Frasier: An Appreciation

The death this past weekend of actor John Mahoney has me thinking a lot about Frasier, one of my favorite shows of all time.  I must admit that I have a strong emotional attachment to this show; it was a favorite of my mom, who passed away in 2011.  Watching the show now, I can still hear her huge belly laugh.  Seriously, she should have been hired to attend sitcom tapings and liven up their laugh tracks. 

Anyway, if you don't already know the history of this beloved show, it began in 1993 as a spinoff of long-running hit sitcom Cheers.  Fussy but kindhearted know-it-all psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) moves from Boston back to his hometown Seattle for a job as host of a radio call-in show.  His father Martin (Mahoney), a gentle man's man and widowed retired cop, soon moves in with him.  Physical therapist Daphne (Jane Leeves) also moves in to help Martin with an injury to his leg that he received after being shot on duty several years before.  Originally from Manchester, England, she's a bit naïve but a worthy sparring partner to her roommates, who she bickers with but loves like family.  There's also Frasier's even fussier brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), another psychiatrist who is controlled by his horrid never-seen-on-screen wife Maris.  Rounding out the cast is Roz (Peri Gilpin), Frasier's radio show producer, a brash and promiscuous single woman who befriends Frasier and his family.

The biggest strength of Frasier is the smart, snappy writing.  Every episode, even those in some of the weaker later seasons, has at least a few laugh-out-loud moments.  Most of the show's humor is derived from the relationships between the main characters: fussy, finicky Frasier's sometimes strained but loving relationship with his regular Joe, beer-drinking dad, Frasier and Niles's shared love of wine and opera and all things highbrow, Niles's school-boy infatuation with the completely oblivious Daphne.  The show's best episodes were those that resembled Shakesperian "comedies of error", where none of the characters completely knew what was going on, or at least one of them was pretending to be someone that they weren't.  There's season 5 episode "The Ski Lodge", where the gang spends the weekend at a cabin and each guest has the hots for someone other than the person that they came with.  A true classic.  Another one of my personal favorites, season 7 episode "Out with Dad", involves Martin pretending to be gay to avoid the affections of a woman, then pretending that Niles is his boyfriend to avoid the affections of the woman's uncle. 

Lasting 11 seasons (just as long as Cheers), Frasier understandably hit some rough patches later in its run (especially season 10), but it still kept up its sharp writing remarkably well and rebounded creatively for its final farewell season.  The show's ability to remain strong for such a long time (much longer than most sitcoms) was partially due to the growth and evolution of its characters.  Niles broke up with Maris and eventually ended up with true-love Daphne, a plot point that could have signaled the end of the show but instead added another layer.  Niles and Daphne together usually wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as Niles simply crushing on her, but it added a new "couple" dynamic to the show.  Their perfect sugary-sweet romance was often mocked and envied by the other characters.  Martin also eventually moved on and began dating; after several relationships, he finally married his younger girlfriend Ronee (Wendie Malick) towards the end of the series.  Finally, Roz got pregnant from a one-night stand around halfway through the series, forcing her to grow up.  Motherhood expanded the character beyond her rather one-dimensional personality earlier in the series, although Gilpin was still the weakest actress on the show.

Frasier was by no means a perfect show, but the strength of the writing and its countless classic re-watchable episodes, as well as the general feeling of love and respect between the (mostly) strong cast, have earned it a spot as one of the best shows of all time.  In my opinion, even better than its predecessor Cheers.  If you've never seen the show or only watched it casually before, then I suggest you start from the beginning on Netflix, dive in, and enjoy.