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 Welcome to another issue of Today’s Women of Orange County. As you probably noticed Fran Drescher is on the cover this month, so when deciding what to write about, the first thing that came mind was “The Nanny.”  Now, I don’t really like to perpetuate stereotypes, and I haven’t read the cover story yet, so I know very little about Fran Drescher.

I’m sure she has hoards of talent that we know nothing about, and I’m sure there are times when she would prefer that people see her as something other than “The Nanny,” but television is a powerful force. When the show debuted in 1993, I don’t expect she ever imagined that 15 years later, she would still be thought of as “The Nanny.”  She could live to be a 125 and still, thanks to re-runs, people will see Fran Drescher as “The Nanny”  from Queens.

How many incredible performances have been lost to the cruelty of stereotyping? Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Fran Drescher playing the part of a surgeon, a serial killer, or an Elizabethan peasant? I remember when Farrah Fawcett tried to break her “Charlie’s Angels”  image by playing an abused and battered housewife. She did a fantastic job of acting, but still she will always be seen as an Angel. And Farrah was only in one season of “Charlie’s Angles.”  What chance does Fran Drescher have? Her show ran for six seasons. It’s a shame that we can’t just see actors as people, instead of the characters they play. But enough about the injustice of stereotyping - it’s time to talk about babysitters and nannies!

So, my first question is, why a nanny? How come the show was not called “The Babysitter,” or “The Governess?” Well, Fran was a bit too old to be a babysitter. She was a full-grown woman and most babysitters are almost children themselves. Babysitter are not even old enough to drink alcohol, drive a car, or vote in an election, yet we entrust these under age kids to look after our most cherished possessions. All right so our children are not our possessions, but you know what I mean.

The point is, for some strange reason, we are perfectly comfortable leaving our little angles in the hands of pre-teen children, whose only goal in life is to get a date to the prom. We have no reservations employing children to look after our kids, even though the government says they are too young to work and pay taxes. In other words, we aren’t allowed to pay pre-teens to flip a burger or sweep a floor, yet you are allowed to give them tax-free money, to look after a toddler who is too young to realize that sticking foreign objects in an electrical outlet could be a shocking experience.

You get the idea - so you can see why Fran would never do as a babysitter. Besides The Scheffield's wanted their caregiver to live in the house full time. If that is the case, then why didn’t they call the show “The Governess?” Ratings that’s why. Governess is such an antiquated term. Would the young viewers of today even know what a governess was? They are strict, prim and proper, and having fun is not part of the job description. That image would never do because “The Nanny” was supposed to be a comedy, and what’s funny about a governess? Besides, the stereotypical governess is a frumpy old spinster, and Fran had way too much fashion sense for that.

A nanny it had to be. Fran was fun and caring, yet allowed her “charges” to make mistakes for themselves. She was always giving out good advice and teaching the kids life lessons, even though it was often in a round-about way. She even managed to warm the heart of the stuffy men in the house. And she did it all in short skirts, high heels, and with a funny little accent. So the question I must ask is – if Fran Drescher had kids, would she hire a nanny?