The Nanny

Plot synopsis:
Jewish-American Fran Fine turns up on the doorstep of British Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) to sell cosmetics after having been both dumped and fired by her boyfriend and employer Danny Imperialli. Instead, she finds herself the nanny of Maxwell's three children, Maggie, Brighton, and Grace. Maxwell Sheffield is unhappy about it at first, but Fran turns out to be just what he and his family needed.
While Fran Fine manages the children, butler Niles (Daniel Davis) manages the household and watches all the events that unfold with Fran as the new nanny. Niles, recognizing Fran's gift for bringing warmth back to the family, does his best to undermine Maxwell's business partner C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane) who has her eyes on the very available Maxwell Sheffield. Niles is often seen making witty comments directed towards C.C with C.C often replying with a comment of her own in their ongoing game of one-upmanship.
As the series progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious that Maxwell is smitten with Fran even though he won't admit it, and Fran is smitten with him. The show teases the viewers with their closeness and "near misses" as well as with an engagement. Towards the later seasons, they finally marry and expand their family by having fraternal twins. By the end of the series, it's also clear that Niles and C.C.'s constant sharp barbs are their bizarre form of flirtation and after a few false starts (including multiple impulsive and failed proposals from Niles) the pair marry in the series finale.
=== Episodes ===
=== Main characters ===
Fran Fine is the nasal voiced, outgoing protagonist of the series who stumbles upon the Sheffields' doorstep and winds up as the nanny to Mr. Sheffield's three children: Maggie, Brighton, and Grace. She starts off working for her boyfriend Danny Imperialli in a bridal shop but is dumped and fired not long after by that same boyfriend. She ends up meeting Maxwell Sheffield and his family while going door to door to sell cosmetics. Her character has an outgoing and humorous personality. Fran, as a result of her mother's overbearing personality, often feels the need to date and is compelled to get married as well. She is usually seen getting into trouble and having to solve those problems through using her street smarts.
Maxwell Sheffield is the male protagonist who ends up hiring Fran Fine to watch over his three children, Maggie, Brighton, and Grace. He is a widowed Broadway producer, having lost his wife Sara four years before the start of the series. While he does have some success as a Broadway producer, he remains constantly in the shadow of his rival Andrew Lloyd Webber, who always seems to have the upper hand. He does not spend a lot of time with his children due to his busy schedule, hence he ends up hiring Fran Fine as the children's nanny. Despite his mutual attraction to Fran, he tries to keep their relationship professional for fear of commitment.
Margaret Sheffield is the eldest child of Maxwell Sheffield. She is constantly seen bickering with her brother, Brighton, who views her as a nerd. While she is constantly fighting with Brighton, her relationship with her sister, Grace, is more one of mentorship. Towards the beginning of the series, Maggie is shy and awkward but, with Fran's influence, she becomes a somewhat popular young woman. Upon meeting Fran Fine, the two bond almost instantly.
Brighton Sheffield is the middle child of the family and the only son of Maxwell Sheffield. Due to being the only son, he often feels left out. This causes him to purposely bring about trouble for his two sisters. He doesn't bond with Fran Fine at first, having disliked all his previous nannies, but eventually becomes close with her as well. He plans to become a Broadway producer, like his father.
Grace Sheffield is the youngest child in the Sheffield family. She has a habit of naming medical conditions and complicated words. When Fran first became her nanny, Grace was in therapy. But, under Fran Fine's influence and guidance, she eventually doesn't need therapy any more. As the two became close to one another Grace started picking up some of Fran's Jewish slang and dressing habits, eventually thinking of Fran as a mother to her.
C.C. Babcock is the egocentric business partner of Maxwell Sheffield, with whom she has been working for almost 20 years. She clearly wants him as more than a business partner. Maxwell, however, appears oblivious and Babcock has yet to make a serious move on him. She never seems to be able to remember the names of Maxwell's three children. From her first meeting with Fran Fine, she accurately views the newly hired nanny as a threat and tries to undermine her. Fran is not C.C.'s only enemy in the Sheffield house, as she has an even more contentious relationship with his longtime butler Niles (who hates her just as much as she hates him).
Niles is the loyal butler and chauffeur for the Sheffield family. He and Maxwell have known each other their whole lives. He bonds with Fran Fine immediately, viewing her as the breath of fresh air that the Sheffield family needs. Niles is known as the household snoop as he is constantly seen listening in on conversations via intercoms, keyholes, and even in the very rooms where the conversations are taking place. He tends to manipulate events in Fran's favor to undermine C.C., his nemesis. In spite of this, over time it becomes clear that Niles has himself fallen for C.C. and their contentious relationship is a cover for mutual lust.

Tags: humor

Review:
Fran Drescher does an outstanding job as Fran, and the rest of the cast are equally good, especially Daniel Davis and Lauren Lane, As Niles and CC.
For some reason, her character was the worst of the lot.Renee Taylor was especially funny, as it seemed Sylvia was always eating or thinking about food and Ann Morgan Guibert was superb as Yetta.
A make-up seller ends up at the door of a Broadway producer and becomes the nanny for his 3 children.The English producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessey, Days Of Our Lives) hates Andrew Llyodd Webber, and is known to say "I love you" before taking it straight back, again.He has his faithful butler, Niles (Daniel Davis), and his arch-enemy and Maxwell's associate, Chastity-Claire Babcock (Lauren Lane) - these two are known for their sniping remarks and catty coments.Fran helps the three kids Maggie, Brighton and Gracie (Nicole Tom, Beethoven; Benjamin Salisbury and Madeline Zima, Mr. Nanny) through boyfriends, girlfriends and the usual teenage stuff.Adding to the mix is Fran's food-loving mother, Sylvia.
Syvia's mom, Yetta and Fran's best friend, Val (Rachel Chaggal).For 6 years, 'The Nanny' was a hilarious sitcom that never stopped being funny.
Fran Dresher is a very nice person and a very funny and talented actress, she made us laugh for six years and I think she should stay with us for much time.
Everything about the show is great, the cast is very talented, the story-lines are never repetitive and always funny, they left us in 1999 and after six years of the beginning it was still a hit.
Fran isn't afraid to fall on her face (her physical comedy is hilarious!) or let others have funny lines.
Fran Drescher stars as Fran Fine in this beloved series about a lady from Flushing, Queens, who becomes the Nanny for a wealthy Manhattan Broadway producer, Mr. Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaunessy).
I used to watch it on TV quite a few years ago but when I returned to it lately I enjoyed it just as much and I have to say it's still one of the best comedy series I have ever seen.
One of the best things about the show is the relationship between supporting characters CC and Niles - the dynamics is perfect and the jokes are fantastic, they always catch me unprepared and make me laugh like crazy :) Much better that most of shows you find on TV today, you just have to have a certain amount of nostalgia in yourself to fully enjoy it.
The Nanny is the story of Fran Fine, an irritating whiney New Yorker who possesses perhaps the most annoying voice in television.
She had style, she had class that's why she became the Nanny.Something like that was the tune that began this hilarious comedy show.It was really the mixing up of 2 distinct cultures- Max Sheffield, a Broadway luminary desperately looking to make his first hit on the great white way and Fran Drescher, Renee Taylor, and Ann Guilbert, who epitomized Judaism at its funniest.
Love seems to transcend cultural differences as this show proved.Lauren Lane was phenomenal as Max's business partner and rival to Fran, even when Fran wed Max. Marilyn Zima, Nicolle Tom and Ben Salisbury rounded out the marvelous cast as the 3 precocious children caught up in this hilarity.A totally wonderful show to remember!.
I would place "The Nanny" on the level of "Full House" or even '60s dreck like "The Beverly Hillbillies." Trying to think of something good about this show...well, the characters did live in a nice apartment..
And Fran is just amazing and adorable, i loved every episode and it had a great ending.
Taking more than a few cues from Lucille Ball and more than a little inspiration from "I Love Lucy", Drescher is just a delight as Fran Fine (or is that "Fein"?
Fran's voice some people find annoying - I think it's great!
Fran as the nanny who is always screwing up but you can't help but love her.
Daniel Davis was flawless in his role as the wise-cracking butler and his relationship with Ms. Babcock was more believable than that of Fran and Maxwell.Ann Guilbert as the senile grandmother made this show and it is hard to believe that she was only 5 years older than the actress who played Sylvia,her daughter on the show.
Now,the things I disliked about this show:a)It got boring and very predictable after a whileb)It seemed like a recycled version of "I Love Lucy!"(as funny as Fran was,she shouldn't have tried to be like Lucy because she didn't even come close to the great Lucille Ball-her timing wasn't always spot-on and as far as psysical comedy is concerned.."Oy!")c)There was absolutely no chemistry between Fran and Charles Shaughnessy.
I mean,I know this is supposed to be a comedy show,but there were no really serious moments in which they showed they really cared for each other.Thus,when they got together,I was not impressed.d)The guest stars.They had some brilliant actors and actresses on this show(my favourites being Donald O'Connor and Rich Little,the impressionist) that got very small and dull parts.They got no good jokes and everything revolved around Miss Fine.In my opinion,if you have the opportunity to work with such great people,you'd better come up with something damn funny!e)Sylvia Fine.She was probably the most annoying thing on the show.We get it,guys-she loved food,but do you always have to make fun of it?It was fine for like the first two seasons,but after that,it was over.f)If you take all the episodes in which Fran screwed up with celebrities and compare them with the forth and fifth seasons of "I Love Lucy!",you'll find little difference,except that "I Love Lucy!" was obviously funnier.In conclusion,this,for me is not a very important sitcom,like "Friends","Everybody Loves Raymond" or "Frasier",all of which aired during the same time,because it has all been done before.I do,however,love most of the characters and Fran is quite funny.I would recommend you don't watch this all at once,because it will just get annoying..
i watched another episode and instantly picked up on the tension between fran and max and was like PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY MAKEOUT!!
Yes, this series is hilarious but I truly believe the best lines and comedic routines were held by the supporting cast of the likes of Daniel Davis and Renee Taylor.
I especially loved Yetta and every scene that she was in was superb.Other than that, I am more than convinced that this show is just a vanity project for Fran Drescher so she could prance around in her awful costumes whilst pursuing the man of her dreams who ignored her for 5 whole years.
Furthermore, I didn't see any sexual chemistry between the nanny and Maxwell Sheffield and there was more between Niles and CC but even they got married in the end and it was such an anti-climax.This is very slapstick humour and though it was fun at times, it got really bad towards the end when they all fulfilled their characters' ambitions for the show.
short, a comfortable series , far to be unique or great but interesting for the games of stereotypes and jokes and the brilliant manner of Fran Drescher to be the perfect spice for a nice story about family, children, dreams of a nanny and her army of relatives, a special butler and a young woman who has few more years.
i cannot believe how long The Nanny actually lasted, Fran Drescher is a good actress but this show is really bad, you know when the jokes are coming and what jokes they're going to be and the situations are very predictable, Suddenly Susan is a alot better show than this-even though SS only made 4 seasons, of course yeah The Nanny is watchable (when there's nothing else worth watching) but its not one of those shows where you want to go crazy and buy all the merchandise....
But one major factor kind of put a slight dent on the show.It never really focused on the kids and thus you really never got to know the three talented stars, Nicholle Tom, Ben Salisbury and Madeline Zima(the latter who has made a name for herself as a more popular actress in movies)with any real character development.Still, the show was infectious, especially with Renee Taylor who nearly stole many scenes as the Fran's food crazy mom Sylvia and Lauren Lane got funnier and more appealing as the show went on as the conniving but sometimes sensitive C.C.Great show to watch in the world of syndication..
Fran is sweet and funny, her mother who's always eating is awesome, the fights between C.C. and Niles are hilarious...
I love the nanny fran drescher made the show so funny.
the kids loved her and c.c babcock hates her.and niles liked fran always on her side.
Fran Drescher plays a wedding specialist who was hired as a nanny to a British Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (played by Charles Shaughnessy).
the humor - Jewish in the best form -, Fran Drescher , the script, the dialogs and , in fact, entire cast are basic pillars for a comedy who seems be out of limits.
I was just a kid when this show aired and it was extremely popular.Fran Fine was the unconventional nanny that everybody wished for.At least,I know I did.
As a kid, I loved this show because it was about family first of all, it was very funny and also a delight to see a colorful dressed nanny with an amusing voice.When I rewatch it now I realise that the jokes on this sitcom never get old because they are still very clever.
The butler was one of the best characters in the show, because he knew everything that happened in the house and always made fun of Mr.Sheffield's business partner C.C. Put this all together and add three cute kids and Fran's funny family and it's a success.
The best part of it was that you could watch it with the entire family,because they had situations for every age.All I know is that I wish they would still do shows like this one..
I grew up watching this show on Saturdays, being a young boy at the time i never understood the adult humor in the show nevertheless i would always be saying at 6:30 every Saturday "mum the nanny is on change the channel" Now in my 20's I've gone back to re watch it from the start and i enjoy it as much today as i did then maybe even more so, the chemistry between all the characters is sensational and the shear fun of it all keeps you wanting to see more in my opinion 6 seasons was not enough to do justice to a very special comedy sitcom, but sadly all good things do come to an end can always hope that another reunion special will be made or maybe a TV movie, doubtful but is a nice thought.
One could see the jokes coming a mile away, I always wanted CC to deck Niles, and I just wished Maxwell and Fran would make their bloody minds up about whether or not they would get together and get on with it.I liked it towards the end of the show's long run when Niles confesses that he's been in love with CC all along.
This show is a cross between "I Love Lucy" and "The Sound of Music." The best aspect of the show, by far, is the "will-they/won't they" relationship between Fran and her boss Mr. Sheffield.
All throughout the series, the audience was given subtle and not-so-subtle hints that they were right for each other, but the writers wisely strung it out and kept us on the edge of our seats.Other characters to watch are Niles, the hilarious butler and the self-centered C.C. Babcock.
In a lot of ways, I think he spoke what the audience wanted to say as far as that relationship goes.To anyone who is put off by Fran's voice, I say to give it a chance.
The best characters are Fran (The Nanny), the butler(Niles), C.C Babcock and Val.
It wasn't that he wanted to play the field, they both knew they loved each other, but he was afraid of losing another wife.This is a GREAT sitcom and if you're lucky enough to catch it on reruns somewhere (here in the states you can watch it several times a day on the cable channel Lifetime), great!.
Fran Fine met Fran Dresher in a hotel lounge.That list may seem like a fan bragging but I honestly believe that list is pretty impressive!!The Nanny is a tv shows that was slaughtered by critics (proved by Fran being on Peoples Worst Dressed List) but one that the tv viewing public throughly enjoyed.
This show is very funny.The cast is great and seem to work well with each other.Fran is perfect for the role of the nanny.She can be funny,serious,and caring all at the same time.C.C and Niles are my favorite of all.The insults and wise cracks that they make to each other are very funny.This show gets ****1/2 out of 5..
You just have to love each character and the funny things they bring to this show.I cant imagine any one else playing Niles and CC.
You saw them fight but you also wanted to see them get into a romantic relationship too and even when they did, they still fought with one another and you couldn't help but love it!Sylvia was hysterical, she too had the facial expressions that could make the joke even funnier!Also no one could turn words around like Fran nor make the funny faces that she would make sometimes.
I cried during the last episode simply because this was it, there would never be another Nanny episode, greatness was ending.Fifty years from now when its being shown daily like I Love Lucy is; it will still be funny no matter what generation is watching it.
Fran Drescher always looked stunning in a fashionably-risky sort of way and her character will definitely be missed after the 1999 series finale..
When Fran Fine (Fran Drescher),a Jewish nasal-voiced woman(who has a passion for the Streisand herself),is fired from her job at a bridal shop she goes from door-to-door selling cosmetics.However,she stumbles on the home of broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield(Charles Shaughnessy) who is looking for a nanny.When Fran is hired,she becomes nanny to Maxwell's children-Maggie,Brighton and Gracie(Nicholle Tom,Benjamin Salisbury and Madeline Zima).
We meet Maxwell's assistant C.C.Babcock (Lauren Lane) and butler Niles (Daniel  Davis) who are at constant war.Then there's Fran's food-obsessed mother Sylvia (Renee Taylor),grandma Yetta (Ann Guilbert) and best friend Val(Rachel Chagall).
Fran Drescher is a natural and the support she gets from Charles Shaughnessy, Renee Taylor, Ann Guilbert, Daniel Davis and Lauren Lane adds to the humor significantly.
The kids are OK, but the true stars of the show are Fran, Sylvia, Niles, and C.C. Maxwell is OK, but he just doesn't make me laugh as much as the others.
I think the show was great, Fran was awesome, and the cast was all suitable for each character.
I have really enjoyed The Nanny for years and for anyone who has not seen it before I suggest they should watch it some time.
when i first watched the nanny i thought it was very funny.
i think once they watch it they will love it just like me.
From episode 1 to now midway into the 5th season of The Nanny, I've watched, loved and cried with laughter at the show.
The cast are excellent, the jokes are superb and Fran Drescher - well I just bow down to her comedic geniusness.I now consider The Nanny as one of my all time favourites, as in my opinion it truly is a classic sitcom and ranks highly against all those sitcoms in the days gone by, not the typical "I'm too smart for a sitcom" shows on TV these days..
The characters are the best and most real, especially Niles, Fran, Maxwell, CC Babcock, Sylvia and Brighton.
The Nanny was a really funny show, it had the great characters Fran the Nanny, Maxwell Sheffield, Niles the Butler, CC Babcock and the kids of course.
Most people hate Fran's voice 'cause it sound a little whiny, but I think it's funny.
one of the rare shows where you can watch an episode over and over again and laugh like its the first time you saw it.i am actually laughing while typing this out.
Unlike most people, to me the best thing abt The Nanny was actually Fran's supporting cast.
"The Nanny" also has quite a few guest stars on it like Jason Alexander (who played a blind man who Fran temporarily dated) and Elizabeth Taylor.
No offense to all the fans of this show but its just doesn't do it for me 1st of all i get a headache every time she talks, and the jokes they make about her voice are obnoxious (although i think its intended to be so) also i feel that Daniel Davis' talents were wasted on his show hes simply too good to play a butler that pops one liners every 5 seconds when he has the talent for more intellectual roles that actually have decent lines.
The character who played Grace tried hard not to laugh because it was just too funny, and I can't blame her.I love Fran Fine's voice.
Sometimes his character is hilarious and other times it's serious when it's supposed to be.Sometimes the acting isn't the best, like in the pilot episode or the first time Max says he loves Fran, but the show is still really good.Niles, played by Daniel Davis, is also excellent in the show.
This show was a good one but watching back to back episodes got a bit tiring on my ears with Fran Drescher's voice grating in my ears.
(the lovely Lauren Lane) and his sardonic butler, Niles (Daniel Davis) who only had a first name, "Like Cher", he explained.