were feel-good offerings and those focused on being touchingly dramatic, especially "Antonio's Mother".

I felt it was easy to see that Sally Field was struggling to get into her role as Sister Bertrille early in Season One. But when she did embrace it audiences were rewarded with the warm, good-natured personality they came to admire in her similar character of "Gidget". Sister Bertrille serves as a great role model for everyone, hopefully inspiring them to be a better, more caring person. She had nice chemistry with Alejandro Rey, helping make Carlos' exasperated character relatable. Madeleine Sherwood played her sage, straight-laced superior very well as a figure who adhered to policies but made every effort to do the right thing. Emmy-nominated Marge Redmond sets up situations nicely through narration and as a sounding board for Sister Bertrille. Shelley Morrison's Sister Sixto was the most dependable source of comedy with her mispronoucation of the English language giving whole new meaning to situations. Vito Scotti's Police Captain Fomento was the focus of Season Two's new slapstick approach, but it was often too forceful and strained.

"The Flying Nun" would have perhaps been better served as an uplifting dramatic series in the vein of "Touched by an Angel".

Based on the series of popular children's books by Tere Rios,the television series "The Flying Nun",ran for three seasons on ABC-TV from 1967 until 1970,producing 83 episodes all in color,which was part of the Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures Television entourage of family oriented/special effects shows that were under the supervision of executive producers Harry Ackerman,Bernard Slade,and William Sackheim, and created by Bernard Slade(one of the co-creators for another family oriented/special effects show,"Bewitched",which was on the same network but starred Elizabeth Montgomery). The series starred Sally Field,whom began this show after her debut television series "Gidget" was cancelled after one season.

"The Flying Nun" constituted the troika of sitcoms that truly represented the 1960's that used special effects and sometimes comedical humor. "Bewitched","I Dream Of Jeannie",were colorful and pushing the limits of its viewers. Other shows of that period included "My Favorite Martian","The Beverly Hillbillies","Gilligan's Island", "Batman","Get Smart",are examples of sitcoms that pushed the limits to the maximum potential for its viewers. "The Flying Nun" tells the story of Sister Bertille(Sally Field). Sister Bertille comes from the United States who after joining San Tanco Convent in Puerto Rico discovers that she can fly because of her lightweight and because of the aerodynamics that she wears on her cornette. She basically spends most of her time in the air but is always under the watchful eye of Mother Superior(Madeline Sherwood). Sometimes Sister Bertille's amazing abilities usually lends people who are in dire need of help or sometimes get into trouble,but is always there to lend a helping hand. Most of the time she always depends on a casino-playboy Carlos Ramirez (Alejandro Rey)to get her out of a tight situation,but still remain good friends. But sometimes Ramirez is always nervous every time Sister Bertille is around because you'll never know what she may do next. And that was just the case with the show. It may have been outlandishly childish with the special effects and all,but in heart it was a show with a inspiration for the soul and sometimes morally uplifting in some of the episodes.

The first season(the 1967-1968 season one)and second season(1968-1969 season two)constituted some excellent guest stars not to mention guest regulars that remain throughout the show's three year run. One episode featured the well respected Celia Lovsky,whom in Science Fiction circles is famous for performance of T'Pau in the classic episode of "Amok Time" from Star Trek. And then there was Elinor Donahue who was in two episodes,and this actress was a familiar face to television playing the oldest daughter Betty Anderson opposite Robert Young on the television series "Father Knows Best",and also was Elie Walker in the first season of "The Andy Griffith Show". Donahue portrayed Sister Bertille's older physician sister Janet in several episodes. Also to point out others including Paul Petersen of "The Donna Reed Show",and the other episode that featured Manuel Padilla,Jr. as one of Sister Bertille's helpers. Manuel Padilla,Jr. was also a familiar face on television as well playing Ron Ely's sidekick of the jungle Jai on the action-adventure series "Tarzan" and a child actor in several television shows of the period. Others included veteran actor Vito Scotti,and also familiar to television viewers Shelley Morrison(of "Will and Grace" fame later on).

The show itself does however depict a realistic portrayal of Latin America even though the show was filmed on the backlot of Columbia Pictures Studios in Hollywood,but uses Latin America locations as the backdrop scenery which was brilliantly photographed,since it was the ONLY show that did not stereotype Latinos in any way nor did it talk down to them neither. Its amazing that they spoke magnificent English and were living in good conditions. After "The Flying Nun" went off the air in the spring of 1970, Sally Field went on to bigger and better things in her career including becoming an Oscar winning actress!

Watching a show like "The Flying Nun" is like experiencing part of a 60's time capsule (in the best sense) because it's light years away from today's television fare. Starring the young Sally Field as a novice at the Convent San Tanco in Puerto Rico (who, incidentally, can fly) and co-starring such worthies as Madeleine Sherwood (as Mother Superior), Alejandro Rey (as playboy Carlos Ramirez) and Marge Redmond (as Sister Jacqueline), the makers of the show actually triumphed over its admittedly outrageous premise and crafted a series full of humor and heart. Field was ideally cast as Sister Bertrille (the former Elsie Etherington) who eventually wins over even the staid Mother Superior with her undeniable charm, high spirits and always good intentions. The gradual way in which she endears herself to The Reverand Mother (beautifully played by the gifted Sherwood) and the often exasperated Carlos, is unexpectedly moving. The show is beautifully photographed as well, and sports a truly lovely musical score. Marge Redmond (who served her convent apprenticeship as a Nun in "The Trouble With Angels" the year before), is a warm and wise sidekick for Sister Bertrille. There are several up-and-coming future stars as well. The first two seasons are now out on DVD and they have stood the test of time. It's easy to call the series just a throwback to a more innocent era, but there's more to it than that. Just watch the wonderfully touching episodes in the first season--the truly touching "Tonio's Mother", "The Dig-in" and "The Sister and the Old Salt". They tug at the heartstrings without being the least bit cloying. And for those who demand variety, there's "With Love From Irving" in which Sister Bertrille is stalked by a lovesick pelican! As a bonus, several episodes feature Field singing, something she did very well, and the songs are charming as a result. Vividly restored on DVD, "The Flying Nun" remains as enjoyable as ever--can't wait for season three!

A novice nun at Convent San Tanco has the Reverend Mother up in arms: it seems she is so light that the winds pick up her starched habit and away she goes! Fun TV-series, adapted from Tere Rios' book "The Fifteenth Pelican", has Sally Field basically reprising her "Gidget" character in nun regalia. Although she has said this show was embarrassing for her, Sally is very appealing teaching the local kids English and singing them their lessons (oh yes, she was a Singing Nun too!). Her rapport with the other sisters is warm and friendly, and each week the Reverend Mother learned to loosen up a bit. After the location-rich pilot episode, the series got a little bit stuck in a studio-bound rut, but the flying sequences are always handled with comic flair. A few dud episodes (such as the one where the Reverend Mother and Field's Sister Bertrille changed personalities) didn't dim the overall appeal of "The Flying Nun", which was mostly blessed with fresh writing and a fast pace.