Frasier
Frasier, a popular situation comedy starring Kelsey Grammer as the pompous, insecure psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane, first premiered on NBC in September 1993. The character had appeared originally in the long-running and much-loved comedy show Cheers, with which Frasier shared the same creative team. Frasier relocated the doctor from his original Cheers setting in a Boston tavern to Seattle, where he became the host of a call-in radio show on fictional local station KACL. Frasier immediately won accolades for its sophisticated humor and literate dialogue, and secured a consistent position in the top 15 network shows. In 1998, the show became the first to win five consecutive Emmy awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, ensuring its place in television history.
Grammer's character was moved to Seattle in order to give the show enough distance with which to create a sense of identity separate from Cheers, yet the choice of Seattle also meant that the show reflected (and contributed to) the heightened profile of the Northwest City in the 1990s and a range of popular accounts that hailed Seattle as a desirable and sophisticated place to live. For example, in place of the Cheers tavern, one of the main settings of Frasier is the upscale Café Nervosa, where Frasier and his snobbish brother, fellow psychiatrist Niles (David Hyde Pierce) sip their cappuccinos and lattes. Much of the show's best comedy lies in the ensuing conversations between the two brothers, sharp retorts flying as each tries to undermine and outdo the other in everything, from successful careers to suit fabrics.
The brothers are of one mind, however, when dealing with their father, retired ex-cop Martin Crane (John Mahoney). Gruff and blue-collar, Martin was forced to move into Frasier's expensive, lofty apartment after being injured in the line of duty. With his dog, Eddie, (recipient of much fan mail) and his liking for beer, hot dogs, and Monday Night Football, Martin constantly frustrates Frasier's attempts to create a tasteful, chic ambience for the apartment. Martin's English live-in homecare provider, Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves), also provides the object of Niles's frustrated affection and adds another hilarious dimension to the complex domestic dynamics.
Critics have noted the way that the best episodes feel like little 22-minute plays because of the combination of high quality writing and ensemble acting. The episodes often take place within one confined, high-pressure setting, such as Frasier's apartment or the radio station, where the doctor battles against a constant stream of irritating callers with his slightly jaded producer, Roz (Peri Gilpin).
Off-screen, Kelsey Grammer had some well-publicized battles with substance abuse; he checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic in the fall of 1996. On-screen, the show continued to move smoothly from strength to strength, and in November 1997 celebrated its one hundredth episode by uprooting from its studio in Hollywood to shoot on location in Seattle. Eschewing its usual stage-bound format, the episode took in the sights of the city and starred the real mayor of Seattle, Norm Rice, who declared it "Frasier Day" in Seattle.
The show's reward for continued critical and ratings success was in taking over for Seinfeld in the coveted NBC prime-time slot in the fall 1998 schedule. This slot had been filled previously by some of the most successful and critically acclaimed series in American television history, including The Cosby Show, Hill Street Blues, and L.A Law. What made Frasier's rise to the number one comedy slot all the more unusual was that it bucked the trend in situation comedy in the 1990s. Instead of building itself around a celebrity personality (often a stand-up comedian), as in the case of Seinfeld, Roseanne, or Ellen, Frasier relied upon the continuing appeal of a well-drawn fictional character.
The cast of Frasier : (from left) David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, John Mahoney, and Moose. Further Reading:
Bailey, David, and Warren Martyn. Goodnight Seattle: The Unauthorized Guide to the World of Frasier. London, Virgin, 1998.
Graham, Jefferson. The Frasier Companion. London, Simon & Schuster, 1996.
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