"The Flying Nun" (1967) TV series 1967-1970

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Creators:

Harry Ackerman
Max Wylie

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

7 September 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

The misadventures of a nun who can fly and her convent and neighbours.

Plot Keywords:

Convent | Nun | Religion | Aviation | Sitcom

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Sally Field	...	Sister Bertrille / ... (78 episodes, 1967-1970)
Marge Redmond	...	Sister Jacqueline (75 episodes, 1967-1970)
Madeleine Sherwood	...	Reverend Mother Superior Placido (71 episodes, 1967-1970)
Alejandro Rey	...	Carlos Ramirez (67 episodes, 1967-1970)
Shelley Morrison	...	Sister Sixto (55 episodes, 1967-1970)
Linda Dangcil	...	Sister Ana (37 episodes, 1967-1970)

Runtime:

Argentina:30 min | USA:30 min (82 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Australia:G | Argentina:Atp | USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

At the time of the series' popularity, MAD MAGAZINE did a parody of Sister Bertrille, The Flying Nun in which she was "Sister Brazil, The Flying Nut."

Quotes:

Sister Bertrille: Could you please help? I'll give you five percent of the profit!
Carlos Ramirez: Sister Bertrille... Five per cent of nothing is *still* nothing!!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp (1972)

A series for the heart and soul

This show is quite simply an inspiration for the soul. It is always morally uplifting (forgive the pun, it was not intentional) to watch Sally Field as Sister Bertrille, the spunky, spirited, warm hearted nun who just happens to be able to fly, because of her light weight and because of the aerodynamics of the cornette that she wears. Of course, this is not in any way realistic; how could a little cornette generate over 90 lbs. of lift except in gale force winds? However, this is not what matters; in fact I think it only adds to the magic of the show. The point of the series is to show what humans are like at their best; Sister Bertrille is so upbeat that everyone is cheerfull when she is present (that is, except for Carlos when she wants him to do something for the convent, but even he gets over it). As I said above, Sally Field was perfect as Sister Bertrille (I wonder what it was like for her to constantly be a character who, for all intents and purposes, did not have much of a social life), but the central supporting actors were excellent as well. I feel that Alejandro Rey deserves special mention for his performance of Carlos Ramirez, the suave playboy who gets nervous whenever Sister Bertrille is even in the same room. In the first season, the guest stars were also excellent; for example, there was the well respected Celia Lovsky, who in Science Fiction circles is famous for her performance of T'Pau, in the classis episode "Amok Time" of Star Trek, and there was also Elinor Donahue, who among other things played Elie Walker in the first season of the Andy Griffith Show. Unfortunately, in later episodes, the guest stars were not of this high quality: it seems to me as if most of them overdid their parts, making them unrealistic and somewhat icky sweet. Despite this, The Flying Nun is a show that one can always get enjoyment and inspiration out of, if one watches it in the proper frame of mind. Unfortunately, nowadays most people with their pessimistic, jaded outlook on the world are unable to appreciate the magic of this show. Perhaps this is why TV Guide placed this series in their list of 50 worst shows of all time (when I saw Flying Nun and Hogan's Heroes on that list, I thought to myself, WHAT???, but now that I realise why they did that, I can only lament on the state that this world has come to). If only TV Land placed this wonderful show at a more accessible time, rather than the late night slot that they have it on now ! (I have heard that TV Land is going to take this show off the air as of September. I can only pray that this will not be the case.)