Product Description
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Kelsey Grammer ("Cheers") stars as Dr. Frasier Crane, a
successful Boston psychiatrist who moved to Seattle to get a
fresh start on life. He has his own radio talk show which he uses
to relay his wit and wisdom for others. At times, he struggles
with his own neuroses from his family and friends, though often
he does not take his own advice. This half-hour comedy showcases
the humourous ways Frasier deals with life and how his family and
friends follow suit.
.com
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Season One
Thanks to sharp writing and a pitch-perfect ensemble cast,
Frasier became one of the smartest and funniest television shows
of the 1990s. Following the 1993 demise of Cheers, Diane's fussy
psychiatrist boyfriend, Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), seemed an
unlikely candidate for a spin-off series, yet the show earned
smash ratings and dozens of Emmy Awards, including Outstanding
Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor (Grammer) in the very
first season. In an inspired bit of casting, Grammer was matched
with David Hyde Pierce as his brother and fellow psychiatrist
Niles, and the rest of the players included his radio-program
manager, Roz (Peri Gilpin), his her, Marty (John Mahoney), his
her's physical therapist, Daphne (Jane Leeves), and the dog
Eddie (Moose).
In the first season, Frasier and Marty try to learn how to
coexist in the same apartment; Niles and Daphne spend a stormy
evening in Niles's house; Frasier acquires pushy agent Bebe
(Harriet Sansom Harris) and searches for love with Amanda Donohoe
among others; his ex-wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) makes a guest
appearance; the family takes a cross-country trip in a Winnebago;
and the two brothers collaborate on a book.
Bonus features aren't spectacular, but are a cut above many
similar DVD sets. Executive producers Peter Casey and David Lee
provide a commentary track on the pilot episode. In a 20-minute
making-of segment, they and the principal cast members discuss
the creation of the show, casting (Lisa Kudrow was the other
finalist for the character of Roz), and the mystery of the
omni-absent Maris. "Frasier Crane's Apartment" looks at the set
and props, and each disc spotlights a few of the celebrity voices
that appeared as the radio show's callers. --David Horiuchi
Season Two
Frasier picked up its second season with another round of comedy
as intelligent as its pompous title character. Fortunately, the
sniping between Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and his her, Marty
(John Mahoney), that took up a lot of the first season is mostly
past, and the crack ensemble was ready to roll in a number of
memorable episodes. Frasier tries to set up Daphne (Jane Leeves)
with the new station manager in "The Matchmaker," Frasier, Niles
(David Hyde Pierce), and Marty go fishing in "Breaking the Ice,"
Frasier and Niles jump into politics in "The Candidate," the team
of Frasier and Roz (Peri Gilpin) breaks up ("Roz in the
Doghouse"), and Frasier and Niles open a restaurant in "The
Innkeepers." It was Pierce's Niles who emerged as a star in the
second season, lusting after Daphne, learning about parenthood in
"Flour Child," and challenging a Bavarian fencer for the hand of
his ever-absent wife, Maris, in the comic tour de force "An
Affair to Forget." Pierce picked up a well-deserved first Emmy,
and the show repeated its first-season Emmys for comedy series
and lead actor. Frasier's dates included Jobeth Williams (whom he
takes on a disastrous getaway to Bora Bora), Shannon Tweed, and
Tea Leoni, and other guest stars were Nathan Lane and, from his
original show, Cheers, Bebe Neuwirth and Ted Danson. --David
Horiuchi
Season Three
With this third season, Frasier scored an impressive hat trick,
winning its third successive Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.
You don't need too much analysis to get to the bottom of this
unprecedented success. The series was a primetime oasis of wit
and sophistication, with welcome forays into farce that pricked
Frasier's bubble of pomposity. His priceless reactions to the
assaults on his dignity are worthy of Jack Benny. Frasier (Kelsey
Grammer) can be infuriating, as in "The Focus Group," in which he
is obsessed with knowing why a lone focus group participant
(guest star Tony Shalhoub) doesn't like him. But he is also
endearing in his delusional view of himself as, in the words of
one mocking bystander, a "man of the people." Frasier meets his
match in new station owner Kate Costas (O-winner Mercedes
Ruehl). Their combative relationship turns to lust over the
course of the first 10 episodes.
But the season's most pivotal story arc is the separation of
Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Maris. "Moon Dance," which marked
Grammer's directorial debut, is a series benchmark, as a
crestfallen Niles tangos with his unrequited love, Daphne (Jane
Leeves), at a high society ball. Not that the Crane family still
doesn't have issues to work out. Frasier cannot abide being
beaten at chess by Martin (John Mahoney) in "Chess Pains."
Frasier and Niles ill-advisedly go into joint practice in "Shrink
Rap," and find themselves on the site sides of a sanity
hearing in "Crane vs. Crane." Lilith is sorely missed, but in
this season's blast-from-the-past episode, Shelley Long returns
in "The Show Where Diane Comes Back." It is a joy to see Cheers
resurrected, if only in Diane's self-absorbed new play, which
Frasier agrees to back. And any episode with Frasier's amoral
agent Bebe (Harriet Sansom Harris) is must-see television.
Frasier's humor was character-based, rather than topical, giving
it a longer shelf life. For those who lament the end of one of
television's gold standard series, this boxed set will be
excellent therapy. --Donald Liebenson
Season Four
Frasier's fourth season was mostly about relationships. Niles
(David Hyde Pierce), now separated from Maris, is back on the
market like his bachelor brother, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer).
That's great when the pair goes to a cabin with a pair of
fetching women (Megan Mullaly, later of Will and Grace, and Lisa
Darr), but Niles is never able to completely dispel his
attachment to his suffocating wife... or to Daphne (Jane Leeves).
His obsession with the latter gets an immediate burst in the
season's first episode, in which he has to masquerade as Daphne's
husband, then later comes to a head when she appears at his
apartment door asking to stay the night. The boys have the usual
disputes with their her (John Mahoney), including their
disdain for the former cop's new girlfriend, Sherry (Marsha
Mason), the boisterous, banjo-twangin', "gotcha"-playing
bartender who would remain a regular cast member through the end
of the series. Ex-wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) makes her annual
appearance, this time when she and Frasier try to get Frederick
into an exclusive prep school. And the title character? As much
as Frasier teases his producer Roz (Peri Gilpin) about her dating
habits, he himself is lonely, leading him to a memorable airport
encounter with guest star Linda Hamilton and a season finale that
proves a kind of a harbinger to the series' final episode. This
season made Frasier a perfect four-for-four at the Emmys, winning
its fourth consecutive award for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Unlike previous seasons, this DVD set has no bonus features.
--David Horiuchi
Season Five
Frasier's fifth season is marked by two central themes. First is
Roz's (Peri Gilpin) unexpected pregnancy, which naturally opens
the door for countless promiscuity jokes for the radio show's
beleaguered producer. The second is the continuing drama of Niles
(David Hyde Pierce) and his frosty wife, Maris, which seems to
finally come to a head. Not that even a good marriage has ever
kept Niles from pining for Daphne (Jane Leeves), of course.
Frasier's (Kelsey Grammer) show is sailing along, and for the
occasion of his 1000th show, is honored by the mayor for "Frasier
Crane Day," which allows the cast to do some rare location
shooting in Seattle. But he has some problems with KACL
management, and the prospect of tough contract negotiations
tempts him to return to the Dark Side, in the form of agent Bebe
(Harriet Sansom Harris). His personal life continues to sputter,
even when he meets a perfect woman (Sela Ward as a fashion model
studying zoology, Lindsay Frost as a high-powered defense
attorney). The annual guest appearance by ex-wife Lilith (Bebe
Neuwirth) comes with a bizarre twist, and his her (John
Mahoney) comes to a critical point with his girlfriend (Marsha
Mason). Frasier won its fifth consecutive Emmy for Outstanding
Comedy Series, Grammer and Pierce won their third and second
statuettes, respectively, and Patti Lupone was nominated for her
guest appearance as Frasier's vengeful Greek aunt. --David
Horiuchi
Season Seven
This is the pivotal season that finally, finally brings together
Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Daphne (Jane Leeves), Frasier's
answer to Ross and Rachel. Daphne, engaged to Donny (Saul
Rubinek), learns of Niles' unrequited feelings for her from an
extremely medicated Frasier in "Back Talk." If Daphne's impending
marriage was not obstacle enough to keep them apart, there is
fussy, phobic, and formidable Dr. Mel Karnofsky (Jane Adams),
Maris's former plastic surgeon, who is introduced in "The Late
Dr. Crane" as a romantic interest for Niles. The season
culminates in the Emmy-nominated episode "Something Borrowed,
Someone Blue," arguably the show's very best, and most satisfying
cliffhanger, in which Niles and Daphne make like Ben and Elaine
in The Graduate, only in a Winnebago. Bebe Neuwirth makes another
memorable return as the dread Lilith Crane in "The Apparent
Trap," in which son Frederick employs psychological warfare to
try and get a mini-bike from his parents. Episodes featuring
Frasier's amoral agent Bebe Glaser (Harriet Samson Harris) are
always a season highlight, and "Morning Becomes Entertainment" is
no exception, as Bebe and Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) team up to
host a TV morning chat show (who knew that Frasier had "a way
with voices," as witness his Sean Connery and James Mason
impressions!). Dan Butler also returns as Bulldog in the poignant
episode "The Dog That Rocks the Cradle," A welcome addition to
Frasier's gallery of colorful characters in Simon (Anthony
LaPaglia in an Emmy-nominated performance), Daphne's besotted
brother.
Frasier Crane is a witty and urbane New Yorker cartoon in a lewd,
crude shock jock world. In the hilarious episode "Radio Wars," he
literally becomes the butt of his radio station's new morning
team's stunts. Frasier is also at odds with his substitute
producer, Mary (Kim Coles), a you-go-girl black woman, in
"Something About Dr. Mary." The series excelled at farce, and
"RDWRER" is vintage Frasier, as the Crane men embark on a New
Year's Eve road trip to Sun Valley, and Niles mistakenly thinks
he's been kipped when he falls a in the wrong Winnebago.
Another season benchmark is "Out with Dad," in which Frasier is
compelled to pass off his her (John Mahoney) as gay. The lack
of extras on this four-disc set is disappointing, but as wine
snob Frasier might say, the seventh season was a very good year
for the show that bears his name, and it's a pleasure to uncork
its many delights. --Donald Liebenson
Season Eight
Seemingly not content to win all those Emmys for Outstanding
Comedy Series, Frasier made a convincing bid in its eighth season
for Best Drama. Make no mistake, Frasier still serves up its
unique blend of sophisticated wit and farce with the usual
panache. But season 8 finds Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) in a
contemplative mood and mid-life crisis mode. The episode
"Frasier's Edge" resonates throughout the season, as a lifetime
achievement award and a suspect (only to Frasier) congratulatory
note from a mentor sends him into a characteristic tailspin.
"Thank you for honoring my life," a subdued Frasier remarks at
the awards ceremony. "I just wish I knew what to do with the rest
of it." It is just one of several powerful moments on which many
of the season's best episodes fade out. In the season finale,
Frasier finds himself torn between a new, "perfect" woman in his
life, Claire (Patricia Clarkson), and the tempestuous Lana (Jean
Smart reprising her Emmy-winning role, and winning her second
consecutive statuette). In an affectionate phone call with Lilith
(Bebe Neuwirth), he asks, "Do you think I know how to be happy?"
In the cleverly constructed "Sliding Frasiers," which takes its
cue from the film Sliding Doors, parallel Valentines Day
storylines illustrate how "the tiniest decision can change your
whole destiny." In "Cranes Unplugged," Frasier feels like he and
his son Freddy are growing apart, but on a predictably disastrous
camping trip, they manage to share "a golden moment." John
Mahoney, too, gives an Emmy-worthy performance in "A Day in May,"
as Martin attends a parole board hearing for the man who
him.
But it's not all sturm and drang. "The Show Must Go Off" features
an Emmy-winning performance by Derek Jacobi as a former
Shakespearean actor Frasier rediscovers at a sci-fi convention
and s a one-man show, only to discover that he is a
talentless ham. In "Motor Skills," Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and
Frasier enroll in an automobile repair class and take on
unaccustomed roles as the class bad boys. This season also
resolves all the obstacles keeping Niles and Daphne (Jane Leeves)
apart, including a lawsuit by jilted groom Donny (Saul Rubinek),
the vindictive schemes of Niles's jilted fiancée, Mel (Jane
Adams), and Niles and Daphne's own illusions about each other.
For longtime viewers with an emotional investment in Frasier and
company, this is a richly satisfying season worthy of this
gold-standard series. --Donald Liebenson
Season Nine
After a distinguished run of Emmy-winning seasons, Frasier is, by
its ninth season, in something of "a tiny lull" (as Frasier
describes the state of his radio talk show career in the episode
"Junior Agent") when its guest stars took home more Emmys than
the much-decorated ensemble (Anthony Laglia, reprising his
role as Daphne's besotted brother, Simon, in the two-parter,
"Mother Load"). But Frasier still shows signs of its usual
brilliance in balancing farce and sparkling wit. After the
hour-long season-opener, in which Frasier (Kelsey Grammer)
explores his unhappy love life with the help of subconscious
incarnations of Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth), Diane (Shelley Long), and
a hippy to whom Frasier was briefly married (who knew?; and
where's Nanny G?), the series shakes off the melancholia of the
previous season. The world still gets the best of Frasier and
assaults his dignity, be it the driver of a Humvee who hems him
in his parking space; his neighbor nemesis, Cam Winston (Brian
Stokes Mitchell); or Lilith's con-artist brother (Michael
Keaton), who, in "Wheel of Fortune," arouses Frasier's worst
suspicions when he shows up at his doorstep in a wheelchair. But
Frasier at long last emerges triumphant in "Juvenilia," in which
he gets the best of three smarmy teen radio hosts subjecting him
to a fierce on-air grilling.
Character developments this season include Roz (Peri Gilpin)
falling in love with a garbage man (Tony Goldwyn), Niles (David
Hyde Pierce) at last proposing to Daphne (Jane Leeves), Martin
(John Mahoney) taking a job as a security guard, and Frasier and
Roz sharing a one night stand. A series milestone, Frasier's
200th episode, features Adam Arkin as Frasier's most devoted
(read "obsessive") fan. "Cheerful Goodbyes" reunites Grammer with
Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger, and Paul Wilson
from Cheers on the occasion of Cliff Claven's retirement. Other
memorable guest star appearances include Tony-winner Kristin
Chenoweth as "The Junior Agent," the inexperienced, but tenacious
former assistant to Frasier's pit bull of an agent, Bebe (the
always exquisite Harriet Sansom Harris), and Brian Cox as
Daphne's her, whom Niles is determined to reunite with his
estranged wife. Frasier's ninth, unlike Beethoven's, hits some
off-key notes (happily, the character of Kirby, the slacker with
the Sideshow Bob hair, is gone after this season), but when
everything is in harmony (as in "Bla-Z-Boy," in which Martin's
beloved chair is accidentally (?) destroyed), it's still capable
of a classic or two. --Donald Liebenson
Season Ten
"Irritating, but endearing." That's Frasier Crane in a nutshell,
as diagnosed by Julia Wilcox (an Emmy-worthy Felicity Huffman),
KCAL's abrasive and condescending new financial analyst. That's a
delicate balance, but Kelsey Grammer still manages it with the
usual omb in Frasier's penultimate season. Grammer is at his
best when his character is at his stubborn, high dudgeon worst,
as in "Enemy at the Gate" when he causes a parking garage backup
while protesting a $2 parking fee, trying to find a suitable new
coffee shop after Café Nervosa hires a folk singer (Elvis
Costello) in "Farewell, Nervosa," or, after scamming his way into
becoming a silver level member at an exclusive spa,
"chasing the eternal carrot" of the gold level ("'Please remain
in the relaxation grotto.' Have crueler words ever been spoken?")
in "Door Jam." But he wins us over anew as he does the
hard-hearted Julia with his insistence on doing the right thing
and faith in the good in people.
Frasier's tenth season takes a dramatic turn early on with a
three-episode arc in which Niles (David Hyde Pierce) undergoes
heart surgery, but, much like Niles, the show rebounds quickly
with more characteristic episodes such as the Emmy-nominated
farce "Daphne Does Dinner," in which another Crane party hurtles
toward disaster. In addition to Huffman, other memorable star
turns this season include Millicent Martin as Daphne's impossible
mother, Jeanne Tripplehorn as a coach whose berating of her
students causes Frasier to conjure up hallucinations of his own
former gym teacher, portrayed by Bob Hoskins. Bebe Neuwirth
returns as Lilith, as does the magnificent Harriet Sansom Harris
as Bebe Glazer, who shows up as Dr. Phil's agent (or is it just
another Bebe scheme?) in "The Devil and Dr. Phil." There are
throughout this season some wonderful play-it-again moments, such
as the unwitting Frasier speaking Klingon at his son's bar
mitzvah and invoking Sam Malone's classic, "Are you as turned on
as I am" to bring a shouting match with Julia to an hilarious
anti-climax ("No!" she screams disgustedly). A showdown between
Roz (Peri Gilpin) and Julia doesn't make for the most compelling
season finale, but because season 11 was previously released on
DVD to coincide with the broadcast of the series finale, at least
we don't have to wait to see how that turns out. --Donald
Liebenson
Season Eleven - The Final Season
Midway through Frasier's redemptive final season (which earned
Emmys for Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce), Martin Crane
(John Mahoney) reassures his son, "Just when you think that
you're in a rut and nothing exciting will ever happen again, pow,
that's when it does." The same could have been said of Frasier's
redemptive final season. Not that the multi-Emmy-honored series
had ever really jumped the couch, but by its 11th season, it had
lost some of its sparkle. And then, POW! Veteran Frasier writers
Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan return to the fold. POW! Wendie
Malick joins the seamless ensemble as b lounge singer Ronee
Lawrence, who becomes a love interest for Martin. POW! Daphne
(Jane Leeves), underutilized since her marriage to Niles, becomes
pregnant. POW! Frasier opens his own private practice. POW! Laura
Linney guest stars as Charlotte, who becomes the hess
Frasier's own Miss Right. The series also benefited greatly from
a stellar roster of character actors, who rose to the occasion of
this gold standard series' final year. Penny Johnson (24), Sarah
Silverman (School of Rock), and Dan "Homer Simpson" Castellaneta
christen Frasier's couch in the episode, "The Return of Maris."
Jennifer Tilly is at her ditzy, delectable best as a pick-up in
"Miss Right Now." Laurie Metcalf replaces Emma Thompson as
Frasier's first wife, children's entertainer Nanny G, in "Caught
in the Act." Always welcome are Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith ("s 'N
Neuroses") and Harriet Sansom Harris as Frasier's unscrupulous
agent Bebe (the series finale, "Goodnight, Seattle").
But Frasier was never about stunt casting. It's the writing,
stupid, which, actually, was anything but. Episodes such as
"Boo," "The Doctor Is Out," "Coots and Ladders," and "Caught in
the Act" recapture Frasier's unique blend of wit and farce. The
series finale, in which relationships take a significant turn and
Frasier finally breaks out of that rut to follow his heart, is as
satisfying as fans could wish. --Donald Liebenson