FRASIER: The Complete Series Blu-ray (Grub Street/Grammet/Paramount, 1993-2004) Paramount/Viacom Home Video

Critically acclaimed (it won 5 consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Comedy Series, from a trendsetting 37 overall wins in various other categories) and irreverently hilarious and classy to a fault, Frasier (1993-2004) was the spinoff success story, generally to prove the exception rather than the rule in the annals of television. The character of noted psycho-therapist, Dr. Frasier Crane (memorably realized by Kelsey Grammer), having morphed from reoccurring love interest on NBC’s ‘other’ legendary sitcom, Cheers (1982-93), experienced an even more seismic renaissance as the oft chagrined, sexually repressed and thoroughly haughty and exclusive star of his own show.  Like all blue chip comedies, the endurance of Frasier since its farewell to the airwaves, though never our hearts, has not been confined to the highlighted performances by its iconic core cast (to include David Hyde Pierce, as Frasier’s loveably stunted brother, Niles, Peri Gilpin as Frasier’s shoot-from-the-hip producer, Roz Doyle, Jane Leeves - whimsical homecare therapist, Daphne Moon, and, the late John Mahoney as Frasier’s curmudgeonly father, Martin) - as exemplary as each of them are. Nor to the awesome discipline required by a small army of scribes to write so keenly and concisely, keeping each of their creations relevant and ever-present in this pantheon of the absurd. Rather, Frasier lives by its ephemeral blend of poignancy and panache, humor and hubris, ultimately to yield to a seemingly effortless menagerie of life’s truths, expelled and exposed for the idiosyncratic nature of the beast. 

Frasier is fondly, and justly remembered as one of the truly outstanding triumphs in television history and for all the right reasons. Created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (cumulatively known as Grub Street Productions), in association with Grammnet, for Paramount Network Television, this ambitious Cheers spinoff that could – and did – rise to the occasion, and well beyond any expectations as a mere appendage of its predecessor to achieve greatness on its own terms, found our Dr. Crane newly divorced from his wife, Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) and relocated to his former place of origin - Seattle, Washington. As with most upheavals, the results were not entire auspicious. Martin, invalided and forced into early retirement from the police force after being wounded in the hip by a gunman, begrudgingly came to live with his estranged son, along with his dog, Eddie (Moose, actually), and hiring Daphne as his live-in physical therapist at the behest of Niles, who slyly refused to turn his own life upside down for this accommodation, but still made frequent visits to Frasier’s fashionable loft apartment (with a breathtaking view of the Seattle skyline), mostly to be near to Daphne, for whom he was to evolve an increasingly awkward sexual desire.

Via this core of loveable crazies, we came to know an ever-evolving second tier of insanely amusing reprobates;  Dan Butler as Bob ‘Bulldog’ Briscoe – the physically diminutive misogynistic host of the Gonzo Sports Show, to immediately follow Frasier's own pop psychology hour on the fictional KACL radio network, Edward Hibbert, as posh food critic, Gil Chesterton (whom Frasier riotously kept having a closeted homosexual nightmare about), Mercedes Ruehl, who, as station manager, Kate Costas briefly made Frasier’s life a living hell by moving his timeslot to midnight, Harriet Sansom Harris, a.k.a. the utterly unscrupulous agent, Bebe Glazer, and, Marsha Mason as Martin’s brass tacks gal/pal, Sherry Dempsey. Frasier also boasted an enviable lineup of ‘stars’ to be heard, though never seen, as a veritable ‘who’s who’ of the good doctor’s call-in patients: Gillian Anderson, Kevin Bacon, Halle Berry, Mel Brooks, Cindy Crawford, Billy Crystal, Phil Donahue, David Duchovny, Hilary Duff, Olympia Dukakis, Carrie Fisher, Jodie Foster, Art Garfunkel, Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Linda Hamilton, Daryl Hannah, Ron Howard, Eric Idle, Stephen King, Jay Leno, Laura Linney, John Lithgow, Yo-Yo Ma, William H. Macy, Henry Mancini, Reba McEntire, Helen Mirren, Mary Tyler Moore, Estelle Parsons, Rosie Perez, Freddie Prinze Jr., Christopher Reeve, Carly Simon, Gary Sinise, Mary Steenburgen, Ben Stiller, Marlo Thomas, Rob Reiner, Carl Reiner, Lily Tomlin, and Eddie Van Halen among them.

A shrewd business deal between Kelsey Grammer and Cheers’ producers, Angell, Casey, and Lee ensured that the world had not seen the last of Frasier Crane after Cheers went off the air. Indeed, the character was to pop up again, if briefly, on the producers’ other hit show, Wings (1990-97). Determined not to repeat history, the producers had hoped to persuade Grammer to play an urbane, paraplegic publisher operating out of his apartment, with a street-savvy Hispanic live-in nurse providing the main crux of the comedic conflict. Grammer was game. Paramount Television, decidedly not. While Grammer relented to yet another reprise of Frasier Crane, Angell, Casey and Lee reworked the concept, pulling up stakes from Dr. Crane’s iconic Bostonian stomping grounds, changing the locale from Colorado to Seattle, after the former passed a law preventing municipalities from enacting anti-discrimination laws protecting gay, lesbian, or bisexual people. Fearing comparison between the premise of Frasier and another much-beloved sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati (1978 – 82), the creators focused more on Frasier's home life, superficially glossed over on Cheers, with Lee projecting onto Frasier and Martin on his own strained father/son relationship. The character, however, was modeled on Casey’s dad – a 34-yr. veteran of San Francisco’s police force. No one except John Mahoney was ever considered for the part. Ironically, Mahoney was really from Manchester, England, from whence Jane Leeve’s Daphne Moon hails. In preparing Frasier – the series – much of the character’s backstory from Cheers was completely rewritten to fit more succinctly into the plans for the new show. Grammer, who had lost his own father as a child, and the childless, Mahoney quickly established their own closeknit father/son relationship on the set.

Meanwhile, NBC’s Warren Littlefield encouraged producers to make the character of Frasier’s live-in nurse English rather than Hispanic, already with Jane Leeves in mind, a move that initially concerned Grammer as he felt it was a thinly veiled attempt to recapture the essence of Nanny and the Professor. On Cheers, Frasier had been an only child. However, after assistant casting director, Sheila Guthrie spotted David Hyde Pierce on the failed sitcom, The Powers That Be, she enthusiastically encouraged Frasier’s producing team to consider him for the newly created role of brother, Niles. The last part to be cast, Roz Doyle (posthumously awarded the name of a producer from the show, Wings) was first put forth with Lisa Kudrow in mind. Rather fortuitously, Kudrow’s chemistry failed to gel with the rest of the cast, allowing Terri Gilpin to slip into Roz, while Kudrow became the charming madcap, Phoebe Buffay on another comedy gemstone, Friends (1994-2004). Frasier was one of the first sitcoms to forego a ‘theme’ song intro. Traditionally, the tone for TV shows in general, but sitcoms in particular, was set with a bouncy minute to two-minute ‘jingle-like’ anthem, establishing the essence of what followed it. Instead, each episode of Frasier opens with a single title card announcing the show’s name against a stylized linear impression of the Seattle skyline and a brief cue played on a xylophone. The actual theme, ‘Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs’, performed by Kelsey Grammer and originally composed by Bruce Miller for Wings, is heard over the end titles instead. Lyricist, Darryl Phinnesse contributed the new title as well as the lyrics, inferring things that were as ‘mixed up’ as Frasier Crane’s patients.

Over the course of the series, the intent to focus on the developing father/son relationship between Frasier and Martin was expanded to include a more ensemble approach to the storytelling, with Niles fast becoming a breakout character to rival Frasier for screen time. Whole storylines were devoted to Niles as well as Roz and Daphne, and occasionally, Bulldog was given his due. The best episodes, arguably, remain the ones that miraculously manage to engage all, or most, of the cast simultaneously – no small feat for a half-hour sitcom whose runtime, sans commercials, is distilled into little more than 22 minutes of exposition. Although the initial frosty repartee between Martin and Frasier eventually gave way, the tempestuous love/hate interaction between Frasier and Niles became a main staple for laughs and remained inviolate for the run of the series. Behind the scenes, however, the friendship between Grammer and his co-stars was genuine and heartfelt. Niles' fictional wife, Maris, cleverly concealed and never to appear on the show, would remain MIA, an enigma and figure of fun throughout Frasier’s run, so described by Frasier as “…like the sun – without the warmth!”

Frasier was one of the most critically acclaimed comedy series of all time, owed in no small way to the exceptional writing. This, somehow managed to maintain its level of crisp urbanity for the first 7 seasons. The departure of key contributing writers Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan thereafter, alas, saw a dip in quality, markedly exposed in Season 10, after Niles and Daphne consummated their problematic affair and wed, diffusing much of the charming sexual tension built up over the past 9 years. By then, the series had already earned its record-breaking 37 Primetime Emmys, exceeding the haul previously attained by The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77), and later eclipsed by Game of Thrones (2011-2019) 38 wins. Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce each won 4 Emmys respectively, with Grammer (nominated 8 times) being the only actor to also be nominated on 3 different shows for playing the same character (on Cheers, Wings and Frasier), and, Hyde Pierce nominated every year in his respective category for the run of the show.

If the overall concept for the series was somewhat unprepossessing, and never to strain or even test the conventions of traditional sitcom stomping grounds, the approach to the material was always cutting edge and very – very – funny. The built-in comedic timing and rapport of these seasoned pros, functioning at their highest level of perfection, conspired to will a truly outstanding half-hour of ‘must see’ television, in keeping with the ‘then’ NBC brand. When Frasier officially retired from the fray after 264 episodes, critic, Dana Stevens suggested its exit marked an “end of situation comedy for adults.” Quite frankly, in the intervening decades, I have seen very little, if anything, to contradict this statement. Thirteen years after saying goodbye, Frasier enjoyed its first ‘renaissance’ on pay-per-view, Netflix. The show’s syndication was preceded by CBS/Paramount’s release of single season DVD sets, and, in 2011, a repackaged/comprehensive box set on DVD. Alas, quality left much to be desired.

Like far too many early attempts to market TV shows on DVD, Frasier lacked the fundamental investment of time and money to truly make the show look as good as it might have on home video. Of late, however, Paramount, via its rebranded Viacom home video apparatus has achieved much to champion on Blu-ray. And Frasier proves no exception. While the comprehensive DVD box set was housed in two ‘deluxe’ binder-like containers, cumulatively holding 44 discs, the Blu-ray set is comprised of individual season Blu-ray ‘casings’ and, owing to higher compression rates, sports only 33 discs. But for the first time ever, we have the entire series derived from quality HD masters. Revealed here, fine details to the nth degree, and purer, deeper color saturation than previously anticipated. Grain advances too, but looks very natural.  There are anomalies to consider throughout this set. Season 1 looks decidedly ‘rougher’ overall than the remaining seasons. This, however, is likely in keeping with the source as virtually all of these episodes are true 1080p – not upconverts. There are also moments, scattered throughout all of the seasons, where the occasional insert and/or cutaway look as though they have been culled from less than perfect ‘second generation’ materials. Not entirely certain why this is. But these blips are fleeting at best and should not impact the overall enjoyment of experiencing Frasier in HD. Owing to better compression, the 5.1 audio sounds more refined overall here as well, although I do not believe any further remastering has occurred between the release of the DVD and Blu-ray. Please note: the original Paramount logo that concluded each episode has been shorn and replaced here by the Viacom logo. Not a fan of rebranding shows from another generation with 'new' marketing. But there it is. Extras are identical to the DVD set, right down to the audio commentaries and very brief featurettes. None of these have been given the necessary video upgrade. Paramount has also chosen to market this set in cheap cardboard packaging virtually identical to the DVD set, with only a thin blue banner at the top distinguishing it as a Blu-ray set. Aside: I sincerely wish Paramount would spend the extra coin to manufacture a sturdier cardboard box that can actually house their individual casings without instantly tearing and fraying around the edges. This is one flimsy container!!! Bottom line: Frasier arrives for the holidays in some truly gorgeous-looking 1080p transfers that are head-and-shoulders above the DVD set. Very highly recommended!

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

Seasons 1-6 – 5+

Seasons 7-9 – 4.5

Seasons 10-11 – 3

VIDEO/AUDIO

Overall 4

EXTRAS

2.5