A Touch of Class: A Frasier Retrospective
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2024
- Unlike Cheers, Frasier was a show I actually watched when I was younger. Revisiting was surprising, insofar that it held up better than I expected, even if it very much is a reflection of where sitcoms were in the 90's.
This is the second longest show I've covered, so I'm sure people will notice I missed a lot of stuff. But I did my best to get everything I could in there. All the videos I referenced are linked below.
Also, a tip of the hat to "Frasier: A Cultural History" by Joseph J. Darowski and Kate Darowski for being particularly useful when doing research on this video.
Little Hoot's Video: • Frasier Is Bad, Actually
Matt Baume's video: • Frasier & Sitcoms of t...
My video on Cheers: • Where Everybody Knows ...
My video on Roseanne: • Roseanne of The Conner...
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Thumbnail concept by fluttr.me
0:00 - Intro
7:57 - The Pilot Episode
12:14 - Frasier
30:47 - Cheers Cameos
37:28 - Martin
48:40 - Eddie
50:14 - Farce in Frasier
53:01 - Niles and Daphne
1:18:47 - Representation
1:24:32 - Roz
1:35:17 - The Finale
1:42:23 - Frasier in the Future - Розваги
![[柴犬ASMR]曼玉Manyu&小白Bai 毛发护理Spa asmr](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0TsXQ7z2Dh4/mqdefault.jpg)
When Niles takes over the radio show for a while, he has one of the best lines ever: "Unlike my brother, who's a Freudian, I personally am a Jungian. So, there'll be no blaming mommy today!"
That was Hella funny🤣
I love that line as well!
@@rheroberts868 Hella?
@@defs8073 mean hell of a funny thing to say
The Collective Unconscious will always win against mommy issues.
Its amazing that despite his hard drinking, womanising, and behind the scenes arguments Eddie always brought his A game to set.
He was a true professional. Not many actors can do enough cocaine to kill a small horse, and then still hit their mark dead on every time. What a legend! Goodest boy indeed.
@@KS-xk2so i thought he was an alcoholic
@@mayakelly3594 Eddie got into everything. If you could snort, smoke, inject, or drink it, Eddie would do it, again and again.
He said Eddie, not Kelsey Grammer. Pretty sure he was kidding.
Despite his addiction issues !
Frasier was a sitcom that always appreciated and never underestimated the intelligence and sensibility of the average viewer.
It was called "The smartest show on television." for a reason.
I feel like it veered towards underestimating them sometimes but then always pulled itself back
rubbish, it was a run of the mill sitcom with two pretentious snobs as the main characters. I'm glad it made you feel smart by watching it though.
@@TheBlarggle Doncha mean the smartest show on U.S. television? Err, I know this sets a benchmark for you lot, ( who, let's face it ain't the ahem .....smartest in the world), but "The Smartest"Show? Are you quite young dearie?
Very well, stated.
The funniest scene I remember from the series is when Niles was pretending to have a child by carrying around a sack of flour in baby carrier. Niles becomes so involved in this form of pretend that he starts to have nightmares. In this nightmare Niles's "baby" is kidnapped and the kidnappers started sending him muffins.
David won an Emmy for that performance
That was one of the worst parts of the show. Up there with the Freudian Sleep episode
I remember that. That line was hilarious. Fuck me, I have to rewatch the show now.
One of my favorite jokes in Frasier was learning that his mother named him and Niles after her lab rats.
Joke that lead to me naming a whole rodent colony after the cast of Frasier, their mom musta been onto something cuz it suits pretty well somehow lol
maybe they were just down on their luck, show rats!
Thinking of favourite scenes, my mind immediately went to Season 3 where Frasier gives someone 'an etiquette lesson' and then the guy threatens to sue, until Niles does this incredible over-the-top fall caused by a prod of the man's index finger, then Niles whispers to Frasier ...'counter-suit'
Niles learning he was named after a Rat was hilarious.
I don't find majority of American sitcoms funny but Frasier is one of my top 3 sitcoms of time.
The writing & delivery was Genius.
That was a good one
Niles was one of the best written characters of the era, played by one heck of an actor. It was always a treat watching Hyde Pierce take his weekly turn being Niles.
I love Niles!! The Valentines episode where he is getting ready for a date, sets the couch on fire, irons his pants is so amazing I laugh so much. Another one I can’t remember exactly what episode but he comes crawling into Frasiers apartment covered in sap, everyone is arguing and don’t even notice him(I think it was a Christmas episode)
re-watching knowing he hid being gay in real life the whole time really brings a whole other level of appreciation for him imo
@@kaila288 yes memories of Christmas or something like that. I watched it today 🤣
I knew him more as the stick bug from A Bug’s Life.
Yeah -- DHP is an absolutely amazing actor!
Martin beating Frasier in chess actually makes a lot of sense. Martin might not be as educated but he isn’t stupid. He was a cop for years and had to solve cases and he often would have had to plan ahead and strategize. So naturally he would be better at a game that involves strategy and trapping your opponent.
I've played thousands of games, even won a tournament. Pattern recognition and tactical awareness is much more relevant to winning than seeing moves ahead.
Richard Reti, a grandmaster of the 1920s, was asked by a lesser player how many moves ahead he could see. He replied, "One move". An exaggeration, but his point stands.
@@RicardoAGuitarVery cool insight still works with Martin :)
Martin wasn't educated through ivy leagues but his equally important education and knowledge was significant, and the writers showed that well
He wasn't just a cop; he was a detective.
Apparently you don’t know many cops.
Niles always seemed to have the best lines. "Roz's bed is easier to get into than a community college!"
As good and obviously important to the show as Kelsey Grammer is, David Hyde Pierce is the one who truly walks away with the series.
@@lexkanyima2195 didn’t say that. But in my opinion he is the real MVP of that series. I don’t think there is an single bad line delivery or failed laugh from him in the entire series.
@@PaceFilmsProductions bloopers
DHP is, possibly, the greatest physical comedian since Lucille Ball. The valentines day scene where he sets fire to Frasiers apartment is a masterclass in acting.
“Fraser” probably if not “the” best written television show ever written , the cast, a glass act show , nevertheless the funniest show ever.
Keysey was a Gem to allow his co-stars to shine. He could have been selfish, but he was a good guy and recognized that Davie/Niles was fantastic. Love them both. Actually, love the entire main cast. .... PEACE.
Will be watching this with a tossed salad and scrambled eggs
Quite stylish!
They're calling again!
All over your face. What is a boy to do?
wow this is the funniest comment ever how did you come up with it? you must be clever and original and interesting....
....Mercy!
David Hyde Pierce was the star of Frasier. Aside from being absolutely hilarious, it's his sincerity that really sold the Niles/Daphne romance.
Sincerity? He was a pathological liar, especially about his feelings toward daphne. Literally the opposite of sincerity
@@kevinbissinger How do you mean?
@@michablueflamestar5347They explored this in the episode where Daphne gains weight - Niles faces his many flaws during his infatuation with Daphne and she acknowledges how difficult it was learning he had been pining after her for years. While the original storyline was more of a slapstick side piece, it became the heart of the show and the writers explored it as their relationship developed. So yes, he was a shameless liar for many years while he was in awe of Daphne - he later learned how to see her as a fully formed, flawed human being. And as a result, they were able to bloom as a couple. Sorry, I’m far too invested in this shit haha.
@@imnobody115 Ah, I see. Thank you for explaining.
@@imnobody115whilst I found it an odd choice to hide Jane Leeves real life pregnancy by (unconvincingly) making her character obese, I did find the episode where she came back explored something interesting in their relationship. When you find out someone has been pining for you, literally thinking you’re a goddess, for years how do you deal with that? Her character ballooned in weight and he never saw anything different in how she looked. It was a cry for help, she felt trapped by the expectations of Niles and overwhelmed. I like that they confronted that what had been a fruitful comic device for the writers (Niles obsession with Daphne) was a toxic start to the relationship. Deep writing for a sitcom.
Frasier is probably the best Sitcom to come out of the 90s, forget friends, forget everything. Frasier has it all. The comedy rolls smoothly of the story but is never cheap, there is always a bit of smarts in it. a bit of class, much like Frasier himself.
Bebe Glazer has to be the best recurring character on any show ever. The episodes where she fakes a suicide attempt on the ledge and where she tries to quit smoking are perfect.
“She has no scruples, no ethics, and NO REFLECTION!”
“Aren’t you glad I’m on your side.”
Bebe is the best, a fantastic character.
Bebe was probably the most moral person on that show. Frasier and Niles were horrible human beings.
Frasier Crane i wish my eyes were sore so you could be a sight for them
'I am a star MAKER!!!!'
My partner and I quote that to each other all the time, we love Bebe.
Lord YES, Bebe was an inspired comic creation, brought to life spectacularly by Harriet Sansom Harris. She shared some of the best ever comic scenes with Kelsey Grammer, no question!
"I'm learning how to blow smoke."
"Where."
My god I'd never heard that exchange before. God this show is great.
I never think enough praise is given to Peri Gilpin. Ros was written fairly well, but the actress played the character to perfection with great charisma and superb comic timing, giving her far more life than the writers did. Better than Daphne or Martin. Of course Niles/David Hyde Pierce stole the show.
Peri Gilpin made Roz a great character. Fortunately Lisa Kudrow didn't get that part.
Roz. Her nickname is Roz.
I totally agree! So sad she never got an Emmy (or a nomination) for her work… Peri really managed to give the character, that could otherwise be perceived as quite shallow and superficial, so much heart and relatability. I enjoyed every scene she was in.
💯
@@iki9230 fully agreed. There's something about Lisa Kudrow that would have derailed the whole show. She seems to count on people finding her dumb blonde act charming. She plays the same dim-witted version of herself in every role, and succeeded for that in Friends, but it would have been the wrong ingredient in Frasier. Like curry in ice cream
That episode when Niles tries putting Daphne's parents back together JUST to try and make Daphne happy and it dawns on her that he'd do anything for her? Oh man, right in the feels ❤❤
In a show full of fantastic performances I think David Hyde Pierces was the best. Perfect casting.
I agree. He stole so many scenes.
His silent acting in "Three Valentines" was utterly brilliant. It isn't often you get to see silent work in modern TV or film.
He really was. What a talented man.
he is the whole reason i watched the show.
My first media I saw DHP, was in the movie "A Bug's Life".
Frasier, more than any other US sitcom, resembles traditional British sitcoms, especially with its exploration of class and snobbery. Keeping up appearances, the Good life and Faulty Towers immediately come to mind, but even Red Dwarf, Rising Damp, Yes Minister and To the Manor born hold similarities.
On one of the Red Dwarf DVDs there’s a special feature where they talk about the failed US Red Dwarf remake and why it failed to go beyond a pilot. One of the reasons they touch upon is how it made less of a thing about the class divide between Rimmer and Lister that was so prevalent in the British original, and wonder if it’s because America likes to downplay class whereas in the UK class is more deeply entrenched into the culture. I guess so much of American culture (and how it sells itself to the rest of the world) is based upon the American dream, the notion that anyone from any background can be successful, and the revolutionary casting off of the monarchy and stating that all men are created equal. Whereas Britain has a class structure that goes back centuries made all the more prevalent by the fact that we still have a royal family that lives in big fancy castles.
And it would be remiss of me not to mention the fun fact that Jane Leeves played Holly the computer in the American Red Dwarf pilot. Thankfully the pilot wasn’t picked up because if it had she wouldn’t have been able to play Daphne. Also the creators of Red Dwarf are both Mancunian, and one of them wondered on the DVD feature if it was spending time with them that influenced her decision to play the part as a Mancunian.
What an interesting observation. Frasier, along with most of the UK shows you mentioned, are among my favorite of all time (and often revisited). But I had never considered the connection.
@@BenCol America doesn't like talking about class because if Americans were more conscious about class struggle it would cause the system to break.
I totally agree, I've always felt the humour and dynamics between the Crane brothers in particular to be very English!
Good point but believe it or not I think All In The Family was based on a original British sitcom.
John Mahoney was very much like his Martin character, down to earth and never taking himself too seriously. I used to see him occasionally dining at a local family restaurant in a near west suburb of Chicago. While he had many accomplishments in his career, he was extremely humble and down to earth. Often he even dressed similar to the Martin character, dockers and button down casual shirt. When I was diagnosed, he began venturing out less and less. I missed conversations with him. When he passed, it was very sad and painful news that hit a lot of people who got to know him casually over the years, including myself. I’ll always remember him respectfully and fondly. I cannot imagine anyone having a single bad word to say about him.
Wow, what a treat to meet the man himself in real life! I believe it was him who was really into opera behind the scenes - and would teach Kelsey and David about it. So many feelings about his character, if I ever saw the chair in real life I think I’d crumble to the floor in tears 😢
@@imnobody115All of the characters in this show were impeccably written and with the best actors for the parts.
The scene that speaks to me the most of the polar opposite personalities between Marty and his boys is the scene when Frasier and Niles are ridiculing a family dinner for the aesthetic, food and vibes and Marty reminds them that just because their mom was very much like them, she still enjoyed the little things in life. Like a good beer and a football game. And telling them how disappointed their mom would be if she saw how they acted.
I think it really propelled their character development later on in the show when Marty invites Frasier and Niles to Duke's for the establishments final moment as we can see how much Frasier and Niles begin to appreciate the little things Marty enjoyed himself.
My favorite moments were always David Hyde Pierce doing physical comedy, whether he was climbing a tree in an elevator, or setting the couch on fire.
...or the entire first act of "Three Valentines" 😂😂😂
His duel with Maris' fencing instructor is still the greatest sitcom fight till this day
@@pancakemogul yes--love that too!
For me it's any overreaction on Niles' part.
For example when he see's a mosquito: Is that a HUMMINGBIRD!?
He has SUCH an expressive face
Please do the Nanny. Something about that show speaks to me and makes me hopelessly nostalgic. I was probably 10 when it came on but upon rewatching it, I found it hadn’t lost its magic.
The nanny is my comfort show, i dont rewatch shows, i saw them once and thats enough, but i put on the nanny every few years
Even if Josè did a video essay on The Nanny, I still couldn't watch it. It's great to know that people like you loved and enjoyed it so much but that woman's voice is like fingernails scratching a blackboard to me.
It's strange that I enjoyed Ray Romano's talking style but dislike Fran Dreschers. They're both like a stereotypical hard New York accent to me. I visited NYC back in 1990 and found their accent so intriguing. It was the only time during my 5 week visit to the USA that I was mistaken for a native. According to a couple of New Yorkers, my thick Australian accent sounded local 😂
Different strokes for different folks. Mmmm sounds like a good name for a sitcom 😉✌
the writing and humor are nowhere near as clever. it's truly more charactor actor/ situational low brow class humor instead of the wit and suble layers of frasier. like you, just basic and boring, little variety.
I agree! Fran had another spin off that was funny; set in California.
I really think it's held up much better than most shows of the same age! Matt Baume (who wrote one of the videos José links in the description) has a great video on the show from a queer perspective that you might enjoy in the meantime :)
This was great. I used to watch Frasier every day before school. It was shown every workday morning in the UK on channel 4 for years after it had finished its original run. I was the only kid I knew who watched it. Always felt very mature for watching it - and the inherited snootiness it caused in me probably made me relate to Frasier more. The style of joke writing left a lasting impact on me as well as the performances, and all the references to high culture were educational for someone who didn’t grow up in a world where that stuff was taught to me. This is all a very long comment just to say, this was a great retrospective that made me strangely emotional because it touched on all the things that made the show so impactful to me when I was 14. Thanks for making it
Ordinary Guy! Knowing that you also were the only kid in your circle who watched Frasier makes me feel kinda special. I started watching it with my dad, who, while not caring much about fine arts, is a huuuuge history and politics nerd. Even though half of the jokes went over my head because of being ~11 and a non-native English speaker, I found it hilarious enough. And yes, there was always a feeling of intellectual superiority but in a good way, like feeling you were part of a special secret circle of people who "got" it. P.S. Your channel absolutely rules and I can never get enough of it, I wish I could follow you on Instagram because I despise Twitter lol.
Good thing I saw this comment; YT un-subbed me! Re-subbed!
And of course, it's nice to see you on LeftTube proper.
Ordinary Things-I loved watching Frasier when I was growing up as well. Every Friday night my family would watch Frasier, so anytime I come across an episode on TV it takes me back to watching the show with my parents, & my brother as a kid.
Perfectly said.
I really enjoyed watching it before school!
Favorite show of all time. The thing I love about Frasier is that it never talks down to its audience. It's not afraid to be "too smart," to drop references that 90% of their audience doesn't even understand. And they provide characters like Martin and Daphne and Roz to be the audience's surrogates. Really nice treatment here, Jose. Subscribed.
They pretty much perfected the art of making the audience laugh even if they don't understand the joke.
My all time favourite comedy series (my favourite series, bar none, The Rockford Files!). Frasier is superb farce. In the UK Channel 4 have it on a continuous loop of three consecutive shows per day - all shown in sequential order. Genuinely extremely funny, smart, intelligent comedy, killer dialogue, with every character, even those who appear only once, being right on the money. I could not abide Patrick Stewart until I saw him in 'The Doctor Is Out' as Frasier's 'love' interest. An absolute joy.
I just hope the coming reboot can live up to the high standards of the original!
I owe 90% of my French vocabulary to Frasier.
I’ve learned so much about sherry, opera, literature, etc. from watching Frasier. When I didn’t understand a reference in the script I’d look it up and sometimes go into serious research.
I've looked up references from the show for more context
I lived alone during the 2020 Pandemic. The social isolation was intense. I binged watched all the episodes of Frasier twice, always seeing some new reference or little side joke I missed the first time around. This show was my saving grace during one of my most difficult times in life. It will always remain my favorite series of all time. RIP John and " Eddie" and the Angels. ps. Can not wait for its return!
Glad you made it through
The maker of this tiptoed around it, for some reason, but Angels were killed on 9-11. They were on one of the planes.
@@danielgregg2530 Yes, I read about it. A tremendous loss for the cast and crew of Frasier.
@@tenebrousoul9368 you don't actually give af
@@CSM100MK2 oh come on, some people aren’t used to being alone.
I wonder what that’s like sometimes.
Frasier was a show that helped me so much still laughing in my early 20's in a very dark time in my life. It was a privelege to see your detailed, thoughtful, pleasantly delivered retrospective on the show. Thanks and best wishes.
Hope you are doing alright these days.
@@CannonRaw Thanks Cannon. Hope you are doing alright too
Always try to remember the best. No matter how difficult. 👍
Me too
Oh my god I watch your videos all the time my favorite is Peppa Pig
I’m Black and I love Fraser and so does my husband. I also like black shows. I like shows with good characters and acting and brilliant storylines
Frasier is one of my favorite shows. I love how it can go from farcical, silly to quiet and heartfelt in a single episode. The intelligence of the jokes and the great misunderstandings are fantastic as well.
Something I always wait for is the drama scene in each episode. It’s always tastefully done, and heartfelt, with incredible acting.
One of the few sitcoms with drama that isn’t absolute trash
The episode where Frasier thinks he's setting up a guy with Daphne, but the guy is gay and thinks he's on a date with Frasier, man, every time I just THINK about Martin's laugh when Niles told him, I laugh, it was that funny.
There was one scene where I knew that this was the greatest sitcom ever. Very simple scene but it said so much
Frasier is taking charge of Daphne's wedding and he has all those musicians over for a rehearsal before the rehearsal. Martin introduce himself to someone and talk about how he took care of Frasier and Niles back in the day and then he says
" I remember taking them to their first music class it seems like it was only yesterday"
Then there's the famous Harp playing which often leads to a flashback sequence. It's so predictable you already expect a scene but it just keeps going which makes Martin and everyone else confused until they realize it's the actual harp player in the living room working on his part
BRILLIANT 😂😂😂😂
So glad someone mentioned this. Very possibly the best joke on the show, and perhaps more so because it came before meta jokes like that would be common in series like 30 Rock and Arrested Development.
@@dmitryboardman9762 exactly. And it was in the 90s when really every sitcom used that trick. So that was such a clever way of setting themselves apart
Found the clip!! ua-cam.com/video/1q4Spi0NMho/v-deo.html
Hahaha I remember that scene. It was brilliantly hilarious.
I loved that one, too. My brain did a double take and then I started laughing hysterically.
19:00 I’d bet Frasier’s chess problem is that he overanalyzes every move, gets lost on elaborate schemes and in the process forgets imminent threats, Thus losing to a more straightforward style.
That or he's just bad at chess - maybe also bad spacial reasoning.
Or maybe its "This is a comedy and it's funny"
This makes sense. Or it could be that he's playing Martin expecting a straightforward style and refuses to believe Marty has the skills, or smarts I guess, to lay traps, so he never see's them coming.
It was chess content written by non-chessplayers. I don't mean they didn't know how the pieces move, but when you play a lot and improve your game, you find that games rarely end in checkmate.
In the episode, Frasier mentions that Martin unwittingly set up a Panov-Botvinnik attack. Someone who knows what a Panov-Botvinnik attack is would not lose in one-move checkmates.
I'm not trying to suck the fun out of the episode here; I think the same kind of jokes could have been done with more plausible setups. But they don't write sitcoms for chessplayers, do they?
IT’S A SIT-COM PEOPLE!!!! IT’S NOT REAL LIFE!!! SHEESH!!
Frasier was, and still is, a brilliant sitcom. The actors are really good, even the side characters, the scripts were top notch and the interplay between Kelsey Grammar and David Hyde-Pierce just worked incredibly well. You could believe these guys were brothers.
as white man, I found Frasier's impression of a black woman hilarious.
Here in Trinidad and Tobago, Cheers was a massive hit and everyone of my parents' generation watched the show religiously and it aired in reruns constantly til decades later.
Frasier never aired here. My parents only saw it on cable when I did in the early 2010s. But it became an instant classic in my household and every time we see a picture of a greyhound in a turtleneck, we reference Maris.
“Sorry caller, I can’t help you.” referring to himself. A scene that had stuck with me for years now
I remember being so crushed for Niles when he misunderstood Daphne after their dance and then a few years later I became an adult and found out for myself how crushing it can be and I've been both parties in that situation and I'm sure I'm not alone there
There's a line in one of the later episodes, the one where his first wife? I think? The one who did the kid's shows, makes an appearance, and she says Do you have any idea what it's like to play the same character for 20 years?! Frasier's face (or probably Kelsey Grammer s face) almost caused me to die from laughter
That’s the episode with Nanny G!
I feel like I owe this man a steak dinner simply by explaining what the hell "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs" was supposed to be about,
Frasier has been on record explaining that if you search you’ll find out what it means.
An allegory for his callers. Genius.
Also scrambled eggs and tossed salad are jumbled and mixed up, a metaphor for the predicaments in whic the characters found themselves.
@@bradjames891 And his family, who are all crazy in their own way.
Frasier: Neurotic
Niles: Phobic
Roz: Impulsive
Daphne: Deluded
Martin: Old. What? He's sane, just grumpy.
Hi folks,
My father's health is not so great anymore, but Frasier is possibly his favorite show of all time. He grew up a country boy in South Carolina in the 50's and 60's. He served in the Vietnam War because his draft number was 35 (everyone under 100 usually got drafted each year, so he volunteered). After the war he was a pet store owner, and later a machinist for high precision laser manufacturing. He retired on disability in the late 90's because of PTSD from Vietnam.
I grew up as a kid in the late 90's and early 2000's with a somewhat older than usual dad who loved to watch: the news (CNN mostly); sitcoms like Cheers, Fraisure, and Seinfeld; and maybe a few reality game shows like The Amazing Race and Survivor. I think the country boy in him loved to watch Frasier, because Frasier's life was comically different from my dad's life.
P.S. I also enjoy Frasier, and I strongly believe it's one of the best TV shows ever released. It's shows & art like this which make life worth living.
I assume he may have seen a lot of himself in Martin
@@depalapili-pala4859
Haha, yeah, he does love Martin's quips.
This is such a great commentary & a snapshot of *why* TV shows are so important. I'm probably of a similar age/a bit younger than you and love regular TV. I miss its Golden Age
Your dad sounds like an honest, good hearted, hardworking man. The fact that music and TV shows can transport us to a different time and place are what makes them so special. Cheers to your dad and to you for being such an attentive, loving child.❤️
hope your father is ok
I don't often taken nearly two hours to take a nostalgic walk through TV history, but I really enjoyed this. Thanks so much! Frazier really was special.
This show has impacted me beyond explanation. When they are all worried about Eddy's depression and they become morose over the existence and meaning of life, they perk up over fresh-baked cookies. This has become my mantra when life seems confusing, over-whelming etc. You'll never understand it, so have a cookie.
I saw the Martin Crane not speaking at the parole hearing entirely differently than you stated .. I thought that Martin had pretty good cause to speak against the parole, but did not because he saw that the perp & his mother were both caught in a lifetime of pain .. Just as Martin himself was .. I think he was being very nice & considerate by not voicing his opinion against parole .. It was .. Always had been .. & forever would be .. A no win situation .. TgT
Martin always came across as a very kind, understanding character to me, who had much more emotional intelligence than he gave himself credit for. Yes he was more cynical and 'crusty' but he had spent twenty or thirty years arresting people for doing horrible things, and seeing how cruel and desperate humans could be.
Yeah! He went in all ready to talk about how the shooting had affected him and his life, then saw that the perp's mother in particular was in a very similar situation... and he just couldn't do it. Because he was in fact a very emotionally intelligent and empathetic person.
@@rachelstechman5959 It's been YEARS since I've watched the show but my favourite running joke of the show is how Martin comes from a different class, but is CLEARLY way more intelligent then his two sons, in ways they could never be. Frasier and Niles are highly educated buffoons who struggle to hold conversations with anyone that isn't exactly like them.
I agree, I think that was a miss for a take, Martin not speaking was him being kind
That is how I read the scene as well. Much like the characters in the show it demonstrates how different perspectives can result in different conclusions to the same set of events. Everyone has biases and baggage that they carry with them that shape how they view the world.
it's a small thing, but as someone with an iPad Mini, I really appreciate that you render these videos at the original 4:3 rather than outputting to 16:9 and windowboxing the old show footage
No matter who the creator is, i like when they respect the original aspect ratio of whatever they're talking about
Isn’t it called letterboxing?
@@TesterAnimal1 it’s called letterboxing when the content is wider than the screen (bars at top and bottom), pillarboxing when the content is taller than the screen (bars at left and right) and windowboxing when pillarboxed content is wider than the screen (bars on all four sides, IE: 4:3 content in a 16:9 container played on a 4:3 screen)
I grew up watching Frasier and it was and is my favorite sitcom. While my friends loved Friends I would watch reruns of Frasier. The writing is fantastic! After being exposed to that level of writing its hard to find sitcoms that lived up to that standard
The two other sitcoms I can recommend:
• "'Allo, 'Allo!". It's more slapstick, but works very well.
• As a contrast, "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" are the highly intellectual ones.
Niles fencing Gunther is the best stunt work ever
Sending people to Little Hoot's video should come with a warning... its such a slap in the face after the positivity of your video! 😅
Alright, I really dig the retrospectives of those of which I have watched. Hopefully, someday a retrospective of third rock from the sun can be added to the legendary lineup. Great work brother, seriously good stuff.
Fuck yes to 3rd Rock from the Sun
🛸🪐🌎
Yes! 3rd Rock
One of my favorite shows! The other is Perfect Strangers
Hells yes!!!
I watched it with my family a few years ago, it’s criminally underrated.
What I always enjoyed about Martin is that while he's meant to be your average everyday guy, he's not average intelligence. He shows that even if someone is working an middle or working class job, they can still be as intelligent as 2 Harvard educated psychologists
In the Ski Lodge episode, James Patrick Stuart (who played Guy) was absolutely brilliant. I can't imagine how the cast got through any takes with him at all without cracking up.
@Tyler Braden Yep, right up there with Night at the Opera and Antiques Roadshow!
One of my favorite episodes
What a great retrospective. I was lucky to go to a shooting of an episode - and it was THE SKI LODGE! What luck! My only disappointment was not seeing the classic set of the show. Watching them perform this live was an amazing feat of comic timing.
That is one of my favourite episodes of all time!!! Especially once the room confusion starts. That must have been hilarious to witness as part of the audience.
@@keeliabuchanan2489 it was like watching a great play. This style of farce is known as a “door-smaller”. Perfectly executed. Seeing play out without the perspective of the camera or editing only added to the experience
I was 13 in 93 when Fraiser premiered just for reference. Ski Lodge was mom and my favorite episode back then and to this day we will still say to each other with a French accent “stop chasing these Lesbians!” and laugh hysterically!
I love this show. The live radio mystery is one of the funniest things I've seen.
My favorite episode. Very few episodes of any sitcom have made me laugh so much.
HAM RADIO 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
He's got a nug
It was hilarious
Multiple murderer, a la Roz
My husky loved Frasier! He could see the actors on HD TV. He also howl sang to the song. If he was in another room and heard it he would come in and jump on the bed and I would say " it's Frasier , you wanna watch Frasier with me" ?!!! And we watched together. He liked Eddie but he wasn't the only interest he had in the show. Sometimes I would howl sing with him or just sing in human . I miss my husky so dearly. And I miss watching Frasier with him. Rip " Dad " and Wulfy and "Eddie. And Eddie #2. Tears. My very good boy left on March 29, 2019 at the age of 13 or 14. We rescued him from a very hot parking lot on Father's day 11 years before. 💙
IMHO the fact David Hyde Pierce seemed genetically destined to play the brother of a character played by Kelsey Grammer is a huge reason I tuned into and followed this show
I hated Frasier when I was an 11 year old flipping through the channels as a kid (when it was actually on air), and now I'm almost 34 and think Frasier is one of the funniest shows of all time.
Roz is my favorite character and always has been. I always viewed her a bit differently than your interpretation I guess, I saw her sexuality as her character since she was so open about it but it wasn't entirely what defined her. I also viewed her willingness to go along with Frasier sort of manipulating her into accepting his apologies as more of the strength of their forged friendship from so many years together.
They have some very tender moments together, and they have one of my favorite on screen male/female friendships of all time. When he drives all the way to Wisconsin just to pretend to be her boyfriend so she can have an easier time dealing with her horrible relatives. When she is terrified of becoming a mother and he consoles her, and many others. She didn't need many story arcs or much character growth over the series because she already knew who and what she was and that only slightly changed when she became a mother. There may be a class divide but there's no lack of respect between her and Frasier for the people that they are deep down inside. Just my take though.
Budiful one at that!
Well said!
One of the best lines in the entire show happens between Frasier and Roz. Roz is upset at missing a family reunion at her Uncles dairy farm and recalls to Frasier how they would do cheese puns etc. She then gets upset and Frasier consoles her by inviting her to his Dads Birthday. Roz is hesitant but Frasier insists, saying "I hate to see you like this... I... I *Camembert* it."
Genius.
I love your analysis of the relationship. Did Frasier really drive to Wisconsin all the way from Seattle? I would think he would book a first class ticket. 😂
I often remember the scene where Roz speaks to Frasier on the show about her recent break up with Roger. He says something like “love is a risk, but you must take it”. I carried that lesson with me for years and it helped me to relax and enjoy being with someone instead of worrying all the time about what happens if we break up. God, what a show.
Niles and Daphne is one of the greatest love stories ever. I still get teary watching the episode when they grt together.
To be adored like that..
Frasier got me through many many dark moments in my life and I am forever thankful.
That multiple translation scene was taken from I Love Lucy. Lucy was in a French prison. They translated back and forth from French to German to Spanish to English for the converasation. Ricky did the English-Spanish translation.
Frasier is one of my favorite sitcoms ever, it's the polar opposite of my life as a poor Black woman but that made it funny as instead of reverence for rich intellectual elites, it pokes fun at their ivory tower but also humanizes them. It doesn't feel mean even when short or one-sided.
1:21:00 still makes me laugh the moment Niles deadpan says _"She's not gonna say Massa"_ but also Grammar having produced UPN's Girlfriends and The Game adds a funny layer on top of Kim Cole being on Living Single which Friends basically stole the plot/spotlight from by being a White version.
I have been searching comments to see if anyone Black found the way the character of Fraser interprets a Black woman funny, offensive, or typical. I am a Black woman who has never expressed myself in such a manner, but I didn't find it 'offensive' because I know people who respond with these mannerisms. I will say this caucasian director who apparently approved of this interpretation is pretty much predictable.
I love this show and my family used to joke that I was Frasier and my son was Niles 😂 I enjoyed every episode and would love to see a reboot, I just worry about the current brand of comedy and wonder how they would do it. They took Frasier in a different direction than Cheers with success, could magic strike twice?
In terms of ethnic diversity, I would hope they avoid the mistakes And Just Like That fell into when rebooting SATC.
I just realized that I loved Frasier as a kid, I remember watching every episode. As a kid, choosing to watch Frasier every week I was born weird, lol.
While Roz appears to be more akin to Daphne and Martin in terms of class, she's actually incredibly classist (well, a snob anyway) thinking that her mother is too good for Martin, she's even ashamed of her boyfriend Roger's job as a garbageman
Great point, never thought of that.
Frasier was (and still is) on every morning on Channel 4 in the uk. So when I was growing up, I’d watch it every morning before school. This series is one of my favourites. I still don’t think anything has ever topped the scene where Niles and Frasier are explaining to a cop that they didn’t murder Maris and that they actually doused a dead seal in Maris’ perfume, took it out to sea on a boat and stabbed it with a giant knife. Funniest shit ever.
That’s how I first watched it, stupidly early on C4. It might have ads out the arse, but I’m so glad it’s all on All4 now.
It's kind of a nice turn of tradition that an American show gets such high praise from Brits. Glad you enjoyed it!
I’m here for every retrospective. And I’ll be here until we talk about Columbo.
I grew up watching this because my parents were fans. I never even knew it was a spin-off. Still adore it to this day. Niles and Marty are timeless characters.
The genius of Frasier was to make his brother even more effeat then his brother a lesser show would have had his brother be a mirror oppersite
Opposite*
effete*
Than*
@@joetowers4804 . A*
I see that Frasier must have edited this poor guys post.
"The privilege can afford for the system to fail them." The weight behind this statement is astronomical.
IKR. I kinda sensed but never 'saw' the layers of insulation from any real pain that exists in Frasier. I knew he was rich and often characters are in sitcoms (or at least comfortable) because well, its just more palatable, but yeh... hmm, got me thinking.
That was a real truth bomb
Rich people are insulated from hardship due to their wealth?... it’s not really a groundbreaking thought.
@@pho3nixinflight It doesn't need to be a groundbreakig thought, and that it isn't, is one of the reasons its so easily missed.
I had to read that sentence three times until I realized you meant “the privileged”
I'm a simple man. When José posts a nearly 2-hour retrospective on a sitcom I've never seen, I take my kids to their mom's house, and I watch.
When I get depressed and my OCD is spiralizing my brain out like a demented corkscrew, I've often found that what brings me relief - brings me out of the dangers of my own head, as it were - is not alcohol or pot or hydrocodone, but rather a rather vapid but well-written stupid little fucking show called Frasier. I can't tell you how many long nights this has gotten me through. Thanks, guys...from the bottom of my rended heart...
Cheers friend
Beautiful
Reading this was so comforting, just like the show. I am glad to know I’m not alone in this. This show has been a friend to me in my darkest hours.
pun intended I hope LOL @@jonzalezart
I can never focus on practicing my instruments because of my severe ADD.
Frasier trying to write a simple radio jingle tells people his personality right there! He hired a complete orchestra for a 30 to 60 second theme!
My friend in high school had a doggo that was sired by "Eddie" (2001ish) and he was very cute, but very bad (purposefully). Smart as a whip, though.
My mother was inspired to get a Parsons Terrier because of Frasier’s Eddie. He lived for 16 great years. He was a wonderful little dog.
Terriers are always naughty on purpose. It's a big part of their charm.
@@radfatdaddy4169 they're hole digging, fence jumping, cat chasers - the whole lot of 'em! But soooo cute and impish
Eddie WAS a very good boy and that was the bit that made me cry. Love this show. Fantastic documentary.
I am 20 years old, and this show was a massive part of my childhood. It made me wanna be a therapist, all the while learning how not to be one, how not to convey information, handle relationships... I learned a lot of what not to do. And it's still one of the most endearing, thoughtful, and hilarious shows I've ever seen, and my current favorite show of all time
My wife was born in 91, we just started watching this last year as I was telling her what an incredible series was top to bottom. Miss TV like this.
José's retrospective on Cheers makes me watch all of Cheers.
I continue to watch Frasier afterwards, and now José is doing a Frasier retrospective.
It all comes together.
A "Frasier reboot" or more should I say a "Frasier continuation" already has a sad and tragic, but justifiable reason to continue, and that is the unfortunate passing of John Mahoney aka Martin Crane. It gives all the characters a reason to return to Seattle, for his funeral and from there we deal with the passing of Martin Crane as well as how his family members and friends are doing.
This would certainly be a fitting tribute to the actor.
And Frasier continuing to take care ❤ of Eddie in that he misses his father. Of course writting absolutely brilliant comedy situations involving Eddie that shows the truth about the stress worry animals go through what happens to them when their humans die..
Is it out?
Unfortunately David Hyde Pearce has declared himself out of the project so its going to centre around Frasiers new life and new characters.
@@jamesstewart7736 I would be shocked if he didn't at least make a guest appearance as the Cheers cast did
A classic sitcom with the highest wit ever put to screen. Have watched it over and over.
I grew up watching Frasier. It is my absolute go-to "comfort show" when I'm feeling down. Your analysis was really well done and I enjoyed this video!
Came after seeing Little Hoot’s takedown of Frazier. Definitely interesting contrast.
I haven’t really watched Frasier since it aired, but I remember my family and I laughing our asses off at the very well-done comedy. For some reason I clearly remember the episode where Frasier is supposed to sing for a public access channel and screws up. Martin and Daphne mocking him at the end “somethin’ and somethin’ and BUTTONS AND BOWSSS!” makes me laugh way too hard and I can’t even say why.
Look Before You Leap, the last (or penultimate) episode of season 3.
@@katashworth41 thanks!
I laughed just at your quote lol!
Thank you so much for your care and attention and a wonderful retrospective - as a Brit, Frasier always appealed to me, satire, farce, sarcasm, class distinctions… all often associated with “British” humour and in the 90s I was so glad to see an American show doing it much better than us Brits (in my humble opinion).
I always thought Niles and Frasier were hacks and that was part of the joke. They took comfortable jobs to make good money rather than go work in a hospital or group home to help people with serious mental problems. And he often tries to use psychiatry to comfort himself or take advantage of others. But that makes the contrast of when he actually helps people more endearing.
I used to think about the line "Oh Dr. Crane, your glockenspiel has sprung to life!" all the time. Frasier was a pretty good and funny show, and I vividly remember many of the episodes despite the fact I watched the show when it first aired and haven't seen it since. I was genuinely laughing at many of the lines used in this video. I really enjoyed the retrospective! Another one hit out of the park.
Being from the UK Frasier is kind of in a weird place, I knew it almost solely from early morning reruns with things like Everyone Loves Raymond, but much, much better than the rest of those shows.
Cheers on the other hand, was a total non-entity. I didn't even now it existed until my 20s and didn't know Frasier as a spinoff for a couple of years after that.
Cheers and Frasier were prime time tv here in the UK in the eighties and nineties.
"Cheers" is one of my favourite shows. It's so well-written and funny.
I'm a Brit too, and never got into 'Cheers' - I just don't think it captured the imagination in this country in the same way as 'Frasier'.
'Cheers' is probably too 'American' for our tastes, whereas there's something quintessentially English about Frasier's humour - particularly the snobbery between the Crane brothers!
Yes exactly the same for me.
@@glamdolly30 The UK has an obsession with class that the US lacks. Even our very wealthy rarely come from a long line, and even when they do, it's not from nobility. No one here has a peerage. Frasier sort of aspires to that, though he's probably in the wrong country for it. 😆
Im so glad you did Frasier. I joke with people that Frasier is to me like Friends is for a lot of people my age. It's my mom's favorite show and I always watch it when I need a laugh
It's good to see the analysis!
OMGGGG idk why this didn’t show up in my recommendations but i LOVED this show. when i was younger i’d sneak into my moms room where she’d have the tv on and i’d pretend to sleep just so i could watch this show and then eventually she had realized what i was doing so we’d just watch the reruns together.
i think the reason its hard to be sympathetic towards maris, more than just her being wealthy, is that she always was an manipulative and abusive partner to niles. she literally emotionally abused him for their whole marriage and is the core reason why niles was so unhappy in the first half of the show.
Maris was the equivalent of Minder's 'er indoors. Hear a lot about, but never see her.
Hard to empathise with someone we don’t see. We can’t connect with her, or hear her side of the story.
It could be kinda fabulous to do a one woman show with Maris that runs parallel to Frasier. We only get her side of the story, and never meet Niles. And it turns out Niles was an arsehole who was just as bad as he makes out Maris to be
@@ginao6810 hilarious as that would be, Niles rarely seems to purposefully make her out as bad. He just tells others about her actions in a factual manner and they react. Niles does briefly make a few snide comments but he just seems to treat it as the usual 'I hate my wife' thing, doesn't take it too seriously and then always tries to convince her to forgive him afterward. Even if he is exaggerating at times their relationship is very clearly unbalanced and unhealthy and everything we see of her where she's technically there but off screen all supports Niles' version
She made her wealth selling urinal cakes. Lol
Agreed, I thought it was super weird that this video just decided to gloss over the fact that she was manipulative and he was miserable. It makes him seem awful for falling for Daphne, when really it's a lot more complicated than that.
i forgot how utterly charming david hyde pierce was in frasier. I need to do a full rewatch of the series!
When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be Daphne but I turned into Frasier 😂 The writing between Frasier and Martin, the adult child living with and caring for your parent dynamic, is immaculate. I'm in that situation and watching it now - my dad and I have conversations and conflicts practically word for word.
The aristocratic quirkiness of Niles and Fraser doing things in day to day life really made this show hilarious. The whole cast was well chosen and brilliantly written with lots of contrasts in characters to create comedy. I enjoyed all seasons. Thanks for reviewing highlights and plot lines of the series!
Personally I would have had Fraser remain in Seattle and actually find his perfect love in the final episode at last by building that up in the second half of the last season. But the conclusion they did have on the show is still very heartfelt, as Fraser says his goodbyes and tributes to each person looking forward to new beginnings in another city, and was a good ending so I guess things all turned out!
Compare this to the Big Bang Theory, and the cast still have "take out food seated around the couch in the final scene" as a book end scene "full circle" and still all friends having grown over the seasons, and the many changes in their lives with Sheldon and Amy finally winning their award and Sheldon's great speech to his friends who impacted his life.
Great video! I slightly disagree as it pertains to the representation of black people on the show. It's set Seattle, a city that is less than 10% black so it's accurate in its portrayal that there could white people who don't have a lot of interaction with black people to no fault of their own.
At no point did it seem as thou it was a choice made (Sex in the City) and I think they did a great job with the stories that did incorporate black actors.They didn't strip (ignore) their color, did not use stereotypical tropes (struggling, the help, white savior) and kept it to Frazier point of view which was always hilariously on point.
I adore that you mentioned the great James Patrick Stuart from ‘The Ski Lodge’ episode. He’s a wonderful actor.
You forgot about the funniest scene ever when Niles sets fire to Fraisers living room.
Why did you not reference Niles's hard times at the Shangrila? That arc saw him struggle financially, including living like a "poor person". I thought it was an excellent growth for his character. Later, after marrying Daphne, he branches out further, going to eat with her at cheaper restaurants, and actually liking the food. I think the classism critique is very unfair when the show creators obviously understand it in its manifold manifestations. They make fun of the Crane boys often for it. How many times do Roz, Martin, and Daphne outsmart the Ivy leaguers in situ? Countless times.
Good point.. Niles really became much more level headed towards the end of the show while Frasier remained quite the snob. Overall they both became more indulgent, wiser and ultimately deeper characters throughout the run of the show. Certainly one of the best sitcoms of all time.. on par with Seinfeld.
I love Niles’ character growth and how much more humble he gets as the show goes on
Yeah, the class resentment seethes throughout this video essay, which is silly, given that the show makes fun of the snobby brothers.
He didn't reference it because it goes against the point he wants to make lol.
I wish we saw more of Island Niles.
It was funny to see an almost famous Zoey Deschanel. At the time, in 2002, she was only known for her role in Almost Famous, but would soon star in Elf and her VERY similar looking sister would soon land her own role in Bones.
While it wasn't among the best episodes of the series, I will say that the episode that dealt with Daphne becoming jealous over Niles's patient who had a crush on him were some of the most important when it came to their relationship. It would have been very easy for such a popular show, in such a late season, to completely ignore some of the implications of their relationship. But I appreciate how they actually addressed Daphne being the emotional other woman. Instead of just letting that thread die once Mel was dealt with.
I like the episode because it was always Niles being crazy and obsessed over her, so it was nice to see the reverse.
@Zela Morre…I agree. I also liked how they addressed the implications of their relationship and didn’t just let it pass.
Enemy at the Gate is one of the most perfect shows ever filmed. Every beat of the episode is integral, and the entire episode is essentially a set-up for a single punchline at the end with Roz in the booth. It's a masterclass in comedic writing.
The Frasier cast is amazing. I really loved that show
I'm so stoked for this Fraiser is my comfort show, it's free therapy.
Yes! I was hoping after Cheers you'd do Frasier! Truthfully never seen an episode of Cheers but I binge watch Frasier so much
I’m so glad there are more of us out there, I love this show so much.
"Cheers" is one of the very best, clever, and hilarious shows of all time. I guarantee you'll like it!
I hated cheers! You should give it a go though.
Cheers was a great ensemble show, top rated through the eighties for good reason. Go find out why!
I learned so much from their jokes, and I was always happy when I understood scholastic references. They're like easter eggs throughout the series. The best part of the show was how it took the two intelligent men and showed that their deeper instincts and primal behavior made them no better than everyone else. And the chemistry and comedic timing was off the charts.
My personal favorites:
1. Voyage of the Damned
2. HAM Radio
Ham Radio was waaaay past brilliant 😂
Frasier still cracks me up. It was wonderfully cast, written, and produced.