WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 Welcome back to another Deep Dive. Today we are 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:06.080 cracking open a bottle of something very specific, 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:10.560 very vintage, and frankly, very complex. We are 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:13.759 traveling back to the mid -90s to look at a slice 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:16.320 of television history that I think a lot of you 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:18.839 listening probably remember fondly, but maybe 00:00:18.839 --> 00:00:21.460 haven't analyzed in a while. We are talking about 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:24.600 season four of the American sitcom, Frasier. 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:28.019 It is fantastic to be here. You are absolutely 00:00:28.019 --> 00:00:31.199 right to call it complex because, well, When 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:33.500 we look at the timeline, this season ran on NBC 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:37.840 from September 1996 to May 1997. Right. And we 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:39.880 are seeing a show that is hitting its absolute 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:42.500 prime. I mean, it's not finding its feet anymore. 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:44.460 It is sprinting. Yeah, I was looking through 00:00:44.460 --> 00:00:45.960 the notes and all the source material you sent 00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:48.460 over. I have to admit, I got hit with a massive 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:50.659 wave of nostalgia just reading through. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:50.939 --> 00:00:52.859 But there was this one detail right at the top 00:00:52.859 --> 00:00:55.140 of the production notes that I completely missed 00:00:55.140 --> 00:00:57.579 when I watched this back in the day. It's something 00:00:57.579 --> 00:01:00.240 about the opening credits. Ah, yes. The visual. 00:01:00.329 --> 00:01:02.850 shift. It's a small detail, but for television 00:01:02.850 --> 00:01:06.250 historians and diehard fans, it's actually a 00:01:06.250 --> 00:01:09.109 pretty big landmark. Really? How so? Well, in 00:01:09.109 --> 00:01:11.650 the first three seasons, the title card, you 00:01:11.650 --> 00:01:13.730 know that jagged Frasier text over the Seattle 00:01:13.730 --> 00:01:16.230 skyline, it was different colors, like blue, 00:01:16.349 --> 00:01:19.349 orange, and so on. But in season four, they switched 00:01:19.349 --> 00:01:23.250 it to purple, and it stayed purple. Why does 00:01:23.250 --> 00:01:24.730 that matter, though? Is it just an aesthetic 00:01:24.730 --> 00:01:27.590 choice by the director? It's branding. In the 00:01:27.590 --> 00:01:29.430 language of television production, when you stop 00:01:29.430 --> 00:01:31.670 experimenting with the look and you finally settle 00:01:31.670 --> 00:01:34.049 on a signature color, it signals confidence. 00:01:34.390 --> 00:01:36.790 Ah, I see. It basically says, we know exactly 00:01:36.790 --> 00:01:39.989 who we are, and that is exactly what season four 00:01:39.989 --> 00:01:42.549 represents. The writers knew the characters inside 00:01:42.549 --> 00:01:45.030 out, the actors had perfect chemistry, and they 00:01:45.030 --> 00:01:47.900 were ready to take some really big risks. So 00:01:47.900 --> 00:01:50.099 our mission today is to unpack that confidence 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:52.200 for you guys. We aren't just going to list what 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:54.519 happened episode by episode. We need to look 00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:56.540 at the mechanics of the comedy, specifically 00:01:56.540 --> 00:01:59.400 the farce and the thematic arcs that define this 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:01.599 specific season. Right, like Niall's marital 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:04.739 status and Martin's new romance. Exactly. Yeah. 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:06.680 We have a mountain of material here. We've got 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:10.840 comprehensive episode. summaries, cast lists, 00:02:11.180 --> 00:02:14.340 viewership data, award records. It's a lot. So 00:02:14.340 --> 00:02:16.080 let's just get right into it. Let's do it. I 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:17.659 think we have to start with the premiere, right? 00:02:17.780 --> 00:02:20.439 Because looking at the summary for The Two Mrs. 00:02:20.580 --> 00:02:22.900 Cranes, this feels like the writers just decided 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:25.659 to go purely chaotic immediately. It is the absolute 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:27.560 definition of hitting the ground running. The 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:30.259 Two Mrs. Cranes is widely considered a masterclass 00:02:30.259 --> 00:02:33.300 in sitcom writing, specifically a genre called 00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:36.319 bedroom farce. Okay, hold on. I hear the word 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:38.340 farce thrown around a lot when people talk about 00:02:38.340 --> 00:02:41.060 Frasier. What does that actually mean in this 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:43.879 specific context? How is it different from just 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:47.539 a funny situation? That is a great question. 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:50.300 A farce is a specific type of comedy that relies 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:53.319 on highly improbable situations, stereotyped 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:55.659 characters, extravagant exaggeration, and sometimes 00:02:55.659 --> 00:02:58.460 violent horseplay. But in Frasier, it's usually 00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:00.740 about the lie. It's about the escalation of a 00:03:00.740 --> 00:03:04.219 lie. In a classic farce, you tell one lie to 00:03:04.219 --> 00:03:06.560 cover up a small problem, which then creates 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:08.819 a bigger problem. Which requires an even bigger 00:03:08.819 --> 00:03:12.280 lie. Exactly, until the reality completely collapses 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:14.560 in on everyone. Okay, that makes perfect sense. 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:17.080 So let's look at the lie in this premiere. It 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:19.849 starts with Daphne. She gets a call from an old 00:03:19.849 --> 00:03:22.569 fiancé named Clive. Right. Clive is a guy she 00:03:22.569 --> 00:03:24.849 left back in England years ago, and the reason 00:03:24.849 --> 00:03:27.229 she left him is really important here. She thought 00:03:27.229 --> 00:03:29.830 he was a loser. Right. No ambition. No ambition, 00:03:29.949 --> 00:03:32.770 no drive whatsoever. She dumped him to find a 00:03:32.770 --> 00:03:35.349 better life, but now he's in Seattle and wants 00:03:35.349 --> 00:03:38.310 to stop by. And Daphne, being Daphne, wants to 00:03:38.310 --> 00:03:40.669 let him down gently, but also prove to herself 00:03:40.669 --> 00:03:43.810 that she made the right choice. So she concocts 00:03:43.810 --> 00:03:46.900 this wild plan to pretend she's married. and 00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:49.080 she picks Niles to play the husband. Which is 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:52.199 the first major layer of the farce. Because psychologically, 00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:55.300 this is Niles' ultimate fantasy. Oh, he is loving 00:03:55.300 --> 00:03:57.659 it. You really have to watch David Hyde Pierce's 00:03:57.659 --> 00:04:00.159 face in this episode. He isn't just playing along. 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:02.919 He is delighting in it. He gets to be the husband 00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:06.159 he wishes he actually was. He's affectionate. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:08.740 He's protective. It's a safe space for him to 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:11.639 act out his deepest desires without any real 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:14.080 -world consequences. But then the math of the 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:16.449 farce kicks in, right? Because Martin gets involved. 00:04:16.569 --> 00:04:19.370 Exactly. The lie has to expand to include the 00:04:19.370 --> 00:04:21.870 other people in the room. Martin is Daphne's 00:04:21.870 --> 00:04:24.430 father -in -law in this fake scenario. Yeah. 00:04:24.529 --> 00:04:26.509 But Martin, being a bit of a chaotic element 00:04:26.509 --> 00:04:28.769 himself, decides he's bored with just being a 00:04:28.769 --> 00:04:31.889 retired cop. So when he's introduced to Clive, 00:04:31.970 --> 00:04:34.990 he totally improvises. He tells Clive he's a 00:04:34.990 --> 00:04:37.449 retired astronaut. An astronaut. I laughed out 00:04:37.449 --> 00:04:39.750 loud reading that in the summary. It's so unnecessary. 00:04:40.310 --> 00:04:42.629 That's the sheer brilliance of it. It's completely 00:04:42.629 --> 00:04:45.209 unnecessary, but it traps everyone else. Now, 00:04:45.230 --> 00:04:47.509 Frazier and Niles have to pretend their dad was 00:04:47.509 --> 00:04:49.790 an astronaut to keep Daphne's lie afloat. It 00:04:49.790 --> 00:04:53.050 raises the stakes, and then the door opens. And 00:04:53.050 --> 00:04:55.389 to Roz. And to Roz, the X -Factor. She walks 00:04:55.389 --> 00:04:58.589 in, totally oblivious to what is happening. Clive 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:01.149 asks who she is, and Martin, panicked and maybe 00:05:01.149 --> 00:05:04.050 enjoying the chaos just a little too much, introduces 00:05:04.050 --> 00:05:07.069 Roz as Frazier's wife. So now the board is set. 00:05:07.290 --> 00:05:09.649 Niles is married to Daphne. Frasier's married 00:05:09.649 --> 00:05:11.850 to Roz. Martin's an astronaut. It's a complete 00:05:11.850 --> 00:05:14.170 house of cards. But the thing that really struck 00:05:14.170 --> 00:05:17.310 me is the twist with Clive. Yes, the big reversal. 00:05:17.589 --> 00:05:21.329 Clive isn't a loser anymore. He is a wildly successful 00:05:21.329 --> 00:05:25.569 businessman. He's rich. He's charming. He's driven. 00:05:25.829 --> 00:05:29.050 He is literally everything Daphne wanted. Which 00:05:29.050 --> 00:05:31.370 changes Daphne's motivation completely. She's 00:05:31.370 --> 00:05:33.589 not trying to get rid of him anymore. She's regretting. 00:05:34.180 --> 00:05:36.879 And that turns the farce into a competition. 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:40.420 Roz sees this eligible bachelor and decides she 00:05:40.420 --> 00:05:42.399 wants him. Daphne wants him. So you have two 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.199 women aggressively flirting with a man while 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:47.000 pretending to be married to the Crane brothers, 00:05:47.259 --> 00:05:49.779 who are also feuding with each other. And poor 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:51.819 Clive. He's just standing there watching this 00:05:51.819 --> 00:05:54.439 supposedly wealthy, sophisticated American family 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:57.500 absolutely melt down in front of him. To him, 00:05:57.500 --> 00:05:59.699 they look insane. Frazier is bickering with his 00:05:59.699 --> 00:06:02.439 quote -unquote wife, Roz. Niles is being incredibly 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:05.000 possessive. the astronaut is drinking a Ballantyne 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:07.920 beer. By the climax, Clive is absolutely appalled. 00:06:08.019 --> 00:06:10.240 Yeah, he just bolts. He leaves, and his exit 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:12.860 line really implies he thinks he is the lucky 00:06:12.860 --> 00:06:15.279 one for escaping them. It really does set the 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:17.060 tone for the season. Yeah. It essentially tells 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:19.040 the audience, we are going to be high energy, 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:21.279 and we are going to be messy. But underneath 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:24.319 all that farce, there's always that genuine longing 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:27.300 with Niles and Daphne. And looking at the season 00:06:27.300 --> 00:06:30.160 outline, season four really puts them through 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:32.490 the ringer. It certainly does. It's the season 00:06:32.490 --> 00:06:35.569 of so close, yet so far. The writers deliberately 00:06:35.569 --> 00:06:38.230 move away from just teasing the attraction and 00:06:38.230 --> 00:06:40.769 start exploring the real pain of it. There is 00:06:40.769 --> 00:06:43.009 a will -they -won't -they tension that becomes 00:06:43.009 --> 00:06:45.910 almost unbearable at times. Let's talk about 00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:48.050 mixed doubles, because this episode, man, this 00:06:48.050 --> 00:06:51.209 one hurts to read about. It's a comedy of errors, 00:06:51.370 --> 00:06:54.310 sure, but with a deeply tragic undercurrent. 00:06:54.589 --> 00:06:57.459 Daphne breaks up with her boyfriend, Joe. Niall 00:06:57.459 --> 00:06:59.879 sees this window of opportunity opening up. He 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:01.759 thinks, this is it. I'm finally going to tell 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:04.180 her. He buys the flowers. He practices the whole 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:06.480 speech. And he arrives at the apartment, heart 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:08.959 in hand, only to find that Daphne went to a singles 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:11.899 bar the night before and met someone new, a man 00:07:11.899 --> 00:07:14.459 named Rodney. And when we meet Rodney, I mean, 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:16.500 describe this for the listener who hasn't seen 00:07:16.500 --> 00:07:18.220 it recently because it is visually shocking. 00:07:18.730 --> 00:07:22.610 Rodney is a clone. He is an absolute carbon copy 00:07:22.610 --> 00:07:25.629 of Niles. He dresses like Niles. He has the exact 00:07:25.629 --> 00:07:28.050 same mannerisms, the same fussy way of speaking. 00:07:28.269 --> 00:07:31.629 He even physically looks like him. So the agonizing 00:07:31.629 --> 00:07:33.910 irony here is that Daphne actually is attracted 00:07:33.910 --> 00:07:37.370 to Niles' personality, just not Niles himself. 00:07:37.990 --> 00:07:40.410 Precisely. And that is the knife in the heart 00:07:40.410 --> 00:07:43.610 for him. But the writers double down on the cruelty. 00:07:44.110 --> 00:07:47.149 Niles, in a fit of despair, goes to that exact 00:07:47.149 --> 00:07:50.490 same singles bar. And he meets a woman named 00:07:50.490 --> 00:07:53.759 Adele. And guess what? She's a clone of Daphne. 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:56.019 She's English, she's working class, she's quirky. 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:58.680 So you end up with this bizarre double date where 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:00.879 Daphne is with Niles Light and Niles is with 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:02.819 Daphne Light. It's honestly so creepy when you 00:08:02.819 --> 00:08:05.019 think about it. It is deeply psychological. In 00:08:05.019 --> 00:08:06.860 psychology, it's called displacement. They are 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:08.339 acting out a relationship with each other using 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:10.500 proxies. It's hilarious to watch, but it's also 00:08:10.500 --> 00:08:12.279 screaming at the audience that these two people 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:14.040 belong together, but they are just too neurotic 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:17.439 to admit it. But there is a massive shadow hanging 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:20.980 over Niles this whole time. The shadow of Maris. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:23.899 We never see her, but she controls his entire 00:08:23.899 --> 00:08:26.939 life. Season four feels like a major turning 00:08:26.939 --> 00:08:29.019 point for that, though. It is the definitive 00:08:29.019 --> 00:08:31.040 turning point. We have the episode, Are You Being 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:33.340 Served? This is where the rubber meets the road. 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:36.679 Niles receives the actual divorce papers. This 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:39.700 is huge. For three straight seasons, he's been 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:42.279 absolutely terrified of her. He has, and the 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:44.480 separation is becoming real. But the way the 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:47.039 show handles this is brilliant. They don't just 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:49.440 give us a sad, dramatic courtroom scene. They 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:51.279 give us the rat journal. Okay, I need you to 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:52.919 walk me through this, because reading the summary, 00:08:52.980 --> 00:08:54.039 I was a little confused, and then I was just 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:58.029 laughing. Frazier and Niles find their late mother's 00:08:58.029 --> 00:09:00.190 journal. Yes. Hester Crane was a psychiatrist, 00:09:00.309 --> 00:09:03.129 but she was also a researcher. The boys are going 00:09:03.129 --> 00:09:05.049 through some things. They find her old journal 00:09:05.049 --> 00:09:06.830 and they start reading it. They find entries 00:09:06.830 --> 00:09:10.129 labeled Niles and the entries are just devastating. 00:09:10.429 --> 00:09:12.309 It says things like he's cowed and dominated, 00:09:12.429 --> 00:09:15.470 right? Yeah. Cowed, dominated, passive, easily 00:09:15.470 --> 00:09:19.710 led, submissive. Niles reads this and thinks 00:09:19.710 --> 00:09:22.409 his mother, this figure of absolute authority 00:09:22.409 --> 00:09:25.559 in his life, saw his future. He thinks she predicted 00:09:25.559 --> 00:09:28.320 his terrible relationship with Maris. He literally 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.460 thinks, I am genetically programmed to be a doormat. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:33.620 That has to be completely crushing. It triggers 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:37.279 a full -blown existential crisis. But, and here's 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:39.500 the sheer genius of the writing, that crisis 00:09:39.500 --> 00:09:42.279 actually leads to action. He gets angry. He decides, 00:09:42.340 --> 00:09:45.480 I will not be this person. So in a heat of passion, 00:09:45.639 --> 00:09:48.080 he signs the divorce papers. He serves Maris. 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:49.899 It's a massive moment of triumph. And then the 00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:51.679 other shoe drops. They keep reading and they 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:54.080 finally realize the context. Hester wasn't writing 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:55.700 about her children at all. She was writing about 00:09:55.700 --> 00:09:58.039 her laboratory rats. One of the rats was named 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:01.100 Niles. So the cowed and dominated Niles was literally 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:04.159 a rodent. Just a rat in a cage. That is the ultimate 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:07.399 cosmic joke. It is. It totally undercuts the 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:10.360 heavy drama with this absurd punchline. But notice 00:10:10.360 --> 00:10:12.909 the outcome here. Niles did sign the papers. 00:10:13.149 --> 00:10:15.570 The misunderstanding was the catalyst he needed. 00:10:16.049 --> 00:10:18.750 It begs the philosophical question, does it matter 00:10:18.750 --> 00:10:21.110 why we make a brave choice as long as we make 00:10:21.110 --> 00:10:24.830 it? That's remarkably deep for a sitcom. It's 00:10:24.830 --> 00:10:26.809 like he needed a push, even if the push was based 00:10:26.809 --> 00:10:30.070 on a complete lie. But it's not smooth sailing 00:10:30.070 --> 00:10:32.929 from there. The finale, Ask Me No Questions, 00:10:33.269 --> 00:10:35.990 seems to undo a lot of this progress. Ask Me 00:10:35.990 --> 00:10:38.269 No Questions is a frustrating, brilliant episode. 00:10:39.029 --> 00:10:41.909 Niles asks Frasier a direct question. Do you 00:10:41.909 --> 00:10:43.950 think Maris and I are meant to be together? Which 00:10:43.950 --> 00:10:46.429 is an incredibly loaded question to ask your 00:10:46.429 --> 00:10:48.629 brother who openly hates your wife. It's a total 00:10:48.629 --> 00:10:51.289 trap. Frasier knows the answer is no, but he 00:10:51.289 --> 00:10:53.590 also knows that Niles is a contrarian. If Frasier 00:10:53.590 --> 00:10:56.090 says no too aggressively, Niles might just defend 00:10:56.090 --> 00:10:58.269 her and go back to her. So Frasier spends the 00:10:58.269 --> 00:11:00.590 entire episode paralyzed. He pulls everyone. 00:11:00.789 --> 00:11:03.289 He asks Roz. He asks Martin. He asks Daphne. 00:11:03.350 --> 00:11:05.529 He even asks Marta, the maid. He's just desperate 00:11:05.529 --> 00:11:07.210 for validation so he doesn't ruin his brother's 00:11:07.210 --> 00:11:09.429 life. Finally, he decides to just be honest. 00:11:10.149 --> 00:11:13.330 He goes to Niles' apartment to tell him lovingly 00:11:13.330 --> 00:11:16.269 that he deserves better than Maris. And he walks 00:11:16.269 --> 00:11:19.450 in to find Niles in a bathrobe. He's slept with 00:11:19.450 --> 00:11:22.429 her. He's back in the web. Oh no. It's a cliffhanger 00:11:22.429 --> 00:11:24.710 that leaves you feeling hollow. It's the two 00:11:24.710 --> 00:11:28.090 steps back part of recovery. It reminds the viewer 00:11:28.090 --> 00:11:30.330 that breaking a toxic cycle isn't a straight 00:11:30.330 --> 00:11:33.490 line. It's a really messy spiral. That is heavy. 00:11:33.820 --> 00:11:35.759 Yeah. But we can't talk about relationship dynamics 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:38.200 in season four without talking about the biggest 00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:40.840 grenade thrown into the Crane household. We absolutely 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:44.360 have to talk about Sherry. Ah, Sherry Dempsey, 00:11:44.460 --> 00:11:47.200 played by the wonderful Marsha Mason. The source 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:49.419 material describes her as loud, boisterous, and 00:11:49.419 --> 00:11:52.419 brash. And she plays the banjo. The banjo is 00:11:52.419 --> 00:11:55.470 such a specific... Weapon choice by the writers. 00:11:55.610 --> 00:11:57.330 If you think about the soundscape of Frasier, 00:11:57.330 --> 00:11:59.730 it's classical piano, it's soft jazz, it's comfortable 00:11:59.730 --> 00:12:02.850 silence. Then in comes Sherry strumming a banjo. 00:12:02.850 --> 00:12:05.049 It cuts right through their pretension. She's 00:12:05.049 --> 00:12:07.529 Martin's new girlfriend. And she is basically 00:12:07.529 --> 00:12:10.289 the anti -crane. She is what literary critics 00:12:10.289 --> 00:12:12.610 call a foil. Okay, there's another analytical 00:12:12.610 --> 00:12:16.250 term. Foil. Break that down for us. A foil is 00:12:16.250 --> 00:12:18.809 a character who contrasts with another character, 00:12:19.009 --> 00:12:21.350 usually to highlight particular qualities of 00:12:21.350 --> 00:12:23.330 the other character. Think of it like holding 00:12:23.330 --> 00:12:25.389 a black piece of paper next to a white piece 00:12:25.389 --> 00:12:28.429 of paper. The white looks significantly whiter. 00:12:28.549 --> 00:12:32.110 Right. By placing Sherry, who is very working 00:12:32.110 --> 00:12:34.889 class, unfiltered, and loud next to Frasier and 00:12:34.889 --> 00:12:37.769 Niles, the brothers seem even more snobbish and 00:12:37.769 --> 00:12:39.909 uptight than usual. She forces them to confront 00:12:39.909 --> 00:12:42.629 their own snobbery. Exactly. In the episode, 00:12:42.730 --> 00:12:45.870 Dad Loves Sherry, The boys just whine. They try 00:12:45.870 --> 00:12:47.950 their hardest to pretend they like her for Martin's 00:12:47.950 --> 00:12:50.710 sake, but they're physically pained by her presence. 00:12:51.009 --> 00:12:53.549 She tells dirty jokes. She has absolutely no 00:12:53.549 --> 00:12:56.269 boundaries. She completely disrupts their sanctuary. 00:12:56.570 --> 00:12:58.649 But it's not just the boys, right? Daphne usually 00:12:58.649 --> 00:13:00.789 gets along with everyone, but even she struggles 00:13:00.789 --> 00:13:03.799 with Sherry. That's in Daphne Hates Sherry. This 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:06.159 is a fascinating power dynamic. Daphne is the 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:08.159 caretaker of the house. She controls the food, 00:13:08.279 --> 00:13:10.700 the medicine, the schedule. Sherry comes in and 00:13:10.700 --> 00:13:13.080 just starts undermining that. She feeds Martin 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:15.240 junk food. She tells him to ignore his exercises. 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:17.840 She gets to be the fun girlfriend, and she makes 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:19.919 Daphne look like the strict nurse. It threatens 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:22.259 Daphne's identity and her territory. It gets 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:25.000 so bad that Daphne actually storms out. She goes 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:27.639 to stay at Niles' place. Which, again, puts those 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:30.169 two in dangerous proximity. The writers never 00:13:30.169 --> 00:13:32.529 miss a chance to throw Niles and Daphne together, 00:13:32.830 --> 00:13:35.210 but I do want to give credit to the writing of 00:13:35.210 --> 00:13:38.169 Sherry. She isn't a villain at all. She truly 00:13:38.169 --> 00:13:41.370 loves Martin. In three dates and a breakup, Martin 00:13:41.370 --> 00:13:43.590 actually ends things with her. Why did he do 00:13:43.590 --> 00:13:45.429 that? I thought he was having a great time. Guilt. 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:47.559 This is the first time since his wife Hester 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:49.799 died that he's felt real passion for someone. 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:52.860 And he panics. He feels like he's betraying Hester's 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:56.039 memory. It's a very grounded, very human moment 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:59.379 amidst all the loud banjo playing. And Fraser 00:13:59.379 --> 00:14:01.460 actually steps up here, doesn't he? He does. 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:04.679 Fraser realizes that despite how annoying Sherry 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:07.080 is to him personally, she makes his dad happy. 00:14:07.549 --> 00:14:10.470 So Frazier brokers the peace. He convinces Martin 00:14:10.470 --> 00:14:12.789 to go back to her. It shows Frazier's growth. 00:14:12.990 --> 00:14:15.629 He actually values his father's happiness over 00:14:15.629 --> 00:14:18.230 his own comfort. Speaking of Frazier's happiness, 00:14:18.389 --> 00:14:21.009 or lack thereof, while Niles is dealing with 00:14:21.009 --> 00:14:23.730 his divorce and Martin's his love, Frazier seems 00:14:23.730 --> 00:14:25.590 to be going through a bit of a midlife crisis 00:14:25.590 --> 00:14:28.029 in season four. Midlife crisis is putting it 00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:31.929 mildly. He is totally adrift. He's 43, he's single, 00:14:32.070 --> 00:14:34.330 and he's feeling stagnant. There's that episode, 00:14:34.470 --> 00:14:37.250 The Impossible Dream. Frazier has a recurring 00:14:37.250 --> 00:14:40.289 erotic dream about Gil Chesterton. The food critic. 00:14:40.370 --> 00:14:42.549 A man he doesn't even like. And Frazier, being 00:14:42.549 --> 00:14:45.450 a strict Freudian, freaks out. He's analyzing 00:14:45.450 --> 00:14:48.090 it to death. He's wondering, am I repressed? 00:14:48.169 --> 00:14:50.570 Is this a sign? It's so funny watching him squirm 00:14:50.570 --> 00:14:53.590 over it. But the resolution is fascinating. He 00:14:53.590 --> 00:14:56.309 realizes the dream isn't about sex at all. It's 00:14:56.309 --> 00:14:58.809 about his brain needing a challenge. He's bored 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:01.450 at work. His advice show has become too easy 00:15:01.450 --> 00:15:04.629 for him. His subconscious essentially created 00:15:04.629 --> 00:15:07.590 a problem, being attracted to Gilwan, just so 00:15:07.590 --> 00:15:09.690 his conscious mind would have a puzzle to solve. 00:15:09.830 --> 00:15:12.629 That is incredibly convoluted and perfectly Frasier. 00:15:12.710 --> 00:15:14.830 It highlights his intelligence, but also his 00:15:14.830 --> 00:15:18.649 deep loneliness. Which brings us to Odd Man Out. 00:15:19.070 --> 00:15:22.350 Oh, this episode. I felt secondhand embarrassment 00:15:22.350 --> 00:15:25.690 and profound sadness watching this. It's Roz's 00:15:25.690 --> 00:15:27.909 birthday, and Frazier just assumes he can grab 00:15:27.909 --> 00:15:29.870 dinner with someone. He assumes he's the center 00:15:29.870 --> 00:15:32.850 of the universe. But everyone has plans. Niles 00:15:32.850 --> 00:15:35.509 has a date. Martin has Sherry. Daphne has a date. 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:38.960 Suddenly, Frazier is entirely alone. the scene 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:41.059 at the italian restaurant describe that for us 00:15:41.059 --> 00:15:44.779 he's sitting there dressed up eating alone the 00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:47.519 camera pulls back and he is completely surrounded 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:50.740 by couples laughing holding hands sharing wine 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:54.039 he is an island of solitude it's a beautiful 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:57.600 but really sad image and that profound loneliness 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:00.440 drives him to do something crazy he checks his 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:03.049 answering machine There's a message from a woman 00:16:03.049 --> 00:16:05.309 named Laura, who is played by Linda Hamilton, 00:16:05.570 --> 00:16:07.629 but it's a wrong number. She's leaving a message 00:16:07.629 --> 00:16:09.730 for someone else, saying she's flying into Seattle. 00:16:09.990 --> 00:16:13.090 And Fraser thinks, this is destiny. He romanticizes 00:16:13.090 --> 00:16:15.309 the whole thing. He rushes to the airport. He's 00:16:15.309 --> 00:16:17.389 going to intercept this total stranger and sweep 00:16:17.389 --> 00:16:19.529 her off her feet. It's a classic rom -com setup. 00:16:19.789 --> 00:16:22.230 But real life isn't a rom -com. No, it isn't. 00:16:22.230 --> 00:16:24.450 He finds her. She's perfectly nice, but she's 00:16:24.450 --> 00:16:26.549 married. She's happy. She's just a woman who 00:16:26.549 --> 00:16:29.500 dialed a wrong number. Frazier is left standing 00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:31.960 at the airport realizing that you just can't 00:16:31.960 --> 00:16:34.159 force magic to happen. It's a recurring theme 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:37.019 this season. Frazier trying to force things to 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:41.399 happen. Like in Liar. Liar. Where he tries to 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:44.340 fix a moral failing from his past. Ah, the bully 00:16:44.340 --> 00:16:46.879 episode. This is cringe comedy at its absolute 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:49.460 peak. The boys realize they got a bully expelled 00:16:49.460 --> 00:16:51.799 from prep school unfairly when they were kids. 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:53.919 And they find out he's in prison now. So they 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:56.230 go to visit him. Which is incredibly arrogant 00:16:56.230 --> 00:16:59.090 in itself, coming in with this attitude of we 00:16:59.090 --> 00:17:01.950 are here to forgive you or be forgiven. But Frazier 00:17:01.950 --> 00:17:04.890 goes further. He tries to actively fix the bully's 00:17:04.890 --> 00:17:07.450 marriage. He goes to meet the wife. And she hits 00:17:07.450 --> 00:17:10.230 on him. Aggressively. It turns out the marital 00:17:10.230 --> 00:17:12.109 problems are complex, and Frazier's meddling 00:17:12.109 --> 00:17:14.670 just makes everything significantly worse. He 00:17:14.670 --> 00:17:16.630 tries to play God, and he ends up hiding in a 00:17:16.630 --> 00:17:18.710 bathroom while the wife tries to seduce him. 00:17:18.910 --> 00:17:22.140 And then there's a Cranes critique. This one 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:24.359 actually hurts my soul as a book lover. They 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:27.279 meet T .H. Houghton. The reclusive author. A 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:30.240 J .D. Salinger type figure. Played brilliantly 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:34.079 by Robert Prosky. The boys absolutely idolize 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:36.539 him. They manage to get their hands on his unpublished 00:17:36.539 --> 00:17:38.900 manuscript. The holy grail of literature for 00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:40.859 them. They read it. They love it. They think 00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:43.099 it's a masterpiece. So what goes wrong? They 00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:45.119 can't just enjoy it. They have to critique it. 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:48.299 They feel this need to sound smart. In their 00:17:48.299 --> 00:17:50.299 conversation with Houghton, they use so much 00:17:50.299 --> 00:17:52.819 academic jargon and point out so many subtle 00:17:52.819 --> 00:17:55.660 echoes of other works that they accidentally 00:17:55.660 --> 00:17:58.220 convince Houghton the book is derivative. They 00:17:58.220 --> 00:18:00.779 literally talk him out of publishing it. He throws 00:18:00.779 --> 00:18:03.420 it in the fire. They destroy a masterpiece because 00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:05.160 they couldn't shut up and just appreciate it. 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:07.779 It is the ultimate indictment of their character. 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:11.880 Their intellect actively destroys beauty. That 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:15.839 is harsh, but valid. Let's shift gears to the 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:18.900 workplace. KECL is the other main setting, and 00:18:18.900 --> 00:18:21.079 the dynamics there are really strong this season. 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:23.759 Specifically the rivalry. You have Love Bites 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:26.720 Dog, where Roz sets Frasier up, but Bulldog steals 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:28.940 the date. Bulldog is such a great character. 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:32.690 He's just pure id. He is. And then you have Roz's 00:18:32.690 --> 00:18:35.250 turn. This is a very key episode for Roz. She 00:18:35.250 --> 00:18:37.529 wants to be an on -air host. She auditions. But 00:18:37.529 --> 00:18:40.730 Bebe Glazer Frazier's agent, who is basically 00:18:40.730 --> 00:18:43.210 the devil incarnate, sabotages her. Bebe is terrifying. 00:18:43.569 --> 00:18:46.190 She really is. She sabotages Roz because she 00:18:46.190 --> 00:18:48.589 knows Frazier needs a producer. It shows that 00:18:48.589 --> 00:18:51.089 the radio industry is incredibly cutthroat, and 00:18:51.089 --> 00:18:53.450 Roz is often the collateral damage of Frazier's 00:18:53.450 --> 00:18:55.769 success. But when we talk about radio in season 00:18:55.769 --> 00:18:58.650 four, there is one episode that stands above 00:18:58.650 --> 00:19:01.000 the rest. Maybe above the rest of the entire 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:03.180 series. We have to talk about Ham Radio. Ham 00:19:03.180 --> 00:19:06.259 Radio. If you ask 10 Frasier fans for their top 00:19:06.259 --> 00:19:08.940 five episodes, this is on all 10 lists. It is 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:11.720 a masterpiece of technical comedy. So the setup 00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:14.460 is, it's KCL's 50th anniversary. Frasier decides 00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:16.880 to direct an old -timey radio murder mystery 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:19.740 called Nightmare Inn. And Frasier does what Frasier 00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:22.500 always does. He micromanages, he over -directs, 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:24.980 he drives the actors absolutely crazy until one 00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:26.759 of them quits right before the live broadcast. 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:29.759 So he drags Niles in to fill the role. And this 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:31.420 is where we have to use the theater of the mind 00:19:31.420 --> 00:19:34.640 for a second. Imagine the scene. They are in 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:38.240 the booth. The on -air light is red. Fraser is 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:41.240 sweating. Niles is holding the script, completely 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:43.680 terrified. He has to play multiple characters 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:46.259 because they are short -staffed. And he has to 00:19:46.259 --> 00:19:49.160 do accents. But he hasn't rehearsed at all. So 00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:51.960 he's switching from a posh aristocrat to a gruff 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:54.539 dwarf on the fly. There is a moment where he 00:19:54.539 --> 00:19:56.819 has to play a grocer, and he forgets the voice, 00:19:56.839 --> 00:19:59.000 so he does this incredibly high -pitched helium 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:02.819 voice. Frazier looks at him with pure murder 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:04.799 in his eyes. And the sound effects guy is messing 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:07.920 up, too. The timing is completely off. The doorbell 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:10.880 rings too late. An ice cream truck song plays 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:13.519 during a murder scene. It is pure chaos. And 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:15.160 because they're running out of time, Frazier 00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:17.859 starts cutting pages from the script live on 00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:21.369 air. Which destroys the entire plot. The story 00:20:21.369 --> 00:20:23.809 stops making any sense. Niles is flipping pages, 00:20:23.950 --> 00:20:26.190 totally panicked. And the only way to end the 00:20:26.190 --> 00:20:28.089 scene on time is for Niles' character to just 00:20:28.089 --> 00:20:30.950 kill everyone. Look out. He's got a gun. Pop. 00:20:31.049 --> 00:20:34.109 And Niles, breathless, just popping a balloon 00:20:34.109 --> 00:20:36.710 or hitting a sound cue for every single character. 00:20:37.230 --> 00:20:40.589 He kills the maid, the duke, the grocer. It is 00:20:40.589 --> 00:20:42.829 a total slaughter. And the silence afterwards. 00:20:43.230 --> 00:20:46.410 Dead air. Just the heavy breathing of the cast. 00:20:46.609 --> 00:20:49.279 It is. arguably the funniest five minutes of 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:52.299 television ever produced it works so well because 00:20:52.299 --> 00:20:54.819 it takes these high status pretentious characters 00:20:54.819 --> 00:20:59.519 and reduces them to sweating panicked amateurs 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:02.700 it's brilliant and it really showcases the sheer 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:05.910 physical comedy skills of David Hyde Pierce. 00:21:06.069 --> 00:21:08.250 Absolutely. Now, we've mentioned a few actors, 00:21:08.329 --> 00:21:10.990 but the guest list for season four was insane. 00:21:11.369 --> 00:21:13.569 It was a huge flex. The show was so popular they 00:21:13.569 --> 00:21:15.529 could get anyone they wanted. We had James Earl 00:21:15.529 --> 00:21:18.609 Jones. The voice of God himself. He played Norman, 00:21:18.789 --> 00:21:20.869 a blind man in Raza's Kranz, and Goldenstein 00:21:20.869 --> 00:21:23.390 are dead. And Baby Newworth came back as Lilith. 00:21:23.450 --> 00:21:26.130 Always a highlight. A Lilith Thanksgiving. It's 00:21:26.130 --> 00:21:28.920 basically Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? But 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:30.880 funny. They go to the Marbury Academy to try 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:32.339 and get their son Frederick admitted. They spend 00:21:32.339 --> 00:21:34.400 the whole holiday just sucking up to the headmaster. 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:36.539 Linda Hamilton, like we mentioned. And Megan 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:38.799 Mullally. Before she was Karen on Will and Grace, 00:21:39.019 --> 00:21:42.019 she was a date in four for the seesaw. And we 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:44.200 can't forget the callers. For listeners who don't 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:46.660 know, the people calling into Frasier's radio 00:21:46.660 --> 00:21:49.619 show for advice were actual celebrities recording 00:21:49.619 --> 00:21:52.140 voiceovers. It was the coolest cameo in Hollywood. 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:54.240 You didn't even have to show up on set. Looking 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:56.970 at the list for season four, Marv Albert. Bob 00:21:56.970 --> 00:22:00.009 Costas, Julius Irving. The sports legends. That 00:22:00.009 --> 00:22:02.089 was for the Love Bites Dog episode, which was 00:22:02.089 --> 00:22:05.390 about sports radio. Perfect casting. John Cusack, 00:22:05.589 --> 00:22:08.509 Patty Duke, Kieran Culkin. It just shows the 00:22:08.509 --> 00:22:10.849 massive cultural footprint of the show. Everyone 00:22:10.849 --> 00:22:13.470 wanted to be a part of it. So let's look at the 00:22:13.470 --> 00:22:15.309 numbers. We keep saying it was popular, but give 00:22:15.309 --> 00:22:17.490 us some actual context. Okay. The season four 00:22:17.490 --> 00:22:22.210 premiere, The Two Mrs. Cranes, drew 21 .7 million 00:22:22.210 --> 00:22:26.609 viewers. 21 million. It's just insane. For context, 00:22:26.970 --> 00:22:29.690 a massive hit show today on streaming might get 00:22:29.690 --> 00:22:32.450 a few million over a whole month. Succession, 00:22:32.450 --> 00:22:34.910 which is a huge cultural phenomenon, was getting 00:22:34.910 --> 00:22:38.410 two or three million for live airings. Frasier 00:22:38.410 --> 00:22:40.769 was getting 20 million every Tuesday night. It 00:22:40.769 --> 00:22:43.759 was a true monoculture event. It was, and it 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:46.420 stayed high. The finale got over 20 million as 00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:48.720 well, and the critics were right there with the 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:50.500 audience. You mentioned the Emmys in the notes. 00:22:50.700 --> 00:22:53.299 Frasier won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding 00:22:53.299 --> 00:22:56.440 Comedy Series for this season, but the context 00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:59.920 is even crazier. It won that award five years 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:04.680 in a row, 1994 to 1998. Season four is right 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:07.099 in the middle of that streak. It is the absolute 00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:10.059 peak of the dynasty. So when we step back and 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:12.799 look at this season. The purple title card, the 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:16.039 bedroom farce, the rat journal, the banjo what 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:18.599 is the ultimate takeaway. Why does this specific 00:23:18.599 --> 00:23:20.759 season matter so much? I think season four is 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:23.160 the sweet spot. The characters were fully formed. 00:23:23.220 --> 00:23:25.579 The writers knew exactly how to write for them, 00:23:25.660 --> 00:23:28.000 but they hadn't run out of ideas yet. They were 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:30.099 willing to disrupt the status quo like bringing 00:23:30.099 --> 00:23:32.779 in Sherry or finalizing the divorce while keeping 00:23:32.779 --> 00:23:35.460 the core dynamics completely intact. It balances 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:38.079 the highbrow and the lowbrow perfectly. You have 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:40.599 quotes from obscure literature in one scene and 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:42.619 Niles popping balloons to simulate a murder in 00:23:42.619 --> 00:23:45.160 the next. And underneath it all, there's that 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:47.799 recurring theme we saw with the journal. Are 00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:51.279 we actually in control? That rat journal really 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:53.799 stuck with me. It asks the big question for you 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:56.539 to mull over. How much of our life is free will? 00:23:56.990 --> 00:24:00.490 And how much is just conditioning? Are the Crane 00:24:00.490 --> 00:24:03.109 brothers sophisticated intellectuals shaping 00:24:03.109 --> 00:24:06.410 their own destiny? Or are they just rats running 00:24:06.410 --> 00:24:09.410 through a maze of social expectations? And maybe 00:24:09.410 --> 00:24:12.049 that's exactly why we love them. Because even 00:24:12.049 --> 00:24:14.170 though they are massive snobs, they are tracked 00:24:14.170 --> 00:24:16.829 in the maze just like the rest of us. Exactly. 00:24:17.170 --> 00:24:18.769 Well, this has been a trip. I'm definitely going 00:24:18.769 --> 00:24:20.849 to rewatch Ham Radio tonight. I might join you. 00:24:20.869 --> 00:24:22.950 I need to hear that grocer accent again. Thank 00:24:22.950 --> 00:24:25.079 you so much for breaking this down. And to our 00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:27.519 listeners, thanks for diving deep with us. Think 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:29.319 about that maze next time you watch. We'll catch 00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:29.920 you on the next one.