The Nanny – The Complete Second Series
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: B-
I first noticed Fran Drescher in the cult classic “Weird
Al” Yankovic feature film UHF from 1989 and though she could become a
cutting edge comic character actress.
What happened instead is that she became the lead in the hit TV
situation comedy The Nanny, a much safer, less risk-taking venture that
put her on the map and ran for several seasons. The Nanny – The Complete Second Series continues Sony’s
releases of the series season by season and the show is at least
family-friendly and acceptable, if not cutting edge. Too bad Miss Drescher has not found the next breakthrough since.
He show involves Fran at the title character trying to
save the now-motherless Sheffield family from its own dysfunction and
mediocrity, but that is not always easy.
The kids are at least not the precocious smart alecks that destroyed the
sitcom totally in the 1980s. The father
is still not right as a single parent and Fran’s mother Yetta just makes things
all the crazier. It was a formula show,
but a formula that worked with really likable casting and comic-enough
performances to keep the show going.
Points for its mockery of the 1950s “happy family” cliché in its
animated credits and for crazy guest star choices like Erik Estrada, Sherri
Lewis, Sally Jesse Raphael and Billy Ray Cyrus this season alone. This set has all 26 shows from the 1994 –
1995 season.
The 1.33 X 1 image has some micro-detail issues that I
only notice on Sony TV on DVD. That is
whether it is on a show that was shot on video like this one, or one shot on
film to a lesser extent, like the great Hart To Hart – Season One set
that remains my favorite Sony TV on DVD title to date. It seems to point out that the company is
trying to do better transfers than their competitors and it does have some
refinement advantages. Comparing The
Nanny here to a recent cable broadcast, for instance, the DVD is better if
not extremely so. It seems the show
itself had subdued color to some extent and the result here is mixed. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no Pro
Logic surrounds, but sounds good, solid and clear as a recent show should. There are no extras, but fans should be very
satisfied with the slendercase packaging and nice artwork, making this an
acceptable basic TV season release.
- Nicholas Sheffo
