The Nanny

[CassieFan]

The Nanny is primarily based upon the story of nasal-voiced Fran Fine (played by Fran Drescher) who is from Flushing, Queens. Fran appears at the doorstep of a wealthy widowed Englishman, Broadway theatrical producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy), while selling cosmetics. Fran has just been fired from her job as a bridal consultant by her ex-fiancé, Danny. Maxwell is initially unsure of her but is in desperate need of a new nanny, so quickly hires her to be the nanny to his three kids, Maggie (Nicholle Tom), Brighton (Benjamin Salisbury) and Grace (Madeline Zima). Fran, with her nontraditional nurturing style and no-nonsense honesty, soon becomes a favorite with the kids as well as Maxwell, as they come to respect her opinions and love her as a person. It is a situation of blue collar meets blue blood, as Fran gives the prim-and-proper Maxwell and his children a dose of "Queens logic", helping them to become a healthy, happy family.

Proudly running the Sheffield household is the butler, Niles (Daniel Davis), who watches all events with a bemused eye and levels problems with his quick wit. Niles quickly recognizes Fran's gift for bringing warmth into the family and becomes fast friends with her. He does his best to undermine Maxwell's socialite business partner, C. C. Babcock (Lauren Lane), in their ongoing game of one-upmanship. C. C. views Fran with a mixture of skepticism, hatred, and jealousy, as they both have designs on the very available Mr. Sheffield.

Perpetually hovering close by are Fran's stereotypically obsessive and food-loving "Jewish mother" Sylvia (Renée Taylor); her rarely-seen but often-mentioned father Morty; her cigarette-addicted senile grandmother Yetta (Ann Guilbert), dispensing nonsensical advice and often erroneously believing Mr. Sheffield to already be Fran's husband and Grace to be their daughter (a belief she does not keep to herself), Fran's dim-witted best friend Val (Rachel Chagall) keeping her company on the perpetual quest for a husband and constantly reminding Fran how things can always get worse (as Val has much less luck than Fran).

I loved "The Nanny". C.C. and Niles were my favorites.

C.C.: Let go of me you old...

Niles: All right but I just...

[C.C. walks out of the kitchen and into the dining room - we here a blood curdling scream]

Niles: ... waxed the floor.

[DRW50]

I enjoyed this show a lot, especially CC. The whole "CC loses her mind" story is one of my favorite subplots ever on any sitcom, especially when she starts calling for Grandma, and Niles has this WTF look on his face.

The first season was a bit rough but the next few were very good. Then they became too guest star heavy, but everything after Fran and Max got together I really enjoyed. Or almost everything (the episode where they go skiing and meet the "Clintons", complete with bad Lewinsky jokes -- awful and so dated).

My favorite episode of all time was when Val and Fran fell out because Fran didn't like Val's boyfriend. She tried to be best friends with CC (complete with that hilarious scene where Fran kept choking while CC didn't notice), then Brighton (who ran out in horror because she wouldn't stop making him listening to Babs albums), and finally Max, which led to that hysterical "girl talk" scene where she filed his nails. The scene was something like:

Fran: We talk about our favorite foods...

(Max says something)

Fran: And we talk about cute guys...

Max: Well, I did have a dream about that chap off Wings...

(Fran sends the nail file flying and can't listen to any more)

[dm.]

Loved this show. (Not even the constant re-runs in my country could stop me from loving it.)

Everything about the show was great, from Fran's obsession with being skinny and Barbra, Niles' and C.C.'s fights to Fran's crazy background.

[Cheap21]

I was always a fan of the ABC and NBC sitcoms. This was probably the only one on CBS back in the 90s that I liked

[DaytimeFan]

Loved the Nanny, particularly the episodes where Pamela Anderson played Fran's highschool rival. Joan Collins guest starring as Maxwell's stepmother was fun. CC was a fantastic character. Just a thoroughly enjoyable show.

And I love that wherever I am in the world, I can find a re-run of The Nanny.

Fran Drescher must be screamingly rich thanks to syndication. Good for her!

[CassieFan]

In Croatia, the show started in 2004. In 2010 it's STILL ON. They are repeating it over and over and over again...

[YRBB]

Gotta love THE NANNY. One of the few self-contained sitcoms I can go back to time and time again.

Although I do feel they mishandled the Fran/Sheffield relationship, as in they went "there" way too fast instead of building it into a will they/won't they? thing, and I think it ultimately hurt the show. And the kids--they were OK but really just... no

Miles/C.C. rivalry? Best thing. Those two were hilarious without having to try.

[dragonflies]

I LOVE the Nanny, I have Season 3 on DVD.

I love Yetta, she is freaking hilarious

Fran & Max are my favorite couple, but I do have a soft spot for Niles & CC

I watch the show on N@N every night.

[DRW50]

Didn't they do will they/won't they for about three or four seasons?

From what I remember, one of the reasons they got one last season was because they finally had Fran and Max get together, and the ratings for the middle/end of that penultimate season went up.

The kids, I had mixed feelings on them, sometimes they annoyed me but sometimes I thought they were funny. They were some of the more realistic children on sitcoms, in that respect. I also liked that they weren't overly rude or nasty, like a lot of sitcom kids.

[dragonflies]

I love Fran & Niles as BFF's. It was funny when they'd team up against CC.

The few times Niles & CC teamed up? OMG

[YRBB]

Perhaps they did... maybe what I'm looking for is choppy. As in, there was no clear, slow, season-long progression to their feelings. But I do have to rewatch the show, my memories are hazy.

Didn't know about that Season 6 thing in regards to ratings.

Yes, that's how I feel about the kids. There are times when I'm OK with them, other times when they just piss me off lol

[DRW50]

Remember the episode where Niles and CC teamed up to torment Fran?

[dragonflies]

^ that was a great episode, then when he and Fran made up, he turned on CC so fast, it was funny

The whole series was a build up to their feelings and them getting together, so IMO it wasn't all that sudden

[Sylph]

Maxwell was also a jerk and Fran was an opportunistic gold-digger (a pleonasm, but a needed one).

Their relationship was, though terribly cliched, kind of interesting at first, then they lost me, and when they finally got together it was all so puke-worthy and saccharine.

It was actually all so sad and pathetic.

A cr?ppy show with nice moments.

[dragonflies]

Some of my favorite Yetta moments:

Sylvia: Ma, Mr. Sheffield is finally gonna pop the question!

Yetta: Oh, I hope you said no. It'll kill Frannie!

the episode, "Sara's Parents" when Fran is trying to convince "Bert and Ernie" that she's a good mother to the kids and wants nothing more to provide them with a loving but "most of all stable environment" . [Cue Yetta behind the glass doors in the back end of the living room] :

"What time do you open??"

Joan: Where did you get the exquisite shrimp?

Yetta: I came with her

Joan: No dear, I mean the crustacean

Yetta: Oh, she's my daughter

:lol: