TV Spot Tuesday Twofer: Suzanne Pleshette and Gil Gerard!

I am surprised and somewhat shocked that I had no idea that Suzanne Pleshette and Gil Gerard made two TV movies together – and then appeared yet again in the short lived series Nightingales! Where have I been?

I have loved Help Wanted: Male since I first laid eyes on it. Aside from Pleshette and Gerard, Harold Gould and Bert Convy also appear in this adorable comedy about a sharp and successful businesswoman who wants to have a child. Airing on CBS on January 16th, 1982, Help Wanted seeks to speak to that blurred lined of the then forming feminist ideology, where some women weren’t sure if having a career meant giving up a family. Pleshette is beyond sophisticated but is also caught up in the same dilemma that many women tackled during the era. Of course, choosing between Gerard and Convy is a nice perk, and this romantic comedy tends to speak more to the heart and only slightly to feminism. Take that as you will.

Help Wanted was a booming success, garnering 47.7 in the ratings for the evening, and coming in at the number 3 in the Nielsen ratings for the week!

Here is the promo for Help Wanted: Male:


For Love or Money was another CBS TV movie that paired Gerard and Pleshette together. It originally aired on November 20th, 1984, and I have not seen it, but it looks like a lot of fun. The premise revolves around a television producer (Mary Kay Place) who comes up with an idea for a game show: Find two extremely compatible people (Pleshette and Gerard) and offer them the choice of marriage or a huge amount of money.

This seems to be both a spoof of game shows and a parody of modern romance. Based on the chemistry exuded from Ms. Pleshette and Gerard in Help Wanted, I think we can assume that their touch of gold most likely applies to For Love or Money as well. Although it doesn’t seem to have garnered the same positive reviews of Help Wanted, anything with Jamie Farr as a sleazy game show host must be worth seeing!

Here is the promo for For Love or Money:


And finally, Gerard and Pleshette teamed up yet again for the series Nightingales! Nightingales also featured Barry Newman who appeared with Pleshette in one of my all time favorite TV movies, Fantasies (you can read my reviews here and here). I’m not sure where Gerard fits into the series, but I think he would make for a nice triangle with Newman and Pleshette! Again, I have yet to see this show, but as a bonus here is the opening credit sequence below.


I have also written about some Nightingales trivia, which you can read here!

Here is a newspaper promo for Fantasies that doesn't necessarily apply to this post but I wanted to post it, so there!