Series For a bunch of smart people...
... they sure do carry around the Idiot Ball alot. I mean the sheer amount of Plot Induced Stupidity is remarkable.
It really irks me that people say this is a witty show. Yes it has references to operas and literature as it guns for the Genius Bonus but beyond those ocassional allusions, there isn't really anything smart about this show. The character's are one dimensional -the snobby Frasier, the brazen Roz, the hen-pecked Niles, the ruff-edged Martin, the... er... "British" Daphne and never even begin to expand beyond that. There is no social commentary or observations on contemporary culture like in [[Seinfield]] or The Office, no lasting character arch's besides Nile's crush on Daphne and each episode sends us straight back to the status quo.
And normally I'm fine-dilly-ine with that. If you set your sitcom up as a sitcom and are unashamed of it, I will be behind you a hundred percent. However if your going to sell you show as being the saviour of television from the droves of mediocrity, maybe it shouldn't rely so heavily on eye-roll-inducing farce. Here are the list of recent episodes I've seen. Fraiser and Niles try and cover up the fact they don't have tickets to a play. The situation gets out of hand, hilarityensues. Fraiser and Niles hold a party where an elderly-man dies of a heart attack during a game of murder in the dark. The situation gets out of hand, hilarityensues. Fraiser and Niles hold another party when they find a dead seal on the beach that threaten's to spoil their plans. The situation gets out of hand, hilarityensues. Or it would if the simple explaination of, I dunno, telling the freakin' truth wasn't always lurking in the back of your mind. And it's always the same damn plot!
I guess what I'm saying is "References to smart things does not a smart show make" (and yes I know that makes me sound like Yoda).
Series Favorite Episode
While I enjoy just about every episode of this show, if I had to choose a favorite, I'd have to say "Momma Mia." You know, the one where Frasier unknowingly dates a woman who happens to look just like his mother, and everyone else sees it except him. What I like about this episode is its excellent mixture of comedy and heartwarming moments. The former was provided mostly by Niles and his entomophobia and offhand references to Frasier's denial, and Martin's Hypocritical Humor: "I'm not in denial! Everything's perfect! This is the best birthday party I ever had!" And the latter was provided again by Martin when Frasier realized the truth: "Come on, Frasier, I know you're going to talk about how you have this big complex and all, but can't it be simpler than that? Maybe you just miss your mother. I know I do." There a lot of episodes of Frasier I look forward to seeing, and I gladly count this as one of them. :)
Series The best comedy ever...
We've watched several TV series now in their entirety. Frasier by far has been the funniest, most consistent show we have ever seen. The episode with them doing the old-style radio program had me crying! Don't think we'll ever see a show like this again.