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Nightingales

Nightingales was a Syndication network medical drama produced by Aaron Spelling that premiered on January 21, 1989. The show was developed from a pilot television movie of the same name that aired in June of 1988.

It was cancelled on April 26, 1989 after one season and 13 episodes.

Plot[]

"Nightingales" followed the stories of student nurse supervisor Christine Broderick (Suzanne Pleshette) and her five nursing students: Bridget Loring (Susan Walters), who was in the Witness Protection Program, trying to start over after testifying against a mobster; Sam Sullivan (Chelsea Field), a recovering alcoholic who had a side job as a dancer to support her young daughter, Megan (Taylor Fry); Allyson Yates (Kim Johnston Ulrich), a sexy blonde who always fell for the wrong guy; Becky Granger (Kristy Swanson), a naive young girl from Missouri; and Yolanda "Yo" Puente (Roxann Dawson), an underprivileged minority student, who all lived together in a villa called Nightingale House in Los Angeles, California and worked at Wilshire Memorial Hospital.

Other hospital personnel included Christine's love interest, Dr. Paul Petrillo (Gil Gerard); the head nurse, Lenore Ritt (Fran Bennett) and the chief of staff, Dr. Garrett Braden (Barry Newman).

Cast[]

  • Suzanne Pleshette as Christine Broderick
  • Barry Newman as Dr. Garrett Braden
  • Susan Walters as Bridget Loring
  • Chelsea Field as Samantha "Sam" Sullivan
  • Kristy Swanson as Rebecca "Becky" Granger
  • Roxann Biggs Dawson as Yolanda "Yo" Elena Puente
  • Kim Johnston Ulrich as Allyson Yates
  • Taylor Fry as Megan Sullivan
  • Fran Bennett as Head Nurse Lenore Ritt
  • Doran Clark as Dr. Charlene Chasen
  • Gil Gerard as Dr. Paul Petrillo
  • Jennifer Rhodes as Effie Gardner

Reception[]

The series was described in the Chicago Tribune as portraying nursing students as women who "don't spend much time studying...[but] do hang around in their underwear a lot". It was also criticized for "demeaning the nursing profession...by portraying five student nurses as lusty bimbos" and the American Nurses Association initiated a letter-writing campaign that prompted several of the show's sponsors to withdraw their advertising.

Video[]

Nightingales_Opening_Credits

Nightingales Opening Credits

1989_"Nightingales"_commercial

1989 "Nightingales" commercial

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