“Sometimes you want to go, where everybody.…” No? Sorry! I think it’s something about “tossed salads and scrambled eggs.” That sounds more like it.
I actually wasn’t a Cheers fan, so there’s little that I could say about the broader evolution of Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), except for this: man did he look young in Boston! And trim, with more hair…. But Frasier also wasn’t himself when he was a member of a large ensemble. The character actually only evolved once he settled in Seattle on his own show. And what happened afterwards is one for the history books.
Frasier was one of the smartest shows on television; there’s no denying it. Just because every other show out there has made a thousand jokes to that effect doesn’t negate the truth. But it wasn’t necessarily a show meant just for high-brow people, nor was it comedy that only those types of people could relate to. With a core group of superbly fine actors, and a constantly rotating cast of great guests, Frasier was just plain funny.
Grammer as Frasier Crane was a casting decision made in heaven. It’s hard to define exactly how Frasier himself evolved — he was just as self-centered, pompous, snobbish, and socially awkward in the finale as he was in the pilot. But what did change over the course of those 263 intermittent episodes, and therefore how Fraiser did transform, were his relationships. There are no better examples than the friendship that grew between him and Niles (David Hyde Pierce), and the love and understanding that developed between him and his father, Martin (John Mahoney).
Niles and Frasier initially found themselves timidly feeling out exactly how to relate to one another. Niles was the younger brother who finally learned to branch out on his own when Frasier left for Boston, Frasier the older brother who last knew Niles as a tag-along. And yet, Niles’ marriage to Maris — a brilliant creation of a significant being who was to never appear on screen because of the inability to create her in human form — was emblematic of just how little Niles had actually grown. Frasier came along and inadvertently saved him, giving him the strength to finally find happiness with Daphne (Jane Leeves).
And Frasier and Martin were at odds in the pilot. Yes, Martin — with his dog Eddie — came to live with Frasier, which brought Daphne into the picture as Martin’s live-in physical therapist, but the two had no bond to speak of. Martin had never understood Frasier, and Frasier had always felt hurt that his father could never relate to him. The same could be said about Martin’s relationship with Niles.
Their travails made for some great comedy, while all the while the two worked towards a better appreciation of who the other one was. Sure, Frasier was never going to see the pleasure in a beer and a ballgame, and Martin never did take to sherry and the opera, but by the end, neither one looked down on the other’s proclivities.
Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin), Frasier’s producer, was the final member of the inner circle. While she and Frasier connected a lot sooner than he did with anyone else — their fighting aside, they were close almost as soon as Frasier convinced Roz to stick it out with him on his show — the growth that took place was Roz’s alone. Always moving from guy to guy, Roz’s metamorphosis came in the form of her daughter, Alice. Which also provided Frasier with the opportunity to be a source of love and support for a child, while his own was back in Boston with his ex-wife, Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth). I always wished Frasier and Roz had worked out as a couple.
It’s Daphne who I think displayed less of an evolution than anyone else. Sure, Niles was a departure for her, but from the beginning she was always looking for love. She also found a family with the Cranes, but she never changed as a person — and I’m glad for it. Her wackiness (“I’m a bit psychic”), humor, and high spirits — mixed with a dash of English bitterness and loathing — brightened up countless scenes, and added a tremendous amount to the laughter and frivolity on the series.
Martin was possibly my favorite character. All he wanted was to enjoy life, and then along came his sons, two of the biggest buzz-kills in the world. A simple man who loved his chair, his Ballentines, his TV, and his dog, his sons were just strangers to him, until Frasier’s return to Seattle following Martin’s career-ending injury (getting shot in the hip) thrust them all together. If you look at it from that perspective, the show was about a man in the later stages of life, getting a second chance at reconnecting with his kids. And he somehow managed to squeeze in a third act, too.
Niles was a constant source of humor in his ineptitude. One of my favorite moments on the show was the cold open where he’s preparing for a date at Frasier’s … not a word is spoken, but he ends up setting the couch on fire, destroying his suit, passing out numerous times, and using dinner to put out the flames. It’s so prominent that I can’t even remember what episode it was from.
Although I certainly can name what episodes other great moments occurred in: the bird on Niles’ head, Thanksgiving in Boston, the flour baby, the sibling book, Niles sitting in for Frasier, the brothers’ restaurant, the Shangri-La, The Montana … I could go on with examples forever; Frasier is a series that almost never disappointed me.
And I certainly don’t mean to leave out some of the great characters who made up the ensemble — Bulldog (Dan Butler) was rough but offered great comedic relief, Kenny (Tom McGowan) added a face to management that had been sorely missing before him, Gil (Edward Hibbert) was an enigma who always dropped in with the timeliest of one-liners, Noel (Patrick Kerr) was exactly what I always imagined a Trekkie to be … and on and on to Donny (Saul Rubinek), Bebe (Harriet Sansom Harris), and all the countless women who paraded through Frasier and Martin’s lives.
I was never even much of a fan. I enjoyed Frasier, but when I started buying the DVDs, it was because my wife was sick one summer and she had nothing to watch on TV. But once I started watching from the beginning, I got hooked. In just a few short years, I’ve watched the series more than a half dozen times, and it never gets old. The humor isn’t full of contemporary references, it doesn’t have a shelf-life, and it isn’t demeaning to anyone who might be trying to connect with it.
It’s just the story of a man who discovers, in mid-life, that he has a family that he’s never known. So he sets out to get to know them … and to win a staring contest with a dog — I guess one out of two isn’t bad.
What are some of your favorite Frasier moments?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Oct 21, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
It was only the 3rd episode of the series, but “Dinner at Eight”, with Martin and his sons “dining” at the Timber Mill restaurant, and Niles & Frasier realizing how elitist they were, set the high bar for the series. It captured the blend of character humor and thoughtful human interactions that would mark the best episodes. There are many others that could complete with “Dinner at Eight” for best episode, but I’m not sure any of them could beat it.
*POST AUTHOR*
Getting their ties clipped, right? Nice. ;)
As brilliant as the series was in its first years, it DID disappoint me. Right around the time they started the “Daphne gets fat” ugly jokes as their way of covering up the actress’s pregnancy, I stopped watching out of disgust. It stopped being funny, and the characters stopped being recognizably human.
I picked it up again for the final five or six episodes. I feel like my actions helped preserve “Frasier” at its best for me, instead of letting a string of mediocre writers and episodes (okay, about 3 1/2 seasons’ worth) damage it.
*POST AUTHOR*
I found it distasteful, too, but I had a different association with the entire fat/pregnant thing, because it evolved into my wife being very angry whenever pregnant people were referred to as fat … so obviously that became a staple for me (though not when she was pregnant ;)).
But that didn’t happen until season 8, so you did enjoy 150+ episodes first. Plus, you missed Martin going back to work, Daphne and Niles moving in together (with lots of Daphne’s family thrown in), the many weddings of Niles and Daphne, Roz and Frasier, Martin and Ronee – you should try and check them out during one of the countless syndication cycles. Being after-the-fact should preserve the show for you, and you’ll get a chance to see some good stuff, too. :)
I’ve caught glimpses of Daphne’s family from those seasons, and they all seemed much more sitcommy than anything on “Frasier” should be. And I actually liked Niles pining after Daphne much more than the two of them together.
But I do run across a “new” episode for me from those last seasons from time to time on Lifetime. They do have some good moments in them. And as you said, I have over 150 great episodes to enjoy. I own through season 6 on DVD, and may get a couple more.
Yes, the one where their ties get cut off. The Crane boys’ relationship with their dad was my favorite part of the show.
Thanks for the great post.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the show, but the one episode I did like was when Frasier has to pay to get out of a parking lot and doesn’t have the money to do so, uses the “do you know who I am?” card, and it doesn’t work, and out of his pompous indignation, doesn’t move his car so that others can pay and leave. There was something about that particular episode that I loved.
The first episode where Lilith first visits always cracks me up (to Eddie, “Go Away.” – and the poor dog just bolts).
And the one where they try to get BeBe to quit smoking so she can marry the rich Texan was hysterical too. BeBe always creeped me out since she played those psychotic genetically created twins in the X-Files.
And whenever Daphne’s brother showed up was always good for a laugh.
I thought the show was magical. Like the perfect blend of chemistry where the sum of its parts is even better than each individual part. I cannot imagine Frasier without Niles. They were incredible together. The father was an excellent balance and their contrast made each of the other’s position that much funnier, or ironic. The rest of the cast was great and part of the formula that made it all work so well. I loved them all, but the scenes with Frasier and Niles were unbeatable. I loved the Bebe character, and the rest including Roz, Daphne, bulldog, Lilith, and other station characters were great. I was glad that they brought the characters of Niles and Daphne together. I thought it was important to develop it into this. I loved it when Ronnie was introduced. Although Daphne’s mother grew on me, I too thought that the brothers were too much like other ridiculous sitcoms. I also grew a bit tired of some of the granny moon stories that I thought were totally ridiculous and not that clever or funny. Other than that, this is my favorite all time show. So clever, so brilliant and well-written. I own the entire series and I still love to watch them.
*POST AUTHOR*
Exactly! An episode that didn’t also feature Martin and Niles was weaker for it, but as a unit the Crane boys were tremendous.
I thought the Frasier show was magical. Like the perfect blend of chemistry where the sum of its parts is even better than each individual element. I cannot imagine Frasier without Niles. They were incredible together. I also loved the physical comedy of Niles. The father was an excellent balance to the sons and their contrast made each of the other’s position that much funnier, or ironic. The rest of the cast was great and part of the formula that made it all work so well. I loved them all, but the scenes with Frasier and Niles were unbeatable. I absolutely loved the Bebe character and stories. The rest including Roz, Daphne, Bulldog, Lilith, Frederick, and the other station characters were great and so well chosen. I was glad that they finally brought the characters of Niles and Daphne together. I thought it was important to develop it into this. I loved it when Ronnie was introduced. I also really liked the Donnie character. Although Daphne’s mother grew on me, I too thought that the way Daphne’s brothers were written was too much like other inane sitcoms. I also did not care for some of the granny moon stories that I thought were so totally ridiculous and not that clever or funny, and that the show would have been better off changing them up a bit and adding a little more balance, if not depth, to the characters. However, I thought the Maris stories, for the most part, worked well, but I have to say, the delivery of lines from Pierce and Grammer in regard to her character were priceless. This is my favorite all time show. So clever; so brilliant and well-written. I own the entire series and I still love to watch them.