Fran Drescher Reads Racy "Nanny" Fan Fiction on "Watch What Happens: Live"

[JamesG]

Fran Drescher Reads "The Nanny" Fan Fiction On "Watch What Happens: Live" (VIDEO)
3/6/12


For probably longer than the Internet has been around, there's been fan fiction. And as long as there has been fan fiction, there has been risque fan fiction, or downright dirty fanfic.

Andy Cohen shared a sample of what he described as "an insane amount of 'The Nanny' fan fiction" with Fran Drescher on "Watch What Happens: Live".





Then, with her distinctive voice, Drescher read a sample of the work, featuring a scene that would have never played out on the actual television series. While the burning passion between Mr. Sheffield and Fran was one of the main reasons the show was such a success for six seasons, they never acted on it in such a carnal way.

"'Fran, put down the groceries,' and Fran noticed Max looking at her in a different way than he normally did. He stroked her cheek and then leaned over and kissed her. As she pressed harder into him, in her deepest, huskiest voice, she whispered, 'Oh, Mr. Sheffield.'"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0..._1323157.html?

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...there's this kind of fan fiction floating around. And, suprisingly, she's a good sport about it....

[Lisa_Eva]

Is it just me, or is most of the fanfiction for this show really racy? I mean, fanfiction is kind of supposed to be about what ifs, but most of it comes across as unrealistic and oversexualized to me.

[JL82]

Well, Fran and Max seem to have waited until they were married, and then in the first episode where they were married, Max was irritated when Fran got loud...so, somehow, really racy and passionate never seemed to fit with them, or rather, with Max. He always kept some of his...hangups.

But there were times you felt like, if Max said he loved Fran or said something to reassure her he was committed, she would have been fine (hah) with their acting on it in a physical way, without being married yet. In fact, remember, for example, "Fran's Gotta Have It"? Fran is overjoyed when Max carries her to the hotel bed, then disappointed when he can't go through with "doing it." He admits that he physically wants to, but thinks it's too serious of a step.

And there were hints about Niles and CC's relationship actually being pretty wild...CC saying she was "multiply satisfied" because Niles "lives to serve"; we saw Niles take toppings to his bedroom, and at one point, when Yetta says Niles and CC were seen together, CC blurts out, "Where? Kitchen? Closet? Stairway? Limo? Walmart?"

I think Shaughnessy or Davis have good voices for some of those fics, so to speak...they could sound sexy reading them.

[JL82]

Someone commented that with the cliffhanger ending to season 5, "You can't see the sharks they're jumping over," and come to think of it, falling off the cruise ship in the middle of the ocean is pretty close to the literal jumping of a shark on (I think) Happy Days, that led to that phrase being coined.

You would think there would be a procedure on the ship for if someone fell overboard, plus, Max and Fran hadn't adjourned to their cabin yet, which makes it seem like it was only the beginning of the cruise; therefore, they shouldn't have been that far out in the ocean.

BUT, if they were going to strand Max and Fran on a deserted island for their honeymoon, I wish they had suggested that it led to a more...carnal honeymoon than they might have had otherwise. I wish they done something with the idea of, "Hey, we're on this deserted island, far from proper society and indeed, civilization - we can let go of all inhibitions and do all the carnal things we've already wanted to do to / with each other." Well, I guess it's Max that really has the inhibitions to let go of.

Instead, the deserted island becomes an excuse to delay the...wedding night still further.

[JL82]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Eva

Is it just me, or is most of the fanfiction for this show really racy? I mean, fanfiction is kind of supposed to be about what ifs, but most of it comes across as unrealistic and oversexualized to me.

The fanfic is certainly more oversexualized than the show, but at the same time, the fanfic (and, to a lesser extent, the posters and commentators) seem to think everyone but Fran is "reserved" or prudish. They often "write" CC as someone who was trained to hide her "real" self for the sake of her family's ideas of "propriety." I don't see her like that. She obviously has parts of herself she hides, but I don't see her - from the show - as someone who tries to pretend she has no emotions or sexual needs, or that because she's a "proper lady" she finds sex disgusting. She actually probably makes as many sexual references on the show as Fran does, and admits to wanting more, or better, sex. Niles teases her about it. I think we are told her parents are divorced, and that means they did NOT cover up all problems and pretend their lives are perfect for the sake of appearances. CC is catty about Fran's dress style - implying it's slutty - but then we find out CC has a lot of lingerie (in "A Decent Proposal.") CC just doesn't dress provocatively when she's working. She does sometimes try to be seductive with Max (or maybe, it's really Niles she's trying to seduce all along.)

CC also shows other emotions, such as being lonely or upset over Fran acing her out where Max is concerned - and she's open about her mental health treatment. I could imagine that was something a lot of people would have covered up, especially back then.

And, interestingly, when Fran finds out about Niles and CC's affair she seems grossed out.

Also, Niles is British, but his snarkiness and pranks show he isn't particularly reserved or proper.

Fanfic in which Niles and CC are involved has them having "escapades" in stores, train stations, and other public places, as well as not-very-private parts of the Sheffield mansion; having many "escapades" per day; doing somewhat kinky stuff; using food toppings; and frequently, Niles goes to start undressing CC and discovers she doesn't have underwear on. But most of that is actually based on hints dropped in the real show. CC says she is "multiply satisfied" because Niles "lives to serve," and we saw Niles take toppings to his bedroom, and at one point, when Yetta says Niles and CC were seen together, CC blurts out, "Where? Kitchen? Closet? Stairway? Limo? Walmart?"

In "Mum's the Word" Niles offers to be CC's slave in return for her not revealing that he blabbed Fran's secret - and she makes him dye his hair - so you can see why people might think the "slave" thing could carry over once they had a relationship. Or that they could conduct their private relationship a bit like they conduct their public one. Fanfic also has them insulting each other even as they're doing it.

I think the underwear thing might come from CC saying "I'm not wearing any" in "Making Whoopi." She's supposed to mean shoulder pads, but I can see how it could be a double meaning.

Max is the one I could believe had an upbringing that discouraged any display of emotion or sexual need - either because he's upper-class and British and/or because he's Catholic. I sometimes think he had only ever had sex with his first wife and felt intimidated because Fran was more "experienced" in this area. He actually says something to Niles about Fran's "experience" and hoping he can "live up to her expectations" the night before they get married. I wondered if that was what was scaring him all along...although he doesn't seem "awkward" in a "haven't done this before way" when they are making out. I could see him feeling some guilt about his passion for Fran, either because it seemed disloyal to the late first wife or just due to a sense of "propriety." For most of the series it sounded like he thought physical intimacy was a serious thing...until that episode before The Wedding when they revealed he'd had a casual fling some time in season 4.

I have seen a few fanfics - one author in particular - where Max tries to get Fran to be intimate with him (or at least, "fool around") without his having to commit or say "I love you" first, and she holds out for the words. In "Fran's Gotta Have It", (and before) the opposite seemed to be true - she was more comfortable with the idea of doing it without some kind of commitment in place than he was. But in season 5 they did change that a little - they had more physical encounters and Max seemed willing to do the physical (such as in "Rash to Judgment" - he suggested getting the hotel room - it was even his idea - and they were both prepared to get romantic until her rash flared up. Season 5 went back and forth between "Max still isn't ready to get more serious / commit" and "Max and Fran are both ready and outside forces keep interrupting / derailing them.")