History YMMV / Frasier

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Maris is neurotic, violently paranoid, almost if not actually sociopathic, and suffers from some form of severe body dysmorphia. That's just the stuff that's easy to pin down.

** Late in the series it's revealed that what Frasier thought was the cough button was actually the echo button. It's possible that it was a mistake isolated to the episode, but it's fun to keep that in mind and look at everything Frasier has said on the air when he thought he was muting himself. With an echo.

** Some fans suspect that [[ObliviousToLove Daphne]] might have been secretly in love with [[DoggedNiceGuy Niles]] as long 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, Jane Leeves 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.

** 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 Jane Leeves, who thirty years later is [[https://images.app.goo.gl/LXMAAGZRv8txpn2H8 as beautiful as ever]], if not even more so.

*** [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E18CauseAndEffect It wasn't the first time, either.]] [[Film/AnimalFarm Or the second.]]

** “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.

** Maris is an AcceptableTarget 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.

** 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. 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]].

* 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 quite active. While ''Cheers''' fanbase is still decently active, it's mainly just seen by most as a relaxing sitcom from the 80s.

* 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.

** 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.

* ValuesResonance: 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.

** 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 (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.”). 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...

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** It had been mentioned on ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' that Frasier's father was not only a scientist, but also dead. When Sam shows up for a guest-appearance and naturally questions Martin about this, Frasier clarifies that he and Martin had just had an argument where Martin called him a stuffed shirt and hung up on him, leading to him bitterly telling the rest of Cheers he was dead.
--->'''Sam:''' You're a cop? ''(to Frasier)'' You told me he was a research scientist.\\
''(Martin gives Frasier a DeathGlare)''\\
'''Frasier:''' You were ''dead'', what did it matter?!
** The season three finale "You Can Go Home Again" flashed back to Frasier arriving in Seattle in 1993, and there was no effort made to make the characters look like they did back in season one (Frasier lacking the skullet he had in the first two seasons is especially jarring). In later episodes that flashed back to that period, such as "The Return of Martin Crane" and "Crock Tales", the cast were given wardrobe changes and hairpieces/wigs to more closely resemble their younger selves. The quality of the efforts, however, is an entirely different subject.
** Season 10 is meant to build up to a love triangle between Fras, Roz and Julia, which concludes with a mixture of the IdiotBall and a KickTheDog moment where Roz quits KACL because she apparently has feelings for Frasier, then essentially throws a tantrum, demanding Frasier choose between her or Julia, and Frasier coldly chooses Julia. Not helping is that the apparent romantic tension between Frasier and Roz is so low it might as well be non-existent. The very first episode of season 11, with different writers, undoes all of this, and Roz's quitting KACL, and shoots down any notion she's attracted to Frasier.

** The episode where Frasier reveals he slept with his piano teacher at eighteen 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.

* WTHCastingAgency: Creator/SaulRubinek -- older, schlubby, not particularly attractive -- was an odd choice for Donny Douglas. The character was written to be nice and sweet, but Daphne had shown in the past the ability to draw younger and more desirable men, so it wasn't obvious why he in particular would have been able to win her over. Many fans wondered why they didn't choose a younger, handsomer actor, to make Donny's primary detractions his coarseness and lack of sophistication, to contrast more with Niles and to demonstrate what he might have that Niles might not. However, Donny is extremely charismatic, even winning over stuffy Niles, and his looks are fine -- it could be said those fans are ageist.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The show generally avoids this, but it does come up every once in a while, as noted in TechnologyMarchesOn above. Other examples include:

** Some fans suspect that [[ObliviousToLove Daphne]] might have been secretly in love with [[DoggedNiceGuy Niles]] as long he was [[CannotSpitItOut secretly in love with her]], but repressed and concealed her own attraction better than he did.[[note]] Indeed, according to several inteviews, Jane Leeves 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.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** 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.
** 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.
** 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.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The show generally averts this, but it does come up every once in a while, as noted in TechnologyMarchesOn above. Other examples include:

** 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]]''.

* WhatAnIdiot: Roz's behavior at the end of season 10. Seeing Frasier is trying to start a relationship with Julia, who has shown herself already to be a total asshole, Roz gets concerned and tries to warn him off. Does she, knowing Frasier after ten years of working together, try approaching the matter in a calm, sensible fashion that will also get through his self-absorption and ego? No, she just repeatedly declares "Julia is evil", and when that ''mysteriously'' fails to work, tries an ultimatum of "her or me". Which also doesn't work.

*** 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 fiancee (but doesn't much care as he simply shrugs and says "What?").

* WTHCastingAgency: Creator/SaulRubinek -- older, schlubby, not particularly attractive -- was an odd choice for Donny Douglas. The character was written to be nice and sweet, but Daphne had shown in the past the ability to draw younger and more desirable men, so it wasn't obvious why he in particular would have been able to win her over. Many fans wondered why they didn't choose a younger, handsomer actor, to make Donny's primary detractions his coarseness and lack of sophistication, to contrast more with Niles and to demonstrate what he might have that Niles might not. However, Donny is extremely charismatic, even winning over stuffy Niles, and his looks are fine -- it could be said those fans are ageist.

** 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.