The Flying Nun

Some of these reviews are as silly as this show! Really, we're going to argue about the aerodynamics of her flying? Complaining about the accuracy of accents of Spanish? It's a show called "The Flying Nun".... This is NOT a realistic show, the title should be a tip-off. I am a logical person, so when I watch something meant to suspend disbelief, I DO, or don't watch it. No, this isn't a great show, but it is entertaining, fun, and cute. It isn't boring, even if it is pretty insipid.

Sally Field is a fantastic actress and is very likeable, in fact there is not chance this show would have lasted more than a season without her. Even if she doesn't like the show, she made the character(not the plot devices) believable, she made the show what it was.

I watched this as a kid on reruns, I thought the idea was stupid, but you know what? I still watched it and liked it anyway! it is really a truly absurd show, but it is clean and fun and safe to let your children watch. How many shows can you say about these days? Even "children's shows" are filled with violence and sexual innuendo. I see this as more of a children's show than anything, and funny enough, if it were a cartoon people would not be nearly as hard on it because, I suppose, adults assume it is meant to be silly and not take it seriously.... Any adult should be able to use enough logic to do the same with a live action film, it isn't meant to be realistic, not one bit.

I have watched scattered episodes, so I can't tell you how good the whole series is, but if you expect something wholesome with an absurd plot that is still entertaining, you at list can find some enjoyment in it.

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.)

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.

This series was cute and funny during its original run -- but I was a kid going to Catholic school and maybe I was biased. But watching it now on TVLand, it's amazing that it still works. I think it's very nicely photographed, the music is wonderful, and probably the main thing is, that while it doesn't present a realistic portrayal of most of Latin America, it really doesn't talk down to or stereotype the characters either. So what if they all speak such magnificent English????

The primary reason this series was as immensely popular with young girls as it was, was the relationship between Carlos Ramirez and Sister Bertrille (the secret is out -- most of the little girls of my era desperately wanted Sister Bertrille to run off with Carlos ... and no matter how TPTB tried to dissuade them, that fact never wavered). The two actors had amazing chemistry, a fact which no doubt reflected their friendship which lasted through the years. Forget the ludicrous premise and the almost cut-and-paste plot lines, the show has a gentle, genuine sweetness about it that just doesn't show up on TV these days. It's not treacly at all, despite the cynicism thrown at it. It's far from the worst TV show in the history of the medium. And it's a joy to see the work of Alejandro Rey, who had far too short a life.