Frasier

Frasier is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub Street Productions) in association with Paramount Television. It is aired in the UK by Paramount Comedy and Channel 4.

A spin-off from Cheers, Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane. David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Jane Leeves, Peri Gilpin and Moose (a Jack Russell Terrier) rounded out the regular cast.

Frasier won a record 37 Emmy Awards during its run, and a poll taken by the British Channel 4 of the sitcom industry voted Frasier the best sitcom of all time.^[1] It is one of the most successful spin-off series in television history, and one of the most critically acclaimed comedies in the history of television.^[2]

Premise

Psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Grammer) returns to his hometown of Seattle, Washington, following the break up of his marriage and his life in Boston (which was covered in the series Cheers). His plans for his new life as a bachelor are complicated when he is obliged to take in his father, ex-police officer Martin Crane (Mahoney), who had to retire and is unable to live by himself owing to an injury caused by being shot. Frasier and Martin are joined by Daphne Moon (Leeves), Martin's eccentric English live-in physical therapist and caretaker, and Martin's dog Eddie (Moose). A frequent visitor to their apartment is Frasier's younger brother Niles (Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist who, like Frasier, is pompous and snobbish. Niles' infatuation with and eventual love for Daphne, feelings which he does not confess to her openly until the final episode of the seventh season, form a complex story arc that spans the entire series.

Frasier hosts a popular radio talk show on KACL 780AM (named to honor the show's creators, Angell, Casey, and Lee). His producer is Roz Doyle (Gilpin), a woman with an very active romantic life who, while decidedly different from Frasier in taste and temperament, nevertheless becomes a very close friend over the course of the series. He and his brother are also very frequently customers in Café Nervosa.

Plot themes

Numerous running jokes and themes develop throughout the series. Chief among them are the class and familial conflicts among Frasier, Niles and Martin. The two sons, who possess fine tastes, intellectual interests and rather high opinions of themselves, frequently clash with their more blue-collar, down-to-earth father. A running theme, particularly in the early seasons, is Frasier's and Martin's difficulty in reaching an accommodation with each other and in sharing an apartment. Despite being similar in personality, interests and sensibilities, the relationship between Frasier and Niles is no less turbulent. They have an intense sibling rivalry and their jealousy of each other and petty attempts at one-upmanship (which frequently result in chaos) drive many of the plots.

Other storylines include Niles' growing love for Daphne (of which she remains unaware in the early seasons, despite its increasingly obvious nature) and the breakdown of his marriage to the never-seen Maris (a take-off from its parent series, Cheers, in which Norm's wife Vera was often talked about--and even heard--but never seen), Frasier's search for love in his own life, and the various attempts of the two brothers to gain acceptance into Seattle's cultural elite.

Structurally, many episodes center around misunderstandings or elaborate lies which multiple characters are forced to "play along" in order to conceal the truth. Frasier also featured many "once-a-year" plot devices, such as an appearance by Frederick, Lilith and Bebe Glazer. Season finales sometimes took the form of a "two part" special that was concluded as the season premiere the following season.

Cast

Regulars

• Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane. In the episode "Are You Being Served" it is revealed that Frasier and his brother Niles were named after two lab rats their mother was using in an experiment.
• David Hyde Pierce as Dr. Niles Crane. In an interview, Hyde Pierce explained that the original concept for the show did not include a brother for Frasier. However, a casting director for the show saw a photo of him and commented how much he resembled a young Kelsey Grammer.^[3][4] In Season 2's "The Show Where Sam Shows Up", one of the first things Sam Malone says when he first meets Niles is how he looks exactly like Frasier when he first knew him back in Boston. In his previous series, The Powers That Be, Hyde Pierce played a very similar character, a stuffy milquetoast with a mad passion for the maid.
• John Mahoney as Martin Crane. In a final-season interview, Mahoney said the first offer he received to play Martin Crane consisted of a phone call from Grammer in which he asked, "Will you be my dad?" However, according to Peter Casey, Mahoney was first approached by Kerry McCluggage, then President of Paramount Television, who knew him from when they both worked at Universal Studios.^[4]
• Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon. Leeves used a mixture of different Northern English accents to portray a stereotypical working class Englishwoman. However, this contrasts with her natural southeastern English accent, as Leeves hails from Essex.
• Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle (named in honor of a producer of Wings, which shares show creators with Frasier). The casting choice was narrowed down to Gilpin and Lisa Kudrow. Kudrow got the role, but was replaced after a few rehearsals. The writers found themselves watering down her character "because Lisa just didn’t play forceful."^[5] Jim Burrows also noticed that "Kelsey was pulling back in scenes with her because if he went all out like he usually did, he completely overpowered her."^[5]
• "Moose" and Moose's son "Enzo" as Eddie, the Jack Russell Terrier.

Recurring guest stars

Main article: Minor characters on Frasier

• Dan Butler as Bob 'Bulldog' Briscoe, the obnoxious host of a radio sports show. Butler was made a series regular for seasons 5 and 6, and served as a recurring guest star in other seasons.
• Edward Hibbert as Gil Chesterton, food critic at the radio station
• Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin, Frasier's ex-wife (also on Cheers)
• Trevor Einhorn as Frederick Crane, Frasier's son. The character was first played in Season 3 by child actor Luke Tarsitano. The following season, Einhorn took over for the rest of the series. The writers had Frasier say that he missed Frederick in the pilot episode so that the audience wouldn't view him as deserting his son.
• Tom McGowan as Kenny Daley, the station manager
• Patrick Kerr as Noel Shempsky, a geeky station employee who adores Star Trek
• Harriet Sansom Harris as Bebe Glazer, Frasier's amoral agent
• Marsha Mason as Sherry Dempsey, Martin's lady friend
• Saul Rubinek as Donny Douglas, Daphne's fiancé
• Jane Adams as Mel Karnofsky, Niles' girlfriend and (for a few days) wife
• Millicent Martin as Gertrude Moon, Daphne's mother
• Brian Cox as Harry Moon, Daphne's barfly father
• Anthony LaPaglia as Simon Moon, one of Daphne's brothers. Aside from her mother, none of Daphne’s relatives nor her ex-boyfriend have Manchester accents, despite supposedly being from there. They mostly have Southern English (i.e. London) accents, while her brother Nigel's is Cockney. While three of Daphne's brothers appear in the series finale, none of the actors playing them are English. LaPaglia is from Australia, Richard E. Grant from Swaziland and Robbie Coltrane from Scotland.
• Brian Stokes Mitchell as Cam Winston, Frasier's upstairs neighbor and nemesis
• Wendie Malick as Ronee Lawrence

Records

• The series won 37 prime-time Emmys during its 11-year run, breaking the record long held by The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Grammer and Pierce each won four, including one each for the final season. The series holds the record for the most consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, winning five from 1994 to 1998.

• Grammer played Frasier for 20 years (1984-2004), tying the James Arness portrayal of Marshall Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke in terms of character longevity in prime-time American television. The record for all of television is held by Helen Wagner, for her portrayal of matriarch Nancy Hughes on the soap opera As the World Turns. Wagner has been playing the role since the show's first episode in 1956.

• Grammer was briefly the highest-paid television star in history, reaching a salary of $1.6 million per episode for the last two seasons; his record was surpassed by Ray Romano within a year.

Awards

Main article: List of Frasier awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

• Comedy Series (1994-98)
• Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Kelsey Grammer (1994, 1995, 1998, 2004)
• Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: David Hyde Pierce (1995, 1998, 1999, 2004)
• Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
  • Jean Smart (2000, 2001)
  • Laura Linney (2004)
• Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
  • Derek Jacobi (2001)
  • Anthony LaPaglia (2002)
• Directing in a Comedy Series
  • James Burrows (1994)
  • David Lee (1995, 1997)
• Writing in a Comedy Series
  • David Angell, Peter Casey, David Lee (1994)
  • Chuck Ranberg, Anne Flett-Giordano (1995)
  • Joe Keenan, Christopher Lloyd, Rob Greenberg, Jack Burditt, Chuck Ranberg, Anne Flett-Giordano, Linda Morris, Vic Rauseo (1996)
  • Jay Kogen (1999)
• Editing: Ron Volk (1994, 1996, 1998, 1999 with Scott Maisano, 2000-04)
• Sound Mixing (1996, 2002, 2004)
• Art Direction (2004)

Grammer has been Emmy-nominated for playing Frasier Crane on Cheers and Frasier, as well as a 1992 crossover appearance on Wings, making him the only performer to be nominated for playing the same role on three different series. 2003 was the first year that Grammer didn't receive an Emmy nomination for this series. David Hyde Pierce was nominated every year of the show's run, breaking the record for nominations in his category with his eighth nomination in 2001; he was nominated a further three times after this.

Golden Globes

• Best TV Series - Comedy/Musical (1995)
• Best Performance by an Actor in TV Series - Comedy/Musical: Kelsey Grammer (1996, 2001)

Other

• Humanitas Prize, 30 Minute Category - Steven Levitan (1996), Jay Kogen (2000)
• Peabody Award (1995)

Critical reaction

In a retrospective review in The Radio Times Guide to Television Comedy, Mark Lewisohn called the show a "comedy masterpiece", saying that the writing was adult and sophisticated.^[6] Frasier was voted as the greatest sitcom of all time in the Channel 4 show The Ultimate Sitcom, broadcast on January 2, 2006.

Episodes

Main article: List of Frasier episodes

The season 4 episode "Head Game" only featured Frasier for the first few minutes, with the rest of the episode revolving around Niles. This role was written for Frasier, but Grammer was being treated for his addiction problems, so it was re-written for Niles instead. This is also the reason why Niles fills in for Frasier on his radio show, because the show is integral to the plot.

During season 8, Jane Leeves' pregnancy was disguised by a storyline involving a severe over-eating disorder; later, her pregnancy leave was accounted for by having Daphne go to a health spa to cope with her weight problem. At one point during her absence, it is mentioned that Daphne has lost 9 lbs 12 oz (4.4 kg) at the spa, an inside joke referencing the birth weight of Leeves' daughter, Isabella.

An episode entitled "Analyzing the Laughter" was aired in conjunction with the final double bill of Frasier. The plotline was that Frasier meets with an analyst for a review of his life, providing an opportunity to show flashbacks from the series. This was shown two days in advance of the finale in the U.S., but on the same night in the UK.

Writers

Main article: List of Frasier writers

Production

The show is set in Seattle, Washington, but only one episode, "The 1000th Show", was filmed there.^[7] The remainder was filmed on Stage 25 (), Paramount Studios, and at various locations in and around Los Angeles.

No building or apartment in Seattle really has the view from Frasier's residence. It was created so the Space Needle would appear more prominently. According to the Season 1 DVD bonus features, the photograph used on the set was taken from atop a cliff, possibly the ledge at Kerry Park, a frequent photography location.

The radio station callers' lines were spoken by anonymous voice-over actors while filming the show in front of a live audience. This gave the cast something to which they could react. During post-production, the lines were replaced by celebrities, who literally phoned in their parts without having to come into the studio. The end credits of season finales would show headshots of all the celebrities who had "called in" that season.

Title sequence

The title sequence, which was a remarkably short 8 seconds, featured an animated white-on-black simplified line drawing of the Seattle skyline, a jazz jingle, and one small feature of animation in the background which varied among:

• The Space Needle's red aircraft warning light blinking
• The Space Needle transmitting radio waves
• An elevator riding up the Space Needle
• A hot air balloon rising from behind the skyline
• A helicopter rising from behind the skyline
• A bolt of lightning striking one of the skyscrapers in the skyline
• A cloud raining on the skyline
• Lights coming on sporadically in buildings in the skyline, as if night is approaching
• A crescent moon rising from behind the skyline
• Christmas tree lights strung from the Space Needle (during Christmas episodes)
• An elevated monorail running in front of the skyline
• A single-engine biplane flying over the skyline, trailing a banner reading KACL (the call-letters of the radio station for which Frasier works)
• A trio of helium-filled primary color balloons rising from behind the skyline
• A shooting star flying over the skyline
• Fireworks over the skyline
• A blimp flying over the skyline
• A tower crane moving a steel I-beam over the skyline
• A rainbow arcing over the skyline
• The sun rising from behind the skyline

Cheers connections

• Every regular cast member of Cheers appeared in at least one episode, except for Kirstie Alley (Rebecca Howe) and Nicholas Colasanto (Coach). Alley refused to appear in a show which showed psychiatry in a positive light, due to her Scientology beliefs, while Colasanto died in 1985.
• Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) was the lone character of Cheers, other than Grammer, to become a consistent recurring character on Frasier.
• Kelsey Grammer has said that "The Show Where Diane Comes Back" is one of his favorite episodes. On Cheers, Shelley Long did not like the Frasier character and lobbied hard to get Grammer removed from the show. The producers disagreed, noting that the audience liked him. When Long's character, Diane Chambers, appeared on this show, Grammer said it was an opportunity for them to make peace. Apart from this episode, Long played Diane Chambers in two other episodes. The first was a brief surprise cameo in a 1994 episode, and once again in the 2001 season premiere, both times as figments of Frasier's imagination.
• John Mahoney appeared in an episode of Cheers, as Si Phlembeck, an over-the-hill advertising executive hired by Rebecca to write a jingle for the bar. Grammer and Mahoney exchanged a few lines. The plot of an episode of Frasier is somewhat similar to the Cheers episode.
• In the eighth season Cheers episode "Two Girls for Every Boyd", Frasier tells Sam Malone (Ted Danson) that his father, a research scientist, had died. In the Season 2 episode "The One Where Sam Shows Up", when Sam meets Martin, he brings up the discrepancies. Frasier explains it away by saying he had just had a fight with his father on the phone and he was very angry with him at the time. In "The One Where Woody Shows Up", Woody Boyd upon meeting Martin says he remembers hearing about him - probably from Sam talking about his experiences in Seattle when he returned to Boston.
• Robert Prosky played the father of Cheers regular Rebecca. He appeared in Season 4 as a J.D. Salinger-like writer who strikes up a friendship with Martin. Prosky had been considered for the role of Martin on "Frasier" in the early stages of production.
• Peri Gilpin was in a Cheers episode titled "Woody Gets an Election", playing a reporter who interviews Woody when he runs for office.
• Niles' wife Maris is never seen (at least her face) or heard from. The same device was used for Vera, Norm Petersen's wife in Cheers. This method is used again when Martin meets the woman he has been watching from across the street via his telescope, and for Senator Adler when he arrived at Frasier's apartment.
• After Cheers had finished filming, the bar was taken down and the sets for this show were built over it. The producers made certain there were no stools in the coffee shop in order to distance it visually from the Cheers bar.
• Frasier's mother, who in Frasier is always remembered as a sensitive, intelligent woman and a wonderful mother, appears in a Cheers episode (played by Nancy Marchand) and threatens to kill Diane Chambers with a gun she has with her if Diane does not end her relationship with Frasier immediately. She was portrayed in a 2001 episode (on Martin's old cine movies) by Rita Wilson, who reprised the role during Frasier's imaginary experiences with the important women in his life. In this case, she was once again portrayed as threatening toward Diane (and Lilith), citing her reasons as concern for Frasier's happiness.

Appearances outside of Frasier

In the eighth season The Simpsons episode "Brother from Another Series", David Hyde Pierce guest stars as Cecil Terwilliger, brother of Sideshow Bob, a recurring snobbish villain voiced by Kelsey Grammer. The episode also alludes to Niles' wife, Maris Crane (when Bart jumps on Cecil's back and shouts "Guess who!", Cecil guesses "Maris?") and makes use of subtitle slides Frasier employs. Sideshow Bob and his brother Cecil Terwilliger reappeared in an episode of The Simpsons, entitled "Funeral For A Fiend", with Grammer and Hyde Pierce reprising their respective roles and with John Mahoney as their father.

The cast (minus Kelsey Grammer) performed a "mock-audition" of Star Trek: Voyager during the Star Trek 30 Years and Beyond primetime special on October 6, 1996, alongside Kate Mulgrew as Voyager character Captain Janeway^[8]. Grammer had previously played Captain Morgan Bateson in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect", but had to bow out after being admitted to rehabilitation in 1996. (Grammer was originally to play the role of the ship's captain.) The primetime special was hosted by Ted Danson, who played Sam Malone on Cheers. Mulgrew also has a connection to Cheers, having played Sam's love interest in three episodes.^[9] Though not appearing in the skit, fellow Frasier semi-regulars Bebe Neuwirth, Patrick Kerr (Noel Shempsky), and Dan Butler (Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe) have also guested on various Star Trek series over the years. In addition, multiple noteworthy Star Trek alumni, including Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner, have made guest appearances during the series' eleven-year run. Many Frasier episodes also include references to Star Trek.^[10]

Kelsey Grammer appeared in a 2008 Dr. Pepper TV commercial^[11] as Frasier doing his radio show. In the commercial, Frasier claims that it has been scientifically proven that the 23 flavors in Dr. Pepper can be "truly relish[ed]" if it is drunk slowly, comparing this to how "we [should] savor all our relationships". Frasier then asks for comments from a caller, who happens to be Lilith; she complains that "you never savored me slowly." Frasier responds that he "finally found the right 'icy' doctor", cutting off Lilith and telling the audience that "slower is better; trust me, I'm a doctor."

International broadcasters

DVD releases

CBS Home Entertainment has released all 11 seasons of Frasier on DVD in Region 1 and 2. A 44-disc package containing the entire 11 seasons has also been released.

Other merchandise

VHS

The first four seasons have been released on VHS along with a series of 'Best Of' tapes. These tapes consist of four episodes taken from seasons 1-4. No more video releases have been announced.

CDs

One Frasier CD has been released featuring a number of songs taken from the show.

Books

Several books about Frasier have been released, including the following:

NBC broadcast history

All times listed are North American Eastern Standard Time.

• September 1993-May 1994 - Thursdays 9:30pm

• September 1994-May 1998 - Tuesdays 9:00pm

• September 1998-May 2000 - Thursdays 9:00pm

• October 2000-May 2004 - Tuesdays 9:00pm

Nielsen ratings

Highest Rated Episodes In Each Season

• Season 1: 03/02/1994 - 21.8 rating (33.1 million) - The Show Where Lilith Comes Back
• Season 2: 08/11/1994 - 13.7 rating (27.4 million) - The Candidate
• Season 3: 10/10/1995 - 17.9 rating (25.9 million) - Martin Does It His Way
• Season 4: 12/11/1996 - 14.5 rating (20.4 million) - Head Game
• Season 5: 23/09/1997 - 14.8 rating (21.5 million) - Frasier's Imaginary Friend
• Season 6: 24/09/1998 - 18.8 rating (28.3 million) - Good Grief
• Season 7: 18/05/2000 - 22.1 rating (33.7 million) - Something Borrowed, Someone Blue (1 hour)
• Season 8: 24/10/2000 - 18.9 rating (28.6 million) - And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon (1 hour)
• Season 9: 25/09/2001 - 13.0 rating (19.6 million) - Don Juan in Hell (1 hour)
• Season 10: 24/09/2002 - 14.1 rating (21.1 million) - The Ring Cycle
• Season 11: 13/05/2004 - 16.3 rating (25.2 million) - Goodnight, Seattle (1 hour)

References

External links

• Frasier at the TV IV
• The Frasier Files, a GeoCities-hosted fan's website with transcripts of all episodes
• Frasier at the Internet Movie Database
• Sitcoms Online Information about Frasier and other sitcoms
• The David Hyde Pierce Website Lots of info on his career
• How FRASIER came to be, Peter Casey's three-part account of the origin of the series.