Nurses

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

Nurses
Nurses title screen
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Susan Harris
Directed by	Robert Berlinger Peter D. Beyt Andy Cadiff Terry Hughes Gil Junger Lex Passaris Tom Straw
Starring	Arnetia Walker Stephanie Hodge (1991-1993) Mary Jo Keenen Carlos Lacamara Jeff Altman (1991-1992) Florence Stanley (1991-1992) David Rasche (1992-1994) Loni Anderson (1993-1994) Kip Gilman Markus Flanagan (1992-1993) Ada Maris
Theme music composer	John Bettis Mike Post
Opening theme	"Here I Am"
Composer(s)	George Aliceson Tipton Frank Denson Mike Post
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	67 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Susan Beavers Susan Harris Paul Junger Witt Tom Straw Tony Thomas Bob Underwood
Producer(s)	Andy Cadiff Gil Junger Nina Feinberg Mitchell Hurwitz Michael J. Kagan Jane Milmore Danny Smith Billy Van Zandt Nina Wass
Running time	30 min (approx)
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	September 14, 1991 – May 7, 1994
Chronology
Related shows	Empty Nest

Nurses is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1991 to 1994, developed and produced by Susan Harris as a spin-off of Empty Nest (which, in turn, was a spin-off of The Golden Girls).

Synopsis

The show revolved around a group of nurses working at the same Miami hospital as Empty Nest's Dr. Harry Weston. Initially, the main characters were strong-willed nurse Annie Roland (Arnetia Walker), sarcastic nurse Sandy Miller (Stephanie Hodge), dim-witted nurse Julie Milbury (Mary Jo Keenen) and Latina nurse Gina Cuevas (Ada Maris) who frequently reminisced about her homeland, the fictional San Peqeuno. Also in the cast were arrogant Dr. Hank Kaplan (Kip Gilman), wise-cracking orderly Paco Ortiz (Carlos Lacamara) and flaky nurse Greg Vincent (Jeff Altman). In addition, Florence Stanley had a recurring role during the first season as Dr. Riskin.

Changes were made, however, after the first season. In an effort to boost ratings, David Rasche joined the cast in the second season as Jack Trenton, a slimy white-collar criminal forced to perform community service at the hospital, and in the final season Loni Anderson joined the cast as new hospital administrator Casey McAfee. Other changes included the addition of Markus Flanagan as Luke Fitzgerald for the second season only, the changing of the show's theme song in seasons two and three, having nurse Gina and Dr. Hank Kaplan get married (Gina being pregnant with Dr. Hank's child) and, oddly, having nurse Gina's extremely thick Spanish accent completely disappear. Nurse Greg Vincent was also written off after season one. In the show's final season, nurse Sandy was gone, and the show's focus moved increasingly from the nurses to Casey McAfee's adjustments in running the hospital under a new HMO, and the antics of Jack Trenton and his sidekick Paco the orderly.

The ratings failed to improve, however, and NBC canceled the show after its third season.

Episodes

Presentation & production changes

This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (November 2009)

In the beginning, Nurses had production values that were exactly similar to The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, and all other Witt-Thomas-Harris shows. Nurses utilized many of the same writers and directors used on its sister shows, and since the action was set in the same local Miami hospital as Empty Nest, which in turn was nearby to the location of the suburban home of The Golden Girls, the ultimate fusion was created between all three; stars of both series made frequent guest shots all throughout the run of Nurses, while cast members of Nurses sometimes returned the favor of showing up on The Golden Girls and Empty Nest.

The one difference in place from the start on Nurses was a very original opening sequence which slightly set the show apart from its Saturday-night Susan Harris-produced neighbors. The first two seasons had the title appear in thin, red Compacta or Impact font against a white background with a pulsating red heart rhythm line. The first season only, however, expanded on this graphic look by featuring CGI outlines of each cast member against the white, which would travel into live-action video footage of the characters as they worked around the hospital. The only constant between Nurses and other Susan Harris shows was the use of Craw Clarendon Bold font for the credits. The first season also had the sensual, lyrical theme song "Here I Am."

The second season saw changes in production and presentation, after NBC pushed for new personnel in order to improve the ratings. Tom Straw was hired as the new executive producer, and made changes that very much put his creative stamp on Nurses. New writers were hired to give the plots and characters more of an edge, and Straw further played up the multi-ethnic image of the series. In the opening sequence, the show's title display remained the same, but the animated outlines of the cast members were eliminated and the theme song was changed to an upbeat instrumental with a bouncy Latin beat. Latin and ethnic-themed underscores became a trademark on Straw's shows, including CBS' Cosby a few years later. Although the show's comic delivery was definitely more punchy and cutthroat than before, and since previously minor characters were now moving up in screen time, a couple of cast members became unhappy with Straw's direction for the show. Stephanie Hodge was the most publicized protester, who cited that her top-billing character, Nurse Sandy Miller, had gone from being well-mannered and witty under Susan Harris' inception to mean-spirited and a nasty backstabber under the guidance of Tom Straw. Hodge left Nurses after the second season wrapped, but the producers told the press that Hodge and co-star Markus Flanagan were let go to make way for the show's impending new star, Loni Anderson.

The third season for the most part saw a truncated opening sequence with yet another instrumental melody, dominated by flutes and piano. The Nurses title logo, still set against white, was now in a bold variation of Arial font and had a small lowercase display of the title appear (in white) along a giant, capitalized version of the name (in purple). Many episodes just featured the title briefly as a "cold open", and the cast and principal crew members were credited during the first scene of the show. When a traditional, full version of the sequence aired, black-and-white video insets of each cast member appeared against the white, while the actors names (in thin Arial) floated into place below them. The Witt-Thomas-Harris look of Nurses disappeared even further in this season, not only due to the opening sequence featuring more arty graphics, but with the abandoning of the Craw Clarendon Bold font elsewhere on the program in favor of a variation of the new-age Arial font setup.

Syndication

In the United States, reruns have aired in the past on Lifetime.

External links

• Nurses at the Internet Movie Database
• Nurses at TV.com
• Nurses at EpGuides.com