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Frasier () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 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 Kelsey Grammer (1995–2004) and Paramount Television.
The series was created as a spin-off of the sitcom Cheers. It continues the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), who returns to his hometown, Seattle, as a radio show host. He reconnects with his father, Martin Crane (John Mahoney), a retired police officer, and his younger brother, Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist. Included in the series cast were Peri Gilpin as Frasier's producer Roz Doyle, and Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon, Martin's live-in caregiver. Dan Butler's role as Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe, a sports talk show host on Frasier's station, was later upgraded from a recurring to main character in some seasons. The role of Frasier's ex-wife, Lilith Sternin, was played by Bebe Neuwirth, reprising her role from Cheers.
Like its predecessor, Cheers, Frasier received critical acclaim, and is highly regarded in both the USA and the UK. The series and the cast won 37 Primetime Emmy Awards, a record at the time for a scripted series, It also won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for five consecutive years. A revival series, also titled Frasier, premiered on the Paramount+ service on October 12, 2023.
After reluctantly taking his father in, Frasier and Martin conduct a series of interviews to hire a physical therapist and caregiver for his father. Martin, much to Frasier's dismay, is particularly keen on hiring a British caregiver as a live-in, and after a short squabble, the two agree to hire Daphne Moon (Leeves) for the position. Much of the series focuses on Frasier adjusting to living with his father, with whom he has little in common, and his constant annoyances with Martin's dog, Eddie. Frasier frequently spends time with his younger brother, Niles Crane (Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist, who becomes attracted to Daphne and eventually marries her.
Frasier hosts The Dr. Frasier Crane Show, a call-in psychiatry show on talk radio station, KACL. Though they share few commonalities, Frasier's producer, Roz Doyle (Gilpin) becomes his friend in the series. She is depicted as both direct and sarcastic. Her somewhat superficial relationships with men are a frequent topic of conversation until she becomes pregnant with her daughter, Alice. Roz and Frasier share a professional respect and a wry sense of humor, and over time, the two become close friends. Frasier, along with the other characters in the series, often visits the local coffee shop, Café Nervosa, making it a frequent setting.
The Crane brothers, who have expensive tastes, intellectual interests, and high opinions of themselves, frequently clash with their father, Martin. The close relationship between the brothers is often tense, and their sibling rivalry intermittently results in chaos. For two psychiatrists who make a living solving other people's problems, however, they are often inept at dealing with each other's hangups. Other recurring themes in the series include Niles's relationship with his unseen first wife, Maris Crane (whom he later divorces); Frasier's relationship with his ex-wife, Lilith Sternin, who resides in Boston with their son, Frederick; Frasier's search for love; Martin's new life after retirement; and the various attempts by the two brothers to gain acceptance into Seattle high society.
In addition to those of the ensemble, additional story lines included characters from Frasier's former incarnation on Cheers, such as his ex-wife Lilith Sternin, played by Bebe Neuwirth, and their son, Frederick, played by Trevor Einhorn.
Cheers co-stars who returned
Cast reunions also occurred on four episodes of Hot in Cleveland, which featured Leeves in the main cast along with Wendie Malick (who played Martin's girlfriend towards the end of Frasier). In the season-two episode "Unseparated at Birth" and season-three episode "Funeral Crashers", Mahoney guest-starred as a waiter smitten with Betty White's character. Gilpin appeared in the episode "I Love Lucci (Part 1)", and Tom McGowan (who played Kenny Daly) appeared in "Love Thy Neighbor" as a casting director. Hot in Cleveland was created and produced by Suzanne Martin, who wrote multiple episodes of Frasier.
Grammer did not originally want to continue playing Frasier Crane, and Angell, Casey and Lee did not want the new show to be compared to Cheers, which they had worked on before Wings. The three proposed that the actor play a wealthy, Malcolm Forbes-like paraplegia publisher who operated his business from his apartment. The main show featured a "street-smart" Hispanic live-in nurse who would clash with the main character. While Grammer liked the concept, Paramount Television disliked it, and suggested that the best route would be to spin off the Frasier Crane character. Grammer ultimately agreed to star in a Cheers spin-off, but the producers set the new show as far from Boston as possible to prevent NBC from demanding that other characters from the old show make guest appearances on the new show during its first season.
The creators did not want Frasier in private practice, which would make the show resemble The Bob Newhart Show. From an unused idea they had for a Cheers episode, they conceived the concept of the psychiatrist working in a radio station surrounded by "wacky, yet loveable" characters. After realizing that such a setting was reminiscent of WKRP in Cincinnati, the creators decided to emphasize Frasier's home life, which Cheers had rarely explored. Lee considered his own experience with "the relationship between an aging father and the grown-up son he never understood" and thought it would be a good theme for Frasier. Although Frasier had mentioned on Cheers (in two episodes) that his father, a research scientist, had died, Angell, Casey and Lee did not realize this was the case, as they were not working on Cheers during the season those two episodes were filmed. The creative team was already well into the development process when Grammer pointed out the discontinuity; they decided to overlook it, initially retconning the character's backstory. In a second-season episode, the discrepancy was resolved, as Frasier revealed he had lied to the Cheers gang about his father.
One element of the original concept that was carried over was the live-in health-care provider for Frasier's father. Grammer points out that very little of the Frasier Crane of Cheers carried over to Frasier, as his family history was changed (though this was later adjusted); the setting, his job and even the character himself changed from the Cheers predecessor, having to be more grounded as the central character of the show so the other supporting characters could be more eccentric.
In discussing Martin's nurse, Warren Littlefield of NBC suggested she be English instead of Hispanic, and suggested Leeves for the role. Grammer was initially reluctant, as he thought the casting made the show resemble Nanny and the Professor, but approved Leeves after a meeting and read-through with her. Mahoney and Leeves quickly bonded over their shared English heritage; Mahoney was originally from Manchester, the hometown of Leeves's character.
The character of Niles was not part of the original concept for the show. Frasier had told his bar friends on Cheers that he was an only child;"Behind The Couch: The Making of Frasier", DVD Extra, Season 1 however, Sheila Guthrie, the assistant casting director on Wings, brought the producers a photo of Pierce (whom she knew from his work on The Powers That Be) and noted his resemblance to Grammer when he first appeared on Cheers. She recommended him should they ever want Frasier to have a brother. The creators were "blown away" both by his resemblance to Grammer and by his acting ability. They decided to ignore Frasier's statement on Cheers and created the role for Pierce. Pierce accepted the role before realizing he had not read a script. Once he was given a script, he was initially concerned that his character was essentially a duplicate of Frasier, thinking that it would not work. The first table reading of the pilot script was notable because the producers had never heard either Pierce or Mahoney read lines, as they were cast without auditions.
The only main role that required an audition was Roz Doyle, who was named in memory of a producer of Wings. The producers auditioned around 300 actresses, with no particular direction in mind. Women of all ethnicities were considered. Lisa Kudrow was originally cast in the role, but during rehearsals, the producers decided they needed someone who could appear more assertive in her job and take control over Frasier at KACL, and Kudrow did not fit that role. The creators quickly hired Gilpin, their second choice.
The original focus of the series was intended to be the relationship between Frasier and Martin, and it was the focus of most of the first-season episodes. Once the show began airing, Niles became a breakout character, and more focus was added to the brothers' relationship, and other plots centering on Niles, starting in the second season."Marching On to Season Two", DVD Extra, Season 2 The producers initially did not want to make Niles's wife Maris an unseen character because they did not want to draw parallels to Vera, Norm Peterson's wife on Cheers. They originally intended that she would appear after several episodes, but were enjoying writing excuses for her absence so much that they eventually decided she would remain unseen, and after the increasingly eccentric characteristics ascribed to her, they concluded that no real actress would be able to portray her anyway.
No building or apartment in Seattle really has the view from Frasier's residence. It was created so the Space Needle, the most iconic landmark of Seattle, would appear more prominently. According to the season-one 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. Despite this, Frasier has been said to have contributed to the emergence of an upscale urban lifestyle in 1990s Seattle, with buyers seeking properties in locations resembling that depicted in the show, in search of "that cosmopolitan feel of Frasier".McFadden, Kay. " Condo by condo, Seattle has become a lot like 'Frasier' ". Seattle Times, May 13, 2004.
Another of the primary sets was the radio studio at KACL from which Frasier broadcasts his show. The studio itself consists of two rooms: the broadcast booth and the control room. A section of the corridor outside of the booth was also built (visible through the windows at the back of the studio) and could be shot from the side to view the corridor itself. The set was designed based on ABC's then-brand-new radio studios in Los Angeles which the production designer visited. Technical elements such as the microphones were regularly updated to conform with the latest technology. Although the studio set lacked a "front" wall (the fourth wall), one was built for occasional use in episodes with certain moments shot from behind the broadcast desk, rather than in front of it as usual.
The producers wanted to have a gathering place outside of home and work where the characters could meet. After a trip to Seattle, and seeing the many burgeoning coffee shops, the production designer suggested to producers that they use a coffee shop. Unlike many of the relatively modern coffee shop designs prevalent in Seattle, the production designer opted for a more warm and inviting style that would appear more established and traditional. Stools were specifically omitted to avoid any similarity to the bar on Cheers. Several Los Angeles coffee shops were used for reference. A bookcase was added on the back wall, suggesting patrons could grab a book and read while they enjoyed their coffee. The show used three versions of the interior set depending on how much space other sets for each episode required. If space for the full set was not available, a smaller version that omitted the tables closest to the audience could be used. If space for that set was lacking, a small section of the back of the cafe at the top of the steps could be set up under the audience . A set was also used on occasion for the exterior patio.
In 1996, Grammer's recurrent alcoholism led to a car accident. The cast and crew performed an intervention that persuaded him to enter the Betty Ford Center, delaying production for a month.
Only one episode, "The 1000th Show", was filmed in Seattle. As with Cheers, most episodes were filmed on Stage 25, Paramount Studios, or at various locations in and around Los Angeles.
Filming was briefly disrupted by the September 11 attacks, during which David Angell was killed on board American Airlines Flight 11 while returning to California along with his wife Lynn. The cast and crew were devastated by their deaths, but Kelsey Grammer was concerned about the public perception of their grief in the context of a national tragedy, and so they did not extensively discuss Angell in the news after the attacks. Peri Gilpin later recalled that, after they had consistently avoided discussing the subject for awhile, the cast sat down on the set of Frasier's apartment and talked about their memories of the Angells for several hours, after which she felt significantly better.
Some "callers" also guest-starred, such as Parsons, Perez and Linney (who played Frasier's final love interest in the last season).
The title card at the start of each episode shows a white line being drawn in the shape of the Seattle skyline on a black background above the show's title. In most episodes, once the skyline and title appear, the skyline is augmented in some way, such as windows lighting up or a helicopter lifting off. The color of the title text changed for each season (respectively: blue, red, turquoise, purple, gold, brown, yellow, green, orange, metallic silver, and metallic gold). Over the title card, one of about 25 brief musical cues evoking the closing theme is played.
In the eighth-season Cheers episode "Two Girls for Every Boyd," Frasier tells Sam Malone (played by Ted Danson) that his father, a research scientist, had died. In the Frasier season-two episode "The Show Where Sam Shows Up," when Sam meets Martin, Frasier explains that at the time, he was angry after an argument with his father on the phone; however, in "The Show Where Woody Shows Up," when meeting Martin, Woody Boyd says he remembers hearing about him.
In the ninth-season episode of Frasier, 2002's "Cheerful Goodbyes", Frasier returns to Boston to give a speech, and Niles, Daphne, and Martin come along to see the city. Frasier runs into Cliff Clavin (played by John Ratzenberger) at the airport and learns that Cliff is retiring and moving to Florida. Frasier and company attend Cliff's retirement party, where Frasier reunites with the rest of the gang from Cheers (minus Sam, Woody, Diane and Rebecca), including bar regular Norm Peterson (played by George Wendt), waitress Carla Tortelli (played by Rhea Perlman), barflies Paul Krapence (played by Paul Willson) and Phil (played by Philip Perlman), and Cliff's old post-office nemesis Walt Twitchell (played by Raye Birk).
In the 11th-season episode of Frasier, "Caught in the Act," Frasier's married ex-wife, children's entertainer Nanny G, comes to town and invites him backstage for a rendezvous. Nanny G appeared on the Cheers episode "One Hugs, The Other Doesn't" (1992) and was portrayed by Emma Thompson. In this episode of Frasier, she is portrayed by Laurie Metcalf. A younger version of the character (this time played by Dina Waters) appears in the second episode of season 9 of Frasier, "Don Juan in Hell: Part 2," along with Neuwirth and Shelley Long reprising their roles of Lilith and Diane Chambers, respectively. In this episode, Rita Wilson also reprises her role as Frasier's mother, Hester, which she briefly debuted in the season 7 premiere, "Momma Mia;" in "Don Juan in Hell: Part 2," Diane also references the season 3 episode of Cheers, "Diane Meets Mom," in which Hester (then portrayed by Nancy Marchand) threatens Diane's life. Diane (again portrayed by Long) plays a central role in "The Show Where Diane Comes Back" (season 3, episode 14) and had a brief cameo in the season 2 episode "Adventures in Paradise: Part 2".
Some cast members of Frasier had appeared previously in minor roles on Cheers. In the episode "Do Not Forsake Me, O' My Postman" (1992), John Mahoney played Sy Flembeck, an over-the-hill jingle writer hired by Rebecca to write a jingle for the bar. In it, Grammer and Mahoney exchanged a few lines. Peri Gilpin appeared in a Cheers episode titled "Woody Gets an Election" playing a reporter who interviews Woody when he runs for office.
The set of Frasier was built over the set of Cheers on the same stage after it had finished filming.
Caroline Frost said that the series overall showed a high level of wit but noted that many critics felt that the marriage of Daphne and Niles in season ten had removed much of the show's comic tension. Ken Tucker felt that their marriage made the series seem desperate for storylines, while Robert Bianco felt that it was symptomatic of a show that had begun to dip in quality after so much time on the air. Kelsey Grammer acknowledged the creative lull, saying that over the course of two later seasons, the show "took itself too seriously". Commentators acknowledged that there was an improvement following the return of the writers Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan, although not necessarily to its earlier high standards.
Writing about the first season, John O'Connor described Frasier as being a relatively unoriginal concept, but said that it was generally a "splendid act," while Tucker thought that the second season benefited greatly from a mix of "high and low humor". Tucker's comment is referring to what Grammer described as a rule of the series that the show should not play down to its audience. Kevin Cherry believes that Frasier was able to stay fresh by not making any contemporary commentary, therefore allowing the show to be politically and socially neutral. Other commentators, such as Haydn Bush disagree, believing the success of Frasier can be attributed to the comedic timing and the rapport between the characters. Joseph J. Darowski and Kate Darowski praise the overall message of the series, which across eleven seasons sees several lonely, broken individuals develop warm, caring relationships. While individual episodes vary in quality, the series as a whole carries with it a definitive theme and evolution from pilot to finale. (2017). 9781442277960, Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442277960 The Economist devoted an article to the 25th anniversary of the show's premiere stating, "it is clear that audiences still demand the sort of intelligent and heartfelt comedy that Frasier provided."
Despite the criticisms of the later seasons, these critics were unanimous in praising at least the early seasons, with varied commentary on the series' demise ranging from believing, like Bianco, that the show had run its course to those like Dana Stevens, who bemoaned the end of Frasier as the "end of situation comedy for adults". Critics compared the Farce elements of the series, especially in later seasons, to the older sitcom Three's Company. NBC News contributor Wendell Wittler described the moments of misunderstanding as "inspired by the classic comedy of manners as were the frequent deflations of Frasier’s pomposity".
In 2017, 13 years after the show ended, Frasier was said to have experienced a "renaissance" on Netflix and "achieved a second life as one of the streaming service's most soothing offerings".
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 shows. The first year Grammer did not receive an Emmy nomination for Frasier was in 2003 for the 10th season. However, 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.
In 1994, the episode "The Matchmaker" was ranked number 43 on TV Guides 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. In 2000, the series was named the greatest international programme of all time by a panel of 1,600 industry experts for the British Film Institute as part of BFI TV 100. In 2002, Frasier was ranked number 34 on TV Guides 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In a 2006 poll taken by Channel 4 of professionals in the sitcom industry, Frasier was voted the best sitcom of all time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it #23 on their list of the 101 Best Written TV Series.
The show's popularity has resulted in several fan sites, podcasts, and publications. Podcasts that look primarily at the show include Talk Salad and Scrambled Eggs with Kevin Smith and Matt Mira and Frasierphiles.
A soundtrack to the series was released in 2001.
On April 7, 2015, CBS DVD released Frasier: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.
On November 8, 2022, Paramount Pictures released Frasier: The Complete Series on Blu-ray as a box set, containing 33 Blu-ray Discs with some extras and behind the scenes.
| +DVD releases of Frasier |
| January 13, 2004 |
| June 3, 2004 |
| September 10, 2004 |
| July 20, 2005 |
| January 11, 2007 |
| May 3, 2007 |
| July 12, 2007 |
| February 14, 2008 |
| July 31, 2008 |
| November 6, 2008 |
| January 15, 2009 |
| July 30, 2009 |
The first four seasons were also released on VHS along with a series of 'Best Of' tapes. These tapes consisted of four episodes taken from seasons 1–4.
| +VHS releases of Frasier |
| 1999 |
| 1999 |
| 1999 |
| 1999 |
| 1999 |
| 1999 |
| 1999 |
| July 16, 2001 |
| December 3, 2001 |
| May 6, 2002 |
| July 1, 2002 |
| October 14, 2002 |
| November 18, 2002 |
One Frasier CD was released featuring a number of songs taken from the show: Tossed Salads & Scrambled Eggs was released on October 24, 2000.
| + Frasier books |
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