Living with Fran

Fran Drescher is perhaps the most talented and smartest woman in show business...or maybe one of the smartest PEOPLE in the business, period! On her previous show, "The Nanny", which ran for six years on CBS and is now a smash in syndication, here and abroad, she surrounded herself with the best: superb supporting cast, great writing, top guest stars. She NEVER fell into the trap of making the show all about Fran, but let every cast member have their moment, in every episode. This is a smart performer!

I've watched the first three episodes of her new series. She's just as gifted, just as gorgeous...but it hasn't clicked completely yet. Perhaps she needs a strong co-producer (her ex-husband was that, on "The Nanny"); perhaps it's better writers and a sassy ADULT character to play off of (the daughter is good, but Fran needs an "Ethel"...or a Niles!); perhaps it's just a matter of time. The first season of "Nanny" took awhile to find itself.

The jury is still out on this one, but I'm giving it a chance, watching every episode. Fran is so gifted, she'll always be around, the Lucille Ball of her generation.

I am looking forward to watching more of Living with Fran. Its not that bad. Fran seems to be a little out of place in this role, not being able to exhibit her New York, Jewish themes that made The Nanny such a hit. I was almost expecting Sylvia "Ma" Fine to be at the door or on the phone. And I missed Niles and CC. Charles Shaughnessy as a guest was great. He naturally fit in and for a minute it seemed like it was a continuation of The Nanny. Ben Feldman is very good and witty. Misti Traya is excellent as Allison and offers great commentary. Ryan McPartlin's acting is almost nonexistent and just as the show promotes, he is simply the good looking young guy. The relationship between him and Fran is very unrealistic, its almost forced. Fran and Charles on The Nanny had a very good on screen presence, as opposed to Riley, who is very wooden. Hopefully, he will learn from the comic genius that is Fran Drescher and become a great actor. I have faith in this show, it just needs time.

How can you tell when an actress can't act, without even needing to see her perform? When she has to put her own name in the title of her sitcom! Let's face it: Fran Drescher has only ever been able to play Fran Drescher. She's always the nasal, long-nailed, 'white trash with a heart of gold' character that she was on The Nanny, and we are led to believe that her off-screen persona, while possibly slightly less annoying, is in fact pretty close to her on-screen one.

I know some people loved this 'character' on The Nanny, so I suppose it's not all that surprising that Living with Fran is pretty much the same show (only this time she's got 3 of her OWN kids, not babysitting that British guy's - oh wait! The British guy IS the father of these kids!). Fans of The Nanny must be happy.

But as I watched this show for the first time, all I could think was: Isn't Fran Drescher getting bored with herself? I mean, she's been playing the same part, with the same affectations, the same type of clothes, the same exasperating-white-trash-with-a-heart-of-gold character for, like, 20 years now! Isn't she embarrassed to be showing everyone how very little acting talent she has? Couldn't she have gone to acting class during the years after The Nanny when she had nothing to do? It's no surprise this show was canceled. What's disconcerting is that it ever made it past a pilot in the first place.

I was fortunate to be at the taping of the pilot episode the other night. The writing was brilliant, lots of laughs, and the chemistry between the cast members was awesome! Fran Drescher is the perfect choice for hip & sexy divorcee, Fran Reeves, and I couldn't imagine anyone other than Misti Traya in the part of Allison. She owned her role of the obnoxious little sister with an attitude to boot!

Ryan McPartlin is really easy on the eyes as Riley, the "goy toy" as Fran's son Josh refers to him, and even though he is younger than Josh, he is believable as Fran's live in lover. Ben Feldman brings the show together as Josh... The son who thought his world was coming undone when he snapped and got kick out of medical school. As he soon found out, that was nothing in comparison to coming home and finding his mother playing house with an ex-jock. I really hope this show gets picked up, and that I can be there for the taping of the 100th episode.

Josh to Riley: "You're only here because my mother is having a mid-life crisis. If she were a guy, you'd be a Porsche."

Well, I saw the pilot episode last night on the WB, and I have to admit, it's not that bad at all. In fact, I got quite a few laughs out of it. I knew I would have to concentrate on the episode itself so that I would not keep comparing it to the Nanny, but I think overall, it can be a good series. The boyfriend's acting does seem to be a little wooden. He seems to be stiff and nervous in front of the camera, but the son, the daughter, and Fran all seem to be at ease and determined to have fun. The bonus episode was really cute as the tension between Fran and Riley's mother builds. I think that if they just give "Riley" some better acting lessons, they might just be able to pull off another hit for Fran Drescher and crew.