“She was working in a bridal shop in Flushing Queens till her boyfriend kicked her out in one of those crushing scenes…”
Recognise these lyrics? Anyone who was around in the early 90s certainly should. The lyrics are to the theme song of one of the early 90s’ best TV comedies (in my opinion), The Nanny. Starring the stylish, the witty and the rather nasally, Fran Drescher (you know the one with the voice?), The Nanny took the early 90s by storm with its likeable characters, charm and no holds barred humour.
Thanks to Madman Entertainment New Zealand, I was given the opportunity to review the newly released DVDs of The Nanny seasons 1, 2 and 3, which is by far one of the greatest gifts I’ve been given, seeing as I am a huge The Nanny fan and grew up watching reruns over and over again.
For those of you unfamiliar with the comedy series, The Nanny follows the story of Fran Fine, a fashionable, Jewish woman in her twenties who was fired from her job at a bridal store by her own boyfriend. Down on her luck, she takes a door-to-door sales job selling beauty products. Upon her arrival at the Sheffield residence, she is mistaken for an applicant for a nanny position and charms her way into getting the job, much to the dismay of the head of the household, Maxwell Sheffield.
The Sheffields consist of Maxwell, the father; Margaret (a.k.a Maggie), the eldest; Brighton, the middle child; Grace; the youngest and Niles, the Butler. The children had been suffering a great deal since their mother passed away and Maxwell, a Broadway producer, is just far too busy to attend to his children. Hence the need for a nanny.
The Nanny DVDs brings back fond childhood memories of watching the series on TV with my siblings and hearing my Dad laughing in the background. The DVD version of the show is definitely a godsend, saving me from having to scour through the Internet for a streaming site that showcases the series. Not only is the series more accessible on DVD, the quality is crisp and clear, allowing for an enjoyable viewing experience.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching through the first three seasons again and noted just how witty and utterly hilarious each episode was. Whilst Fran’s own antics and family drama is humourous, it is the relationship between Niles and Maxwell’s business partner, C.C Babcock, that had me in stitches. Some of the jabs that the pair said to each other were so incredibly funny that even a sour puss would smile and chuckle a little.
It was interesting to see the straight and narrow Maxwell get constantly annoyed and flustered at Fran, who certainly has a way of winding him up. It was almost clear right from the beginning that the tension between the two would eventually lead to something more promising. However, nothing truly develops between the pair in the first two seasons. Instead we see Fran bring the Sheffield family closer together, solidifying her role as part of the family and as someone who the children can look to as a friendly maternal-figure.
The beguiling antics displayed throughout the first three seasons of The Nanny only makes the series more enjoyable and cements the need for more episodes and more seasons as there’s still so much more to Fran’s Manhattan city life .
If you are a fan of the series, what are you waiting for? Pick up the series now. If you are simply into comedy TV series in general, then I urge you to give this series a try. You can find The Nanny on DVDs here. Till next season…