Frasier

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Frasier
Image:Frasierlogo.gif
Directed by
Produced by
Writen by
Starring
Music by
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Release Date(s)
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Running Time
Preceded by
Followed by

Frasier was an American TV situation comedy. A spin-off of the highly successful situation comedy Cheers, it starred Kelsey Grammer, reprising his character of Dr. Frasier Crane. Its first episode aired on NBC on September 16, 1993, and its last episode aired on May 13, 2004.

1 Creators
2 Cast
3 Storyline
4 Characters
- 4.1 Minor characters
5 The series finale
6 Records
7 Trivia
8 See also
9 External links

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Creators

The show was created by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee. It was produced by Angell, Casey and Lee (Grub Street Productions) in association with Paramount Television. Angell was a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Angell, Casey and Lee had also written and produced Cheers and created Wings. Image:Frasiercast.jpg

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Cast

Regulars:

Recurring Guest Stars

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Storyline

Dr. Frasier Crane is a psychiatrist who hosts a radio talk show in Seattle on KACL 780AM. His friend and producer is single mother Roz Doyle, and his colleague, the sports show host Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe is always on hand to annoy Frasier and hit on Roz. Frasier lives with his father, retired cop Martin Crane who was shot in the hip when he walked in on a robbery in progress and, because of that, he now walks with a cane. Martin is looked after by his Manchester-born health care worker, Daphne Moon, who is the love interest of Frasier's brother Niles Crane, a fellow psychiatrist who is even more stuffy and pompous than Frasier. Completing the lineup is Martin's dog Eddie (Moose, a well-trained Jack Russell Terrier) who responds with alacrity to the other characters but stares uncomprehendingly at Frasier. When not hosting his radio program, Frasier drinks coffee at the Cafe Nervosa, a pre-Starbucks Seattle coffee house.

Most of the humor is derived from Frasier's search for romance; social class conflict, particularly with his blue-collar ex-cop father; sibling rivalry; and the pomposity of Frasier as a minor celebrity.

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Characters

Frasier Crane: Played by Kelsey Grammer. Held degrees from Harvard and Oxford and lived in apartment 1901 of the Elliot Bay Towers on the Couterbalance in Seattle, Washington. His hobbies were playing the piano, watching the opera, collecting eclectic art (such as African art) and attending wine parties with Niles. Although Frasier claimed not to be interested in sports and was not known for his physical prowess, he occasionally played squash with Niles.

Frasier had a son named Frederick with his ex-wife, Dr. Lillith Sternin, whom he divorced in around 1993/94. In the past, he was married to free-spirited woman named Nanette, who later achieved fame performing for children as the character "Nanny Gee." Frasier also attempted to marry Dianne Chambers in Italy, but she had left him at the altar.

Frasier not only helped listeners that call his radio show but also the people that he interacts with on a daily basis, which include Niles, Martin, Daphne and Roz. The irony was that while Frasier seemed to have the answers for his patients and friends, he struggled with his personal life. Throughout the show, Frasier underwent a succession of women in the search for his soulmate.

Niles Crane: Played by David Hyde Pierce. Frasier's brother and also a professional psychiatrist. Niles shared similar interests and education background to Frasier and was shown to be even more pernicky and pedantic than his brother. Niles had an aversion to bugs, had several food allergies and preferred to dust his chair before sitting. Nile's lack of physical prowess - which included the inability to catch or throw - was a source of jokes throughout the show.

Niles was initially married to Maris, a rich heiress and keen society social-climber. Niles was also strongly attracted to Daphne Moon, which on the show was (often humorously) suppressed.

Martin Crane: Played by John Mahoney. Frasier and Niles' father, also known as "Marty" by his friends. Martin worked as a detective in the police force for 30 years until he was shot in the hip during an armed robbery. After finding it increasingly difficult to live on his own, Martin moved in with Frasier (bringing Eddie and his battered armchair). Martin's working-class attitude and simpler outlook on life sometimes led to confrontations with Frasier.

Martin enjoyed watching sports on the television and was a frequent visitor to the Duke's, a bar run by his friend until its closure.

Daphne Moon: Played by Jane Leeves. An immigrant from Manchester, England, Daphne was hired by the Cranes as Martin's physiotherapist and general helper (despite Frasier's initial reservations). Daphne claimed to be psychic, and claimed her psychic flashes were most prominent when she was approaching her menstrual cycle.

Daphne often mentioned her family, including her over-bearing mother Gertrude, and her brothers Simon, Steven, Michael and Nigel (played by Anthony LaPaglia, Richard E. Grant, Robbie Coltrane and Cameron Dye respectively). Another brother who was mentioned, Billy, was a ballroom dancer. Daphne also mentioned her 'Grammy Moon' who had some interesting food recipes.

Roz Doyle: Played by Peri Gilpin. Roz was the producer of Frasier's radio show. She grew up as part of a large family in Wisconsin, including a cheese-making uncle, and her mother was the attorney-general of Wisconsin. Roz was known for her sassy attitude and quick-witted remarks, and enjoyed deflating Frasier's often-inflated ego.

She was renowned as a man-hungry serial dater and once claimed to have had three dates in one day, yet still found time to rotate her tyres and defrost her freezer. She eventually fell pregnant to a young college student, and her daughter Alice May Doyle was born in 1998.

The character was named after a producer on Wings, who died shortly before the series began.

Eddie: Played by Moose. Martin's Jack Russell Terrier. Eddie initially was obsessed with Niles but then discovered his older brother, and in the show was often shown staring at Frasier.

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Minor characters

Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe: The host of The Gonzo Sports Show which follows Frasier's show on KACL. "Bulldog", as he was popularly known, was a womaniser also enjoyed playing pranks on Frasier. Bulldog also loved children, but had a dislike for lizards. Bulldog was fired from KACL in 1999 for falling ratings, although he returned in 2001 working behind the scenes. Played by Dan Butler; the pairing is ironic as Bulldog was seen as a macho, chauvinistic womanizer, yet Butler himself is openly gay.

Gil Chesterton: was a pompous restaurant critic who hosted Restaurant Beat on KACL. Gil was apparently married to Deb, the owner of a chain of auto-repair stores, although his sexual orientation had been debated many times by other characters and was a running joke on the show. The character is supposedly named after Frasier producer Christopher Lloyd's high school English teacher. Played by Edward Hibbert

Kenny Daley: The nervous yet cheerful station manager of KACL from 1998 to 2004, Kenny never unpacked his boxes due to supersition - he believed that if he unpacked, he would be fired. Before becoming a station manager, Kenny was a DJ, although at one stage in 1998 he was reduced to delivering pizzas. Kenmy often asked Frasier for advice.

Bebe Glazer: Frasier and Bulldog's (and later Roz's) ruthless and money-obsessed agent, Bebe was not afraid to use trickery and deceit to further her (and her clients') goals. Her methods included pretending to be suicidal during Frasier's contract negotiations and attempting marrying an old, rich millionaire (who unfortunately died at the altar). Played by Harriet Sansom Harris

Noel Shempsky: Frasier and Roz's Star Trek-obsessed co-worker, Noel worked in production. Noel was infatuated by Roz, who did not reciprocate his feelings. Noel had a restraining order against him by William Shatner, was able to speak fluent Klingon and could faint at will. Played by Patrick Kerr

Maris Crane: Niles Crane's unseen wife. She was regularly referred to throughout the series as an eccentric millionaire's daughter who was extremely thin, and possessed a never-ending stream of medical problems. These included:

Various allergies;
Hypoglycemia;
"Unusually rigid verterbrate";
"Inability to produce saliva";
Tight quadriceps;
Various nervous breakdowns;
An addiction to cough syrup;
Fear of flying - after being removed from first class.

Frederick Crane: Frasier's son who lived with his mother Lilith in Boston. Frederick regularly flew to Seattle to visit Frasier. Similar to his father and uncle, Frederick was academically gifted but had a distinct lack of physical prowess.

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The series finale

On May 13, 2004, the series finale of Frasier aired. It was watched by 25.4 million viewers.

Several circumstances led to the decision to end the series:

The high cost, which amounted to $75 million for the last season;
The series had matched Cheers in number of seasons, a goal Grammer had for the show
The changing broadcast time of the show. It was moved several times, and had to compete against very popular shows like American Idol and 24.

Guest stars in the series finale included Wendie Malick, Anthony LaPaglia, Robbie Coltrane, Richard E. Grant, Laura Linney, Jason Biggs, and Jennifer Beals.

The last show was dedicated to David Angell, one of the creators of Frasier, who, along with his wife, Lynne, died on American Airlines Flight 11 in the 9/11 attacks.

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Records

As of 2004, the series won 37 Emmys, more than any other show; Kelsey Grammer won four of them, including one for the final season.

Grammer played Dr. Frasier Crane for twenty years, which tied the James Arness portrayal of Marshall Dillon on Gunsmoke in terms of character longevity in primetime television.

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.

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Trivia

Kelsey Grammer (Dr. Frasier Crane), David Hyde Pierce (Dr. Niles Crane) and John Mahoney (Martin Crane) are the only actors to appear in every episode of the series.
When the idea of Frasier was presented for the first time, the makers of Frasier questioned whether or not the idea of two brothers of similar temperament would work as a television series. However, the writers created a successful television series that lasted for 11 seasons.
Frasier's radio show is on KACL 780 AM, which is so named to honor the show's creators: Angell, Casey, Lee. (The K is a prefix because the station is west of the Mississippi river, a standard in broadcast stations. See the page on call signs for more on this.)
The studios for KACL are based on the Los Angeles newsradio station, 790 KABC.
Niles' wife Maris never makes an appearance on the show, even after 11 seasons. This was a continuation of a tradition started on Cheers. Norm Peterson's wife, Vera, never shows her face (she does make one appearance, but is hit with a pie before her face is actually shown).
Niles' and Daphne's son David Crane is named after Frasier co-creator David Angell, who died on September 11.
Lisa Kudrow was originally cast as Roz though the role was recast very early in production.
The casting directors' second choices for the roles of Niles and Martin Crane were Peter MacNicol and Robert Prosky respectively. Interestingly, Prosky had previously played the father of another Cheers regular, Rebecca, on an episode of that show.
Most of the surviving cast members of Cheers appeared at one time or another, excluding Kirstie Alley.