WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.120 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are firing 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:05.919 up the time machine and setting the dial to a 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:08.339 very specific moment in pop culture history. 00:00:09.259 --> 00:00:13.779 We are going to 1995. 1995, yeah, a fascinating 00:00:13.779 --> 00:00:16.059 year. I mean, the internet was just becoming 00:00:16.059 --> 00:00:19.000 a household concept. Right. Windows 95 had the 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:23.320 Rolling Stones singing Start Me Up. And television 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:25.500 was effectively the center of the universe. It 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:27.399 really was. You know, you didn't stream things. 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:29.820 You sat down on Thursday night or you just missed 00:00:29.820 --> 00:00:31.600 out on the conversation at work the next day. 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:34.060 Exactly. And the landscape was completely dominated 00:00:34.060 --> 00:00:38.700 by NBC. You had the must -see TV lineup. Seinfeld 00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:40.799 was in its prime. I think the Soup Nazi aired 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:43.000 this year. It did, yeah. Friends was exploding 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:45.820 with the Ross and Rachel saga. And sitting right 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:47.780 there in the middle of this powerhouse lineup 00:00:47.780 --> 00:00:50.679 was a show entering its third year. A show about 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:53.340 a psychiatrist, his brother, his dad, and a Jack 00:00:53.340 --> 00:00:55.600 Russell terrier. We are talking, of course, about 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:58.200 Frasier. Yeah. Now, I have to admit, when I think 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:00.340 of Frasier, I tend to mush all the seasons together 00:01:00.340 --> 00:01:02.560 in my head. Sure. Yeah. A lot of people do. I 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:05.280 see the apartment. I hear the jazz. I see Niles 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:09.000 wiping off a chair. But our source material today, 00:01:09.099 --> 00:01:12.189 which is a... really comprehensive deep dive 00:01:12.189 --> 00:01:15.209 into the Wikipedia entry for Frasier season three 00:01:15.209 --> 00:01:17.730 suggests that this season is actually really 00:01:17.730 --> 00:01:20.290 distinct. It is. It's not just more of the same. 00:01:20.430 --> 00:01:23.670 So our mission today is to explore how this specific 00:01:23.670 --> 00:01:26.409 season marked a massive shift in the show's history. 00:01:26.650 --> 00:01:29.129 No, absolutely not. More of the same. And that's 00:01:29.129 --> 00:01:30.890 why this is going to be such an interesting conversation. 00:01:31.349 --> 00:01:33.609 I mean, if you look at the trajectory of a sitcom, 00:01:33.849 --> 00:01:36.530 the first two seasons are usually about construction. 00:01:36.790 --> 00:01:39.329 Building the foundation. Exactly. You build the 00:01:39.329 --> 00:01:42.670 set. You establish that Frasier is pompous, Niles 00:01:42.670 --> 00:01:45.790 is fastidious, Martin is grumpy, and Daphne is 00:01:45.790 --> 00:01:47.930 psychic. You're basically teaching the audience 00:01:47.930 --> 00:01:49.469 the rules of the world. Right, you're setting 00:01:49.469 --> 00:01:51.549 up the pins. Setting up the pins. But season 00:01:51.549 --> 00:01:54.310 three, season three is where the writers decided 00:01:54.310 --> 00:01:57.069 to start knocking them down. Wow. They take these 00:01:57.069 --> 00:01:59.150 carefully built characters and they just start 00:01:59.150 --> 00:02:01.450 deconstructing them. They put them in situations 00:02:01.450 --> 00:02:04.099 that completely break their usual patterns. We're 00:02:04.099 --> 00:02:05.920 going to see the disintegration of a marriage 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:07.480 that we thought would just be a running joke 00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:09.780 forever. Absolutely. We're going to see Frasier 00:02:09.780 --> 00:02:12.400 humiliated in ways that frankly make me cringe 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:15.319 just thinking about them. And we are going to 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:18.039 see ghosts from the past literally walking through 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:20.960 the door. It's the season of high opera and low 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:23.560 farce. Yeah. It's really where the show found 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:27.659 that specific unique rhythm that separated it 00:02:27.659 --> 00:02:30.590 completely from Cheers. So help me set the scene 00:02:30.590 --> 00:02:32.710 here for the listener. The season aired from 00:02:32.710 --> 00:02:37.150 September 19th, 1995 to May 21st, 1996. That's 00:02:37.150 --> 00:02:39.509 right. And for the super fans out there, our 00:02:39.509 --> 00:02:42.069 source material points out a really cool visual 00:02:42.069 --> 00:02:44.810 shift right off the bat. Yes, the title card. 00:02:44.949 --> 00:02:47.590 Right. For the first two seasons, the Frasier 00:02:47.590 --> 00:02:50.030 text was a different color. In season three, 00:02:50.110 --> 00:02:52.949 they switched it to that iconic turquoise. It's 00:02:52.949 --> 00:02:55.050 a small detail I know, but it signals a fresh 00:02:55.050 --> 00:02:57.449 coat of paint. Which is fitting. Yeah. The core 00:02:57.449 --> 00:02:59.560 casts, of course, remain the same. You've got 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:01.979 Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leaves, David Hyde Pierce, 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:05.020 Perry Gilpin, and John Mahoney. But the energy, 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:08.219 the energy was just different. Okay, let's unpack 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:11.099 that energy. Because usually, you know, when 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:13.340 a show wants to shake things up, they bring in 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:16.159 a new character to disrupt the status quo. And 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:19.680 in season three, KACL got a new station manager. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.479 Right. Enter Kate Costas. Played by Mercedes 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:25.180 Rule. Now, I know her from The Fisher King, where 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:27.439 she was just a force of nature. She's an Oscar 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:29.490 winner. And that's actually really important 00:03:29.490 --> 00:03:32.789 because she brings a dramatic weight that matches 00:03:32.789 --> 00:03:35.729 Kelsey Grammer perfectly. That makes sense. Looking 00:03:35.729 --> 00:03:38.169 at the character profile from the text, Kate 00:03:38.169 --> 00:03:40.939 is described as... A fearsome perfectionist. 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:43.699 This isn't just, you know, a quirky boss who 00:03:43.699 --> 00:03:45.780 doesn't get the joke. She's a real threat. She 00:03:45.780 --> 00:03:48.479 is a formidable opponent. She inspires absolute 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:50.919 terror in her subordinates. And the conflict 00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:53.180 starts immediately. In the premiere episode, 00:03:53.479 --> 00:03:56.400 she's the boss. She comes in and listens to Frazier's 00:03:56.400 --> 00:03:58.819 show. And she's just not impressed. Not at all. 00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:01.159 She basically tells him, you're boring. Nobody 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:04.219 wants to hear this dry clinical advice. Which 00:04:04.219 --> 00:04:06.379 is the ultimate insult to Frazier. I mean, he 00:04:06.379 --> 00:04:08.879 sees himself as a serious clinician. bringing 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:11.159 mental health to the masses. Right, he's a healer. 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:14.680 Exactly. And Kate. Kate wants juicier calls. 00:04:14.860 --> 00:04:17.519 She wants themed shows. She wants showmanship. 00:04:17.980 --> 00:04:20.399 And when Fraser refuses, because of course he 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:23.319 refuses, he's a snob, she doesn't just yell at 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:26.060 him, she banishes him. To the graveyard shift. 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:30.000 Oh, man. 2 a .m. to 5 a .m. That is brutal. It 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:32.939 is. And it's a brilliant tactical move by the 00:04:32.939 --> 00:04:35.680 writers. By moving Fraser to the middle of the 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:38.470 night, They attack him on a physiological level. 00:04:38.550 --> 00:04:41.290 He's exhausted. He's tired. He's grumpy. His 00:04:41.290 --> 00:04:44.290 voice is raspy. But more importantly, it makes 00:04:44.290 --> 00:04:47.269 Roz deeply resentful. Oh, Roz must have hated 00:04:47.269 --> 00:04:50.709 that shift. She was furious. So now Frazier isn't 00:04:50.709 --> 00:04:53.050 just fighting his boss. Yeah. He's dealing with 00:04:53.050 --> 00:04:54.949 a producer who wants to kill him because she 00:04:54.949 --> 00:04:57.250 can't have a social life anymore. It creates 00:04:57.250 --> 00:04:59.810 this intense pressure cooker environment. But 00:04:59.810 --> 00:05:02.860 it's not all grim corporate warfare, right? This 00:05:02.860 --> 00:05:05.079 hostility leads to one of the funniest episodes 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:08.579 of the entire series. Episode 4, Leapin' Lizards. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:10.879 Oh, the prank war. This is the prank war episode. 00:05:11.060 --> 00:05:13.259 This is a total classic. It starts with Bulldog 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:15.339 Dan Butler's character, who's usually the one 00:05:15.339 --> 00:05:17.509 doing the pranking. Right, the sports guy. Yeah, 00:05:17.509 --> 00:05:19.990 and he targets Frasier. And Frasier, who prides 00:05:19.990 --> 00:05:22.769 himself on his dignity, just completely unravels. 00:05:22.769 --> 00:05:24.670 Completely. There is that moment, I think it's 00:05:24.670 --> 00:05:27.389 one of the most famous clips from the show, where 00:05:27.389 --> 00:05:30.149 Frasier is live on air and he thinks he's alone 00:05:30.149 --> 00:05:32.089 or he's trying to fix something with the equipment. 00:05:32.410 --> 00:05:35.769 Yeah. And he ends up singing Three Little Maids 00:05:35.769 --> 00:05:38.850 from the Mikado. In a falsetto? The piercing 00:05:38.850 --> 00:05:42.449 falsetto! Three little maids from school, are 00:05:42.449 --> 00:05:45.949 we? Is the sound of a man losing his mind. It 00:05:45.949 --> 00:05:48.569 really is. It's so funny. But here's where the 00:05:48.569 --> 00:05:51.149 Kate Costas arc intersects with the prank war. 00:05:51.810 --> 00:05:54.490 Frasier decides he's done being the victim. He 00:05:54.490 --> 00:05:57.790 wants to retaliate against Bulldog. Okay. So, 00:05:57.790 --> 00:06:00.589 using his superior intellect, he devises a plan. 00:06:00.829 --> 00:06:03.449 He hides a lizard in a raffle box that Bulldog 00:06:03.449 --> 00:06:06.250 is supposed to open. But this is Frasier. The 00:06:06.250 --> 00:06:08.310 laws of physics in this universe dictate that 00:06:08.310 --> 00:06:10.269 if you set a trap, the exact wrong person will 00:06:10.269 --> 00:06:12.750 walk into it. Correct. Bulldog doesn't open the 00:06:12.750 --> 00:06:16.050 box. Oh, no. Kate does. That is a disaster. She 00:06:16.050 --> 00:06:20.329 opens the box, screams, and absolute chaos ensues. 00:06:20.889 --> 00:06:23.750 And this is crucial because this escalation of 00:06:23.750 --> 00:06:25.730 hostility, the screaming, the pranks, the late 00:06:25.730 --> 00:06:28.470 nights, it lays all the groundwork for the big 00:06:28.470 --> 00:06:30.810 twist. Right. Because in the world of high -tension 00:06:30.810 --> 00:06:34.899 sitcoms, hate. is very close to love. Or at least 00:06:34.899 --> 00:06:37.500 very close to lust. Precisely. Which brings us 00:06:37.500 --> 00:06:40.000 to the whole bad boy and dirty girl saga. This 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:42.160 spans two episodes, actually. Episodes six and 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:44.360 seven. Sleeping with the Enemy and the Adventures 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:46.759 of Bad Boy and Dirty Girl. Yeah, the setup is 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:49.540 classic labor relations. Kate refuses to give 00:06:49.540 --> 00:06:52.379 the support staff their annual 5 % raise. Okay. 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:55.560 The staff is furious, but they are terrified 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:58.250 of her. So they push Frazier to the front. They're 00:06:58.250 --> 00:07:00.029 like, you're the talent. You talk to her. So 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:02.389 Frazier marches into her office to demand the 00:07:02.389 --> 00:07:04.670 raise. He's ready for a fight. And they do fight. 00:07:04.810 --> 00:07:07.009 They are screaming at each other. It's visceral. 00:07:07.129 --> 00:07:09.350 Yeah. And then suddenly the switch flips. Yeah. 00:07:09.470 --> 00:07:11.689 The shouting turns into growl. And they are making 00:07:11.689 --> 00:07:13.970 out on the desk. It's a total hate sex dynamic. 00:07:14.540 --> 00:07:16.360 Which makes perfect sense for Frazier. He's often 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:18.680 attracted to women who challenge him intellectually, 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:21.199 even if they drive him absolutely crazy. But 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:23.540 the real comedy gold comes in the next episode, 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:25.740 right? The studio scene. The studio scene. They 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:28.060 decide to have a tryst in the broadcast booth 00:07:28.060 --> 00:07:30.379 at the station. Which they firmly believe is 00:07:30.379 --> 00:07:33.300 soundproof and off -air. Right. Frazier, being 00:07:33.300 --> 00:07:35.519 Frazier, thinks he has secured the perimeter. 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:40.579 But he misses one crucial detail. The on -air 00:07:40.579 --> 00:07:43.639 light. Oh, God. So they are in there and they 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:46.139 are vocal. Extremely vocal. Kate is saying things 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:48.620 like, you're a bad boy. And Frazier is responding 00:07:48.620 --> 00:07:51.240 with, you're a dirty girl. And this is being 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:53.959 broadcast to all of Seattle. Imagine driving 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:56.680 home in the rain in Seattle, tuning in to hear 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:59.399 Dr. Crane's soothing advice and hearing that. 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:02.360 It destroys his reputation completely. He goes 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:05.519 from being the pompous erudite psychiatrist to 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:07.939 bad boy. I love this scene where he realizes 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:10.120 it. The look on Kelsey Grammer's face when he 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:12.560 realizes the microphone was hot. It's pure horror. 00:08:12.899 --> 00:08:17.120 And the fallout is humiliating. Martin and Daphne 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:20.160 are shocked. Niles is so distressed by the news 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:23.019 that he literally crashes his car. Really? Yeah. 00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:27.379 And Kate has to formally suspend Frazier to save 00:08:27.379 --> 00:08:29.850 face for the station. But even the suspension 00:08:29.850 --> 00:08:32.070 doesn't cool things down completely. They end 00:08:32.070 --> 00:08:34.429 up trapped in a service lift together later on. 00:08:34.529 --> 00:08:36.629 Yes. And of course, because the universe loves 00:08:36.629 --> 00:08:39.990 to mock Frasier, there is a bed in the lift. 00:08:40.110 --> 00:08:42.110 And musk oil. It's like a farce construction 00:08:42.110 --> 00:08:46.049 kit. Just add water. It really is. But what stands 00:08:46.049 --> 00:08:49.090 out to me here is the resolution in episode 10. 00:08:49.549 --> 00:08:51.789 Kate announces she's moving to Chicago. Right. 00:08:51.850 --> 00:08:53.830 And there's a moment at the airport where Frasier 00:08:53.830 --> 00:08:56.889 wonders, was this just a fling? Or was it something 00:08:56.889 --> 00:08:58.710 more? Did they make a mistake letting it go? 00:08:58.769 --> 00:09:00.629 That's a real question. He ultimately lets her 00:09:00.629 --> 00:09:02.710 go. But I think this arc was crucial for the 00:09:02.710 --> 00:09:04.590 season. If we connect this to the bigger picture 00:09:04.590 --> 00:09:07.970 of Frasier's character development, Kate Costas 00:09:07.970 --> 00:09:11.450 was the first woman to really force Frasier to 00:09:11.450 --> 00:09:13.950 confront someone who was his intellectual equal, 00:09:14.070 --> 00:09:16.889 but also held professional power over him. Yeah, 00:09:16.929 --> 00:09:19.509 that's a great point. It challenged his ego in 00:09:19.509 --> 00:09:21.450 a way we hadn't seen before. It wasn't just about 00:09:21.450 --> 00:09:24.490 romance. It was about dominance. And he lost. 00:09:24.549 --> 00:09:27.429 He did. He really did. Speaking of losing and 00:09:27.429 --> 00:09:29.730 speaking of dominance, we have to talk about 00:09:29.730 --> 00:09:33.070 the other major pillar of season three. Probably 00:09:33.070 --> 00:09:35.570 the most significant event in the entire series 00:09:35.570 --> 00:09:37.990 up to this point. Oh, yeah. The disintegration 00:09:37.990 --> 00:09:41.700 of the Crane marriage. Niles and Maris. The Invisible 00:09:41.700 --> 00:09:44.519 Empire. For two whole seasons, Maris was this 00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:47.100 brilliant punchline. She was just a collection 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:50.379 of symptoms and eccentricities. She was frail. 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:53.580 She was cold. She was demanding. But she was 00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:56.159 Niles' wife. She was his connection to the upper 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:58.600 crust. And in season three, the writers decided 00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:00.700 to pull the plug on that. It starts with episode 00:10:00.700 --> 00:10:03.620 eight, The Last Time I Saw Maris. Which, by the 00:10:03.620 --> 00:10:05.820 way, the title alone sounds like a noir film. 00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:08.519 It does. And the setup is incredibly serious. 00:10:09.210 --> 00:10:11.490 Maris goes missing. She's been gone for three 00:10:11.490 --> 00:10:14.009 days. Wow. Niles is frantic. He's pacing the 00:10:14.009 --> 00:10:15.789 apartment. He's convinced she's been kidnapped. 00:10:15.929 --> 00:10:17.870 I'm imagining her locked in a trunk somewhere. 00:10:18.169 --> 00:10:21.889 He's genuinely terrified. And then the police 00:10:21.889 --> 00:10:24.549 call. Or rather, the credit card company calls. 00:10:24.730 --> 00:10:28.330 So she wasn't kidnapped? No. Her credit card 00:10:28.330 --> 00:10:31.750 has been active. Yeah. Extremely active. She 00:10:31.750 --> 00:10:34.289 is on a massive shopping spree in New York City. 00:10:34.450 --> 00:10:36.730 While Niles is dying inside, she's buying handbags. 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:40.159 Exactly. And Frazier is incensed by this. He 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:42.740 sees the absolute callousness of it. Niles was 00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:44.899 suffering and she didn't even bother to call. 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.139 Right. So Frazier urges Niles to stand up for 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:50.659 himself, to confront her selfishness. And this 00:10:50.659 --> 00:10:52.659 is a classic be careful what you wish for moment, 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:54.740 right? Because Niles finally gathers the courage. 00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:57.000 He confronts her. And instead of apologizing, 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:58.899 instead of realizing she was wrong. She throws 00:10:58.899 --> 00:11:00.559 him out. Just like that. She demands a divorce. 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:02.840 That must have been a massive shock for the audience 00:11:02.840 --> 00:11:06.429 back in 1995. It was seismic. Because Niles defined 00:11:06.429 --> 00:11:08.509 himself by that marriage. He was Maris' husband. 00:11:08.769 --> 00:11:11.769 Without that, who is he? He ends up moving in 00:11:11.769 --> 00:11:14.029 with Frasier, which shifts the entire domestic 00:11:14.029 --> 00:11:16.309 dynamic of the show completely. Now you have 00:11:16.309 --> 00:11:20.289 Frasier, Martin, Daphne, and a heartbroken, neurotic 00:11:20.289 --> 00:11:23.919 Niles all under one roof. And Niles is in this 00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:26.320 weird limbo. He's separated, but not legally 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:29.080 divorced. He's lonely, but he's still technically 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:31.899 married. And he gets left out of all these high 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:34.179 profile social events because of the separation, 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:36.860 which we see in episode 12, Come Why With Me. 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:39.600 Right. He loses his social standing. And we really 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:41.919 see the psychological toll this takes in episode 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:47.840 18, Chest Pains. Ah, the dog episode. Yes. Daphne, 00:11:47.980 --> 00:11:50.399 trying to be helpful, suggests Niles get a dog 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:52.879 for companionship. Because a dog is unconditional 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:55.779 love, right? In theory. So Niles goes out and 00:11:55.779 --> 00:11:58.100 gets a dog. But he doesn't get a golden retriever, 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:00.159 he gets a whippet. I need you to describe this 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:02.039 dog for listeners who haven't seen it recently. 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:04.679 Oh, it is the most neurotic animal ever committed 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:07.830 to film. It is extremely thin, it's shivering 00:12:07.830 --> 00:12:10.049 constantly, and it refuses to eat. It just sits 00:12:10.049 --> 00:12:12.250 on the couch and vibrates with anxiety. And it 00:12:12.250 --> 00:12:14.929 ignores every single command Niles gives it. 00:12:14.990 --> 00:12:18.590 Yes. Because it is a literal, physical stand 00:12:18.590 --> 00:12:22.269 -in for Maris. Niles has unconsciously replaced 00:12:22.269 --> 00:12:24.929 his cold, unresponsive, high -strung wife with 00:12:24.929 --> 00:12:27.669 a cold, unresponsive, high -strung dog. It's 00:12:27.669 --> 00:12:29.830 hilarious, but when you stop laughing, it's actually 00:12:29.830 --> 00:12:34.129 deeply sad. It is tragic. It highlights Niall's 00:12:34.129 --> 00:12:37.509 inability to let go of that specific toxic dynamic. 00:12:37.870 --> 00:12:41.129 He is recreating his own trauma because it's 00:12:41.129 --> 00:12:43.509 what he knows. He literally doesn't know how 00:12:43.509 --> 00:12:45.909 to be in a relationship that isn't punishing. 00:12:46.309 --> 00:12:49.570 But, and this is a really big but, we do get 00:12:49.570 --> 00:12:52.269 a glimmer of hope. A moment that I think every 00:12:52.269 --> 00:12:55.090 Frasier fan has burned into their memory. Episode 00:12:55.090 --> 00:12:57.769 13, Moondance. This is the centerpiece of the 00:12:57.769 --> 00:12:59.889 season, in my opinion. Yeah. And it's really 00:12:59.889 --> 00:13:02.330 noteworthy that it was the first episode. directed 00:13:02.330 --> 00:13:04.549 by Kelsey Grammer himself. Oh, really? Yeah. 00:13:04.649 --> 00:13:06.889 He clearly knew this was a pivotal moment for 00:13:06.889 --> 00:13:09.049 the series. So set the stage for us. What happens? 00:13:09.409 --> 00:13:11.690 Well, Maris is pictured in the society pages 00:13:11.690 --> 00:13:15.629 with another man. Ouch. Niles is crushed. He 00:13:15.629 --> 00:13:17.870 feels humiliated. He wants to prove to society 00:13:17.870 --> 00:13:21.049 and to Maris that he isn't mourning. So he decides 00:13:21.049 --> 00:13:23.450 to go to the snowball. Which is this huge high 00:13:23.450 --> 00:13:26.330 society gala. Exactly. He arranges a date with 00:13:26.330 --> 00:13:28.190 an heiress, but she cancels at the very last 00:13:28.190 --> 00:13:30.710 minute. Niles is desperate. He can't show up 00:13:30.710 --> 00:13:33.490 alone. So Daphne steps in. Daphne, who has been 00:13:33.490 --> 00:13:35.190 helping him with his ballroom dancing lessons. 00:13:35.529 --> 00:13:37.909 Right. She agrees to be his date for the evening. 00:13:38.389 --> 00:13:40.470 Now to the rest of the party. They are trying 00:13:40.470 --> 00:13:42.690 to put on a show. They're pretending to be a 00:13:42.690 --> 00:13:46.120 couple. just to save Niles' face. And Daphne 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:48.299 looks absolutely stunning in this red dress. 00:13:48.539 --> 00:13:50.759 She does. And Niles, I feel like this is the 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:52.860 first time we see Niles not as the fussy little 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:56.039 brother, but as a genuine romantic lead. Yes. 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:58.120 The lighting in this episode is different, too. 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:01.509 It's warmer, it's softer. And then comes... The 00:14:01.509 --> 00:14:03.929 tango. The tango scene. They step onto the floor, 00:14:04.049 --> 00:14:06.830 and usually when Niles dances, it's funny, he's 00:14:06.830 --> 00:14:10.269 stiff, or he's awkward. But here, he is incredibly 00:14:10.269 --> 00:14:12.789 passionate. He really takes control. The chemistry 00:14:12.789 --> 00:14:15.210 is off the charts. You can practically feel the 00:14:15.210 --> 00:14:17.409 heat coming off the screen. And in the heat of 00:14:17.409 --> 00:14:21.049 that dance, with the music swelling, Niles declares 00:14:21.049 --> 00:14:23.710 his adoration for her. He says, I love you. He 00:14:23.710 --> 00:14:25.710 lays it all out. He says everything he has been 00:14:25.710 --> 00:14:28.570 holding back for three years. And Daphne reciprocates. 00:14:28.889 --> 00:14:31.549 She says it back. Which is huge. And for a split 00:14:31.549 --> 00:14:33.809 second, the audience thinks, this is it. It's 00:14:33.809 --> 00:14:35.470 happening. They're getting together. But then 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:39.190 the music stops. And Daphne smiles and says something 00:14:39.190 --> 00:14:42.190 like, we really fooled them, didn't we? Oh, it's 00:14:42.190 --> 00:14:44.269 a dagger to the heart. She thinks it was all 00:14:44.269 --> 00:14:46.570 part of the act. She thinks he's just a really 00:14:46.570 --> 00:14:48.889 good actor, completely committed to the ruse. 00:14:49.029 --> 00:14:51.789 And Niles just stands there breathless. He realizes 00:14:51.789 --> 00:14:55.059 she misunderstood. And in that moment, he has 00:14:55.059 --> 00:14:57.580 a choice. Right. Does he correct her? Does he 00:14:57.580 --> 00:14:59.919 grab her shoulders and say, no, Daphne, I really 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:03.159 love you? He doesn't. He pulls back. He retreats 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:05.340 into safety. Why? Why didn't he just say it? 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:09.279 Fear. Rejection. The timing. I mean, he's still 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:13.240 married. Technically, it's messy. But the episode 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:15.779 ends with a really significant step. What happens? 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:18.679 Another woman at the ball, a society woman, saw 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:20.860 him dancing. She saw his passion. And she comes 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:22.940 over and gives him her card. And Niles accepts 00:15:22.940 --> 00:15:25.700 it. He accepts it. And he says something to Daphne 00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:28.440 like, I think I'm going to be okay. It signals 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:31.759 that while he deeply loves Daphne, he is starting 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:34.200 to accept that his marriage to Maris is truly 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:36.519 over. He's moving on. He is taking a step toward 00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:39.360 independence. It's a beautiful, bittersweet arc. 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:42.220 It really is. It's moments like that which elevate 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:45.879 the show way above a standard sitcom. But of 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:47.860 course, while Niles is dealing with heartbreak 00:15:47.860 --> 00:15:52.460 and growth, Frasier is dealing with, well, Frasier. 00:15:52.460 --> 00:15:54.340 Frasier is dealing with his own worst enemy, 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:58.139 his ego. Which brings us to section three of 00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:01.799 our dive, Frasier's social struggles. And honestly, 00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:04.860 nothing encapsulates Frasier's neuroses quite 00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:08.389 like... Episode 23, The Focus Group. Oh, this 00:16:08.389 --> 00:16:10.870 one is painful. This is cringe comedy before 00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:13.549 that was even a common term. So the station holds 00:16:13.549 --> 00:16:16.029 a focus group to evaluate Frasier's show, and 00:16:16.029 --> 00:16:17.990 Frasier is watching them from behind a two -way 00:16:17.990 --> 00:16:20.690 mirror. There are 12 people in the room. 11 of 00:16:20.690 --> 00:16:23.070 them give absolutely glowing reviews. They say 00:16:23.070 --> 00:16:25.509 things like, he's articulate, he's smart, he 00:16:25.509 --> 00:16:27.210 has a great voice. Most people would take that 00:16:27.210 --> 00:16:29.850 and go celebrate. 11 out of 12 is an A+. But 00:16:29.850 --> 00:16:32.830 there is one man. Manu. Played by the brilliant 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:35.370 Tony Shellhoob. Oh, Tony Shellhoob is so good 00:16:35.370 --> 00:16:37.710 in this. And Manu just doesn't like him. He just 00:16:37.710 --> 00:16:39.669 shrugs. He says, I just don't like him. He can't 00:16:39.669 --> 00:16:41.990 even articulate why. He just finds Frasier annoying. 00:16:42.309 --> 00:16:45.590 And Frasier completely spirals. He ignores the 00:16:45.590 --> 00:16:47.909 11 compliments and becomes dangerously obsessed 00:16:47.909 --> 00:16:50.850 with this one guy. He cannot handle the disapproval. 00:16:50.889 --> 00:16:53.889 He essentially stalks Manu. He finds him at his 00:16:53.889 --> 00:16:57.049 newsstand. And he accidentally burns down the 00:16:57.049 --> 00:16:59.070 newsstand. Wait, he burns it down? Through a 00:16:59.070 --> 00:17:01.309 series of incredibly clumsy mishaps while trying 00:17:01.309 --> 00:17:04.250 to confront the guy. Yes, he destroys this man's 00:17:04.250 --> 00:17:06.769 livelihood. All because he couldn't accept that 00:17:06.769 --> 00:17:09.529 one person found him annoying. It's the ultimate 00:17:09.529 --> 00:17:12.430 fragility. He even ruins Roz's delight in the 00:17:12.430 --> 00:17:15.109 good ratings because he needs universal love. 00:17:15.369 --> 00:17:17.470 It's Frasier's Achilles heel. Yeah. He tries 00:17:17.470 --> 00:17:19.490 so hard to be liked that he becomes entirely 00:17:19.490 --> 00:17:21.930 unlikable. We see a similar theme in episode 00:17:21.930 --> 00:17:24.819 11, The Friend. This one actually hurts me personally 00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:26.660 because it's really about the realization of 00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:29.740 loneliness. Yeah. Fraser realizes he has no actual 00:17:29.740 --> 00:17:32.440 friends in Seattle. Niles has his social circle, 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:35.559 or did. Martin has his buddies at Duke's. Fraser 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:38.339 has Roz, but that's work. So he decides to befriend 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:41.299 a caller, Bob, played by Griffin Dunn. On paper, 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:43.900 Fraser thinks, I can mold this. I can make a 00:17:43.900 --> 00:17:46.559 friend out of this guy. But the reality is Bob. 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:50.339 Bob is rustic. Bob is a photographer, which sounds 00:17:50.339 --> 00:17:53.059 artsy, but he takes pictures for a discount store 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:56.900 flyer. Bob likes barbecue. Bob wears a Tam O'Shanter 00:17:56.900 --> 00:17:59.319 hat. And Fraser is just horrified. He realizes 00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:01.839 instantly that they have absolutely nothing in 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:05.180 common. He wants to dump him immediately. But, 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:07.660 and here is the trap, Bob uses a wheelchair. 00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:10.859 And there it is. Frazier, the liberal humanist, 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:13.200 cannot dump a man in a wheelchair because he's 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:15.460 terrified of looking like a bad person. So he 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:17.900 stays in a friendship that makes him completely 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:20.799 miserable. He suffers through the barbecue. He 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:23.079 suffers through the boring conversations. It's 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:25.240 the collision of his snobbery and his performative 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:27.779 morality. He cares way more about appearing good. 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:30.440 than being honest. But if we're talking about 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:32.759 disasters, if we're talking about Frasier's ego 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:36.019 writing checks as reality can't cash, we absolutely 00:18:36.019 --> 00:18:39.680 have to talk about episode 16, Look Before You 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:42.119 Leap. The Buttons and Bows episode. This is legendary. 00:18:42.259 --> 00:18:44.960 It's leap day. Frasier, feeling very philosophical, 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:47.420 decides that everyone in his life is in a rut. 00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:49.859 So he encourages everyone to take a leap. Do 00:18:49.859 --> 00:18:52.539 something bold. Shake up your life. He plays 00:18:52.539 --> 00:18:55.339 the benevolent god, handing out life advice to 00:18:55.339 --> 00:18:58.299 everyone. He tells Martin to fly to Montana for 00:18:58.299 --> 00:19:00.319 a friend's birthday, even though Martin strongly 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:03.319 hates flying. He tells Daphne to change her hairstyle. 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:06.039 And he decides he is going to sing a challenging 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:09.119 aria from Verdi's Rigoletto on the PBS Pledge 00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:12.380 Drive telethon. Rigoletto is not easy. It's serious, 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:15.740 complex opera. It requires breath control, precision, 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:19.640 perfect Italian diction. Right. But then... The 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:21.960 reports start coming in. Martin's plane makes 00:19:21.960 --> 00:19:24.779 a traumatic emergency landing. He genuinely thought 00:19:24.779 --> 00:19:27.660 he was going to die. Daphne comes home with a 00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:29.940 haircut that she absolutely hates. She looks 00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:32.759 like a total frizzball. She is weeping. Fraser 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:35.680 sees the incredible carnage she has caused, and 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:38.720 suddenly he loses his nerve. He realizes, I can't 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:40.619 do Rigoletto. I'm going to fail. So at the very 00:19:40.619 --> 00:19:42.579 last second, right before he goes on air, he 00:19:42.579 --> 00:19:44.740 switches the song. He decides to sing Buttons 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:48.220 and Bows. A light, fun American classic. East 00:19:48.220 --> 00:19:50.740 is east and west is west. Very simple. Except 00:19:50.740 --> 00:19:52.660 he hasn't rehearsed it and he doesn't know the 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:56.019 lyrics. And what follows is two minutes of absolute 00:19:56.019 --> 00:20:00.460 physical comedy genius by Kelsey Grammer. The 00:20:00.460 --> 00:20:02.640 piano starts, he steps up to the mic, and his 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:05.119 mind just goes totally blank. He starts sweating 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:07.839 profusely, he's wiping his forehead, and the 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:10.099 lyrics he invents, he says something like, East 00:20:10.099 --> 00:20:12.579 is West and West is East and something in a taco 00:20:12.579 --> 00:20:15.099 show. Hippity -hoppity -bippity -boppity. He 00:20:15.099 --> 00:20:17.279 just starts making noises. He looks like a deer 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:20.059 in headlights who is also actively having a stroke. 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:22.740 And the choir behind him is looking at him with 00:20:22.740 --> 00:20:26.000 pure, unadulterated confusion. It is a total 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:29.140 train wreck. But the absolute cherry on top is 00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:31.660 the cutaway to the apartment. Martin and Daphne 00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:33.779 are sitting there on the couch. They are traumatized 00:20:33.779 --> 00:20:35.559 by their own leaps. They are miserable. But then 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:38.519 they see Frasier dying on live TV. And they start 00:20:38.519 --> 00:20:41.500 laughing. They are laughing so hard. It's literally 00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:43.160 the only thing that cheers them up. It's the 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:45.880 perfect comeuppance. Frasier tries to play God 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:48.160 with people's lives and the universe smacks him 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:50.980 down with a forgotten lyric. It really underlines 00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:54.420 the theme of class versus reality that runs through 00:20:54.420 --> 00:20:57.980 this entire season. Frazier attempts high culture 00:20:57.980 --> 00:21:00.940 like the opera or his wine clubs. And reality, 00:21:01.180 --> 00:21:04.160 whether it's bursting gas pipes, bad haircuts, 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:07.720 or memory loss, always wins. Now, while Frazier 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:09.660 is flailing, Martin Crane is actually having 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:12.200 a pretty interesting season. He is. Martin often 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:14.339 plays the straight man, the grounded one in the 00:21:14.339 --> 00:21:17.059 apartment. But season three really gives him 00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:19.480 some hidden depths. We see that he's not just 00:21:19.480 --> 00:21:22.420 a retired cop. He has an artistic soul. Let's 00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:24.460 look at episode three, Martin Does It His Way. 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:27.259 Frazier's aunt dies, Aunt Louise, someone they 00:21:27.259 --> 00:21:29.160 didn't really like at all, and Frazier has to 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:31.460 do the eulogy. But the subplot here is lovely. 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:34.579 Martin reveals he has a shoebox full of songs 00:21:34.579 --> 00:21:37.140 he wrote for Frank Sinatra. Wait, Martin Crain 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:40.200 wrote songs for Sinatra? In his mind, yes. He 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:42.319 was a huge fan. He wrote lyrics, hoping that 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:44.740 one day old blue eyes would sing them. Lady with 00:21:44.740 --> 00:21:46.660 the spun glass hair, that kind of thing. But 00:21:46.660 --> 00:21:48.599 the problem is he only wrote the lyrics. He doesn't 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:51.519 have the music. So in a very rare moment of collaboration. 00:21:52.410 --> 00:21:54.910 Fraser and Niall step up. They sit down at the 00:21:54.910 --> 00:21:57.049 piano and help him compose the music. It's a 00:21:57.049 --> 00:21:59.509 really sweet image. The three crane men, who 00:21:59.509 --> 00:22:01.390 usually can't even agree on what to eat for dinner, 00:22:01.509 --> 00:22:03.650 are making music together. Even if the song is 00:22:03.650 --> 00:22:06.349 terrible, which frankly it is, it's a beautiful 00:22:06.349 --> 00:22:08.609 moment of connection. And then we see his intellectual 00:22:08.609 --> 00:22:11.650 side in chest pains. We mentioned the dog in 00:22:11.650 --> 00:22:14.420 this episode earlier. But the main plot is actually 00:22:14.420 --> 00:22:18.839 about chess. Frazier buys this magnificent, antique, 00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:22.079 19th century Parisian chess set. Designed by 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:24.460 a student of Lacan de Boussard, naturally. He 00:22:24.460 --> 00:22:26.779 buys it strictly as a status symbol. And he wants 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:28.859 to play. Martin says, I don't really know the 00:22:28.859 --> 00:22:30.480 game. The horse jumps over the thing, right? 00:22:30.619 --> 00:22:33.000 And then Martin sits down and proceeds to wipe 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:36.160 the floor with Frazier. Checkmate in five moves. 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:39.579 Frazier cannot handle it. It challenges his entire 00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:42.579 worldview. Because in Frazier's mind, he is the 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:45.059 smart one. He is the intellectual. Martin is 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:47.279 the regular guy who drinks beer and watches sports. 00:22:47.539 --> 00:22:50.359 If Martin is better at chess, which is the ultimate 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:53.859 intellectual game, then who is Frazier? Frazier 00:22:53.859 --> 00:22:56.660 becomes completely obsessed. He wakes Martin 00:22:56.660 --> 00:22:58.539 up in the middle of the night for rematches. 00:22:58.539 --> 00:23:01.480 He analyzes the board. He sets up the sock of 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:03.880 suspicion over the smoke detector so he can smoke 00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:06.720 cigars and think in his room. Finally, Martin 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:08.920 realizes that this is literally destroying his 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:12.140 son. Yeah. So he throws a game. He makes a deliberate 00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:14.720 mistake so Frazier can win. Does Frazier realize 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:18.480 he threw it? He suspects it, but his ego happily 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:20.819 allows him to accept the win anyway. It's a great 00:23:20.819 --> 00:23:23.720 reversal of power. Martin proves he has this 00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:27.099 sharp strategic mind, likely from his years as 00:23:27.099 --> 00:23:30.220 a detective, that Frazier completely underestimates. 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:32.319 Martin also gets a bit of romance in episode 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:36.380 20, Police Story. This one is incredibly awkward. 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:38.519 Frasier gets pulled over by an attractive cop, 00:23:38.779 --> 00:23:41.079 Maureen, played by Jane Kaczmarek. Who would 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:43.039 go on to be the mom in Malcolm in the Middle. 00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:45.279 Right. And Frasier thinks she's letting him off 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:47.119 the ticket because she's attracted to him. He 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:49.119 thinks, I've still got it. He tries to set up 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:51.980 a date. He meets her at a bar. But Maureen isn't 00:23:51.980 --> 00:23:54.779 looking at Frasier at all. She's looking at Martin. 00:23:55.420 --> 00:23:58.440 Ouch. Yeah, she likes the dad. She likes the 00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:01.000 ex -cop. Martin tries to spare Frasier's feelings 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:03.299 at first. He tries to say, no, I can't do that 00:24:03.299 --> 00:24:06.730 to my son. But eventually, he dates her. It reinforces 00:24:06.730 --> 00:24:08.950 that Martin is actually quite charming and very 00:24:08.950 --> 00:24:11.309 comfortable in his own skin, whereas Frasier 00:24:11.309 --> 00:24:14.309 is often trying way too hard. Martin doesn't 00:24:14.309 --> 00:24:16.569 have to quote Freud to get a date. He just has 00:24:16.569 --> 00:24:19.410 to be himself. Exactly. Now, we promised ghosts 00:24:19.410 --> 00:24:22.430 from the past earlier. And in season three, the 00:24:22.430 --> 00:24:25.650 biggest ghost of them all walks into KACL. Diane 00:24:25.650 --> 00:24:28.109 Chambers. Shelley Long returns in episode 14, 00:24:28.349 --> 00:24:31.470 the show where Diane comes back. This is a massive 00:24:31.470 --> 00:24:33.940 moment for the franchise. You have to remember, 00:24:34.140 --> 00:24:38.180 for viewers in 1995, Diane Chambers was a titan. 00:24:38.420 --> 00:24:40.460 She was the reason Frasier Crane even existed 00:24:40.460 --> 00:24:43.200 on TV. She was the love of his life on Cheers, 00:24:43.359 --> 00:24:45.900 and she left him at the altar in Italy. That's 00:24:45.900 --> 00:24:48.380 a very heavy backstory to bring into a sitcom. 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:50.640 It's the defining trauma of his romantic life. 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:54.039 So she shows up at the radio station, and Frasier, 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:57.079 how does he react? Does he scream? Does he hide? 00:24:57.460 --> 00:24:59.160 He invites her to dinner. Of course he does. 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:02.819 Why? Hubris. Pure hubris. He wants to win the 00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:05.460 breakup. He wants to show her, look at me. I'm 00:25:05.460 --> 00:25:08.119 famous. I'm rich. I have a radio show. I have 00:25:08.119 --> 00:25:10.099 a custom -made suit. Look at you gave up. He 00:25:10.099 --> 00:25:13.279 wants to flaunt his success. Exactly. But at 00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:15.519 dinner, the dynamic shifts completely. Diane 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:18.299 breaks down. She starts twitching. A tick develops 00:25:18.299 --> 00:25:21.160 in her eye. She admits her life is an absolute 00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:23.440 disaster. She's lost her job. She's lost her 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:25.759 money. And Frazier, showing that soft underbelly 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:27.900 he always has, actually feels sorry for her. 00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:30.549 He does. He's a healer at heart. Yeah. She tells 00:25:30.549 --> 00:25:32.269 him she's written a play and she desperately 00:25:32.269 --> 00:25:35.369 needs a producer. So Fraser agrees to back her 00:25:35.369 --> 00:25:37.710 play. Which turns out to be a terrible idea because 00:25:37.710 --> 00:25:40.150 what is the play actually about? The play is 00:25:40.150 --> 00:25:42.049 a thinly veiled retelling of her time at the 00:25:42.049 --> 00:25:45.029 bar in Boston. Yeah. It's Cheers, but entirely 00:25:45.029 --> 00:25:47.490 through Diane's warped perspective. How are the 00:25:47.490 --> 00:25:49.730 characters portrayed? The source material says 00:25:49.730 --> 00:25:52.069 they are depicted as boorish and uncivilized 00:25:52.069 --> 00:25:56.140 ruffians. So Sam Malone, Woody, Norm. They are 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:58.980 played as villains. Literal animals. And Frasier? 00:25:59.099 --> 00:26:01.700 How does she see Frasier? In her play, the Frasier 00:26:01.700 --> 00:26:04.779 character is cold and completely unfeeling. She 00:26:04.779 --> 00:26:08.119 rewrites history. In reality, she left him. But 00:26:08.119 --> 00:26:10.779 in the play, he abandons her. She makes herself 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:13.400 the victim and him the monster. That has to hurt. 00:26:13.769 --> 00:26:15.730 To see yourself portrayed that way by the woman 00:26:15.730 --> 00:26:18.430 you love so much? It cuts very deep. He explodes 00:26:18.430 --> 00:26:21.170 during the rehearsal. But here is the expert 00:26:21.170 --> 00:26:24.470 analysis from the sources. This episode was entirely 00:26:24.470 --> 00:26:27.289 necessary. It serves as a bridge between the 00:26:27.289 --> 00:26:31.049 two series. By seeing Diane's delusions, by seeing 00:26:31.049 --> 00:26:33.430 how she aggressively twists reality to protect 00:26:33.430 --> 00:26:36.269 her own fragile ego, Fraser can finally close 00:26:36.269 --> 00:26:38.650 the book on that chapter. He realizes he didn't 00:26:38.650 --> 00:26:40.609 lose the love of his life. He dodged a bullet. 00:26:41.069 --> 00:26:43.690 Or at least he realizes that the Diane he loved 00:26:43.690 --> 00:26:46.430 was partly a fantasy. He sees her clearly, maybe 00:26:46.430 --> 00:26:48.829 for the very first time. It provides closure. 00:26:49.890 --> 00:26:52.529 Messy, very expensive closure. The best kind 00:26:52.529 --> 00:26:54.630 of closure. Absolutely. Now, we can't talk about 00:26:54.630 --> 00:26:56.309 Frasier without mentioning the voices on the 00:26:56.309 --> 00:26:58.269 other end of the line. Season three had a real 00:26:58.269 --> 00:27:00.950 who's who of 90s celebrity callers. It really 00:27:00.950 --> 00:27:03.170 did. It became a huge thing in Hollywood. If 00:27:03.170 --> 00:27:05.769 you were big, you called Frasier. We had Matthew 00:27:05.769 --> 00:27:08.470 Broderick. Carrie Fisher called in as Phyllis, 00:27:08.470 --> 00:27:11.819 an insomniac. Billy Crystal, Ed Harris. Laura 00:27:11.819 --> 00:27:14.819 Dern, Ray Liotta. Even Jodie Foster and David 00:27:14.819 --> 00:27:17.119 Duchovny called in. I love that they never heavily 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:19.140 promoted it during the broadcast. You just had 00:27:19.140 --> 00:27:20.759 to recognize the voice. You'd be sitting there 00:27:20.759 --> 00:27:22.859 thinking, wait, is that Ray Liotta asking about 00:27:22.859 --> 00:27:25.339 his fear of clowns? And we had some great on 00:27:25.339 --> 00:27:27.880 -screen guest stars, too. We mentioned Tony Shalhoub, 00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:30.660 but we also had Donald O 'Connor from Singing 00:27:30.660 --> 00:27:33.019 in the Rain in Crane versus Crane playing an 00:27:33.019 --> 00:27:36.579 eccentric millionaire. And Harris Hewlin as Jerome 00:27:36.579 --> 00:27:39.099 Belasco, the mob figure. Oh, that episode of 00:27:39.099 --> 00:27:42.180 We're... to the wise guy is so funny. Niles owes 00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:44.619 a favor to the mob because he needs someone to 00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:47.319 fix Maris' parking tickets. Maris has accumulated 00:27:47.319 --> 00:27:49.960 some citations. And the mobster says, consider 00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:52.819 it done. It's so absurd to see Niles Crane dealing 00:27:52.819 --> 00:27:54.900 with the underworld, but it works perfectly. 00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:57.819 Now let's zoom out for a second. How was this 00:27:57.819 --> 00:27:59.940 season received at the time? We look back on 00:27:59.940 --> 00:28:01.819 it as a classic, but what were the actual numbers? 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:04.990 It was a total juggernaut. According to the text, 00:28:05.109 --> 00:28:07.690 season three ranked 12th in the overall season 00:28:07.690 --> 00:28:11.069 ratings for all of television. That is massive 00:28:11.069 --> 00:28:14.529 for a smart comedy. Averaging 13 million households 00:28:14.529 --> 00:28:17.369 per week. It was the seventh highest ranking 00:28:17.369 --> 00:28:21.279 show on NBC. And critically, it was sweeping 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:24.119 the board. It won the Primetime Emmy Award for 00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:27.400 Outstanding Comedy Series in 1996. And remember, 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:30.799 this was part of that legendary streak. Frasier 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:33.619 won that award for season one, two, three, four, 00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:37.140 and five consecutively. No other comedy has done 00:28:37.140 --> 00:28:40.269 that. It also picked up the TCA award for outstanding 00:28:40.269 --> 00:28:43.150 achievement in comedy. The industry loved it 00:28:43.150 --> 00:28:45.349 because it was smart. The critics loved it because 00:28:45.349 --> 00:28:47.549 it was genuinely witty. And the audience loved 00:28:47.549 --> 00:28:49.630 it because it was just incredibly funny. It was 00:28:49.630 --> 00:28:51.930 the total package. So as we look back at season 00:28:51.930 --> 00:28:53.849 three, what are the big takeaways? If we have 00:28:53.849 --> 00:28:56.609 to distill 24 episodes into a few core themes, 00:28:56.849 --> 00:28:59.630 what really binds the season together? I think 00:28:59.630 --> 00:29:01.630 the biggest thing is breaking points. How so? 00:29:01.869 --> 00:29:04.269 The show stopped being polite to its own characters. 00:29:04.450 --> 00:29:07.279 It pushed them to their absolute limits. Niles 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:09.319 didn't just have a bad marriage. He lost his 00:29:09.319 --> 00:29:11.920 marriage. He was thrown out. Frazier didn't just 00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:14.880 have a bad day. He was humiliated on public television 00:29:14.880 --> 00:29:17.819 in his underwear, essentially. Martin didn't 00:29:17.819 --> 00:29:20.119 just sit in a chair. He asserted his independence 00:29:20.119 --> 00:29:23.059 and beat his son at his own game. It's about 00:29:23.059 --> 00:29:25.920 stripping away the defenses, taking away the 00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:28.140 things they use to protect themselves from the 00:29:28.140 --> 00:29:31.259 world. Exactly. Niles loses his shield of being 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:33.640 married. Frazier loses his shield of professional 00:29:33.640 --> 00:29:36.299 dignity. Another theme that really stands out 00:29:36.299 --> 00:29:39.660 to me is class versus reality. The universe of 00:29:39.660 --> 00:29:42.079 Frazier is constantly trying to puncture Frazier's 00:29:42.079 --> 00:29:44.240 pretension. Oh, constantly. The more he tries 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:46.960 to be sophisticated, the more chaos ensues. Look 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:49.220 at episode five, where he tries to be the maitre 00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:51.660 d' for his exclusive wine club. He wants it to 00:29:51.660 --> 00:29:54.559 be so elegant. And the gas pipes burst. The wiring 00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:57.380 is faulty. The floor heats up. His apartment 00:29:57.380 --> 00:29:59.799 literally falls apart around him while he's trying 00:29:59.799 --> 00:30:02.400 to serve vintage Bordeaux. Yeah. It's the universe 00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:05.140 clearly saying, You are not better than anyone 00:30:05.140 --> 00:30:08.039 else, Frasier. And finally, a theme that I think 00:30:08.039 --> 00:30:11.880 gives the show its true heart, loneliness. It's 00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:14.500 the undercurrent of the whole show. Despite all 00:30:14.500 --> 00:30:18.000 the laughs, these are very lonely people. Episode 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:20.940 22, Frasier Loves Roz, touches on this heavily. 00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:24.559 Roz is looking for substance over flash. She 00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:26.940 wants someone real. And in the season finale, 00:30:27.180 --> 00:30:30.059 episode 24, You Can Go Home Again, we get a really 00:30:30.059 --> 00:30:32.940 poignant moment. Frazier is celebrating the third 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:36.039 anniversary of his radio show. And Roz gives 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:38.319 him a gift. A cassette tape. It's a recording 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:40.539 of his very first broadcast three years ago. 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:42.480 Frazier puts it in the player. He sits there 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:44.680 and listens to his own voice. And he doesn't 00:30:44.680 --> 00:30:47.859 hear a confident doctor. He hears fear. He hears 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:50.279 extreme anxiety. Can you hear me? Is this thing 00:30:50.279 --> 00:30:52.779 on? And it triggers this deep realization. He 00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:54.940 looks at his life. He's back in Seattle. He's 00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:58.130 successful. But is he actually happy? He realizes 00:30:58.130 --> 00:31:00.829 he's still revisiting the exact same anxieties. 00:31:00.849 --> 00:31:03.750 He's still searching for the same things. Connection, 00:31:03.750 --> 00:31:06.309 love, approval. Which brings us to our final 00:31:06.309 --> 00:31:07.950 thought for you to mull over today. It's a bit 00:31:07.950 --> 00:31:10.549 of a provocative one. Lay it on us. In that finale, 00:31:10.789 --> 00:31:13.349 after a season of Kate Costas leaving him, of 00:31:13.349 --> 00:31:15.789 being Dirty Girl on the radio, of forgetting 00:31:15.789 --> 00:31:18.490 the lyrics to Buttons and Bows, of realizing 00:31:18.490 --> 00:31:21.630 he has no real friends in Seattle, Frasier hears 00:31:21.630 --> 00:31:24.089 that old tape. And you have to ask yourself, 00:31:24.460 --> 00:31:27.079 Has Frazier Crane actually evolved? That is the 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:30.920 big question. Is he growing? Or is he simply 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:33.799 finding more sophisticated, more expensive ways 00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:36.839 to remain unhappy? Is the luxury apartment and 00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:40.160 the BMW just a gilded cage for the exact same 00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:42.460 neuroses he had when he first arrived? Season 00:31:42.460 --> 00:31:44.900 three tore everything down. It left Niall single, 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:47.759 Frasier deeply humbled, and the future completely 00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:49.900 uncertain. And I think that refusal to give them 00:31:49.900 --> 00:31:52.559 a happily ever after is exactly why we are still 00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:54.980 talking about it 30 years later. It's honest. 00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:57.690 It's painful. And it's hilarious. Thank you for 00:31:57.690 --> 00:31:59.950 joining us on this deep dive into 1995 Seattle. 00:32:00.049 --> 00:32:02.109 Go watch Moon Dance again tonight. You won't 00:32:02.109 --> 00:32:03.430 regret it. Good night, Seattle.