Temperatures Rising
Temperatures Rising is an American television sitcom that aired on the ABC network from September 12, 1972 to August 29, 1974. During its 46-episode run, it was presented in three different formats and cast line-ups. The series was developed for the network by William Asher and Harry Ackerman for Ashmont Productions and Screen Gems. Set in a fictional Washington, D.C. hospital, the series first featured James Whitmore as a no-nonsense chief of staff, forced to deal with the outlandish antics of a young intern and three nurses.
For the first season, 26 episodes were produced and broadcast. In the second season, Whitmore was replaced in the lead role by comedian Paul Lynde, and Asher was replaced as producer by Duke Vincent and Bruce Johnson. The series was re-titled The New Temperatures Rising Show, and featured a new supporting cast: Sudie Bond, Barbara Cason, Jennifer Darling, Jeff Morrow, and John Dehner. Cleavon Little was the only returning member of the original cast. In this season, Lynde was presented as the penny-pinching chief of staff, with Bond as his nagging mother and owner of the hospital.
The New Temperatures Rising Show ran for 13 episodes before being placed on hiatus in January 1974 due to poor ratings. It returned in July in yet another incarnation. Asher returned as producer and restored the series to its original format—albeit with Lynde continuing in the lead. Reverting to the original title of Temperatures Rising, Little remained in the show's cast, accompanied by a new line-up of supporting players: Alice Ghostley, Barbara Rucker and, returning from the first season's cast, Nancy Fox. Offered as a summer replacement on Thursday nights, the third version of the sitcom ran for seven episodes, after which it was cancelled permanently.
First season
Concept and development
Temperatures Rising was one of two sitcoms that the ABC network premiered in its 1972–73 prime time schedule, the other being The Paul Lynde Show. Both series were produced and developed by William Asher and his partner Harry Ackerman for Ashmont Productions and Screen Gems, which had scored a major success for the network with Bewitched, a fantasy sitcom that first aired in 1964 starring Asher's wife, Elizabeth Montgomery. Asher and Screen Gems made a deal with ABC to cancel Bewitched a year earlier than contracts stipulated, thereby allowing them the opportunity to develop the two new sitcoms. Ackerman served as executive producer and Asher as producer.Asher and Ackerman derived the format of the series from an unsold pilot they had produced for ABC in 1965. Entitled This Is a Hospital?, and written by Sheldon Keller, it starred comedian Shecky Greene as a mischievous intern who Asher referred to as "Sgt. Bilko in a hospital". Asher also drew on the British Carry On franchise as his inspiration for Temperatures Rising.
Original cast
Set in Capitol General, a fictional Washington, D.C., hospital, the series centered on five characters. Cleavon Little starred as Dr. Jerry Noland, a ghetto-raised intern who works on the side as the hospital bookie and finds humor in anything from an operation to a con job. Joan Van Ark played Annie Carlisle, the hospital's beautiful, young, sexy head nurse, who is "always covering up for the inept crew". Reva Rose played Nurse Mildred "Millie" MacInerny, who offers satirical comments on the shenanigans going on in the hospital. Nancy Fox was cast as Ellen Turner, a shy student nurse who becomes Noland's most faithful follower. James Whitmore starred as Dr. Vincent Campanelli, the hospital's chief of surgery. Campanelli is presented as an Italian-American former combat surgeon, who looks upon Noland with both pride and shock and refers to the young intern and nurses Carlisle, MacInerny, and Turner as the "Four Horsemen of Aggravation".Little's guest appearance on All in the Family led to his casting in Temperatures Rising, which in turn led to the leading role in the 1974 Mel Brooks comedy film Blazing Saddles. Little's casting reflected "pressure from the government and Negro organizations and concerned whites who believe that black representation on television was long overdue". William Asher later stated that Temperatures Rising gave him a chance to work with a black actor. Fox was cast in Temperatures Rising after Elizabeth Montgomery spotted her in a commercial for Close-Up toothpaste. Asher had considered her for a part in The Paul Lynde Show. During the time that Temperatures Rising was in production, Fox declined an offer to leave the series and star in another, Needles and Pins.
Overview
In a 2000 interview, William Asher described Temperatures Rising as being about "a young black surgeon who was always into mischief and things, but he was a very competent surgeon. James Whitmore was the head surgeon and he used to drive Whitmore crazy". The pilot episode of Temperatures Rising was written by Sheldon Keller, who turned to his This is a Hospital? script for inspiration. It features Noland broadcasting a bingo game in code over the hospital's public-address system. Jack Albertson guest starred as a United States Senator. Subsequent episodes feature Noland performing a secret operation on a young baseball player while Campanelli deals with a hospital inspector, and John Astin as a gangster wanting Noland to be his personal physician. In another episode, Noland hypnotizes a patient and, accidentally, Nurse Turner as well. This nearly costs the hospital a large donation from a potential benefactor. In later episodes, Campanelli is seen having a brief romance with Nurse Turner's aunt, Noland helps out a new intern who has a reputation for being a jinx, and also performs a witchcraft ritual on a patient who thinks he has been cursed.Albertson returned in a later episode that features Dr. Campanelli participating in a documentary film about hospital surgery. Unfortunately, Campanelli develops stage fright during filming. Noland then takes over the operation and receives all the acclaim. Kopell returned to his role as a hospital orderly in two episodes, one in which he causes a furor with a hospital scandal sheet, the other showing Noland having to save him from being fleeced by a patient who is also a card shark.
There was some racially tinged comic bantering in the series, such as scenes with Noland giving cotton to a nurse and stating, "Honey, picking cotton is part of my heritage," or observing some adhesive strips labeled "flesh colored" and remarking, "Maybe this is your idea of flesh colored, but it wouldn't make it in my neighborhood." Aside from these, racial issues were avoided, as Asher and Ackerman felt that ABC was not interested in having them mixed into the comedy.
In discussing the series Asher noted:
We too often forget the humanity of doctors and nurses. They become godlike to most of us and yet it is their humanity that makes them so interesting and enjoyable. We are not doing a drama and have no intention of doing anything like dealing with life and death issues. We want to make people laugh so we de-emphasize the more serious elements of hospital life. It isn't that he just sees things differently, he also deals with them differently. That is why Noland will dream up a baby derby, a gambling night at the hospital, a variety show at Christmas and off-track betting when patients get bored with the hospital routine.
Production of Temperatures Rising was underway by August 1972 with filming done at the Burbank Studios in Burbank, California.
Original reviews
In his review of the premiere episode of Temperatures Rising for the Los Angeles Times, critic Don Page felt that James Whitmore was "totally wasted in this silly exercise" and that "guest Jack Albertson almost saves it with his portrayal of an annoyed senator. Otherwise, the diagnosis is terminal comedy". Likewise, Cecil Smith, another writer for the Times, claimed it was the "worst show of the season. Avoid it like the plague".Other reviews were more favorable. Columnist Joan Crosby noted that "This is the kind of show you don't think you'll laugh at, but you do, mostly because the cast is so good." She noted that Cleavon Little, Joan Van Ark, and Reva Rose were, respectively, "marvelous", "pretty", and "funny", and that Nancy Fox "wins this year's cute-as-a-kitten award". Barbara Holsopple, TV and radio editor for the Pittsburgh Press, noted that "ABC did a gutsy turnabout in taking the heavy drama out of a hospital and replacing it with comedy. The venture worked well, thanks to excellent performances from the Temperatures Rising cast". She praised Albertson, noted that Whitmore "was little seen", and that the series: "is the kind of tidy little show that brings chuckles". Win Fanning, a syndicated columnist, stated that: "the comedy writing and performances by a beautifully integrated cast give Temperatures a bright, light quality so seldom achieved in a situation comedy", and that it was: "loaded with one-liners and sight gags, which, if kept on the level of the opener, promise many hours of hilarity". Fanning praised Little as "one of the comedy finds of any TV season", and Fox as "a fresh new face and talent giving promise of a long, successful career ahead". More praise for the series came after the broadcast of its fourth episode. An unidentified reviewer, writing for the Armored Sentinel, stated "If you're suffering from a case of the 'downs,' this series is a sure pick up!" The reviewer went on to note that "the brightest spot of the series is wacky Nancy Fox. Her role applies the wackiness of Goldie Hawn, but in situation comedy form. I'd watch the show just for her! The whole series is wacky and funny; it's downright good. I highly recommend it."