"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.
In the pilot we are introduced to the Convent San Tanco in windswept San Juan, Puerto Rico. The convent is run by strict Reverend Mother Placido (Madeleine Sherwood, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"). She instructs Sister Jacqueline (Marge Redmond, "Manhattan Murder Mystery") and Sister Sixto (Shelley Morrison, "Will & Grace") to pick up a young novice named Sister Bertrille (Academy Award-Winner Sally Field) arriving by ship to teach their kindergarten. The wind blows the lithe, 90-pound young lady off the dock and into the sea where she swims to the boat of playboy Carlos Ramirez (Alejandro Rey). The sisters take her to the convent where the wind lifts her. Sister Ana (Linda Dangcil) introduces Sister Bertrille to the kindergarten class. Disappointed by their ragged appearance Sister Bertrille leads them into town with song and dance to buy new clothes for them on credit. Her enthusiasm spreads to the other sisters. Reverend Mother Placido returns upset at the change in her orderly convent. She explains to Sister Bertrille that the convent struggles to get by with the money they have and even with money have no room for needed expansion. A desired lot in Old San Juan is owned by the playboy that Sister Bertrille swam to and she unsuccessfully goes to his hip discotheque to sway him into donating the land. Back at the convent she maneuvers herself in the wind and learns to fly, flying past Carlos and landing on a military base- and in a great deal of trouble.
This feel good offering is a little in the vein of Julie Andrew's Sister Maria in "The Sound of Music". Humor in the pilot comes from Sister Sixto's mispronounced American slang and reactions to Sister Bertrille's flying.
In the pilot we are introduced to the Convent San Tanco in windswept San Juan, Puerto Rico. The convent is run by strict Reverend Mother Placido (Madeleine Sherwood, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"). She instructs Sister Jacqueline (Marge Redmond, "Manhattan Murder Mystery") and Sister Sixto (Shelley Morrison, "Will & Grace") to pick up a young novice named Sister Bertrille (Academy Award-Winner Sally Field) arriving by ship to teach their kindergarten. The wind blows the lithe, 90-pound young lady off the dock and into the sea where she swims to the boat of playboy Carlos Ramirez (Alejandro Rey). The sisters take her to the convent where the wind lifts her. Sister Ana (Linda Dangcil) introduces Sister Bertrille to the kindergarten class. Disappointed by their ragged appearance Sister Bertrille leads them into town with song and dance to buy new clothes for them on credit. Her enthusiasm spreads to the other sisters. Reverend Mother Placido returns upset at the change in her orderly convent. She explains to Sister Bertrille that the convent struggles to get by with the money they have and even with money have no room for needed expansion. A desired lot in Old San Juan is owned by the playboy that Sister Bertrille swam to and she unsuccessfully goes to his hip discotheque to sway him into donating the land. Back at the convent she maneuvers herself in the wind and learns to fly, flying past Carlos and landing on a military base- and in a great deal of trouble.
This feel good offering is a little in the vein of Julie Andrew's Sister Maria in "The Sound of Music". Humor in the pilot comes from Sister Sixto's mispronounced American slang and reactions to Sister Bertrille's flying.
