KACL (Frasier)

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For the oldies radio station of the call sign in Bismarck, North Dakota, see KACL.

KACL (780 AM) is the fictional radio station on the television show Frasier. It broadcasts many talk radio shows, including Frasier Crane's advice show between 2:00pm-5:00pm each weekday, Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe's sports program, The Gonzo Sports Show, and Gil Chesterton's food show, Restaurant Beat. KACL follows an advice or lifestyle talk format and appears to offer little or no political talk programming, the dominant form of talk radio when the program was being produced. KACL programming is actually more representative of talk programming during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

For a while it was an all-salsa station, although this proved unpopular with the listeners and so it reverted to an all-talk format. Its station managers have included Ned Miller, Tom Duran, Kate Costas, and Kenny Daley, although as of 2004 it is now managed by Roz Doyle, who was Frasier's producer throughout the show's run. Among its owners have been "Big Willy" Boone, an elderly self-made media mogul from Texas, José Martinez (aka Joe Martin), who was the man responsible for (temporarily) changing KACL's format from all-talk to all-salsa, Poppy Delafield's mother and Todd Peterson, a young twenty-something who made his fortune in the dot-com boom of the 1990s.

KACL carries hourly news broadcasts from NBC News, which are distributed by Westwood One, an arm of CBS.

Noel Shempsky, who has a long-term crush on Roz, works in accounting.

Frasier Crane has dated several female co-workers at the station, the most prominent of whom, after Kate Costas, was Cassandra Stone, who worked in promotions, played by Virginia Madsen.

Frasier's brother, Niles Crane, once filled in for him due to the former's illness. Frasier had a dream in which Niles was trying to steal his show from him. In order to stop him, he hijacked a broadcast by Niles by showing up high on cough medicine and taking over the show, telling one listener: "You're on the Crane with Frasier Air!".

The station was named after the co-creators of Frasier, David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee, taking the first letter of their surnames, with "K" representing the standard format for call signs of stations located west of the Mississippi River.

[edit] Other Shows on KACL

Other programs and personalities on the station have included:

Chopper Dave's Eye in the Sky traffic reports
A produce show with "Ray the Greengrocer"
An automobile repair show hosted by Bonnie Weems, the "Car Lady"
Religion on the Line with Father Mike
Pet Chat with Nanette
A cooking show with Floyd "the Happy Chef" (who apparently succeeded Leo "the Happy Chef" as host)
Amber Edwards' Book Chat
Car Chat with Bob and Bethany
A short-lived rival advice show hosted by Dr. Nora
Health Watch with Dr. Clint Weber
Burt the Backyard Gardener
Let's Go Camping with Dan and Jenna
An arts show hosted by the then-current station owner's daughter, Poppy Delafield
Storytime Theatre with Tooty "the Story Lady"
A morning shock jock program hosted by Carlos and the Chicken
An arts and crafts program with "Miss Judy"
A gardening show hosted by Helen Grogan ("Ma Nature")
An opinion program hosted by curmudgeon Chester Ludgate
A stock market report with Julia Wilcox.
Teen Talk a weekend program in which high school students interview a guest.