Frasier (Sitcom)
Frasier is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons, premiering on September 16, 1993, and concluding on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub Street Productions) in association with Grammnet (2004) and Paramount Network Television. The series was created as a spin-off of Cheers, continuing the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane as he returned to his hometown of Seattle and started building a new life as a radio advice show host while reconnecting with his father and brother and making new friends. Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, and John Mahoney. The show was critically acclaimed, with the show itself and the cast winning thirty-seven 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.
As of 2019, the possibility of a revival was being discussed, to air in 2020.
Psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Grammer) returns to his home town of Seattle, Washington, following the end of his marriage and his life in Boston (as seen in Cheers). His plans for a new life as a bachelor are challenged when he is obliged to take in his father, Martin (Mahoney), a retired Seattle Police Department detective, who has mobility problems after being shot in the line of duty during a robbery. Frasier hires Daphne Moon (Leeves) as Martin’s live-in physical therapist and caregiver, and tolerates Martin’s dog Eddie. Frasier frequently spends time with his younger brother Niles (Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist. Niles becomes attracted to, and eventually falls in love with, Daphne (notwithstanding his own marriage), but does not confess his feelings to her until the final episode of the seventh season. Frasier hosts The Dr. Frasier Crane Show, a call-in psychiatry show on talk radio station KACL. His producer Roz Doyle (Gilpin) is very different from Frasier in many ways. She is working class, direct, and, at least early in the series, has superficial relationships with many men. However, Roz and Frasier share a professional respect and a wry sense of humour, and over time, they become best friends. Frasier and the others often visit the local coffee shop, Café Nervosa.
The Crane brothers, who have expensive tastes, intellectual interests, and high opinions of themselves, frequently clash with their blue-collar, average Joe father. The brothers’ close relationship is often tense, and their sibling rivalry intermittently results in chaos. For a pair who make a living solving others’ problems, they are often comically inept at dealing with each other’s myriad hangups. Other recurring themes include Niles’s relationship with his never-seen wife (later ex-wife) Maris, Frasier’s search for love, Martin’s new life after retirement, and the various attempts by the two brothers to gain acceptance into Seattle’s cultural elite.
Characters
Main
Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane, a radio psychiatrist. He is a pedantic, finicky, overscrupulous, and sometimes pontifical man. Growing up with a cultured mother and “Average Joe” father, Frasier epitomises a synthesis of upper-class sophistication, yet is still capable of working-class enjoyments. After returning to Seattle, he begins embracing his more cultured background but developed a more snobbish and haughty self, possibly due to rekindling his relationship with his brother Niles Crane. Despite his pretentious demeanour, Frasier has a good heart and strong moral compass. Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon later Crane, a Mancunian physiotherapist and live-in housekeeper hired by Frasier to help Martin with his physiotherapy. Daphne’s eccentric, working-class background and self-professed psychic abilities (which often end up being correct) frequently lead to Daphne’s comical non-sequiturs about her unusual family, to the Cranes’ incredulity. Despite her background, Niles falls for her instantly. Niles’ obsession with Daphne and Daphne’s obliviousness of this obsession is developed throughout the earlier seasons of the series.
David Hyde Pierce as Niles Crane, Frasier’s younger brother, a psychiatrist in private practice. Fastidious, fussy, and far snobbier than Frasier, Niles’ pedantic, neurotic qualities provide a foil for Frasier’s own idiosyncrasies. He is also loyal, chivalrous, and incredibly loving, which more than makes up for it in the eyes of his loved ones. Niles is very close to his older brother, though their fiercely competitive natures provide much of the humour. Like Frasier, Niles also prefers fine arts, music, and intellectual pursuits to activities like sports, though (surprisingly given Niles’ clumsiness and lack of hand-eye coordination) he excels in squash and croquet. Niles is especially Mysophobic, given to wiping his hands after human contact and wiping down chairs in public places before sitting on them.
Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle, the producer of Frasier’s radio show. Originating from Bloomer, Wisconsin, Roz is an attractive single woman with a euphonious voice much-remarked amongst Frasier’s listeners. She has no shame about her serial dating, which is the subject of many jokes and snide remarks, particularly from Frasier’s brother Niles.
John Mahoney as Martin Crane, Frasier and Niles’s father, a down-to-earth and unpretentious Seattle police detective who was forced to retire from the force due to a gunshot wound to his hip. Due to this injury inhibiting him from living alone, Martin is forced to accept Frasier’s invitation to live with him upon Frasier’s return to Seattle. Though his sons share very little in common with him in terms of hobbies and personalities, their relationship deepens over the seasons. Martin’s relationship with his Jack Russell terrier, Eddie; beer-drinking (specifically Ballantine); and his pea-green recliner are a perpetual source of irritation for Frasier.
Dan Butler as Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe (seasons 4–6; recurring season 1; special appearance seasons 2–3; special guest seasons 7 & 9–11), the woman-hungry, chauvinistic host of “Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe and the Gonzo Sports Show”, which followed Frasier’s time slot at KACL. Bulldog’s practical jokes on Frasier and interruption of his show to boot him out of the booth were a perpetual source of antagonism for both Frasier and Roz.
Recurring
Edward Hibbert as Gil Chesterton (seasons 2–8 & 10–11; guest season 1), KACL’s flamboyant, effeminate restaurant critic
Patrick Kerr as Noel Shempsky (seasons 6–11; guest seasons 1 & 3–5), KACL technical assistant and avid Star Trek aficionado who speaks Klingon and constantly hits on Roz
Tom McGowan as Kenny Daly (seasons 7–11; guest seasons 5–6), KACL’s station manager
Millicent Martin as Mrs. Moon (season 9; guest season 7), Daphne’s mother
Brian Klugman as Kirby (season 9; guest season 8), Bob and Lana’s son, and part-timer at KACL
Ashley Thomas as Alice (seasons 10–11; co-star season 9), Roz’s daughter
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