MTV Canada had a week long marathon of The Nanny

Logo usually has a Nanny marathon once a week

Lauren Lane (CC) looked amazing in Season 4. Then, she got pregnant in season 5, and she never looked as good after that.

I did like the jokes they made about her hiding behind props and things because she was pregnant.

R3 she comes in and says she was watching Seinfeld and Elaine, "is like 12 months pregnant!" and she proceeds to explain how absurd it is that they're hiding it with props, as she's using props--like a ginormous purse--to hide her pregnancy.

One reason I loved the show so much, they loved taking the piss out of themselves.

I doubt it, they're good friends in real life. Taylor has been on all of Drescher's subsequent shows: The Nanny Reunion, her talk show, and Happily Divorced

Fran Drescher and The Nanny cast and writers are very underrated. Their characterisation and comedic timing and delivery was really very good.

I guess it was just impression then R5. Some episodes she was playing Sylvia less outrageous than usual, so maybe that was it.

R6 it's honestly one of the few sitcoms that made me laugh hard when it first aired and still kills me today in reruns. Everything about it was right--the casting, the writing, the acting. It was wonderfully absurd.

OP, it's weird. It wasn't considered a "great" show when it aired but I think time has been very kind to it. The first season is the only one that has aged a little badly, because it seems like it's trying really too hard to be sweet. As the show goes on, it becomes more outrageous until Fran and Max get married. That's when the show stopped being as good.

Honestly, it takes the I Love Lucy formula and does a better job.

I loved the show, except for the last season. Having Fran and Mr. Sheffield marry was bad enough, but Niles and CC falling in love was ridiculous and ruined the great hate-hate relationship they shared.

I love The Nanny too!

Fran marrying Max made sense, but that should have been the very end. CC and Niles getting married made no sense. Especially since we all thought Niles was supposed to be gay.

r11 the episode where Niles calls CC out and makes her quit (sort of) and then they end up in bed together was great. No one can hurt you like someone who knows you. She knew he was right, too.

I always get the impression Fran Drescher would have been bigger had she not had that unfortunate voice. I feel sorry for her. A very talented and beautiful lady. I don't think she's had a very happy life despite her success.

OP- If you're in Canada you would be spelling favorite as FAVOURITE.

From Wikipedia: [quote] In January 1985, two armed robbers broke into Drescher and Jacobson's Los Angeles apartment. While one ransacked their home, Drescher and a female friend were raped by the other at gunpoint. Jacobson was also physically attacked, tied up, and forced to witness the entire ordeal. It took Drescher many years to recover, and it took her even longer to tell her story to the press

A friend of mine went to high school with Fran. She said Fran was nice, but kept her distance from schoolmates.. She wasn’t stuck up, just very focused on what she wanted. What she wanted, was to become a famous actress. Her high school boyfriend now ex-husband Peter, was the sociable one of the two.

Renee Taylor & Ann Morgan Guilbert as Yetta got more laughs in one episode than Julia Louis-Dreyfus got in 65 episodes of "Veep" yet Renee received only one Emmy nomination.

[quote]but Niles and CC falling in love was ridiculous and ruined the great hate-hate relationship they shared.

Only those black of heart thought that was a hate-hate relationship.

R16 I didn't want to be attacked by the "neighbo[bold]u[/bold]r troll" troll.

R19 I really loved Rachel Chagall as Val. The great thing about this show is that Fran wasn't afraid to let other people get laughs. She'd just sit back and enjoy it along with the rest of us.

R21, a writer who worked with Fran said she'd try to make the jokes more about herself. That doesn't sound right to me, because ALL the cast members, even the children, have funny lines. I can't think of too many other shows where that's the case.

The Whine Cellar is one of my favorite episodes. Lauren Lane and Fran were great together.

The Nanny was perfectly cast.

There's been gossip posted on showbiz blogs that once the show became a hit, she demanded to get more of the funny lines and have the shows become more focused on her. In the beginning it was more family focused, but in later season the younger two kids really don't get much to do.

The first costume designer supposedly had a shitty experience on the show. Madeline Zima was interviewed a year or two ago and also didn't have anything nice to say about it.

And the guy who played Niles is a well documented piece of work. I think he got banned by Equity from ever appearing on Broadway again.

When they did the reunion show on Lifetime some years back, he was the only one missing.

[quote]Madeline Zima was interviewed a year or two ago and also didn't have anything nice to say about it.

Wow. What did she say?

Here

Yetta is the best

Zima sounds like a bitter little bitch who wanted to be treated like a star.

R29 = Peter Marc Jacobson

omg Benjamin Salisbury looks like an elderly ill man

omg Benjamin Salisbury looks like an elderly ill man

Ann Morgan Guilbert became the Bernice Clifton of the show, appearing in only one episode of season one, but making more appearances as the show went on. She even got her own black man!

[quote]Zima sounds like a bitter little bitch who wanted to be treated like a star.

And bitter that not only the star of the show but the creator made a lot of money off it. Blame your parents.

Zima does sound whiny. Probably didn't have very good representation.

I got a wage and not a percentage of the residuals, they treated me like a child when they should have treated me like Elizabeth Taylor! That cunt Fran Drescher got all the laughs and attention! It shudda been me!

r34 Oh hon, I never had to show my tits off like that, such a desperate whore.

When The Nanny first aired I had zero interest in watching it. Her voice was so annoying and it just looked too gimmicky. I finally watched it a year or so ago and I was surprised how good it was. The cast is great, the writing really sharp and Drescher did a fantastic job. Glad I finally tuned in because I really enjoy it.

R27 That was an interesting interview! I love how she threw subtle shade at Fran about how Fran still makes tons of money from the show but she gets nothing.

I loved the set and the clothes and the witty dialogue

The writing was really good, that's one of the things I loved about it.

I bet The Nanny residuals at least paid for Madeline's new tits.

R42 All that nudity and her career still didn’t go anywhere. Sad.

Did you see the season 3 Christmas episode where they had a frau in the audience who SCREAMED after every line? It's weirdly one of the first things that I think of when the show is mentioned. She ruined the fucking episode!

Sounds about the right programming for a network called MUSIC Television.

[quote]That was an interesting interview! I love how she threw subtle shade at Fran about how Fran still makes tons of money from the show but she gets nothing.

There is no way she is getting nothing, probably just not enough to live on. How bad could her experiences be on set, she spent half her day in school, by law.

WAIT...that CANNOT be the son? Meth?

[quote]Yetta, Gracie is the little one, Schmuie is the boy, and Maggie is the tall one.

Kills me every time.

Madeline Zima is just bitter because the only way she can get work is to show her tits.

R24, honestly, I think her suggestion worked. I guess it WAS more Fran focused, but it was also more Max focused, with the other characters playing side roles. I think it was funnier this way actually.

R43 i think she's done the best out of that cast. I think i last saw her in the Twin Peaks reboot.

In the interview she implies they treated her like shit, but she doesn't go into details. It just sounds like complaining on her part.

[quote] Was there anything going on behind the scenes that caused some animosity?

Other than Fran Drescher being a super turbo mega cunt to everyone?

For whatever reason, the last season suddenly verged into soap territory. Fran thinks she has a miscarriage, Sylvia has an affair, and a really random Christmas episode where if I remember correctly, Fran thinks Max died because he didn’t come home? That last one might have been season 5, though.

Season 5 also had some really low moments like Fran getting held hostage in the Middle East by some sort of king (played by... Charles Shaughnessy). Actually, that might be the worst one of all. And it’s even more irritating since they made THAT the episode where Max proposes, so if you want to see Max finally pop the question you have to sit through that shitfest.

The season 6 premiere on the deserted island also sucked ass.

R54, Fran DID have a miscarriage. But yes, season 5 and 6 were mediocre. But hey, at least it didn't go on for 10 damn seasons or more.

I liked all of them, even the bad episodes. It’s a sitcom, a CBS sitcom from the 90s, so I guess my expectations were low.

I totally agree with the soap angle later in the series. For some reason, they constantly cast veteran soap actors in guest spots: Chris Rich, Nancy Frangione, Stephen Nichols, Ian Buchannan, Dorothy Lyman (in a variety of roles; She also directed), Eric Braeden, other cast members of "Y&R" and "B&B" as themselves, Paolo Seganti, Maree Cheatham, etc. "Murphy Brown" seemed to have a connection to "Another World" with Faith Ford in a major part, Chris Rich and Robin Thomas recurring, and Robin Strasser doing a very funny Natasha impression. But even as a fan of soap operas, I didn't think it fit "The Nanny", so watching seasons four through six for long stretches can be very tedious.

[quote]Madeline Zima is just bitter because the only way she can get work is to show her tits.

Nicole Tom showed tits too...

R58 Madeline's look better than Nicole, probably cost a lot more.

Has anyone here fucked the actor who played Niles?

With the Sheffield girls showing off their dirty pillows, I think it is only fair we get to see Ben's 10" Salisbury steak.

Nahhh I'll take whatever Charles Shaughnessy has to offer.

r62 He looks depressingly old now.

I find it very cheesy and its humor predictable and old-fashioned but extremely watchable, if that makes any sense. The chemistry between the two main characters and Drescher's natural bubbly charm are what made it work in spite of all its flaws and the fact that it, in many ways, felt like a sitcom relic from the 60s, compared to its contemporaries such as "Frasier", "Seinfeld", or even "Roseanne".

This thread took an unusual turn.

r65 It's Datalounge, Jake.

Anyone remember Andrew Levitas who played Maggie's BF and eventual husband?

I love that they recycled Fran's clothing so she wore outfits more than once. A dumb thing to like, but I do.

At least Mtv Canada show something besides 24/7 Ridiculousness

R64, I think the humor of The Nanny has actually aged better than that of a lot "classic" 90s shows--Roseanne and Friends included. But I know that is probably a controversial opinion here.

R57 no mystery really — Charles Shaunessy was One of the most popular characters on DOOL — so it was all a nod and a wink to that.

[quote]But I know that is probably a controversial opinion here.

I don't believe so R70. Friends is mostly hated around here and only the early seasons of Roseanne are liked, while the later seasons are rightly reviled.

R72, ok, good to know. I personally never really liked Roseanne.

i don’t know why i thought Fran’s husband was also raped. i thought i read it somewhere.

[quote]He looks depressingly old now.

Looks great for his age and still has that amazing head of hair.

It is a good thing MeToo wasn't around back then otherwise Ben With Ten would have been in hot water the way he used to strut around with his cock hanging out the bottom of his shorts leg.

r55 No, they thought she had a miscarriage but it turned out she was never pregnant in the first place. There's a really dramatic scene where she cries in the hospital room once she's alone, and then the episode shifts straight into a story about Max going on Hollywood Squares. It was really fucking weird.

My therapist is a good weekend bartender and a few good friends. I'm not going to spend unnecessary cash on something that a few good laughs and some terrific cocktails and friends can't help me cure. You pay the therapist, you pay for the medication, and you are trapped. They'll never let you go. I'd rather save my well earned cash on a good bartender.

[quote]There's a really dramatic scene where she cries in the hospital room once she's alone, and then the episode shifts straight into a story about Max going on Hollywood Squares. It was really fucking weird.

Life goes on Darlin'.

[quote]My therapist is a good weekend bartender and a few good friends. I'm not going to spend unnecessary cash on something that a few good laughs and some terrific cocktails and friends can't help me cure. You pay the therapist, you pay for the medication, and you are trapped. They'll never let you go. I'd rather save my well earned cash on a good bartender.

Fran's shrink was played by former porn actor and monologist Spalding Gray who committed suicide.

R64--I felt the same way. The show was no critics darling--it was full of recycled characters and premises from day 1, but the genius was that Drescher and her husband loved old sitcoms and knew how to recycle and do homages, etc. without making it tired and seeming to repeat the same old crap that was done before. They did it with lots of energy, a fast pace and an occasional wink at the audience. The supporting cast was great esp. as they moved the focus from the kids to Fran's family, CC, Niles and guest stars. I wonder if Zima has sour grapes because the kids became less important as the show went on--maybe that's where the crack about being a prop comes from.

r75 I agree, he always wore expensive-looking wigs.

Yetta staying with Sylvia and worrying about being a bad guest because she doesn't want to be sent to a home. Sylvia tells her that they put her in a home years ago. Yetta looks at Sylvia and Fran and says, "You bastards!"

Here's the reunion show for anyone who missed it.

It definitely peaked in season 2, I think. The shaving scene is probably the most remembered moment of the show.

The Dynasty parody from season 4

If Zima hated her time on The Nanny and Fran so much why did she go to the reunion?

R87 Good question.

[quote]If Zima hated her time on The Nanny and Fran so much why did she go to the reunion?

Paid a bill?

Lol I didn’t know Spaulding Gray was a porn star wtf!

I love the episode where she thinks he’s picking his nose.

r90

me either... what porn was he is in??

The horror

[quote]me either... what porn was he is in??

The Farmer's Daughters (1976) & Maraschino Cherry (1978)

NSFW obvs

The guest stars were all SO good on The Nanny, all were put to good use. The therapist was hilarious! My favorite is when CC is excited that Fran has left to go to Hollywood and star in the Young and the Restless. She assumes Max has hired an old woman like yenta to be the new nany, and then Heather Biblow (Fran's frenemy who stole her ex Danny) walks out of the shower with only a towel. CC looks stunned and Niles takes a picture of her and she walks away in shame.

A new musical based on the popular CBS sitcom The Nanny, which starred Fran Drescher as a shop assistant from Queens, New York, who accidentally lands a live-in Manhattan job taking care of the three children of a British Broadway producer and working her way into his heart, is being developed for the stage.

Original series creators Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson will adapt the '90s sitcom, while the score will feature lyrics by Rachel Bloom with music by Bloom and Adam Schlesinger.

R96 Lord, they are still milking The Nanny. I guess since all of Fran’s other projects have flopped she has no choice.

Will Maxwell pass on this musical too?

God, I fucking hate Rachel Bloom.

There’s a great line that has always stuck with me: the youngest daughter runs away and ends up in Queens with Sylvia. Fran tells the girl she can’t run from Park Avenue to Flushing, she’s going the wrong way.

When Brighton joins Yetta's canasta team:

Maxwell: All he needs now is a jacket with "Flushing Queens" on the back!

The look on Fran's face.

R99 why?

During the 3rd season, Ben Salisbury renegotiated his contract and one of the stipulations was to have the urinal partitions removed in all the men's rooms.

He wanted to show off and got off on making the other male cast and crew members pee shy.

I loved the episodes with Fran's rich (and incredibly tacky) aunt. She's a great actress.

R104, Aunt Frieda. Her best one-liner? She starts feuding with Fran's mom and tells Fran something like "your mother can't cook--you're father was the first bulimic in Flushing!".

I think the best exchange between her and Fran's mom was (paraphrasing):

Aunt Freida: "I need someone to dust all my LARDO porcelain."

Ma: "Frieda. It's pronounced Lladro (yahd-roh)"

Aunt Freida: "You can pronounce it, I can afford it!"

(it's funnier when they say it).

Ah, Aunt Frieda...the fabulous Lainie Kazan

Fran to Aunt Frieda’s beau (Donald O’Connor) after teaching him how to dance.

“Don’t compare yourself to me. I was on Dance Fever””

I thought that was the "Singin' in the Rain" guy.

Sylvia has palpitations....

Can anyone who remembers it, please talk about Fran's movie "Beautician and the Beast" with Fran and Timothy Dalton.

She's basically the same Nanny character but, I Remember loving that movie.

Anybody?

[quote]Get my medicine!

R110, my mother hates sitcoms but while watching that scene I thought she was going to die laughing.

The Russian version was so popular that they commissioned the original writers to create new scripts.

CC and Fran decide to go clubbing. CC dresses in all black leather and asks Fran if the clothing is appropriate for a gay club.

Fran: "what makes you think we're going to a gay bar?" CC: " I heard your mother yell at you on the phone over having a "sick, alternative lifestyle". Fran:"Oh, she just meant being single."

LMAO!!!

r110 r112 "chawwwwwwklit."

Fran says it's the biggest laugh of the series, Watch Shaughnessy he is oh so close to losing it.

CC's make-over....

r111 yes I remember it, and it was basically "The Nanny" in movie form. Good fun flick :)

R117 meet R23

The shaving episode was directed by Dorothy Lyman, Naomi on "Mama's Family". She directed 74 episodes.

Interesting tidbit that many people probably don't know. During its first two seasons, THE NANNY (like most three-camera sitcoms) was filmed in front of a live studio audience, of approximately 200-250 people. But then, some psycho stalker (who had sent some really disturbing letters to Fran) kept showing up at the live tapings. He even eluded the ushers/security once, and was found wandering around backstage.

Understandably (and especially in light of her history), Fran became somewhat paranoid about security at the studio, and raised some good questions with Sony about the studio audiences. Sony's response was: "We understand your concern, but it's not like we can do background checks on everyone who attends these live tapings." And an idea was born....

Fran, Peter & the other producers still *wanted* a live, spontaneous audience reaction while filming -- it was vital to the timing & delivery of jokes. But they also wanted some idea of who was in their studio. So, they closed the tapings to the general public, and hired 2-3 dozen "extras" from an agency (all of whom had background checks/SS#) to be their live studio audience each week (in addition to friends & family of the crew that wanted to see the show filmed). Sound engineers would then sweeten or amplify that basic "laugh track" to make it sound like it full 200-person audience.

This went on for about three years, and then.....they opened the tapings to the general public, again, during the 6th & final season. Who knows why? Maybe someone went to jail? Maybe Fran just got over it & figured "what the hell, it's the last season"?? But I'm glad they did! I was in the audience for the taping of the 6th Season premiere ("Honeymoon's Overboard"), as well as the two-part series Finale. GOOD STUFF! I won a NANNY baseball cap because I remembered Brighton's middle name! LOL

[quote]I remembered Brighton's middle name!

Was it Hungdongerson?

Damn R121 that is some good trivia. Most of the time show trivia is the same old crap we read everywhere, but that was some good stuff.

The tattoo episode when Fran tells Val that Mr. Sheffield likes tattoos and Val says, "Ugh! The little guy from Fantasy Island?"

I loved how turned on Maxwell was by the mere thought of her tattoo in that episode, heh :-)

[quote]MTV Canada

That is the saddest thing I've read all week.

I remember an interview with Kevin James from the second season of King of Queens, which appeared in entertainment weekly. The network wanted to do a crossover between all four shows on Monday night, but apparently Fran Drescher was the hold out. Kevin James made some sort of snide remark that Fran said she didn't need to do crossover stuff because she had syndication money, baby. That always stuck with me.

RENEE TAYLOR: "Don't tell me ya got somethin' now against Barbra Streisand?"

FRAN DRESCHER: "Ma, of course not... she's Our Leader!"

Crossover shows are usually horrible. Drescher did the right thing.

[quote]I don't think she's had a very happy life despite her success.

That's what happens when you marry a fag. Look at what it did to Judy and Liza.

It's a crime that "The Nanny" never won an Emmy for hairstyling.

I think my favorite line went something like this:

C.C (to her dognapper): I am going to tell you the same thing I told my poverty-stricken uncle when he needed money for a life-saving surgery... NOBODY SQUEEZES A DIME OUT OF C.C BABCOCK!

It was also hilarious when she made the plea video pretending to miss the dog and couldn't remember what breed it was.

I love Lauren Lane. I wish she was still acting.

I always forget that Ray Romano guest starred on The Nanny.

r132 she is, last I checked. She does plays and such in Austin, where she lives. I saw her do a play at Zachary Scott Theater once.

[quote] [R132] she is, last I checked. She does plays and such in Austin, where she lives. I saw her do a play at Zachary Scott Theater once.

Did you have the chicken or the beef?

[quote]I remember an interview with Kevin James from the second season of King of Queens, which appeared in entertainment weekly. The network wanted to do a crossover between all four shows on Monday night, but apparently Fran Drescher was the hold out. Kevin James made some sort of snide remark that Fran said she didn't need to do crossover stuff because she had syndication money, baby. That always stuck with me.

Hmm. Something doesn't add up, here. When KING OF QUEENS debuted in 1998-99 (which was THE NANNY's final season), THE NANNY wasn't part of the Monday night lineup. It aired on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm, as it had since the 1996-97 season. The Monday night lineup was COSBY, KING OF QUEENS, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, and BECKER.

r136 if you don't work in television, you have a very boring life.

Isn’t Kevin James a deplorable and closeted? Fuck him.

Why would she want to do a crossover when she has one foot out the door?