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 (Cleavon Little) and three nurses (Joan Van Ark, Reva Rose, and Nancy Fox).
This article is about the television series. For the album by Loverboy, see Temperature's Rising. For other uses, see Temperature Rising.Temperatures Rising
The New Temperatures Rising Show
- Cleavon Little
- James Whitmore (1972–73)
- Paul Lynde (1973–74)
United States
English
2
46 (list of episodes)
- William Asher
- Duke Vincent
- Bruce Johnson
22–24 minutes
September 12, 1972 –
August 29, 1974
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.
Second season[edit]
New premise and producers[edit]
As early as November 1972, James Whitmore expressed a desire to leave Temperatures Rising, claiming that "the show [was] basically a broad farce and I didn't feel it was right for me".[53] Screen Gems head John Mitchell and ABC chief programmer Barry Diller decided to replace Whitmore with comedian Paul Lynde, whose sitcom, The Paul Lynde Show, was airing on Wednesday nights. At the time, Lynde was scoring second only to Peter Falk in TV popularity polls even though his sitcom, which aired opposite The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour on CBS, was floundering in the ratings. Asher was against making this change but was overruled as his contractual commitments to ABC had finished.[3][17][51]
Of the change Asher stated: