"She was working at a bridal shop in Flushing, Queens, when her boy friend kicked her out in one of those crushing scenes." - "The Nanny" theme song
The Nanny: The Complete First Season DVD Review
By A.J. Carson
Did Mary Poppins ever offer her young charges makeup advice with their spoonfuls of sugar? Did The Sound of Music's Maria have the fashion sense to wear a red sequined dress (complete with a well-placed slit) while singing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"? And did that psycho from The Hand That Rocks the Cradle have the good taste to be obsessed with Barbra Streisand? No, no, and no. For a truly classy childcare provider, look no further than The Nanny, CBS' 1993-99 sitcom hit.
Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) is a 29 year-old (or at least that's the age when she stopped counting) bridal consultant in the Queens bridal boutique owned by her fiancé. She feels as if she's "always a bridal consultant, never a bride" because her beau is never willing to set a date. She soon comes to understand why: he's in love with another woman. To make matters worse, his new girlfriend needs a new job. Specifically, Fran's. So the flashy girl from Flushing puts her fashion sense to good use, setting out to sell cosmetics door-to-door.
One of Fran's first stops is the Sheffield residence in Manhattan. Maxwell Sheffield (Days of Our Lives' Charles Shaughnessy) is a British theatrical producer. His wife died several years ago, leaving Maxwell to raise their three children alone. Maggie (Nicholle Tom) is a beautiful but awkward teen. Brighton (Benjamin Salisbury) is a smart aleck ten year-old. Grace (Madeline Zima), the youngest, is sweet but morose. This is not a family that needs cosmetics. They do, however, need a live-in nanny. After beefing up her resume using a lipstick sample, Fran gets the job.
Fran wears tacky clothing, has a voice that sounds like a chainsaw with a cold, and is accustomed to living in the plastic-on-plastic home of her mother, Sylvia (Renee Taylor). C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane), Maxwell's business partner, takes an instant dislike to the new nanny. But somehow she's just what the stuffy old Sheffields need. She even manages to win over Niles (Daniel Davis), the Sheffields' very proper English butler.
The series often mines humor in the differences between middle-class Fran and her new upper-crust workplace, with each side learning from the other. Fran inadvertently encourages Brighton to smoke when she tells him a story about the coolest kid in her high school ("Smoke Gets in Your Lies"). She corrects the problem by introducing Brighton to Yetta (The Dick Van Dyke Show's Ann Morgan Guilbert), her emphysematic grandmother. She teaches Maggie how to put on makeup and become comfortable in her sexuality ("Pilot"). Fran attempts to become a "real" nanny when faced with disapproval from Maxwell's old caretaker, Nanny Mueller (The Mary Tyler Moore Show's Cloris Leachman). Blueblooded stiff C.C., jealous about how close Fran and the children are growing, fails spectacularly when she tries to take the kids on an outing ("Here Comes the Brood"). Fran is very much a fish out of water, but she's more than capable of holding her own.
The series' writers also have a way with a sitcom staple: put-down humor. Each of the characters gets in on the act, but the most viciously funny lines are saved for Niles and C.C. The characters hate each other, leading to many funny moments.
Another of the series' assets is its terrific opening credits. The stylish animation and sing-along-ready theme song by Ann Hampton Callaway put the show's title sequence on the same level as memorable openings as those from Green Acres and The Brady Bunch.
The Nanny is as loud and classless as Drescher's character. "Here Comes the Brood" includes a vomit-filled hat, pink satin bridesmaids dresses covered with yellow satin roses, and a tap dancing ten-year-old. Needless to say, fifty years from now it won't be held in the same esteem as classics like I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners. But it's still pretty darn funny.
Notable guest stars in the first season include Carol Channing, Dorothy Lyman (Mama's Family), Ian Abercrombie (Seinfeld's Mr. Pitt), Brian George (Seinfeld's Babu Bhatt), Andy Dick (NewsRadio), Lesley-Anne Down (North & South), Twiggy, Dan Aykroyd (Saturday Night Live), Eric Braeden (The Young and the Restless), Rita Moreno (Oz), Robert Culp (I Spy), Leann Hunley (Battlestar Galactica), Patti LaBelle, and Bess Armstrong (My So-Called Life).
The twenty-two episodes that make up the first season are divided onto three discs. The discs are housed in two slim, clear plastic keepcases - the first keepcase holds two discs while the second holds a single disc. The fronts of the cases are decorated with publicity stills from the series. The backs of the cases include titles and brief synopses for each episode. The synopses, which include several spelling and plotline errors, could have used further proofreading. The interiors of the cases are simply red, while the discs themselves are decorated in a leopard print. The keepcases slide into a cardboard outer sleeve.
The DVD menus employ a new version of the series' animated opening. Viewers can play all of the disc's episodes or choose an individual one. The episodes are divided into chapters, but there are no scene selection menus.
