Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context YMMV / Frasier

Go To

1----
2* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
3** Some fans suspect that [[ObliviousToLove Daphne]] might have been secretly in love with [[DoggedNiceGuy Niles]] as long as he was [[CannotSpitItOut secretly in love with her]], but repressed and concealed her own attraction better than he did.[[note]] Indeed, according to several interviews, Creator/JaneLeeves herself believed this, and played Daphne accordingly.[[/note]] Certain moments, such as the time she ill-conceivedly sort-of-tried to seduce him in "Daphne Hates Sherry", her behavior towards him in several episodes such as "First Date" and "A Midwinter's Night Dream", and her suspiciously sincere words and actions in "Moon Dance" make it difficult to be sure that her feelings for him were ''really'' as innocent as everyone assumed. [[https://daphnemoon.tumblr.com/post/163180649651/ A pre-series photo shoot]] with Daphne confidently pulling his tie and enjoying the flirting game was, according to the actors, the spark that gave the writers the idea in the first place.
4** Martin Crane: Long-suffering but loving down-to-earth father, or emotionally abusive and utterly ungrateful JerkAss? The two are also not mutually exclusive, meaning he can lie on any point of the spectrum between them, especially depending on varying points in the show given his CharacterDevelopment.
5** Similarly, the show totters whether the late Hester Crane was a loving if eccentric wife and mother with a few moments of weakness, or a hypocritical shrew remembered through heavily rose tinted lenses by the Crane men. Though the show humanizes her relationships, it acknowledges her uglier moments like cheating on Martin and her one living appearance in ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' where she became possessive enough of Frasier to threaten Diane, and Frasier's ImagineSpot of her in "Don Juan In Hell" suggests deep down he remembers her as a well-meaning but incredibly flawed and ornery woman.
6** Dr. Clint Webber. Handsome, charming socialite or an annoying know-it-all budinski?
7** During ''A Cheerful Goodbye'' did Cliff really mean it when he seemingly mistook Carla's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech for an affectionate joke, and declared that he wasn't retiring after all? The parent show made it abundantly clear that Cliff was aware of the deep level of Carla's hatred for him (and to some extent he returned it, especially when she was out of earshot). It's easily possible that Cliff was merely saying that to {{Troll}} Carla as one last parting jab at her before actually retiring, correctly deducing that it would drive her crazy.
8*** Alternately, perhaps Cliff knew that Carla meant those insults but just pretended to think otherwise it as an excuse to back out of going to Florida, due to wanting to stay in Boston after thinking it over. He did sometimes do various similar stunts whenever he felt insulted and wanted people to extend an olive branch (even an insincere one) to him back in ''Cheers.''
9** Creator/MNightShyamalan has theorized that the series is vaguely "supernatural" and that Frasier himself is "a mastermind who uses radio airwaves to force the population into confessing their psychological insufficiencies" and "uses the illusion of trust to gain entrance into the homes of thousands of credulous customers." He even argues that Frasier's CatchPhrase, "I'm Listening", is indicative of a sort of [[BigBrotherIsWatching Orwellian surveillance]] on Frasier's part.
10** Bulldog Briscoe: a macho testosterone fuled womanizer or a secret ArmoredClosetGay? Many of the fanbase suggested the latter due to him exhibiting stereotypes of one "overcompensating" for something. In season one, a date of Frasier's immediately mistook Bulldog for a closet gay man as she works in psychology. (It is perhaps worth noting here that the actor who plays Bulldog is himself openly gay.)
11** Frasier's chess-losing streak against Martin. Given the only other times we see Frasier playing chess in the show he's losing to Woody (whom he calls an "idiot savant") after beating everyone else in the bar, it's entirely possible Frasier just sucks at chess. However, he's been seen to dominate others at chess, so Woody and Martin are probably ''really that good''. (Heck, he plays chess with Martin in "Chess Pains" because no one wants to play with him because he keeps ''beating'' them.)
12--->'''Martin:''' What do you think I was doing as a detective all those years? Analyzing clues, devising strategies, always staying one or two steps ahead of the other guy. Does that sound like any ''game'' that you know?!
13* BetterOnDVD: This show is very [[ContinuityNod self-referential]], but in a subtle way that is much more easily picked up on if you watch several episodes in a row. This mostly applies to the later seasons that succumbed to SeasonalRot, and, oddly enough, CerebusSyndrome. However, this also makes apparent how many of the [[ContinuityNod continuity nods]] are more in the vein of BroadStrokes, sometimes veering into glaring [[SeriesContinuityError series continuity errors]].
14* BizarroEpisode: Season 11's "Freudian Sleep" is downright cartoonish, and a deep departure from the tasteful, subtle humor the series is known for.
15* BrokenBase: Having Niles and Daphne get together is a source of debate for the fans. Some think it didn't work; not because it was a bad idea, merely because the plots written for them were not as entertaining or amusing as the earlier UnresolvedSexualTension ones. Some also claim that Daphne TookALevelInJerkass around this time, becoming a stereotypical shrewish, nagging wife. Others think them finally getting together marked a sharp upturn in quality and dimensionality in the already-great series.
16** The quality of Season 10 is a source of debate among fans. A lot of the episodes that season were more silly and light-hearted, which was a departure from the more emotional and hard-hitting nature of the previous few seasons. Some enjoyed the change of pace and appreciated the episodes that didn't require much investment, while others see this period as cheap filler that could've been done without. However, Season 10 also includes some of the best episodes of the series, especially the three-parter that dealt with Niles' heart problems.
17* CrossesTheLineTwice:
18** Frasier can't tell his new producer-in-training Mary Thomas that he doesn't like how she works, [[WhiteGuilt because she's black and he's afraid of looking racist.]] When he and Niles roleplay a confrontation, Frasier's portrayal of Mary as a SassyBlackWoman is so ridiculously offensive it's ''hilarious''.
19--->'''Niles:''' ''(playing Frasier)'' Now, I want you to contribute, but only up to a point.\
20'''Frasier:''' ''(playing Mary)'' So you want me to stay in my place, ''Massa''?!\
21'''Niles:''' She's not going to say "massa".\
22'''Frasier:''' What, am I gettin' too uppity for you? You sherry swillin', opera lovin', Armani wearin' elitist? You have ''no idea'' how difficult it is for a ''black woman'' in a ''white man's world''!\
23'''Niles:''' Frasier--\
24'''Frasier:''' ''(practically snapping his fingers)'' I DON'T THINK SO!
25** Frasier at one point has the bad idea of hosting his show on Christmas, treating himself to sad Christmas stories. One caller (Creator/MelBrooks) tells him about telling his mother that the puppy [[SantaClaus Santa]] got him won't wake up - Frasier congratulates him for the saddest story.
26* DiagnosedByTheAudience: The description of Maris' eccentric behavior--numerous plastic surgeries, terror of gaining weight--seem very typical of eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder.
27* EnsembleDarkhorse:
28** The Latin version of KACL. From the hysterical joke in the credits of the finale of season 5 to watching their hearfelt goodbyes to each other when KACL changed back to an all-talk format, some fans felt curious about what that version of the radio station was like.
29** Kenny Daly. After an endless series of managers who are introduced with an episode devoted to how the station (and Frasier in particular) deals with this new personality running things, show up in a few episodes more, and then leave...Kenny shows up--and charmed viewers enough so that he stayed for the rest of the show.
30** Faye from season six is only in four episodes, but is a favorite among Frasier's various love interests for some decent humor, chemistry with Frasier and NiceToTheWaiter moments with Daphne.
31** Lisa (a bookstore owner Niles tries to set Fraiser up with) only has five minutes of screen time across one episode. Still, a lot of fans like the character, think that she and Frasier were a good match, and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter wish the writers would have made her a recurring character.]]
32* EpilepticTrees:
33** Quite a few fans (including The Critical Android in his Frasier Analysis podcast) believe that Rick Garrett is not really the father of Roz's daughter Alice. Since Roz ReallyGetsAround, it's unlikely that Rick was the only person Roz slept with around the time that Alice was conceived. Plus, Alice did not inherit the large noses that Rick's parents have (and that Rick once had before having surgery to correct it) and finally, Rick nor his parents ever appear again despite promising to help Roz raise the child, which these fans take as a sign that they eventually find out the truth.
34** More than a few fans hold to the theory that Leland Barton actually was [[spoiler:Frasier and Niles' father]], and that he lied about [[spoiler:being gay]] to spare Martin's feelings and protect Hester's memory.
35* FairForItsDay:
36** Despite several episodes that poke fun at the gay community, ''Frasier'' was one of the first sitcoms to portray LGBT people as regular people living normal lives with identities not connected to their sexuality.
37** Watching the series today, it may seem like Roz is unnecessarily slut-shamed a lot. That being said, a single woman with an active sex life who also had a successful career was fairly new ground for 1993 television. She's also unquestionably one of Frasier's closest friends, treated as an equal by Martin & Daphne and gives as good as she gets in their verbal back-and-forthing.
38* FandomRivalry: With, oddly enough, ''Series/{{Cheers}}''. Despite being a spin-off of the latter, plenty of ''Frasier'' fans tend not to care for ''Cheers'' at all, considering it mediocre at best and unfunny and unwatchable at worst. ''Cheers'' fans consider ''Frasier'' too pretentious and pompously highbrow to be enjoyable and prefer ''Cheers'''s more relaxed pacing and greater balance between working class and upper class.
39* GeniusBonus: The show is as much a master of this trope as Ada Lovelace was a master of mathematics.
40** According to the producers, sitcoms generally run on "the 70% joke", where 70% of the TV-watching audience will get the joke and laugh, while ''Frasier'' often had "the 20% joke". It didn't seem to hurt them, though. (It helps that obscure references from Frasier or Niles are usually followed by another character's confused reaction, making the real butt of the joke how out-of-touch the elitist characters can be.)
41* HarsherInHindsight:
42** Maris is scorned for her bad personality and the way she treats Niles, but all the cracks about her approach to food (a fear of buffets, terror of gaining weight, crying when people joke about her eating a lot) still become a little bit less funny when it's revealed that [[FormerlyFat she was obese when she was young]] and dedicated a part of her life to never being that fat ever again. It doesn't excuse her extreme narcissism, sociopathy and mistreatment of the help, though.
43** In "Love Stinks," when Roz starts dating the garbage man Roger, Frasier and Niles make a few jokes about it, which Roz [[ActuallyPrettyFunny participates in]], and before she heads out, she adds one of her own: "Don't worry, guys; I won't get '[[{{Pun}} dumped]]'." Fast forward to the later episode "Frasier Has Spokane," and [[spoiler:not only does she get dumped, but [[TheWoobie it was one of the most emotionally devastating breakups she's ever gone through on the show.]]]]
44** In Season 2, Tea Leoni plays the girlfriend of [[spoiler: Sam Malone]]. Both are "sexual compulsive" personality types. Not as funny when her real life husband, Creator/DavidDuchovny, would be treated for sex addiction over a decade later.
45** The descriptions of Frasier and Niles bullying become less funny due to the severity of school bullying being a hot topic as of late. Of course, Niles is able to get his bully to feel bad about it and helps him with psychotherapy. Frasier, on the other hand, gets a more... physical revenge (then pays for it - no, he doesn't get hurt. He just cuts a fat check as an apology.)
46** In the Season 4 finale, Frasier receives a wrong number answering machine message from a woman coming home on American Airlines Flight 11. This was four years before producer David Angell died on the same flight during the September 11 attacks.
47** In the episode "The 1000th Show," "Frasier Crane Day" was celebrated in Seattle on September 11, 1997. Four years to the day, the WTC attacks made that day no longer worth celebrating, especially since writer/producer David Angell died in the attacks.
48** Kelsey Grammer's then-wife cameoed in a Halloween episode, where her character flirts with Frasier before leaving with another man. Grammer later revealed that the marriage was a deeply unhappy one where he received no love and affection from his wife for years before they divorced.
49** “Boo!” features Frasier scaring Martin and inducing a “very, very mild cardiac event”, leading to the brothers to ponder about life after Martin’s passing and his effect on them. It becomes much harder to watch after John Mahoney’s passing in 2018, and was given a large amount of time in the first episode of the [[Series/Frasier2023 revival show]].
50** In "Our Parents, Ourselves", Niles jokes about spending all night waiting for the heart attack after having a profiterole. A few seasons later, they'd have a very serious pair of episodes where he has to undergo open-heart surgery.
51** Martin and Daphne's subplot in "Perspectives on Christmas" where she [[MistakenForDying mistakenly believes that he's terminally ill]] - complete with what she thinks is an IncurableCoughOfDeath - is hit with this after John Mahoney's death from throat cancer.
52** Likewise, the scenes with Martin and Eddie can be harsh to watch after Kelsey Grammer revealed in an interview that Moose, the first dog to portray Eddie, hated John Mahoney and would often bite him.
53** In Leapin' Lizards the camera briefly cuts to Niles, probably a complete accident, when Frasier is talking about heart disease. A few seasons later and Niles catches a heart condition before it can kill him.
54** In "Look Before You Leap" (released in 1996), Frasier convinces Roz to reach out to the man she met on the bus by remarking, ''"did you know a woman over the age of thirty has less chance of getting married than of being killed in a terrorist attack?"'' Making such a joke barely a year after the Oklahoma City bombing made it a DudeNotFunny moment, but it became even harsher in hindsight when the episode was aired only five years before 9/11, in which the show's co-creator David Angell was killed.
55* HilariousInHindsight:
56** The plot where Frasier and Niles become convinced they're descended from the Romanovs is much funnier given [[WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}} another of Kelsey Grammer's roles]].
57** This exchange from "My Coffee with Niles", considering David Hyde Pierce finally came out in 2007:
58--->'''Niles:''' I've never said 'Wow' when describing another man before. I wonder what that means.
59--->'''Frasier:''' It means you're a gay man!
60*** Similarly, "The Doctor is Out" has Niles make several snarky comments that Roz's CampStraight boyfriend in heavily in the closet.
61*** And then there's "Out with Dad", where he is obviously uncomfortable in, and very much eager to get out of, being forced by Martin to pretend to be his boyfriend so that Martin himself could get out of a gay man's advances.
62*** Also his being MistakenForGay in "Ski Lodge".
63** The episode "Dinner at Eight" (aired in 1993) opens with Frasier taking a call from a woman whose in-laws [[Series/EveryBodyLovesRaymond have a habit of dropping by unannounced, so she hides and pretends she's not home]].[[note]]More specifically, ''Everybody Loves Raymond'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEu1sUzVXpI&ab_channel=GotPilot Season 3 opening intro]] shows them trying to do exactly that.[[/note]]
64** The episode with Creator/PatrickStewart wouldn't be the last time Creator/KelseyGrammer would work [[Film/XMenTheLastStand with him]].
65*** [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E18CauseAndEffect It wasn't the first time, either.]] [[Film/AnimalFarm1999 Or the second.]]
66*** Frasier's derisive comments toward ComicBook/XMen comics and the negative effect he thought they'd have on his son's intellect in "The Show Must Go Off" also became much funnier when Grammer himself played [[ComicBook/BeastMarvelComics Beast]].
67** The episode where Sam Malone shows up, Sam and Roz do a bit of flirting. Almost two decades later, Ted Danson and Peri Gilpin play husband and wife on ''[[Series/CSICrimeSceneInvestigation CSI]]''. Even funnier is that Danson's D.B. Russell and his wife have transferred to Las Vegas from Seattle.
68** In the Season 11 episode "The Placeholder" Frasier gets made fun of for having a grocery tote and organic groceries. Less than a decade later, organic groceries are popular in Seattle and residents are encouraged to have totes as plastic grocery bags are illegal and paper ones cost you money. Not so funny now, eh, Roz?
69** In "Head Game" when Frasier asks Niles to fill in for him on his show, Niles makes a remark that "I couldn't presume to fill those big floppy red shoes of yours." This episode aired on the 12th of November 1996. On the 23rd of February 1997, ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E16BrotherFromAnotherSeries Brother from Another Series]]" aired in which Kelsey Grammer played Sideshow Bob and Creator/DavidHydePierce portrayed Bob's brother Cecil (as a clear and hilarious reference to their roles on ''Frasier''). A key focus of their relationship in the episode was Cecil's jealousy over Bob's success as a clown's assistant (which had actually been Cecil's dream) which included wearing big floppy red shoes (though, as a technical point, the shoes weren't actually that floppy on Bob due to his having been established as having unusually large feet). For bonus points, in the season 11 episode "Boo!", Frasier dresses up as a clown, and while talking to Niles while dressed up, attention is briefly drawn to the big shoes. Also, Frasier played a clown in ''Cheers''.
70** In one episode, Martin is ecstatic when Frasier’s girlfriend of the week shows him [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime how to make bacon pancakes.]]
71** In the season nine premiere, Niles makes a derisive comment along the lines of "It just wouldn't be a vacation without Dad taking a picture of one of his meals." (Using a real camera, mind you.) Fast-forward to the days of Instagram, and taking pictures of meals hardly seems like an eccentricity anymore...
72** There were a few early episodes where Niles makes bald jokes about Frasier. Fast forward twenty-plus years and David Hyde Pierce is balding too (even during ''Frasier'''s run, Pierce's hair was visibly thinning, making this a case of HypocriticalHumor).
73** In "Ham Radio", Bulldog's dyslexic girlfriend cries out "Look out! He's got a nug!" ''Franchise/DragonAge'' players envision someone brandishing a pig-bunny creature.
74** In "The Life of the Party", Martin dyes his hair to try and make himself look younger. Naturally, it fails at the most awkward time and leaves him with a [[https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2018-02/6/13/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-01/sub-buzz-32525-1517940336-5.png?downsize=900:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto trail of cheap dye running down his head]]. Fast-forward to 2020 and it's impossible not to think of Rudy Giuliani [[https://compote.slate.com/images/74c81fb9-21d7-47b6-ab68-3048923eec21.jpeg?width=780&height=520&rect=4681x3121&offset=0x0 flop-sweating his way through a press conference]].
75** It straddles the line between this and HarsherInHindsight, but in the episode "Maris Returns", a client of Frasier's can't take him seriously as a therapist because he coincidentally used to date her sister, who he called "my lady" in bed. It was so ridiculous it became a meme in the woman's whole family. Except now, a man calling a woman "my lady" is solely associated with [[HeManWomanHater incels]].
76** “Can’t Buy Me Love” (originally aired in 1994) sees a drunk Daphne mistakenly call Bulldog “Pitbull” when they’re in the limo together. Cut to about a decade later, where a [[Music/{{Pitbull}} rapper by that name]] would become popular in mainstream pop music’s "club boom" and, like Bulldog, be also white and bald-headed.
77** The episode "Freudian Sleep" includes a line from Martin telling Daphne, "[You're afraid] you're going to lose your looks? Happens to everyone." Except it apparently didn't happen to Creator/JaneLeeves, who thirty years later is [[https://images.app.goo.gl/LXMAAGZRv8txpn2H8 as beautiful as ever]], if not even more so.
78** Creator/RayPorter's bit role in the opening scene of "The Show Must Go Off", as a geek fan... who twenty years later would be chosen as the [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague voice of Darkseid]].
79* HoYay: Charlotte's boyfriend towards Frasier. He falls asleep leaning on him, he asks him for a neck rub, he gives him a longer goodbye hug than his ex-girlfriend...
80* InformedWrongness:
81** In "Look Before You Leap" Frasier encourages Roz, Martin and Daphne to go outside their comfort zones and try something new...and unfortunately, the guy whom Roz asks out on a date turns out to be married, the plane that Martin was taking to see a friend in Montana nearly crashes and he's almost crushed by a large woman while evacuating, and Daphne's new hairdo is botched by an incompetent stylist. They all blame Fraser for the terrible things they experience, but it's not his fault that things went wrong.
82** Niles in "Room Full of Heroes." While he was drunk and pretty passive-aggressive in his diatribe, it should be noted that nobody even thought to feel sorry for Niles feeling the way he did. After all, it isn't like Martin had never done anything to validate those feelings Niles had expressed. Martin '''never ever''' said he wasn't proud of them or didn't love them, however.
83** Frasier in "Can't Buy Me Love." He may have been a bit heavy-handed in his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Christina, but he really had no reason to disbelieve Renata at that point (especially given that she dropped the kid in his lap on what was supposed to be their date night). Christina immediately got pissed at Frasier for believing her daughter's lies instead of, you know, getting pissed at her daughter for making all that shit up in the first place.
84** Many fans argue that Niles was cast in a pretty harsh light in "Daphne Returns." While [[BadMoodAsAnExcuse he did act like an ass at Frasier's apartment]], it wasn't exactly sweet of Daphne to essentially blame Niles for her weight gain on the ride home. After all, Niles wasn't really guilty of anything more than loving Daphne unconditionally. Furthermore, Daphne posits that Niles' blind love for her was the only reason for her weight gain, and the fact that she basically ruined Donny's life is never explored. In addition, after the PensieveFlashback segment, Frasier sternly says to Niles "How ''did'' you love her? From afar." In Niles' defense, he was married to Maris for a very long time, so he didn't have much of a choice.
85** Ben, Frasier's one-off agent in ''The Zoo Story''. The audience are expected to see him as [[KindheartedSimpleton a moron who's too busy trying to be a nice guy to be a competent agent]], especially after the PR disaster at the zoo, where the Crane ([[VisualPun the bird, not the doctor]]) that was to be named after Frasier got loose and attacked Marty. The problem is it was '''Marty''' who let the bird out of its cage, when he was teasing it. Really, Ben didn't do anything wrong with the PR event at the zoo and is [[NeverMyFault just being blamed for Marty's own stupidity]].
86** Frasier in ''Three Dates and a Breakup''. While Frasier was completely in the wrong for telling his first date that [[BlatantLies he was a vegan and loved animals,]] moments before he was outed as eating veal and locking Eddie in the bedroom, his second date walks out on him because she found out he met the other woman the previous day, and there was bad blood between the two of them, which he couldn't have known about and has no bearing on anything, especially as his claim that it was a "business meeting" is half true as he met the first woman at an event for a theatre company, which his second date knows full well as ''she was at the same event.''
87* JerkassWoobie: Daphne and Niles's fiancés, Donny and Mel, while not especially sympathetic characters by the end of their respective appearances on the show, do get put through the wringer after receiving substantially more emotional depth than just run-of-the-mill [[RomanticFalseLead Romantic False Leads.]] Donny loses quite a few sympathy points for his callous treatment of his new fiancés, as does Mel for her harsh treatment of Niles, but you can't blame them for feeling miserable and vindictive by the end of it.
88** The first scene of Donny after Daphne and Niles get together, Frasier finds him sitting in the dark in his office, despondent and talking to the groom from his wedding cake, who he's named "Mr. Chump". He furthermore tells Frasier he doesn't hate Daphne for what happened, but he weakly jokes that as a (GREAT) lawyer, suing people is just his knee-jerk reaction to handling problems. While Frasier's confession of his hand in the events gets him riled up, the scene makes it clear that he was thrown into a HeroicBSOD by what happened and just doesn't know how to handle it.
89** The group runs into him a few more times after that. The first time, he's getting married to another woman, claiming that it's true love and he's happy. The next time we see him, he's with a different woman, with the implication that he and the first one are already divorced. When he witnesses (what he thinks) is Niles and Daphne breaking up, he goes on a long, angry speech about how Niles knows how it feels to be dumped by the love of your life and "good luck trying to find someone just as good ''because she just ain't out there''." He then turns around and realizes that he's said this right in front of his visibly shocked and irate new fiancée (but doesn't much care as he simply shrugs and says "What?").
90* LGBTFanbase: The series unsurprisingly has a huge fandom among the gay community. While having two openly gay stars (David Hyde Pierce and Dan Butler) contributes to this in no small part, it's also due to the show's progressive and accepting attitude toward homosexuality.
91* MorePopularSpinoff: Zig-zagged. While ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' is still more popular among the general public, ''Frasier'' matched ''Cheers'' in length, had better critical reception and fared better at the Emmys. So More Acclaimed Spinoff sounds more appropriate. ''Frasier'' is also more popular among modern viewers and the show's fanbase is still very active. While ''Cheers''' fanbase is still decently active, it's mainly just seen by most as a cozy sitcom from the 80s.
92* MyRealDaddy: Co-creators David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee were never showrunners. After the pilot, Casey and Angell wrote only three more episodes[[note]]The season 1 finale "My Coffee with Niles" and the season 8 two-parter premiere "And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon"[[/note]], and Lee became the show's most frequent director (41 episodes) but made no further writing contributions whatsoever. The first showrunner, Christopher Lloyd[[note]]no, not the actor[[/note]], ran the show for eight of its eleven seasons (1-7 and 11) and wrote 18 episodes (more than anyone else except Joe Keenan, who wrote 24 episodes, including many of the series' defining farces, and co-showran season 11 with Lloyd, making him ''another'' candidate for My Real Daddy). Lloyd's wife Creator/ArleenSorkin even provided the scratch voices for the celebrity callers on Frasier's radio show.
93* PopCultureHoliday: Frasier Crane Day was celebrated in Seattle on September 11th, 1997, and it was the only time the show was filmed on location in Seattle (for the episode "The 1000th Show," which was [[RealitySubtext also]] the 100th episode of ''Frasier''). Unfortunately, September 11th doesn't have celebratory connotations anymore, especially since ''Frasier'' writer and producer David Angell died four years later in the World Trade Center attacks.
94* RetroactiveRecognition: Many early one-off cast actors went on to bigger roles. Creator/LisaEdelstein plays a love interest of the week in Season 5. Erika Christensen appears as a teen in the cafe in Season 6. Other examples include [[Series/{{Scrubs}} John C. McGinley]] who appeared as a plumber that turned out to be a former bully, and [[{{Series/Firefly}} Alan Tudyk]] as one of Frasier's bosses. A very young Creator/ZooeyDeschanel plays Roz' cousin in Season 10. Little person actor Tony Cox appeared in "The Proposal" a year before appearing in ''Film/BadSanta''.
95* TheScrappy:
96** When Daphne's brother Simon and her mother Gertrude started appearing quite frequently, the terms 'annoying', 'obnoxious' and, most critically, 'not very funny' began to be heard applied to them very quickly. Gertrude received the most hate as the creators [[CreatorsPet kept her around]] ''long'' after Simon had left--and she was made into a near-''regular'' in Season 10! (Fortunately, she was PutOnABus in the season finale.)
97** Lana's son Kirby was introduced as a young, everyman character and totally upset the show's character dynamic--even when he wasn't just being a stereotypical LazyBum "slob" teen. More of an example of ShooOutTheNewGuy in an attempt to get a new demographic. Interestingly, after the Lana arc has been concluded, Kirby only makes two appearances in Season 9 and is never seen or mentioned again.
98** Julia Wilcox, for not only having what viewers believed was a highly unpleasant and unoriginal personality, but because the show seemingly went out of its way to constantly confirm that she really was just a rude, selfish, immature person with next to no redeeming aspects in every new appearance. The fact that she actually got into a relationship with Frasier at the end of Season 10 only added insult to injury, as did the writers trying to make it into a LoveTriangle with Roz, and was quickly undone by the new writing staff in Season 11; indeed, the new writers went out of their way to savagely deconstruct her and Frasier's relationship till Frasier broke things off with her in one episode.
99** For many, Donny became this starting with Season 8. Throughout Season 7, he is shown as a character that was very nearly impossible to dislike because of how sweet and genuine he was. [[LoveMakesYouEvil After Niles and Daphne end up together, he makes a very sudden turn for the Jerkass Lawyer, threatening to sue not just Daphne, but Frasier as well]]. [[TookALevelInJerkass Many fans view this shift as abrupt and see Donny's motivations as childish, even for someone who got left at the altar]]. Donny did get over Daphne, however, kinda sorta, when he met someone.[[note]]That someone apparently wasn't "The One" because the next time he's seen, he's getting married to another woman - and when Daphne seems to leave Niles at the altar (she didn't, she was tired of getting married to Niles a ''third'' time), he cackles that Niles now knows how ''he'' felt, alienating his fiance![[/note]]
100* SeasonalRot: Seasons 9 and especially 10, due to an overall drop in the quality of writing, and many new annoying characters being introduced. Possibly a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] though, as Season 11 was much more well-received than Seasons 9 and 10. It is possible the uptick in writing was due to the writers knowing Season 11 was their last, allowing them to tie up loose ends that they wouldn't have been able to if the series were to continue.
101* SpecialEffectFailure:
102** In "Guilt Trippers" the shots of the cast outside the airport is an obvious bluescreen effect with the background plate being extremely poor quality.
103** Many of the wigs worn by Roz and Daphne in the flashback scenes of "Crock Tales" look very unconvincing and much darker than their natural hair colors. Frasier's long hair in the 1993 flashback also leaves a lot to be desired.
104** After the wrecking ball smashes through the window of Duke's in "Duke's, We Hardly Knew Ye", the street facade is blatantly wobbling in the background as a result of the impact.
105** In Season 6's "Decoys", the forest view seen in the background every time the front door to the cottage is opened looks very flat and unconvincing up close.
106* {{Squick}}: In "Room With a View", Daphne reveals all her brothers (save Billy, the gay one) used to spy on her in the shower. It's one of the few weird and disturbing portions of her childhood which ''isn't'' played for laughs.
107* StrawmanHasAPoint:
108** In "Room Full of Heroes", Niles begins to say, in-character as Martin, that he and Frasier were disappointments to him. Martin sharply cuts him off and says he's portraying him as a "drunken judgmental jackass." While Niles was certainly over the line and had indeed had a few beers, considering how Martin treats the two of them and routinely expresses exasperation about their behavior, it's hard not to see why Niles would think this way.[[note]]as an example, in “You Can't Tell a Crook by His Cover” when Frasier asked him if he believed in second chances Martin’s response was “I did, but then we had Niles". In another episode, where a conversation between Martin and his love interest is overheard by the others via Roz's baby monitor, Martin's date makes a disparaging comment about Niles, and Martin (who has no idea that anyone else could hear what he's saying) agrees with her[[/note]] This [[FridgeBrilliance could be why Martin reacts so poorly]], at least partly; Niles's performance was clearly beginning to hit a bit close to home in other ways (such as his drinking habits) as well...
109** One episode has a boy call in the show asking for advice because he was being bullied for being smart. Frasier's advice is basically "Just hang on, because one day you'll be more successful than them". The kid condescendingly points out that his advice isn't helpful to solving his problem right now which, while he might be a bit of a smug little snot about it, is a pretty valid point. (Though to be totally fair, Frasier does acknowledge that his advice isn't immediately helpful, and the boy quickly learns why it's not a good idea to be a smug little snot to the guy trying, however questionably, to give you advice ''on broadcast radio'' when Frasier maliciously reveals his location to his bullies.)
110** When Simon ditches out on taking care of his mother to go explore America and make the most of his couch-surfing lifestyle, Daphne [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls him out at length]] for not being more responsible and taking care of her, and it's portrayed as the ultimate expression of how selfish and worthless he is. But Simon's arguments and the arguments the other characters had been making about Mrs. Moon all along still carry weight: she has a home in Manchester she could be living in, a ''[[MassiveNumberedSiblings lot]]'' of other children who could look out for her (and most of them more responsible and capable of doing so than Simon), and at the end of the day, while Simon may be a layabout, he's still an adult man who has the right to live his life however he sees fit. It's not as if Gertrude is an invalid, after all; [[ItsAllAboutMe she's generally just too selfish and mean to look after herself if she can badger someone else into doing it for her.]]
111* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: While she had a fairly decent run on the show, some fans felt that the writers gave up on Mel a little too soon, and that they could have used her to string out the UnresolvedSexualTension between Niles and Daphne for another season or two. Others, even those who felt that it was time to make Niles and Daphne into the show's OfficialCouple, felt that the show went a little too far in making her cartoonishly villainous in Season 8.
112* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The show generally avoids this, but it does come up every once in a while. Examples include:
113** The Crane boys' celebration of the Millennium New Year;
114** A reference to Music/PearlJam back in the first season;[[note]]This one is relatively minor thanks to the band's longevity, but they're no longer the hitmakers they were in the early '90s.[[/note]]
115** Frasier objecting to Roz's pot brownie because it's illegal (it isn't anymore in the state of Washington);
116** Any reference Martin makes to the Seattle [=SuperSonics=] or Kingdome baseball stadium (neither of which exist anymore);
117** Any references or jokes related to the Seattle Seahawks being perpetual losers, as they TookALevelInBadass and won a Super Bowl after the show ended.
118** The most probably unintentionally anachronistic aspect to the show for a modern (American) viewer, which is the very notion of a major, commercial, over-the-air AM radio station;[[note]]This one was itself already anachronistic at the time ''Frasier'' first aired: although a few news/talk AM stations still exist such as WBBM in Chicago or KABC in Los Angeles, the kind of talk radio shows KACL aired have long been displaced in dominance on the AM band by right-wing programming such as that of Radio/RushLimbaugh. AM stations that don't feature that kind of thing are often devoted to sports.[[/note]]
119** One specific example which chases its tail a bit: Martin has found a book of one-liners at his security guard job, and quips "He's so cheap he can squeeze a nickel till the buffalo chokes!" Frasier dryly asks when the book was published, as buffaloes had not appeared on nickels for quite some time at the time of the 2003 first-run of the episode (and Martin responds that the book was published in 1956). But two short years later, nickels depicting buffaloes were again minted.
120* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
121** While his occasional delving into arrogance and pomposity are intentional (and indeed, an essential part of the show's humor), there are times when Frasier's refusal and / or inability to learn from his mistakes land him right here, as you wish someone would just slap some sense into him, or that he'd just learn to ''let things go''. Of course, if he didn't, there wouldn't be any show...
122** Martin and indeed the staff of the steak house in "Dinner At Eight." After a few too many condescending remarks about the restaurant from Frasier and Niles, he throws a fit and storms off, even bringing their dead mother into it, claiming that she'd be ashamed of them. However, Martin is always vocal about how he disapproves of most of the stuff Frasier and Niles like, and took great pleasure in seeing the hostess ruin their ''Hugo Boss'' ties as soon as they arrived (and judging by his reaction, he knew it was going to happen and chose not to warn them). While he does have a point about how they should appreciate the simple things in life, [[{{Hypocrite}} he just comes across as a bully who can dish it out but can't take it]].
123** Frasier, again, in Julia Wilcox's first episode. He acts like she's a monstrously cold person (which, okay, she ''is'') simply because she rebuffs any advance he makes at friendship. Except Julia's not under any requirement to make friends with people, and from the looks of the situation Frasier is the only person at K-ACL who gives a rat's ass about whether Julia likes them or not. Roz even points out early on in the episode that Frasier's interest in Julia is only because he sees her as a "project" he can "fix" (and then sleep with). It doesn't make Julia any more sympathetic or likable, but she is right in that Frasier's being pompous and irritating toward her when she's made it perfectly clear she doesn't want anything to do with him.
124* ValuesDissonance:
125** The episode where Frasier reveals he slept with his piano teacher at seventeen plays with this. Martin brings up the fact that the woman was taking advantage of his kid ([[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking not to mention not doing her job as a piano teacher]]) and Frasier protests that it was a loving relationship and his initiation into manhood, not an older woman "lusting after young flesh"... and then it's revealed that his piano teacher ''still is'' into men much younger than her, lending credibility to the idea she ''was'' just taking advantage of him, although the episode still plays it for laughs. The episode also plays for laughs the revelation that Bulldog's father made him sleep with a hooker at the age of 16 for his birthday (he just wanted a bike). Nowadays these "first times" would not be viewed so harmlessly.
126** "Odd Man Out" ends with Frasier impulsively joining the lady he met at the airport for her vacation to Mexico, and he very easily gets on the airplane with no boarding pass, no passport, only his wallet, and quite literally just the clothes on his back. It's a pretty funny OutOfCharacterMoment for Frasier, but there's no way that would be allowed to happen in today's post-9/11 world.
127** Particularly early on, the way Roz is treated at KACL can make for queasy viewing to modern audiences. On multiple occasions, Bulldog slaps her butt and forcibly kisses her against her will. It's played off as just being part of Bulldog's character, but it would rightly ''never'' fly nowadays. Not to mention the numerous jokes at Roz's expense about her sex life.
128*** Similarly, the show treats Noel's [[StalkerWithACrush crush]] on Roz mainly as a joke on how pathetic he is (as no one, even Roz, ever takes him seriously), instead of highlighting or calling out his [[EntitledToHaveYou entitled]] and rather possessive treatment of her (for example, in the Season 6 finale "Shutout in Seattle", he basically tells Niles how she's only playing hard to get and will fall for him despite her outright saying she's not interested in him).
129** While "High Holidays" is pretty funny, in the modern day, the good qualities of marijuana have overshadowed its historic reputation as a dangerous narcotic (although its side effects still shouldn't be taken lightly). Incidentally, Washington was one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012.
130** Niles mentions their cousin Douglas marrying a woman who "used to be a man," with Frasier scoffing that it should have been obvious due to her immense physical strength. This joke isn't as funny with the more mainstream awareness of transgender rights and the dangers trans women face in coming out to men, and the push-back against stereotyping all trans women as super masculine.
131* ValuesResonance:
132** In Bebe Glazer's introductory episode, she persuades Frasier to take her on as his agent by insinuating how expensive tuition is going to be when Frederick goes to Harvard. About twenty years later, the high cost of college tuition (and the subsequent burden of student debt) is one of the biggest talking points about the American education system. Frasier looks even more justified today being swayed by Bebe's fearmongering.
133** Maris’ toxic treatment of Niles in their marriage arguably carries more weight nowadays, where modern viewers will likely see the effects of her behavior as much bigger red flags. Niles is constantly walking on eggshells and acquiescing to her needs and demands without her ever considering his needs or willing to compromise. While Niles’ unwillingness to confront her is pointed out often, he’s never framed or blamed as the cause of her harmful actions. Frasier and Martin's frustration is also clearly portrayed as two men exasperated by watching someone they care about get mistreated in the same way over and ''over'' again, as opposed to straightforward UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming. Niles is a rare example of a male victim in a toxic relationship for a sitcom of the 1990s, and it’s played more seriously than a mere HenpeckedHusband that would normally be played for laughs.
134* TheWoobie:
135** Niles. Although he's in love with another woman, he stays faithful to his cold and unloving wife for years, only to discover that ''she's'' cheating on ''him'' with their ''therapist''. After the brutal divorce is over, the woman he truly loves is dating his divorce lawyer. And the list goes on, and on...
136** Frasier. He's often PlayedForLaughs as an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist, but take a look at his life. He (and his brother, for the record) was horribly bullied throughout his childhood, had a father who disapproved of pretty much everything he was ever interested in, a mother who, from what we could see in ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', was a natural liar and at least somewhat emotionally manipulative. By the end of the series, not only does he have three very painful broken marriages/almost marriages under his belt, but a string of hostile rejections from multiple women in Seattle, and all of the various humiliations or setbacks that plague him at various points in the series. He brings some of them down on himself but it's no wonder he lies and panics so much in new relationships, considering all of the esteem shattering situations he's been through. All of this, by the way, while constantly listening to other people's problems and supporting his friends and family emotionally and (apparently) financially without so much as a thank you in return. It's a wonder he never went postal. Another example that comes to mind is the DownerEnding of the episode "Frasier's Edge." After a very lengthy and very upsetting discussion with Dr. Tewksbury, Frasier thanks his audience for honoring his life, and then he sadly adds "I just wish I knew what to do with the rest of it." Who'd have thought that mailing a card [[ComplimentBackfire could cause]] [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom so much trouble?]]

Top