Frasier

Frasier

Category: Sitcom

Rating: PG

Created by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee

Stars: Kelsey Grammar, David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Jane Leeves, Peri Gilpin, and Dan Butler (Seasons 4-6, recurring otherwise)

Number of Seasons: 11

Number of Episodes: 264

Orginal run: September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004

Preceded by: Cheers (1982-1993)

The show is a spin-off of Cheers, starring Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane. The show won a record 37 Emmy Awards during its run, and a poll taken by the British Channel 4 of the sitcom industry voted the show the best sitcom of all time.



Premise

Psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Grammer) returns to his hometown of Seattle, Washington, following the break up of his marriage and his life in Boston (which was covered in the series Cheers). His plans for his new life as a bachelor are complicated when he is obliged to take in his father, ex-police officer Martin Crane (Mahoney), who had to retire and is unable to live by himself owing to an injury caused by being shot in the line of duty.

Frasier and Martin are joined by Daphne Moon (Leeves), Martin's eccentric, British, live-in physical therapist and caretaker, and Martin's dog Eddie (Moose). A frequent visitor to their apartment is Frasier's younger brother Niles (Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist who, like Frasier, is pompous, snobbish, and overly intellectual. Niles' hidden love for Daphne forms a complex story arc that spans the entire series.

Grammar's character hosts a popular radio talk show on KACL 780AM (named to honor the show's creators, Angell, Casey, and Lee).





Plot Themes

Many running jokes develop throughout the series. The main joke/conflict is the between Frasier, Niles, and Martin. The two sons are upper class snobs while Martin is a blue collar down-to-earth father. A running theme is the fact that Kelsey Grammar's character and the father character played by John Mahoney (Martin) can't see eye to eye on things are have conflicts within the living space. The Crane brothers are both similar in snobbiness but Grammar's character is not only the bigger brother but cool-headed. The two brothers often try to outdo each other. A storyline that develops is Niles' infatuation with Daphne. She doesn't suspect anything in the early seasons. Niles' marriage breakdown opens the road toward Daphne (When Niles isn't begging Maris back). Maris is never seen. Norm from Cheers had a similar situation where he has a wife named Vera. She is never seen. Other storylines were : Frasier's search for love, and the two brothers attempting to gain acceptance into Seattle's cultural elite.