Review of Nanny and the Professor

Nobody was stupid, nobody was ornery. They were just a little lost as a family after the mother died. Richard Long as a professor wasn't quite absent-minded but he was juggling family and career, and his parade of nannies were overwhelmed with kids who were just inclined to get into things that curious, smart kids get into. Then Phoebe Figalilly comes to the door - before the professor even had time to call the agency to get a new nanny. She is sort of Mary Poppins, but her magic is subtle - no nose wiggling to make things disappear or flying via umbrella or anything like that. She knows things she shouldn't know, she can charm even dogs into doing what she wants them to do, and she fills the need that the Professor didn't even realize he had. A faint hint of romance that never comes around, but it's ok - that's not what this show was about. It was just about a family getting some magical help.

As the Professor says in one episode, "Nanny, why is it that my coincidences are a little bit more coincidental that anyone else's?"

Interesting notes - the first pilot for this program starred Juliet Mills but Fred Beir as the Professor, but it did not sell. I was made when The Big Valley was still in production. When The Big Valley ended and Richard Long became available, they filmed a second pilot with him as the Professor and that one sold. Also unusual for a US series, it ran two calendar years, from January 1970 to the end of December 1971 (two half seasons and one full season).