Frasier, just the facts, written April 2007
Frasier was a popular American situation comedy television series that starred Kelsey Grammer, reprising the character of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane from parent show Cheers, which had ended months before. David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Jane Leeves, & Peri Gilpin rounded out the regular cast.
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The show was created & produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, & David Lee (as Grub Street Productions) in association with Paramount Television. The trio also wrote & produced Cheers & created Wings.
The series aired on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004, becoming one of the most popular shows of all time with both viewers & critics. The show won a record 39 Emmy Awards during its run. Frasier DVD collections are sold across the internet. With many Fraiser episodes for sale.
Currently, reruns
are airing in daily syndication & on Lifetime Television.
Spoiler warning:
Plot & /or ending details follow.
Psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Grammer)
returns to his hometown of Seattle, Washington, following the break-up of his
marriage & 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 forced to take
in his father, retired police officer Martin Crane (Mahoney), who had been forced
to retire from the police department & is unable to live by himself owing
to an injury caused by being shot in the line of duty. Frasier & Martin are
joined by Daphne Moon (Leeves), Martin's eccentric live-in 'British' physical
therapist, & 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, & overly intellectual.
Frasier hosts a radio talk show in on KACL 780AM (named to honor the show's creators, Angell, Casey, & Lee). His producer is Roz Doyle (Gilpin), a woman with an active romantic life who, while decidedly different from Frasier in taste & temperament, nevertheless becomes a very close friend over the course of the series.
Numerous running jokes & themes are developed throughout the series. Chief amongst them is the class-and-familial conflict between Frasier, Niles, & Martin; possessing fine tastes, intellectual interests & rather high opinions of themselves, the two sons frequently clash with their more blue-collar, down-to-earth father, & a running theme in the early seasons in particular is Frasier & Martin's difficulty in reaching an accommodation with each other & in sharing an apartment. Despite being incredibly similar in personality, interests & sensibilities, the relationship between Frasier & Niles is no less turbulent; victims of intense sibling rivalry, many plots revolve around their jealousy of each other & petty attempts at one-upmanship, which frequently result in chaos. Other developing storylines include Niles' growing love for Daphne (of which Daphne remains unaware in the early seasons, despite its increasingly obvious nature) & the breakdown of his marriage to the never-seen Maris, Frasier's search for love in his own life, & the various attempts of the two brothers to enter higher levels of Seattle's elite.
Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane.
Grammer was asked to shave the beard he had had during the final season of Cheers
because the producers felt he didn't look young enough to be John Mahoney's son.
Mahoney is only 15 years older. Grammer sang the song that appears during the
closing credits, "Tossed salad & scrambled eggs", by Bruce Miller
& Daryl Phinessee.
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 Sussex,
in the south. Lisa Maxwell was originally cast as Daphne, but severe disagreements
with the producers led to her being replaced.
David Hyde Pierce as Dr. Niles
Crane. The show was originally written with Frasier as an only child (references
had already been made to this in Cheers, but one of the producers saw a headshot
of Pierce & commented that he looked exactly like Kelsey Grammer did when
he first appeared on Cheers. In Season's 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 did when he first knew him back in Boston. The second choice
for the role of Niles was Peter MacNicol.
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"
& "Enzo" as Eddie the dog. Eddie received more fan mail than any
other cast member in Frasier. He is also reputed to have earned $10,000 per episode.
Recurring guest stars (see 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 four & five.
Edward Hibbert as Gil
Chesterton, food critic at the radio station.
Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin,
Frasier's ex-wife (also on Cheers). Neuwirth was offered a regular role as Lilith,
but turned it down so she could return to the Broadway stage.
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
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
fiance
Jane Adams as Mel Karnofsky, Niles's one-time girlfriend
Millicent
Martin as Gertrude Moon, Daphne's mother. 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 accents (i.e. London). Her brother Nigel's accent
is Cockney. Ironically, John Mahoney actually is from Manchester.
Anthony
LaPaglia as Simon Moon, Daphne's brother
Brian Stokes Mitchell as Cam Winston,
Frasier's upstairs neighbour & nemesis
Wendie Malick as Ronee Lawrence
The series won 39 prime time Emmys during its 11 year run, breaking
the record long held by The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Grammer & 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 twenty years, tying the
James Arness portrayal of Marshall Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke in terms of character
longevity in primetime 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. Ms. Wagner has been playing the role since the show's
first episode in 1956.
Grammer was briefly the highest-paid TV 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. The series is not spelt Fraser, or
Frazer. or Frazier,
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,
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 & 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.
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 Cranes' apartment):
From just three studio-bound locations
- Frasier's fine apartment 1901 in Elliott Bay Towers, with its panoramic view
of Seattle; the KACL studio; & the perfectly named Café Nervosa, where
Frasier, Niles & the others meet for coffee - truly great comedy was wrought.
The producers remained determined to keep Frasier adult & sophisticated:
the scripts were literate, the plots tight & the one-liners extremely funny
& 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 & actors as the greatest
sitcom of all time in the Channel 4 (UK) show The Ultimate Sitcom, aired 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 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.
In the premiere episode of the sixth season, the show took over the time slot previously occupied by Seinfeld. The episode opens with Frasier auditioning for a TV show after being fired from his radio show, & his opening speech is a reference to the acquisition of Seinfeld's slot: "Before we begin, I'd like to say how honored I am to be taking over this slot. Obviously, I have some rather big shoes to fill - my predecessor here was much beloved. But I have never been one to shrink from a challenge & I'm sure we'll enjoy many happy years here together in my new home."
During season 8, Jane Leeves's 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 referring to the fact that Leeves' daughter Isabella's birth weight was 9 lbs 12 oz.
For the last few seasons on the air, it became a Tuesday night staple, competing against another popular series, 24.
The final episode was at the time the 16th highest rated series finale, behind M*A*S*H, Cheers, Married... with Children, Seinfeld, Mad About You & Friends. It was also the highest rated finale in front of Sex & the City & Everybody Loves Raymond & Will & Grace.
Production
The
show is set in Seattle, Washington, but only one episode, "The 1000th Show",
was filmed there. The remainder was filmed on Stage 25, Paramount Studios, &
at various locations in & around Los Angeles.
The view from Frasier's apartment is impossible to achieve; no building or apartment in the city really has that view. It was done so that the Space Needle would appear more prominently. According to the season 1 DVD bonus features, the photograph 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 react to. 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) & the late Nicholas Colasanto (Coach). Alley was alleged
to have turned down an appearance because she is a Scientologist (Scientologists
reject psychiatry/psychology).
Kelsey Grammer has said that "The Show
Where Diane Comes Back" is one of his favorite episodes. On Cheers (1982),
Shelley Long didn't like the Frasier character & 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 he & Long to make peace with each other.
In
"The Harassed" (2003), Frasier & Julia Wilcox have a heated argument,
during which Frasier asks Julia "Are you as turned on as I am?" In the
Cheers (1982) episode "Showdown - Part 2" Sam & Diane are having
a similarly big argument. During this argument, Sam asks the exact same question,
to which Diane replies "More!" & they kiss. The episode aired in
1983, & as an in-joke Bulldog later criticizes Frasier's rather dated choice
of line by saying that no one has used the term "turned on" for 20 years.
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
& 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 & he was very angry with him at the time.
The
second choice for Frasier's father was Robert Prosky. Prosky had previously played
the father of Cheers regular Rebecca. Prosky 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, 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 & 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.
Trivia
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This
series is the most successful spinoff of another series ever, spawning over 260
episodes.
In an eerie case of life imitating art, in Season 4, Episode 23
"Odd Man Out" (aired in the US & UK in 1997), a stranger named Laura
calls Frasier's answering machine to say that she will be flying into Seattle
on American Airlines Flight 11. Tragically, this is the flight on which series
creator David Angell & his wife perished, when it hit the North Tower of the
World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Niles & Daphne's baby, born in the
final episode, is named David, after Angell.
In the Simpsons episode "Brother
from Another Series", David Hyde Pierce guest stars as Cecil Terwilliger,
brother of Sideshow Bob, a recurring villain voiced by Kelsey Grammer. The episode
also alluded to Niles' wife, Maris Crane, & makes use of subtitle slides as
the "Frasier" series does.
Frasier's first wife, Nanny G. (a children's
show host), was played by two different actresses: Emma Thompson on Cheers, &
Laurie Metcalf (Jackie on Roseanne) on Frasier.
The actor playing the deliveryman
who wheels in Martin's chair in the first episode reprised his role in the final
episode, & wheeled Martin's chair out of Frasier's apartment.
The cast
performed a "mock-audition" of Star Trek: Voyager during the Star Trek
30 Years & Beyond primetime special on October 6, 1996, alongside Kate Mulgrew
as Voyager character Captain Janeway (a YouTube clip is available here). Grammer
had previously played Captain Morgan Bateson in the episode "Cause &
Effect" of Star Trek: The Next Generation, in this "audition" he
played the Klingon. The primetime special was hosted by Ted Danson, who played
Sam Malone on Cheers as well as on Frasier.
Frasier's door number, 1901, is
the year Freud's "The Psychopathology of Everyday Life" was published.
Niles Crane's whippet was named "Girl". In a nod towards Niles'
profession as a psychiatrist, Girl required nerve medication. (Episode #67 "Chess
Pains")
Frasier, Niles, & Martin deliver a cab driver's baby. The
cab number, 804, is the same as the one in which Alex (Judd Hirsch) delivered
a baby on an episode of "Taxi".
In his previous series, The Powers
That Be, David Hyde Pierce played a very similar character, a stuffy milquetoast
with a mad passion for the maid.
David Hyde Pierce has said that, prior to
this series, he had no strong interest in either wine or opera. Ironically, he
was introduced to both by John Mahoney, whose Martin Crane character eschews anything
cultured.
In the series finale, three of Daphne's brothers visit from England,
however, none of the actors playing them are English. They were Anthony LaPaglia
(Australia), Richard E. Grant (Swaziland) & Robbie Coltrane (Scotland).
It
is eventually revealed that Frasier & Niles were named after two lab rats
their mother was using in an experiment (psychology?) when she was pregnant with
Frasier. Frasier (the rat) had already died when Frasier (the human) was born.
In one episode, after a night at the opera watching "Rigoletto"
by Verdi, Frasier remarks to his date that the finest soprano to sing the role
of "Gilda" was "The great Mathilde DeCagney". Mathilde DeCagney
is the animal trainer who owns Moose, the dog who plays Eddie.
In the premiere
episode of season 8, Niles takes a mobile phone call. After a pause, he says,
"No, there is no Wendell Vaughn here." Wendell Vaughn is the real name
of the Marvel Comics superhero Quasar.
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