Frasier
| Frasier | |
|---|---|
| File:Frasier Logo.JPG Season 11 Frasier title screen | |
| Created by | David Angell Peter Casey David Lee |
| Starring | Kelsey Grammer David Hyde Pierce John Mahoney Jane Leeves Peri Gilpin Dan Butler |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 11 |
| No. of episodes | 264 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 16, 1993 – May 13, 2004 |
Frasier is an American sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane. A spinoff of Cheers, Frasier was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004. David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Jane Leeves, Peri Gilpin and Moose rounded out the regular cast.
A critically acclaimed series, Frasier won a record 37 Emmy Awards during its run. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub Street Productions) in association with Paramount Television. Frasier has been considered one of the most successful spinoff series in television history.[1]
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 in the line of duty. Frasier and Martin are joined by Daphne Moon (Leeves), Martin's eccentric, British, 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, snobbish, and overly intellectual.
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 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.
Plot themes
Numerous running jokes and themes develop throughout the series. Chief among them are the class and familial conflicts between 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; victims of intense sibling rivalry, their jealousy of each other and petty attempts at one-upmanship (which frequently result in chaos) drive many of the plots. Other developing 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, 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.
Cast
Regulars:
- Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane. Grammer sang the song heard during the closing credits, "Tossed salad and scrambled eggs", by Bruce Miller and Daryl Phinessee. 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 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. The second choice for the role of Niles was Peter MacNicol.[citation needed] In the series finale Goodnight, Seattle Niles' last line spoken with tears and emotion to his brother Frasier: "I'll miss the coffees."
- 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?"
- Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon. Leeves used a mixture of different Northern English accents to portray a stereotypical working class Briton. She is actually from Essex, in the south. Ms. Leeves was also once one of "Hill's Angels", the troupe of female extras on Benny Hill's shows.
- Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle (named in honor of a producer of Wings, which shares show creators with Frasier). Lisa Kudrow was originally cast as Roz, but was replaced before production began.
- "Moose" and Moose's son "Enzo" as Eddie, the Jack Russell Terrier. Eddie received more fan mail than any other cast member in Frasier.
- Dan Butler as Bob 'Bulldog' Briscoe, the obnoxious host of a radio sports show. Butler was made a series regular for seasons 4 and 5, and served as a recurring guest star in other seasons.
Recurring guest stars:
- 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 Gaylord 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.
- 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.
- Anthony LaPaglia as Simon Moon, one of Daphne's brothers. Although not noticed by the average American viewer, 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 is English. LaPaglia is from Australia, Richard E. Grant from Swaziland and Robbie Coltrane from Scotland. Interestingly, John Mahoney actually is from Manchester.
- Brian Stokes Mitchell as Cam Winston, Frasier's upstairs neighbor and nemesis.
- Wendie Malick as Ronee Lawrence, Martin's girlfriend and eventual wife.
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, 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
- 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, 2001-04)
- Sound Mixing (1996, 2002, 2004)
- Art Direction (2004)
Grammer has been Emmy-nominated for playing the same character on three different shows: Cheers, Frasier and a guest appearance on Wings. 2003 was the first year that Grammer didn't receive an Emmy nomination for this series. David Hyde Pierce's streak remains unbroken.
- Best TV Series - Comedy/Musical (1995)
- Best Performance by an Actor in TV Series - Comedy/Musical: Kelsey Grammar (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", noting the following (although the first bullet point is correct for the quote, more locations were eventually included in the show such as Niles Crane's apartment):[2]
- From just three studio-bound locations - Frasier's fine apartment 1901 in Elliott Bay Towers, with its panoramic view of Seattle; the KACL studio; and the perfectly named Café Nervosa, where Frasier, Niles and the others meet for coffee - truly great comedy was wrought. In the commentary, the art director of the show mentions that no one could really be that close to the space needle to have the view from Frasier's apartment. The picture from the view had to be taken from a mountain.
- [T]he producers remained determined to keep Frasier adult and sophisticated: the scripts were literate, the plots tight and the one-liners extremely funny and incisive. The writers were never afraid to use classical references in the lines or make jokes about subjects that many of the viewers wouldn't have experienced.
Frasier was voted by sitcom writers, producers and actors as the greatest sitcom of all time in the Channel 4 show The Ultimate Sitcom, broadcast on 2 January 2006.
Episodes
The season 4 episode "Head Game" only featured Frasier for the first few minutes, with the rest of the episode centered 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. Daphne lost 9 lbs 12 oz at the spa, an inside joke referencing the birth weight of Leeves' daughter, Isabella.
Writers
Production
The show is set in Seattle, Washington, but only one episode, "The 1,000th Show", was filmed there.[3] The remainder was filmed on Stage 25 (location), 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. Only once was there an exterior shot facing Frasier's apartment building, in Season 4 episode "The Impossible Dream".
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.
Cheers connections
- Every regular cast member of Cheers appeared in at least one episode, except for Kirstie Alley (Rebecca Howe) and the late Nicholas Colasanto (Coach).
- 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.
- 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 shared 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 research scientist father had died. In the Season 2 episode "The One Where Sam Shows Up", when Sam meets Martin, he brings up the discrepancies. In an example of retconning, 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.
- 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.
- 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 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 an episode of "Cheers" (played by Nancy Marchand) when she threatens to kill Diane Chambers with a gun she has with her if the relationship with Frasier is not ended immediately.
Appearances outside of Frasier
In The Simpsons episode "Brother from Another Series", David Hyde Pierce guest stars as Cecil Terwilliger, brother of Sideshow Bob, a recurring over-cultured villain voiced by Kelsey Grammer. The episode also alludes to Niles' wife, Maris Crane, and makes use of subtitle slides Frasier employs. Sideshow Bob and his brother Cecil Terwilliger reappeared an episode of The Simpsons, entitled "Funeral For A Fiend", with Grammer and Hyde Pierce reprising their respective roles and John Mahoney as their father. it was referenced in the sitcom 30 rock of there being a African American version of the show.
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[4]). 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.[5] 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.
DVD Releases
As of 2007, CBS DVD has released seasons 1-9 and 11 on Region 1 DVD. Season 10 will be released on December 11, 2007.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| The Complete 1st Season | 24 | May 20 2003 | November 24 2003 | January 13 2004 |
| The Complete 2nd Season | 24 | January 6 2004 | June 7 2004 | June 3 2004 |
| The Complete 3rd Season | 24 | May 25 2004 | September 6 2004 | September 10 2004 |
| The Complete 4th Season | 24 | February 1 2005 | July 18 2005 | July 20 2005 |
| The Complete 5th Season | 24 | June 7 2005 | November 27 2006 | January 11 2007 |
| The Complete 6th Season | 24 | September 13 2005 | May 14 2007 | May 3 2007 |
| The Complete 7th Season | 24 | November 15 2005 | July 9 2007 | July 12 2007 |
| The Complete 8th Season | 24 | June 13 2006 | February 4 2008 | February 14 2008 |
| The Complete 9th Season | 24 | May 15, 2007 | N/A | N/A |
| The Complete 10th Season | 24 | December 11, 2007 | N/A | N/A |
| The Complete Final Season | 25 | November 16 2004 | N/A | N/A |
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.
| Video Name | Release date |
|---|---|
| The Best Of Frasier 1 - From Boston To Seattle | TBC 1999 |
| The Best Of Frasier 2 - Crane Vs. Crane | TBC 1999 |
| The Best Of Frasier 3 - Serial Dater | TBC 1999 |
| The Best Of Frasier 4 - Like Father Like Sons | TBC 1999 |
| The Best Of Frasier 5 - Brotherly Love | TBC 1999 |
| The Best Of Frasier 6 - Love Is In The Air | TBC 1999 |
| The Best Of Frasier Box Set | TBC 1999 |
| The Complete 1st Season | July 16 2001 |
| The Complete 2nd Season | December 3 2001 |
| Season 3 - Part 1 | May 6 2002 |
| Season 3 - Part 2 | July 1 2002 |
| Season 4 - Part 1 | October 14 2002 |
| Season 4 - Part 2 | November 18 2002 |
CDs
One Frasier CD has been released featuring a number of songs taken from the show.
| CD Name | Release date |
|---|---|
| Tossed Salads & Scrambled Eggs | 24 October, 2000 |
Books
Several books about Frasier have been released, including the following:
| Title | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| The Best Of Frasier | Channel 4 Books | ISBN 0-7522-1394-6 |
| Cafe Nervosa: The Connoisseur's Cookbook | Oxmoor House | ISBN 0-8487-1550-0 |
| Frasier | Pocket Books | ISBN 0-671-00368-2 |
| The Frasier Scripts | Newmarket Press | ISBN 1-55704-403-1 |
| Goodnight Seattle | Virgin Books | ISBN 0-7535-0286-0 |
| The Very Best Of Frasier | Channel 4 Books | ISBN 0-7522-6179-7 |
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
| Season | Ratings Rank |
| 1993-1994 | #7 |
| 1994-1995 | #15 |
| 1995-1996 | #11 |
| 1996-1997 | #16 |
| 1997-1998 | #10 |
| 1998-1999 | #3 |
| 1999-2000 | #6 |
| 2000-2001 | #17 |
| 2001-2002 | #14 |
| 2002-2003 | #26 |
| 2003-2004 | #35 |
References
- ^ Waters, Darren (July 24, 2003). "TV's obsession with spin-offs". BBC.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Frasier from the BBC Guide to Comedy
- ^ TV.com Episode Summary
- ^ Youtube video
- ^ "Strange Bedfellows" Parts 1-3
External links
| Seasons |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episodes | |||||
| Characters | |||||
| Related articles | |||||
- Frasier at the TV IV
- The Frasier Files, a GeoCities-hosted fan's website with transcripts of all episodes
- Goodnight Seattle - the Unofficial Frasier Page - contains cast and character profiles, episode guide, fan fiction, trivia, merchandise and more
- "frasier online A fan site with a lively discussion forum
- Frasier at IMDb
- Frasier
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- 2004 television program series endings
- 1990s American television series
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- American television sitcoms
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- Peabody Award winners
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