Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presents

The Flying Nun: The Complete Second Season (1967)

Sister Bertrille: Oh Carlos, I'm ashamed of you!
Carlos: Well, if you didn't check up on everything I say, you wouldn't have to be ashamed of me!- Sally Field, Alejandro Rey

Stars: Sally Field,Marge Redmond,Madeleine Sherwood,Alejandro Rey,Shelley Morrison,
Other Stars: Linda Dangcil,Vito Scotti, Paul Petersen, Don Diamond, Harold Gould, Bernie Kopell, Paul Lynde, Cliff Osmond, Naomi Stevens, Ray Hastings, Lillian Adams, Elinor Donahue, Gavin MacLeod, Richard Gautier, Alan Hale Jr., Ruta Lee, Bob Hastings, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., Michael Pataki, Rich Little, Jamie Farr
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 11h:16m:06s
Release Date: 2006-08-15
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
A-	B+	A-	A-	D

 

DVD Review

Long before establishing herself as a serious actor in her Oscar-winning roles in Norma Rae and Places of the Heart, Sally Field became a household name as the airborne Sister Bertrille in The Flying Nun. Field made her debut at 18 in the short lived Gidget (1965), whose producer tagged her for the starring role as a convent novice with the uncanny ability to fly. The feat was to be accomplished due to a combination of her light weight and king-size coronet, and explained "when lift-plus-thrust is greater than load-plus-drag." Sony presents the second of three seasons in this 26 episode set.

It all started when surfer girl Elsie Ethrington overheard her aunt talking about the rewards of missionary work, so she headed off to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the Convent San Tanco where she was ordained as Sister Bertrille. When not looking after the kids in the orphanage or getting herself in trouble with Reverend Mother Superior Plaseato (Madeleine Sherwood) she can usually be found making a pest of herself, with Carlos-Go-Go club owner and convent benefactor, Carlos Ramirez (Alejandro Rey) as the likely subject. The cast is rounded out by Sister Jacqueline (Marge Redmond), the series narrator, and Sister Bertrille's best friend, Sister Sixto (Shelley Morrison), who is still trying to properly string English sayings together, and Sister Ana (Linda Dangcil). The second season introduces Vito Scotti as police Captain Gaspar Fomento, who gets himself in hot water several times by suspecting the nuns of illicit activity.

As the season opens, Sister Bertrille discovers that her old friend, Sonny, and his band is playing at Carlos' club. When Sonny suggest Sister Bertrille write a song for the group to help raise funds, she is elated, but Sonny's alterations, which turn a sweet folk song into a hippie freak out, don't go over well with Mother Superior.

Accusations of cheating are flying when Captain Fomento loses $25 at the convent's charity bazarre (The Crooked Convent), then the convent goes kosher for a Jewish wedding (The Rabbi and the Nun). Father Lundigan (this time played by Paul Lynde) returns, but his treatment gets a shakeup when Sister Bertrille and the Reverend Mother have their identities swapped by hypnosis. When Carlos threatens to leave San Tanco, the nuns get up to some mischief convincing Captain Fomento that the convent should be condemned, and a new organ winds up being less than a bargain in The Organ Transplant. The residents of the convent may be used to a flying nun, but tourists think Sister Bertrille is an alien from outer space in Two Bad Eggs. There's an unwanted Sister in residence when a fugitive shows up while Sister Bertrille is alone minding the fort (All Alone by the Convent Phone), and a mishandled check from a benefactor leads to the wrong man in It's An Ill Windfall—and that's only the first disc!

Other highlights include the two-part episode, The Great Casino Robbery, where the nuns are used in a heist setup, Carlos' cousin (Alejandro Rey in a dual role) causes problems when The Convent Gets a Business, and Sister Bertrille becomes a walking disaster when Rich Little appears as The Breakable Monk. You'll also find parking meters, magic tricks, grandmothers and cousins, movie stars, monkey business, a depressed cow, lottery tickets and ex-boyfriends in this collection of high flying fun.

The Flying Nun is one of several fantasy series that came along in the mid-1960s, including Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. Field does a great job as the spunky novice with her unpredictable flying habit. Her pairing with Rey works extremely well—their chemistry is great as Sister Bertrille continually manipulates the obliging club owner, and her sisters at the convent each have their own quirks. The Flying Nun was fun as a kid, and remains entertaining today.

Rating for Style: A-
Rating for Substance: B+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Image quality is very good throughout. Colors are nicely saturated, the image is sharp without looking over-enhanced, and black levels are solid. Print defects, while present, are minor. There is some grain, but it looks quite natural.

Image Transfer Grade: A-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
Mono	English, Spanish, Portuguese	no

Audio Transfer Review: Mono audio is in very good condition. Dialogue is clear and easy to discern, distortion is minimal, and tonal balance is very good with no excess sibilance. Spanish and Portuguese tracks are also available on all but one episode each, as noted on the packaging.

Audio Transfer Grade: A- 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 26 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in Spanish, Portuguese with remote access
Packaging: Thinpak
Picture Disc
3 Discs
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extras Review: There are no extras available.

Each disc has a Play All feature, and episodes contain five internal chapters, unfortunately the first contains both the credits and prologue, so there is no easy way to skip the opening.

The discs come in a pair of thinpaks inside a light-medium weight box.

Extras Grade: D
 

Final Comments

Simple, silly and fun, the second season of The Flying Nun has the same appeal it did nearly forty years ago. I guess old "habits" are hard to break!

Jeff Ulmer 2006-08-16