Date with the Angels

Date with the Angels is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from May 10, 1957, to January 29, 1958.^[1]

The series, which stars Betty White and Bill Williams,^[1] began as a replacement for The Ray Anthony Show for the same sponsor, Chrysler's Plymouth division.^[2] Tom Kennedy was the show's announcer and spokesman for Plymouth.^{[citation needed]}

The series revolves around newly married Vicki Angel and her insurance salesman husband Gus Angel who get themselves and their friends and neighbors into various comedic situations.^[3] Besides White and Williams, the series also featured for several episodes Richard Deacon, Richard Reeves, Maudie Prickett and Burt Mustin. Tom Kennedy's voice also appeared as announcer at the end of episodes.

Among the series' guest stars were Nancy Kulp, Madge Blake, Joan Vohs, Chuck Connors, Reta Shaw, Dave Willock, Sid Melton, Russell Hicks, Hugh O'Brian, Hanley Stafford, and Willard Waterman.

The show's theme song was "Got A Date With An Angel",^[4] a semi-standard introduced in 1932 and long associated with the orchestra of Hal Kemp.^{[citation needed]}

Date with the Angels was loosely based on the Elmer Rice play Dream Girl,^[4] and the series was originally intended to revolve heavily around Vicki's daydreaming tendencies, with more than half of a typical episode dedicated to fantasy sequences. However, the sponsor was not pleased with the fantasy elements and successfully exerted pressure to have them eliminated. "Without our dream sequences," White later said, "our show flattened out and became just one more run-of-the-mill domestic comedy[...]I can honestly say that was the only time I have ever wanted to get out of a show."^[5]

Don Fedderson was the producer,^[1] Fred Henry was the executive producer, James V. Kern was the director, and George Tibbal was the head writer.^[6] Initially, Desilu Productions filmed episodes for the Don Fedderson Company^[2] using a live-on-film technique. Shortly before the show was canceled, plans called for changing to live broadcasts.^[7] The series produced 33 filmed episodes before it was canceled in late January 1958.^{[citation needed]} The show originally was broadcast on Fridays from 10 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time. In July 1957 it was moved to 9:30 to 10 p.m. E. T. on Fridays.^[3] Beginning on January 1, 1958, The Betty White Show, "a live comedy-variety series", occupied that time slot, with Date with the Angels moving to Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. E. T. until January 29, 1958, when it ended.^[8] The cancellation meant that the show ended less than halfway through its original contract. Plymouth had contracted for 74 weeks, with options up to seven years. The trade publication Billboard reported that the agreement was "believed to be the longest commitment any sponsor has ever made for a new program."^[9]

A review of the premiere episode in The New York Times said, "The first show was a little more trite, uninspired and contrived than any of its contemporaries ..."^[10] The review concluded, "The only thing uproarious about the performance was the canned laughter, and even that seemed strange."^[10]

A review of the same episode in the trade publication Broadcasting said that it tended "too often to lapse into hackneyey lines and situations".^[6] The review also noted that levels of laughter on the recorded track did not match what was seen: "often when a raised eye or puzzled expression should evoke a satisfactory chuckle, there is a disconcerting wave of audience roars."^[6] The most positive aspects of the review commended the commercials.^[6]

• Date with the Angels at IMDb
• A film clip of a christmas episode of Date with the Angels is available for viewing at the Internet Archive