<<

MONDAY, MAY 8, 1 995 The STRANGE BEDFELLOWS (Man. (8), 8-8:30p.m., CBS)

Taped in Culver City by Sternin/Fras- er Ink Inc. in association with TriStar Television. Executive producers, Robert Sternin, Prudence Fraser, Peter Marc Ja- RIETY cobson; co-executive producers, Sally Lapiduss, Pam Eells; producers, Kathy Landsberg, , Diane Wilke; co-producers, Frank Lombardi, Dana Reston; supervising producers, Eric Cohen, Diane Wilke; director, ; writers, Dana Reston, Frank Lombardi; camera, Mikel Neiers; editor, Butler Niles () lets Jim McQueen; production designer, Bill Brzeski; art director, Bernard Vyzga; C.C. (Lauren Lane) discover them; sound, Tamar Johnson, John Bickel- the animosity between Niles and haupt; music, Timothy Thompson. C.C. generates some laughs. As Cast: Fran Drescher, Charles Shaugh- nessy, Daniel Davis, Lauren Lane, Ni- usual the only other jokes that con- cholle Tom, , Made- nect grow out of Fran's character. line Zima, , Adeline Drescher, Show's so skewed toward adult Irene Olga Lopez. urban women that others may miss lines. The cross-promotion of ask- lthough they end up shar- ing a group of in the park ing the same bed, Fran "Who's taping Dr. Quinn?" A from Flushing (Fran Dre- doesn't negate it's humor. When scher) and her boss, Maxwell Max offers to buy Fran a retirement (Charles Shaughnessy), aren't condo her main concern is whether the strange bedfellows in Mon- it'll have plantation shutters. day night's above-average epi- sode of "." Dre- Things work out for Mona, and scher and Tyne Daly, who guest Niles implies he'll keep scheming stars as a nanny, are the odd to get Fran and Max together for couple — at least at first blush. real. Daly as a cop from rings Dorothy Lyman's direction is true, but a nanny? Then again, the tight. Costumes by Brenda Coo- premise of this primetime "Coffee per are essential, and the ani- Talk" - now in its sophomore mated title sequence is cute. With season — is Fran's surface unsuit- more to do, Shaughnessy is ap- ability as a nanny. So this stunt pealing. Daly is energetic and casting is illogical but shrewd Drescher is a kick. (given Daly's popularity), and the How much mileage can this pro- result is pretty nanny. duction team get out of whining Daly, who can almost out- "Nanny Fine?" CBS demos will Queens Drescher, plays Mona, a have a lot to do with it, but as Fran fellow nanny about to retire unful- observes, her youngest charge is a filled. Fran frets over the similar long way yet from shaving her trajectory of her life. The central "pits." And the children are inci- gag has her spending the night in dental anyway, so Fran probably Max's bed after getting drunk at won't be moving into that condo Mona's retirement party. any time soon. —John McCarthy