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Frasier

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Frasier
File:Frasier Logo.JPG
Frasier title screen
Created byDavid Angell
Peter Casey
David Lee
StarringKelsey Grammer
David Hyde Pierce
John Mahoney
Jane Leeves
Peri Gilpin
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes265
Production
Running time24 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 16, 1993 –
May 13, 2004

Frasier was a critically acclaimed 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. When the idea of Frasier was presented for the first time, it was questioned whether the idea of two brothers of similar temperament would work as a television series. The series ultimately lasted for eleven seasons, and is considered one of the most successful spin-offs in TV history. Its first episode aired on NBC on September 16, 1993, and its last episode aired on May 13, 2004. Since March 6 2006, it has been syndicated on the Lifetime Television channel.

The show is set in Seattle, Washington but only one episode "The 100th Show", was filmed there. The remainder were filmed on Stage 25, Paramount Studios, and at various locales in and around Los Angeles.

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, Casey and Lee had also written and produced Cheers and created Wings.

Cast

File:Frasiercast.jpg
The main cast of Frasier (from left to right) David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, John Mahoney and Moose

Regulars:

Niles' wife Maris is a recurring character who is never seen or heard.

Recurring Guest Stars

Storyline

Template:Spoiler Dr. Frasier Crane is a psychiatrist who hosts a radio talk show in Seattle on KACL 780AM (named to honor the show's creators: Angell, Casey, Lee). His friend and producer is Roz Doyle. Various colleagues, including sports show host Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe, food critic Gil Chesterton and geek Noel Shempsky often appear.

Frasier's father, retired cop Martin Crane, lives with him. Martin was shot in the line of duty when he interrupted a robbery in progress. Martin is looked after by his Mancunian health care worker, Daphne Moon, who becomes the love interest of Frasier's brother Niles Crane, a fellow psychiatrist who is just as stuffy and pompous as Frasier. Niles' love for Daphne is a theme for many seasons of the show, and indeed they get married at the end of the seventh season.

Completing the lineup is Martin's dog Eddie (a 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.

Much of the humor is derived from Frasier's search for romance; social class conflict, particularly with his blue-collar ex-cop father; sibling rivalry with his brother; the pomposity and vanity of Frasier as a minor celebrity, intellectual and patron of the local Seattle arts scene; and various misunderstandings between the characters that, frequently, escalate into absurd crises. Template:Endspoiler

Records

  • As of 2004, the series won 37 Emmys, more than any other show; Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce each won four of them for acting, including one each for the final season.
  • Also, as of 2004, the series holds the record for winning the most consecutive Emmys for best comedy, five to be exact.
  • 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.

Episodes

Main article: List of Frasier episodes

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.

Special 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, Lynn Angell, died on American Airlines Flight 11 in the 9/11 attacks.

Trivia

  • The casting directors' second choices for the roles of Niles and Martin Crane were Peter MacNicol and Robert Prosky respectively. Prosky had previously played the father of another Cheers regular, Rebecca, on an episode of that show. Prosky appeared in Season 4 as a J.D.Salinger-like writer who strikes up a friendship with Martin.
  • Most of the surviving cast members of Cheers appeared at one time or another, except for Kirstie Alley ("Rebecca Howe"). Alley was alleged to have turned down an appearance because she is a Scientologist (Scientologists reject psychiatry/psychology as part of their beliefs), but in truth she was never asked to appear on the show.
  • The view from Frasier's apartment in Seattle is impossible to achieve; no building or apartment in the city really has that view. It was made like this so that the landmark Space Needle would appear more prominently. According to the season 1 DVD bonus features, the photograph was taken from atop a cliff. Only once has there ever been an exterior shot facing Frasier's apartment building, in the 4th season episode The Impossible Dream.
  • Frasier was voted by sitcom writers, producers and actors as the greatest sitcom of all time in the Channel 4 (UK) show The Ultimate Sitcom, aired on January 2 2006.
  • "Eddie" was played by two dogs: when the original, "Moose", became too old to do the part, his son "Enzo" took over. The younger dog had to have his fur dyed to match his father's. Curiously, the two dogs did not get along and had to be separated when they were both on the set. Both dogs also appear in the film My Dog Skip, playing an older and younger version of the same dog.
  • The actor playing the deliveryman who wheels in Martin's chair in the first episode reprised his role in the final episode, and wheeled Martin's chair out of Frasier's apartment.
  • The radio station callers' lines were done by anonymous voiceover actors while filming the show in front of a live audience. This gave the cast something to react to. During postproduction, the voiceover actors' lines were replaced by celebrities, who literally phoned in their parts without having to come into the studio. The end credits of season finales would show headshots of all the celebrities who had "called in" that season.
  • In the final episode, many of the show's writers and producers can be seen in the radio station watching Frasier give his last broadcast.
  • Although not noticed by the average American viewer, neither Daphne nor any of her relatives (aside her mother), nor her ex boyfriend have Manchester accents, despite supposing to have come from Manchester, they mostly have Southern English accents (i.e. London), her brother Nigel's accent is Cockney, and Daphne herself has a Yorkshire accent. Coincidentally, John Mahoney actually is Mancunian.
  • Opposite of what might be perceived, John Mahoney (Martin) is actually English, while David Hyde Pierce (Niles) and Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) are American.
  • Frasier was filmed on Stage 25 at Paramount Studios, the same stage used by Cheers and Laverne and Shirley.
  • The entire cast (sans Kelsey Grammer) performed a "mock-audition" of Star Trek: Voyager during the Star Trek 30 Years and Beyond primetime special on October 6, 1996 alongside Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway). Even though he did not appear in the skit, Grammer had previously played Captain Morgan Bateson in the episode "Cause and Effect" of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Furthermore, the primetime special was hosted by Ted Danson who played Sam Malone on Cheers as well as on Frasier.
  • John Mahoney appeared in an eleventh season episode of Cheers as an unskilled jingle writer and Peri Gilpin also appeared on Cheers as a journalist in the same season.

Merchandise

DVDs

Currently seasons 1-8 & 11 have been released on Region 1 DVD. Seasons 9 and 10 are due to be out later this year. Region 2 is considerably behind with only the first 4 seasons out with the 5th coming out later this year.

File:Frasier S8.jpg
Cover art for Frasier Season 8 DVD
DVD Name Release dates
Region 1 Region 2
The Complete 1st Season May 20 2003 November 24 2003
The Complete 2nd Season January 6 2004 June 7 2004
The Complete 3rd Season May 25 2004 September 6 2004
The Complete 4th Season February 1 2005 July 18 2005
The Complete 5th Season June 7 2005 Sometime near end of 2006
The Complete 6th Season September 13 2005 N/A
The Complete 7th Season November 15 2005 N/A
The Complete 8th Season June 13 2006 N/A
The Complete 9th Season TBA 2006 N/A
The Complete 10th Season TBA 2006 N/A
The Complete 11th Season November 16 2004 N/A

Videos

The first 4 seasons have been released on video along with a series of 'Best Of' tapes. These tapes consist of 4 episodes taken from seasons 1-4. No more video releases have been announced.

Video Name Release date
The Best Of Frasier 1 - From Boston To Seattle TBC 1999
The Best Of Frasier 2 - Crane Vs. Crane TBC 1999
The Best Of Frasier 3 - Serial Dater TBC 1999
The Best Of Frasier 4 - Like Father Like Sons TBC 1999
The Best Of Frasier 5 - Brotherly Love TBC 1999
The Best Of Frasier 6 - Love Is In The Air TBC 1999
The Best Of Frasier Box Set TBC 1999
The Complete 1st Season July 16 2001
The Complete 2nd Season December 3 2001
Season 3 - Part 1 May 6 2002
Season 3 - Part 2 July 1 2002
Season 4 - Part 1 October 14 2002
Season 4 - Part 2 November 18 2002

CDs

One Frasier CD has been released featuring a number of songs taken from the show.

CD Name Release date
Tossed Salads & Scrambled Eggs TBC

Books

Several books about Frasier have been released. These range from script & guidebooks to cookbooks.

Book Name Publisher
The Best Of Frasier Channel 4 Books
The Very Best Of Frasier Channel 4 Books
Frasier Pocket Books
Goodnight Seattle Virgin Books
Cafe Nervosa: The Connoisseur's Cookbook Boxtree

Syndication

Wikiquote has quotations related to Frasier.
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