Tiramisu and other guilty pleasures

This is an old piece, about George Michael and favourite TV show The Nanny. It was written in 2006 when George Michael was still in a relationship with Kenny Goss. I really miss Kenny, he and George made such a beautiful couple. I was a hardcore George and Kenny 'shipper and googling for news or pics of them certainly was a guilty pleasure of mine.

Last night Maria and I were rewatching George Michael: A different story. It’s a great documentary by the way. [The Guardian got it right, it is a warts'n'all hagiography.] George discusses at length the highs and lows of his life and there are lots of both.
There is also quite a bit of Kenny Goss, George’s gorgeous partner. George tells us that he wasn’t sure that Kenny was gay before he asked him out and that he still wasn’t sure on the first dinnerdate. He then all but winks at the camera and reveals that "the second night I became very sure that [Kenny] was gay". Heh.

Maria and I were talking about what exactly might have transpired to make George sure, apart from the obvious of course. George wasn't officially out at the time, so it could have been very awkward if he'd read the signs wrong. My Maria is a very smart lady and so she jokingly said that George probably asked Kenny if he knew what tiramisu was. Needless to say we dissolved in giggles!

And for those who don’t get the tiramisu joke, it's a reference to a TV-show called the Nanny. Fran Drescher, she of the unusual voice, played a nanny called Fran Fine. It’s a glorious guilty pleasure of a show. It’s on constant repeat here in the Netherlands; I seem to remember that in the US it’s on Lifetime.

In one of the best episodes of the show A Fine Friendship Fran meets good-looking male nanny Kurt. Everyone, including Fran, is convinced Kurt is gay and consequently Fran treats him as her best (girl)friend instead of a potential lover. This goes on for a few weeks unitil Kurt, who's definitely not gay, makes his move. When he starts kissing Fran she’s totally confused and asks him: "Kurt, what’s tiramisu?". When he answers "I have no idea" the jig is up! Horrified she shrieks: "You’re not gay?" Comedy gold!

If you don’t believe me, catch a few episodes of the Nanny and see if they don’t win you over. There aren't many sitcoms around with that much chemistry between the leads and such perfect comedic timing [Modern Family and Greg & Dharma come to mind.]

I loved all the characters in the Nanny, but the butler Niles, was my favourite. And I think it was wonderful that the characterof bitchy Niles was as straight as they come. In most other sitcoms they would have gone the easy route and made Niles a raging queen. But the Nanny didn’t go for the stereotypes, it just played with them. Good for them.

Oh, and one of our favourite jokes about soap operas can be heard in this same episode. Kurt asks the Nanny to bring him up to speed about the goings-on on his favourite soap as he hasn’t followed it for half a year. Says Fran: "Well, they’re still at the party…" Hee. Great joke.