Everybody sure love a good old family comedy. And there are countless of them being shown by TV networks everyday. Some come and go rather quickly, while other last a little longer. And then, there are the ones which last long after they are off the air.
The Nanny definitely belongs to the latter. Mixing its own brand of comedy with that relevant family issues, the show presents a rather light-hearted look at the lives the members of a rather interesting family.
The show follows Fran Fine, played by Fran Drescher, as she serves as a nanny for the kids of a wealthy man from England. The television episodes has Fran trying to resolve various problems that befall the family, while staving off various pesky characters from messing up the lives of her wards. Later in the series, both Fran and her boss Maxwell Seinfield fell in love with each other and got married. Oddly enough, the title was retained even after the marriage, probably due to its recall, even if Fran is technically not a nanny anymore.
The main draw of the show, as in any other sitcom, is its comedy. However, what makes The Nanny really good is its balance between slapstick humor and intelligent jokes. The show is well known for its remarkably witty one liners and throwbacks delivered by Drescher. Also, while the show does hap slapstick jokes, they are much more controlled than other sitcoms, which makes them more bearable. Another interesting thing that the show gives out is its frequent use of fantasy sequences to add humor to an episode. This is something that totally sets the show apart from other sitcoms being aired during that time.
And of course no sitcom would work this good if it doesn't have really good characters. This part is definitely played out by Drescher very well. It is her remarkable portrayal of Fran that is the very core of the show's success. As a matter of fact, Fran's nasal voice is very much a trademark of the character as her quirky moves and one-liners.
Luckily, the cast also provides a very good support for Drescher. Daniel Davis as the wisecracking butler Niles, proved to be a very good counter to Frans punchlines. And all of the other casts also provided a good amount of humor for the show's six season run.
Interestingly, the show initially had low rating and was up for cancellation during its first season. But the efforts of producer Sagansky and Drescher proved to be fruitful. In fact it became so successful that a Russian remake was done, which also proved so successful that the American writers for the original went on to write episodes for the Russian version.
This definitely warrants The Nanny DVD a good amount of time in your player. You will surely enjoy watching this light-hearted sitcom.
