45th Anniversary of Nancy

NBC sitcom Nancy celebrates its 45th anniversary today. It premiered on Thursday, September 17th, 1970 and ran for 17 episodes before succumbing to low ratings. Most critics didn’t like the show much but I do despite the fact that I’ve only seen one episode. My article on the series can be found here.

Nancy starred Renne Jarrett and John Fink as a young couple who meet and instantly fall in love. Their romance is complicated by the fact that she is the daughter of the President. Early episodes dealt with their engagement and the lead up to their wedding, which took place in an early November episode.

In addition to seeing one episode, I’ve also read and enjoyed the tie-in novel written by Jack Pearl and published by Pyramid Books in December 1970. And I own a photocopied script for the second-to-last episode (“Budget, Budget, Who’s Go the Budget?”) that aired on December 31st, 1970.

Nancy Script Page – “Budget, Budget, Who’s Got the Budget?”

The original script, I believe, belonged to actor Ivor Francis, who had a small role in the episode as Watts, Third Assistant Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. His name is written in pencil on the top right-hand corner of the script and all of his lines have been marked, although the markings are photocopied.

Based on all this, I’m fairly confident in saying that Nancy was a cute, if perhaps a bit sappy, show that was part of the wave youth and relevance that swept across the networks in the fall of 1970. Initial ratings were decent, and in fact Nancy was outperforming The Odd Couple on ABC, but the show simply couldn’t compete with The CBS Thursday Night Movie. NBC replaced it with Adam-12 at mid-season which was better able to counter-program the CBS movie block.

Had it not faced such strong competition, perhaps Nancy would have survived the season. NBC didn’t think it was a gimmick show and maybe it wasn’t but I’m not convinced it could have sustained itself for long, although adding a baby or the stress of a re-election campaign may have helped keep it going.

Did you watch Nancy back in 1970? If so, hit the comments with your recollections.


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4 Replies to “45th Anniversary of Nancy”

  1. I remember this show very well!!!!! Loved it!!!! And I have tried to locate information about seeing the episodes again on dvd or some other means. Would anyone know if there is a way to view the episodes of Nancy here on the internet or purchase? I also have not been able to find information about the Jarrett or Fink. Are they both still alive? I know that Simon and Holmes have both deceased. Thank you for your response and any help provided.
    dave

  2. I would love to find this show on Video! I loved the premise of the show and really enjoyed the characters inter-actions! I remember it came on just before the Dean Martin Show. I recorded on audio tapes some of the main shows before the December episodes and when I play them today they are great to hear again!! I wish they would release this show on DVD someday!

  3. I remember it well and saw most of the episodes. Just a nice show with personable, attractive leads. Renee Jarrett went on to appear in a few movies and an episode of Quincy.

  4. Sony Television has all 17 episodes. Maybe someone should convince Antenna or Get-TV to air the series, as they have been using other short run series like Good Morning World, Peter Loves Mary and The Girl with Something Extra.

    Renne is married to TV director Bruce Bilson and lives in the Los Angeles area.

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