A TV Show Based Off of TSOM

    Once again, I didn't know where I should post this, but I just had to share it with all of you. In the 1990's there was a TV show called "The Nanny". I hadn't realized until I was older that it was a spinoff of the Sound of Music. Besides taking a lot of things from the Sound of Music, the creator and actress who played the main character, Fran Drescher, took influence from her home life. Suddenly, it all made sense why I loved it so much.

    The main plot is that Fran Fine, a Jewish woman, has just been dumped by her ex-fiancé and fired by her boss (who happens to be the same person). She winds up on the steps of the British widower and Broadway producer, Maxwell Sheffield, selling cosmetics. He needs a nanny for his three out of control children and is willing to try out just about anyone at this point. Fran moves in and takes on the challenge of helping to raise Margaret, or "Maggie", a young teenager who is really quite shy, Brighton (or B as Fran calls him), the troublemaker and only boy, and Grace, or "Gracie", the 5 year old who is already in therapy and is way too smart for her age (any of these traits sounding familiar?). She brings the children closer to their father and in the process of helping him get back into the dating scene after the loss of his wife, they fall in love. Niles, whom is a wise-cracking, free-loading, yet "charming sponge", is the butler and has been friends with Max since childhood.. He quickly becomes good friends with Fran as well. Max also has a business associate named C.C. Babcock; an intelligent, blonde, elegant, wealthy socialite whom has a manipulative way about her. She isn't as subtle as the Baroness either. She is constantly prying for Max's attention and he just doesn't seem to notice her. Niles and C.C. are always insulting one another and bantering back and forth (which in my opinion, really puts the icing on the cake) and altogether, the show is absolutely hilarious.

    Of course there are a few key differences, besides Fran being Jewish instead of a Christian. They seemed to have given Georg the name and profession of Max Detwieler and they turned the 7 children into 3 (Maggie would be Liesel and Marta, Brighton would be Friedrich, Louisa, and Kurt, and Gracie would be Brigitta and Gretl). Also, Fran's family is all still alive and is one of the important points of the show; her family is annoying and always in her business. But, her family is low-class and still from the typical low-class part of town while Max's family is wealthy and from a foreign country: England. They often make references to the Sound of Music, as Max says that was the first play he ever produced and Fran is much more open than Maria (she curses though it's nothing much, she dates often, and sometimes makes inappropriate comments or jokes). Another complete contradiction is that Fran has a rather annoying nasal voice (as the actual actress does, which everyone including herself pokes fun at). Fran Drescher even said that it was a direct spin off of the Sound of Music but "Instead of Julie Andrews, I come to the door."

    I apologize for going on and on, I tend to do that. I just thought I would share this with all of you, considering I love this TV show and it's based off of the Sound of Music, so why shouldn't I share it with all of you lovely people?