Word: frasier
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Despite its reputation, Frasier really is just another sitcom, and it uses all the typical devices. It seems as if almost every comedy on TV ended last season with a dramatic plot twist, and Frasier was no exception: everyone was fired from the station. This fall's first episode shows Frasier as he tries to deal with the grief over losing his job, and while it is above the average level of TV comedy, it's still fairly routine. Frasier's smashing a pinata at the ex-employees' picnic is the kind of contrived moment you could just as easily...
...even someone who resists Frasier's charm can find attributes that make it distinct and admirable. First of all, unlike Roseanne or Seinfeld or Home Improvement or Mad About You or so many other sitcoms of recent years, it does not star a stand-up comedian. Grammer is an actor playing a part, not a comic who has had a show built around him. As a result, Frasier has a presence as a character that is rare on TV today. He is not just a comic's alter ego, but a creation who seems to have a life...
...that distinguishes the show as a whole. The writing is more writerly and the acting is more, well, actorly. On most sitcoms, all the lines but the jokes seem dispensable, and the shows seem to have been mostly put together in the editing room. In contrast, the best Frasier episodes seem like little 22-min. plays whose scripts have words that actually matter, and whose scenes build as they would onstage. Indeed, that's where most of the ensemble started out. "Maybe because of our theater training we are conditioned to listen to each other," says Grammer...
...merits of Frasier are on display in an episode like last season's "Room Service," which recounts the consequences when Niles has a tryst with Frasier's ex-wife Lilith, who is visiting from out of town and after whom Frasier continues to lust. The construction is faultless, as a waiter delivers breakfast to Lilith and Niles; returns to find Lilith and Frasier; and on his third visit discovers Frasier and Niles. Before he learns what Niles has done, Frasier is blustery and assured, waggling his taurine head. "My ex-wife--we're sort of reconnecting," he confides...
...insane I don't need any additional help. I am completely capable of self-annihilation at any moment." (That's almost literally true--Grammer has had terrible struggles with drugs and alcohol, and in 1996 he entered a rehab after flipping over his Viper while intoxicated.) No one expects Frasier to match Seinfeld's ratings. Still, millions of new viewers will sample the show, and NBC is counting on it to convert a lot of them. It surely will, and maybe even some of the bad fairies will turn good...