WEBVTT 00:00:00.579 --> 00:00:02.759 I have to start today with something that has 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.960 been bugging me for years. Oh. Yeah. It's a tiny 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:09.220 detail, something that if you blink, you completely 00:00:09.220 --> 00:00:12.140 miss it. But once you see it, you just you can't 00:00:12.140 --> 00:00:14.320 unsee it. I'm intrigued. What is it? You know, 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:16.579 the opening title card for Frasier. Right. The 00:00:16.579 --> 00:00:18.839 animated outline of the Seattle skyline that 00:00:18.839 --> 00:00:21.280 pops up at the start. Exactly. With the space 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:25.199 needle, the jazzy music. I know it well. So usually 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:28.399 it's purple or blue or maybe red, but then you 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:31.019 hit season seven and suddenly it's yellow. Bright, 00:00:31.100 --> 00:00:33.799 alarming yellow. Yes, bright yellow. It feels 00:00:33.799 --> 00:00:36.320 like a warning sign. It really does. Like the 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:39.719 show is saying, um, caution. construction ahead 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:43.159 or maybe high voltage because we aren't just 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:45.500 talking about another 24 episodes of a classic 00:00:45.500 --> 00:00:47.560 sitcom today. No, we are not. We are talking 00:00:47.560 --> 00:00:49.560 about season seven. This is the season where 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:51.539 the show stops being polite and starts getting 00:00:51.539 --> 00:00:54.560 real. Welcome, by the way, to another deep dive. 00:00:54.700 --> 00:00:56.960 Thanks for having me. And that is a fantastic 00:00:56.960 --> 00:00:59.619 observation to kick us off. Glad you think so. 00:01:00.030 --> 00:01:02.049 For you listening right now, our mission today 00:01:02.049 --> 00:01:05.189 is to take a massive stack of sources, the detailed 00:01:05.189 --> 00:01:07.650 episode logs, the critical reception history, 00:01:07.950 --> 00:01:10.950 the viewership data of Frasier Season 7, and 00:01:10.950 --> 00:01:12.829 distill all of it into something you can really 00:01:12.829 --> 00:01:16.349 use, actionable insights, and frankly, a lot 00:01:16.349 --> 00:01:18.469 of entertainment. Because if you look at the 00:01:18.469 --> 00:01:22.370 entire 11 -year run of the show, Season 7 is... 00:01:22.750 --> 00:01:25.090 Well, it's the fulcrum. The tipping point. Exactly. 00:01:25.489 --> 00:01:28.450 The show spent six years carefully building this 00:01:28.450 --> 00:01:31.709 very specific house of cards. The dynamics between 00:01:31.709 --> 00:01:34.090 the brothers, the bachelor lifestyle, and most 00:01:34.090 --> 00:01:37.150 importantly, the absolute silence between Niles 00:01:37.150 --> 00:01:39.090 and Daphne. The will they, won't they. Right. 00:01:39.170 --> 00:01:41.469 And in this season, they decide to open a window. 00:01:41.819 --> 00:01:43.719 And just let a hurricane blow right through that 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:45.519 house of cards. And that's exactly what we're 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:47.780 doing today. We are doing a deep dive into the 00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:51.180 chaos, the romance, the really massive egos of 00:01:51.180 --> 00:01:52.859 season seven. Which aired right at the turn of 00:01:52.859 --> 00:01:56.819 the millennium from September 1999 to May 2000. 00:01:57.140 --> 00:01:59.620 Right. And looking at the numbers in these source 00:01:59.620 --> 00:02:02.280 logs, it seems like the entire world was watching. 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:05.200 They really were. We're talking about a cultural 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:08.270 monoculture that just. It doesn't exist anymore. 00:02:08.469 --> 00:02:11.009 Yeah. I mean, the finale of this season pulled 00:02:11.009 --> 00:02:14.110 in nearly 34 million viewers. That's insane. 00:02:14.550 --> 00:02:17.009 It's Super Bowl territory in today's fragmented 00:02:17.009 --> 00:02:19.430 media landscape. 34 million. But what's interesting 00:02:19.430 --> 00:02:21.770 is why they were tuning in. They weren't just 00:02:21.770 --> 00:02:24.629 there for the witty banter or the sherry jokes. 00:02:24.770 --> 00:02:26.250 No, they were there because of the elephant in 00:02:26.250 --> 00:02:29.080 the room. Exactly. Niles and Daphne. We really 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:31.780 have to start there. Because for six seasons, 00:02:32.099 --> 00:02:35.180 Niles Crane has been pining for his father's 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:37.780 physical therapist. Pining is putting it mildly. 00:02:37.860 --> 00:02:40.000 True. It's been pathetic. It's been hilarious. 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:42.840 It's been genuinely heartbreaking at times. Right? 00:02:43.180 --> 00:02:46.740 But the status quo was always set in stone. Niles 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:50.050 loves her. Daphne is completely oblivious. So 00:02:50.050 --> 00:02:52.030 why mess with a winning formula? Well, that's 00:02:52.030 --> 00:02:54.330 the moonlighting curse, right? Yeah, the fear 00:02:54.330 --> 00:02:56.650 that if you put the couple together, the sexual 00:02:56.650 --> 00:02:58.610 tension just evaporates. And it sure becomes 00:02:58.610 --> 00:03:02.349 boring. Right. But the writers realized something 00:03:02.349 --> 00:03:06.270 crucial by season seven. The audience's patience 00:03:06.270 --> 00:03:09.509 wasn't infinite. You can only tease a romance 00:03:09.509 --> 00:03:12.430 for so long. Exactly. Before it stops being romantic, 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:14.969 it just starts being frustrating. So they decided 00:03:14.969 --> 00:03:17.189 to pull the trigger. But looking at the episode 00:03:17.189 --> 00:03:19.650 list here. They didn't just have them kiss in 00:03:19.650 --> 00:03:22.009 episode one. Oh, no. They dragged us through 00:03:22.009 --> 00:03:25.389 the mud first. It is an absolute gauntlet. And 00:03:25.389 --> 00:03:27.569 what I love about how they structured this season 00:03:27.569 --> 00:03:32.189 is that the catalyst for the biggest romantic 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:35.590 revelation in the show's history, it isn't the 00:03:35.590 --> 00:03:39.009 romantic hero. No. It's not Niles. It's Frasier. 00:03:39.430 --> 00:03:42.289 Yes. And he does it entirely by accident. We 00:03:42.289 --> 00:03:44.389 have to talk about the episode. Back talk. Part 00:03:44.389 --> 00:03:47.030 one. The moment the dam breaks. Right. And it 00:03:47.030 --> 00:03:49.590 starts in such a mundane way. Frazier just throws 00:03:49.590 --> 00:03:52.550 his back. It's a classic sitcom trope, the truth 00:03:52.550 --> 00:03:55.509 serum device. Yeah. Frazier is in agony. He's 00:03:55.509 --> 00:03:58.210 laid up on the couch and he is loaded up on heavy 00:03:58.210 --> 00:04:00.770 muscle relaxers and painkillers. He is so loopy. 00:04:00.830 --> 00:04:03.129 His filter is completely gone. I love the acting 00:04:03.129 --> 00:04:05.349 in this scene. He's just rambling. And in this 00:04:05.349 --> 00:04:08.210 drug -induced haze, he starts talking to Daphne. 00:04:08.349 --> 00:04:11.169 He tells her that he knows she's charming and 00:04:11.169 --> 00:04:13.889 he knows that someone in the house is madly in 00:04:13.889 --> 00:04:16.449 love with her. Now, put yourself in Daphne's 00:04:16.449 --> 00:04:19.410 shoes for a second. Okay. Frasier Crane, your 00:04:19.410 --> 00:04:22.250 employer, a man who has been single and desperate 00:04:22.250 --> 00:04:26.269 for years, is lying on a couch high on narcotics 00:04:26.269 --> 00:04:29.149 telling you that someone in the house loves you. 00:04:29.350 --> 00:04:33.149 Who else would he mean? Exactly. She thinks he 00:04:33.149 --> 00:04:35.750 means himself. She totally thinks Frasier is 00:04:35.750 --> 00:04:38.810 confessing his love. And that misdirection is 00:04:38.810 --> 00:04:41.360 brilliant writing. It forces the character of 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.240 Daphne to finally confront the idea of a crane 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:46.959 man loving her, but without the immediate massive 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:49.579 stakes of it being Niles. She has to process 00:04:49.579 --> 00:04:52.339 the concept first. Right. She's horrified. She's 00:04:52.339 --> 00:04:54.199 awkward. She's desperately trying to let him 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:56.860 down gently. And then Frasier, who is still just 00:04:56.860 --> 00:04:59.300 high as a kite, realizes she's misunderstood 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:01.699 him. Yeah. And he corrects the record. He just 00:05:01.699 --> 00:05:04.300 blurts it out. Not me, you idiot. Niles. And 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:06.459 just like that, six years of secrets are out 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:08.579 in the open. The genie is out of the bottle. 00:05:08.970 --> 00:05:11.050 But this is where the show really surprised me 00:05:11.050 --> 00:05:13.949 upon rereading the logs. In a typical rom -com, 00:05:14.069 --> 00:05:17.069 this is the moment the music swells. Right. Daphne 00:05:17.069 --> 00:05:20.509 realizes, oh, Niles, of course. Yeah. And runs 00:05:20.509 --> 00:05:24.110 into his arms. But that is not what happens here. 00:05:24.269 --> 00:05:26.389 Not at all. She doesn't look happy. Yeah. She 00:05:26.389 --> 00:05:29.470 looks well. Terrified. And that is why this season 00:05:29.470 --> 00:05:32.829 is superior to most sitcom romances. They treated 00:05:32.829 --> 00:05:36.189 Daphne like a real human being. Not a plot device. 00:05:36.529 --> 00:05:39.550 Exactly. Because think about it. If you found 00:05:39.550 --> 00:05:42.569 out your friend of six years had been secretly 00:05:42.569 --> 00:05:45.629 obsessing over you, creating a fantasy version 00:05:45.629 --> 00:05:48.329 of you, smelling your hair when you weren't looking. 00:05:48.449 --> 00:05:50.509 Yeah, that's incredibly creepy in reality. Right. 00:05:50.610 --> 00:05:53.569 You wouldn't swoon. You would reevaluate every 00:05:53.569 --> 00:05:55.610 single interaction you've ever had with that 00:05:55.610 --> 00:05:57.470 person. Yeah, still betrayed. You'd feel unsafe, 00:05:57.730 --> 00:06:00.589 maybe. Or at least deeply confused. She spirals. 00:06:00.689 --> 00:06:03.160 And that leads - directly to the episode Dark 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:05.060 Side of the Moon. Which is fascinating because 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:06.800 it's basically a 30 -minute therapy session. 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:10.480 Yeah. Daphne causes a four -car pileup. Which 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:12.319 is a brilliant metaphor for her brain at that 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:14.839 moment. It really is. And so she gets court -ordered 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:17.779 into anger management therapy with Dr. McCaskill. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:21.040 She pushes Daphne. Daphne thinks she's angry 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:23.420 about her brother Simon visiting or the traffic 00:06:23.420 --> 00:06:26.480 or the wedding planning with Donnie. Right. But 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:28.519 the therapist just keeps peeling back the layers. 00:06:29.459 --> 00:06:32.180 There's one specific detail in this episode that 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:33.800 the sources highlight and I think it's one of 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:35.519 the smartest things the writers ever did. The 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:38.459 red dress. Yes. The dress. It's so good. Break 00:06:38.459 --> 00:06:41.399 that down for us because it's such a subtle psychological 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:45.079 clue. So Daphne is recounting the events leading 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:47.639 up to the car crash. Yeah. She mentions that 00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:50.040 she was wearing her favorite dress and her brother 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:52.480 Simon completely ruined it. He spills something 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:54.680 on it or ruins it somehow. Right. She's furious 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:57.339 about the dress. But the therapist stops her. 00:06:57.709 --> 00:07:00.129 And asks a very simple question. Where were you 00:07:00.129 --> 00:07:02.589 going in that dress? Exactly. And she said she 00:07:02.589 --> 00:07:04.889 was at a bridal shower. What? But a surprise 00:07:04.889 --> 00:07:07.509 bridal shower. Right. She didn't know she was 00:07:07.509 --> 00:07:09.230 going to a party. She thought she was just going 00:07:09.230 --> 00:07:12.069 to be home, alone, helping Niles cook a meal. 00:07:12.230 --> 00:07:15.670 Oh, man. That hits so hard when you realize it. 00:07:15.810 --> 00:07:18.649 The realization just washes over her face. Why 00:07:18.649 --> 00:07:21.250 did she put on her most killer dress, do her 00:07:21.250 --> 00:07:24.430 hair, and put on perfume just to hang out in 00:07:24.430 --> 00:07:26.629 the kitchen with Niles? Because she was dating 00:07:26.629 --> 00:07:29.529 him and she didn't even know it. Precisely. Her 00:07:29.529 --> 00:07:32.269 subconscious knew she was in love with him long 00:07:32.269 --> 00:07:34.850 before her conscious mind allowed her to admit 00:07:34.850 --> 00:07:37.389 it. Wow. That dress was her subconscious making 00:07:37.389 --> 00:07:39.810 a move. It's such a sophisticated way to show 00:07:39.810 --> 00:07:42.029 her feelings. Right. Without her having to say 00:07:42.029 --> 00:07:45.209 a clunky expositional line like, I realized I 00:07:45.209 --> 00:07:48.029 loved him, the dress tells the entire story. 00:07:48.350 --> 00:07:51.829 That is brilliant. So now the table is set. Daphne 00:07:51.829 --> 00:07:55.180 knows. And she knows she loves him back. But 00:07:55.180 --> 00:07:57.720 there is a massive problem. Two massive problems, 00:07:57.860 --> 00:08:00.180 actually. Right. Their names are Donnie and Mel. 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:02.720 The obstacles. And the thing is, they aren't 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:04.540 just cartoon villains, which makes it so much 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:06.740 harder. Well, let's talk about that because this 00:08:06.740 --> 00:08:08.959 all culminates in the finale. Something borrowed, 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:12.079 someone blew. The big two -parter. It is chaotic. 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:14.740 You have a funeral for a doorman happening at 00:08:14.740 --> 00:08:16.519 the same time as a wedding at a country inn. 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:20.089 Pure farce. Yeah. But the emotional situation 00:08:20.089 --> 00:08:23.949 is incredibly messy. Niles, thinking he has absolutely 00:08:23.949 --> 00:08:26.670 no chance with Daphne, has impulsively married 00:08:26.670 --> 00:08:30.230 Mel. Days ago. Days ago, and Daphne is days away 00:08:30.230 --> 00:08:32.309 from marrying Donnie. It is a pressure cooker. 00:08:32.649 --> 00:08:35.549 The show creates this comedy of errors vibe, 00:08:35.809 --> 00:08:38.629 people hiding in bathrooms, secret conversations 00:08:38.629 --> 00:08:41.529 on balconies. But the emotional core is very, 00:08:41.649 --> 00:08:44.610 very serious. Yes. leading up to the winnebago 00:08:44.610 --> 00:08:47.669 scene the iconic winnebago scene niles and daphne 00:08:47.669 --> 00:08:50.110 finally confront each other in a beat -up rv 00:08:50.110 --> 00:08:53.629 niles lays it all out i love you i've always 00:08:53.629 --> 00:08:56.950 loved you and daphne finally says it back and 00:08:56.950 --> 00:08:58.970 they decide to run away together it's wildly 00:08:58.970 --> 00:09:01.710 romantic the audience cheers 33 million people 00:09:01.710 --> 00:09:05.029 screaming at their tvs exactly can we just pause 00:09:05.029 --> 00:09:06.909 for a second and look at the wreckage we really 00:09:06.909 --> 00:09:10.110 must because the show to its credit doesn't completely 00:09:10.110 --> 00:09:12.419 shy away from it They are the heroes of the show, 00:09:12.539 --> 00:09:14.399 but in this specific moment, they are acting 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:16.539 like absolute villains to everyone else. That's 00:09:16.539 --> 00:09:19.799 true. I mean, Niles married Mel, he took vows, 00:09:19.820 --> 00:09:23.240 and Daphne is leaving Donnie, who, by all accounts 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:25.539 in the source material, is a total sweetheart, 00:09:25.740 --> 00:09:28.120 literally standing at the altar. It is morally 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:30.940 indefensible, objectively speaking. Right. If 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:33.519 this was real life, and your friend did this 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:35.620 to someone, you would be appalled. You would. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:37.440 You'd probably distance yourself from them. Yeah. 00:09:37.620 --> 00:09:40.379 But that ambiguity... is what gives the finale 00:09:40.379 --> 00:09:43.299 its weight. How do you mean? Well, if Mel was 00:09:43.299 --> 00:09:46.059 a complete monster and Donnie was abusive, the 00:09:46.059 --> 00:09:48.620 choice would be easy. Right. It would be boring. 00:09:49.539 --> 00:09:54.220 But Donnie's a good guy. And Mel. Well, Mel is 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:57.279 difficult. She's neurotic. But she hasn't done 00:09:57.279 --> 00:09:59.600 anything to deserve being humiliated on that 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:02.379 level. She didn't deserve that. No. The writers 00:10:02.379 --> 00:10:05.039 are making a very bold statement here. True love, 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:07.700 in this instance, is a destructive force. It 00:10:07.700 --> 00:10:10.940 creates total chaos. It hurts people. Niles and 00:10:10.940 --> 00:10:12.879 Daphne choose their own happiness over their 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:15.299 social obligations and their morality. It's incredibly 00:10:15.299 --> 00:10:18.659 selfish. It is profoundly selfish. And yet, we 00:10:18.659 --> 00:10:20.879 root for them. Why do you think that is? Because 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:23.860 we've seen the six years of longing. As an audience, 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:27.580 we feel they have earned this selfishness. We're 00:10:27.580 --> 00:10:30.639 complicit. Completely. But the show leaves us 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:33.850 with the image of Donnie's devastation. It doesn't 00:10:33.850 --> 00:10:35.909 let Niles and Daphne off the hook completely. 00:10:36.149 --> 00:10:39.090 No, they drive off smiling, but they are driving 00:10:39.090 --> 00:10:41.409 away from a crime scene of broken hearts. That's 00:10:41.409 --> 00:10:44.029 a great way to put it. It's a tragedy for everyone 00:10:44.029 --> 00:10:45.830 except the two people in the front seat. And 00:10:45.830 --> 00:10:48.250 speaking of tragedy... Let's pivot. Yeah, let's 00:10:48.250 --> 00:10:50.509 pivot to the man whose name is actually on the 00:10:50.509 --> 00:10:53.889 title card. Frazier. Frazier. Because while Niles 00:10:53.889 --> 00:10:56.309 is having the most dramatic, high -stakes romantic 00:10:56.309 --> 00:11:00.889 arc of his life, Frazier is... Well, he's flailing. 00:11:01.029 --> 00:11:03.529 Flailing is a very polite word for it. It's painful 00:11:03.529 --> 00:11:06.909 to watch. If Niles' season seven arc is about 00:11:06.909 --> 00:11:10.929 love and taking risks, Frasier's is about hubris. 00:11:11.149 --> 00:11:14.370 Pure, unadulterated ego. It's startling to watch 00:11:14.370 --> 00:11:17.350 them side by side in these logs. Niles is evolving 00:11:17.350 --> 00:11:20.110 and Frazier seems to be devolving. He's becoming 00:11:20.110 --> 00:11:22.289 a caricature of himself. Because he's fighting 00:11:22.289 --> 00:11:24.429 for relevance. You have to remember, Frazier 00:11:24.429 --> 00:11:26.389 sees himself as the patriarch of the brothers, 00:11:26.490 --> 00:11:28.929 the successful one, the famous one. Right. But 00:11:28.929 --> 00:11:32.049 his personal life is completely empty. So what 00:11:32.049 --> 00:11:34.309 does he do? He doubles down on his public persona. 00:11:34.850 --> 00:11:38.240 He desperately needs to be respected. Which brings 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:41.620 us perfectly to the episode Radio Wars. Oh, boy. 00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:43.480 I was reading the breakdown of this episode, 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:47.500 and it's hilarious, but also so painful. Frasier 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:50.620 becomes the target of a morning zoo radio team. 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:53.620 Carlos and the Chicken. Yes. The classic high 00:11:53.620 --> 00:11:56.500 culture versus low culture clash. Exactly. They 00:11:56.500 --> 00:12:00.039 prank him. They record sound bites of him and 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:02.960 his producer, Roz, and they splice them together 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:04.539 to make it sound like they're having, well, let's 00:12:04.539 --> 00:12:06.259 call it a steamy encounter right there in the 00:12:06.259 --> 00:12:09.059 broadcasting. booth. It's juvenile. Completely. 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:11.240 It's stupid. Most people would just ignore it. 00:12:11.299 --> 00:12:14.320 But Frasier. Frasier declares war. He cannot 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:16.960 let it go. He actually holds a rally. He drafts 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:19.720 a manifesto. Yes. He confronts them in the studio 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:23.039 and every single time he tries to assert his 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:26.080 dignity, he just gives them more material. There's 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:27.720 that one scene where he confronts them and he's 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.120 being so pompous, so self -righteous. And they 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:32.379 just hit a button and play a fart noise. And 00:12:32.379 --> 00:12:35.120 he crumbles. He absolutely crumbles. And reveals 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:38.220 his fragility. He cannot exist in a world that 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:41.019 doesn't take him seriously. Right. He genuinely 00:12:41.019 --> 00:12:43.919 believes that if he just explains to the bullies 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:46.740 why they are wrong. They will stop. Which is 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:49.500 not how bullies work. At all. Yeah. He completely 00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:53.039 misreads the dynamic. His massive ego just makes 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:55.500 him an incredibly easy target. And that thirst 00:12:55.500 --> 00:12:58.480 for validation doesn't stop at radio. No, it 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:00.840 does not. He tries to conquer television, too. 00:13:00.940 --> 00:13:03.120 Let's talk about Morning Becomes Entertainment. 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:06.600 Ah, yes. That's her Bebe Glazer. His agent. The 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:09.659 devil herself. I love Bebe. She is the absolute 00:13:09.659 --> 00:13:12.679 perfect enabler for Frazier's worst instincts. 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:16.080 So they get a gig co -hosting a local morning 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.379 TV show, AM Seattle. Right. Now, Frazier goes 00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:21.480 into this saying, I will bring culture to the 00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:24.080 masses. We will discuss art and psychology. And 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:26.539 within one single episode, what is he doing? 00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:28.759 He's doing impressions and engaging in mindless 00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:31.299 banter. He becomes exactly what he hated in Radio 00:13:31.299 --> 00:13:34.059 Wars. Yes. He becomes a morning zoo host. It's 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:38.620 sheer hypocrisy. He gets drunk on the fame. There's 00:13:38.620 --> 00:13:41.720 a moment noted in the logs where he's walking 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:44.210 down the street. People are recognizing him and 00:13:44.210 --> 00:13:46.970 he is just glowing. He loves it. He is willing 00:13:46.970 --> 00:13:50.750 to sell out every single principle he has just 00:13:50.750 --> 00:13:52.730 to be recognized by a stranger on the street. 00:13:52.889 --> 00:13:54.990 But the kicker is he's being played the entire 00:13:54.990 --> 00:13:58.610 time. Always. He thinks he's a big TV star. Yeah. 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:01.539 But Bibby is just using the TV show as leverage 00:14:01.539 --> 00:14:04.899 to stall and negotiate his radio contract? He's 00:14:04.899 --> 00:14:07.480 just a pawn. It's a harsh reality check for him. 00:14:07.539 --> 00:14:10.259 His ego made him completely blind to the business 00:14:10.259 --> 00:14:12.700 reality. He thought he was the king, but he was 00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:15.899 a bargaining chip. Exactly. And then we get the 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:19.340 ultimate ego trip. A czar is born. This might 00:14:19.340 --> 00:14:21.379 be the peak of the Crane Brothers snobbery. It's 00:14:21.379 --> 00:14:24.789 definitely up there. So their dad, Martin, buys 00:14:24.789 --> 00:14:27.610 this ugly pewter clock. The bear clock. It's 00:14:27.610 --> 00:14:29.590 hideous. So hideous. Right. But they find out 00:14:29.590 --> 00:14:31.610 it's a Romanov antique. Right. And it's worth 00:14:31.610 --> 00:14:35.590 $25 ,000. Now, for 99 % of the population, including 00:14:35.590 --> 00:14:39.809 their father, the headline is, we have $25 ,000. 00:14:40.090 --> 00:14:43.350 Free money. Right. Go on a cruise. Buy a car. 00:14:43.669 --> 00:14:47.049 But for Frazier and Niles, the money is completely 00:14:47.049 --> 00:14:49.549 irrelevant. Totally. What matters is the provenance. 00:14:49.970 --> 00:14:52.610 They realize that if this clock belonged to the 00:14:52.610 --> 00:14:55.570 Romanovs and their ancestors had it. Maybe they 00:14:55.570 --> 00:14:57.850 are related to the Romanovs. Exactly. They spend 00:14:57.850 --> 00:14:59.730 the whole episode trying to prove they have royal 00:14:59.730 --> 00:15:02.389 blood. They get the clock. They look at the skulls. 00:15:02.779 --> 00:15:04.779 They do all this research. They are absolutely 00:15:04.779 --> 00:15:07.259 desperate to be descended from czars. Which is 00:15:07.259 --> 00:15:09.379 wild. Think about what that says about their 00:15:09.379 --> 00:15:12.419 self -image. It's deeply telling. They are wealthy, 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:15.539 successful psychiatrists living in luxury in 00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:18.519 Seattle. That should be enough. You would think. 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:21.559 But it's not. They have this deep -seated insecurity 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:26.019 that they are just quote -unquote common. Right. 00:15:26.460 --> 00:15:28.240 They want to be elevated. They want to be special 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:30.840 by birthright, not just by their own accomplishments. 00:15:31.220 --> 00:15:33.539 And the ending of that episode is just perfect 00:15:33.539 --> 00:15:36.379 poetic tragedy. They find out they aren't royalty 00:15:36.379 --> 00:15:39.639 at all. No. They're descended from the scullery 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:41.840 maids and the thieves who stole the clock in 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:44.320 the first place. And they are crushed. Devastated. 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:47.639 They would literally rather be the penniless 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:50.700 descendants of royalty than the rich descendants 00:15:50.700 --> 00:15:53.879 of thieves. It just shows how completely warped 00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:56.600 their value system is. It really does. So we 00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:59.759 have Frasier the egomaniac, but season seven 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:02.700 also gives us Frasier the... Well, Frasier the 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:04.879 creep. Is that too strong a word? Let's say. 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:07.139 Frasier the psychologically compromised dater. 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:09.179 Okay, that's fair. We have to talk about Mamma 00:16:09.179 --> 00:16:11.679 Mia. Oh, boy. I remember reading the synopsis 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:13.980 for this and feeling physically uncomfortable. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:17.000 It is a tough watch. Frasier meets a woman named 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.679 Mia, played by Rita Wilson. She's great. She's 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:22.440 funny. She's a children's author. But... She 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:24.639 is an exact physical clone of his dead mother. 00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:27.440 It is not subtle. She looks exactly like Hester 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:30.090 Crane. She acts like Hester. Everyone else sees 00:16:30.090 --> 00:16:32.350 it immediately. Martin sees it and practically 00:16:32.350 --> 00:16:35.250 turns pale. Niall sees it and can't even speak. 00:16:35.409 --> 00:16:38.029 But Fraser is completely oblivious. He thinks 00:16:38.029 --> 00:16:40.769 he's found the perfect woman. How does a world 00:16:40.769 --> 00:16:44.570 -renowned, Harvard -educated psychiatrist not 00:16:44.570 --> 00:16:47.289 realize he is dating his mother? Because the 00:16:47.289 --> 00:16:50.450 blind spot is protecting him. How so? He misses 00:16:50.450 --> 00:16:53.330 his mother deeply. He wants that comfort, that 00:16:53.330 --> 00:16:56.370 unconditional love that he lost. His subconscious 00:16:56.370 --> 00:17:00.509 found a literal loophole to get it back. If he 00:17:00.509 --> 00:17:03.029 acknowledged the physical resemblance, the illusion 00:17:03.029 --> 00:17:05.829 would shatter immediately. So his brain literally 00:17:05.829 --> 00:17:08.410 refuses to see it. Until the reveal scene in 00:17:08.410 --> 00:17:10.869 the cabin. A masterpiece of cringe comedy. It's 00:17:10.869 --> 00:17:13.009 burned into my brain. They are watching old home 00:17:13.009 --> 00:17:15.529 movies of Hester. Right. Frasier is sitting on 00:17:15.529 --> 00:17:17.569 the couch next to Mia. Right. He looks at the 00:17:17.569 --> 00:17:20.029 screen, sees his mom. He looks at Mia. He looks 00:17:20.029 --> 00:17:22.490 at the screen. He looks at Mia. The dawning horror 00:17:22.490 --> 00:17:24.509 on his face. It's like a scene from a Hitchcock 00:17:24.509 --> 00:17:27.240 movie. It really is. It's the sudden realization 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:31.119 of incestuous desire, basically. It's Freud 101. 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:34.539 And once the spell is broken, he cannot get out 00:17:34.539 --> 00:17:36.859 of there fast enough. No. Yeah. But it raises 00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:39.400 a really disturbing thematic question for his 00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:42.640 character. Yeah. Is Frasier's perfect woman always 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:45.910 just going to be his mom? Is that why he's constantly 00:17:45.910 --> 00:17:48.869 sabotaging his relationships and ending up alone? 00:17:49.109 --> 00:17:51.789 He's chasing a ghost. And speaking of chasing 00:17:51.789 --> 00:17:54.630 ghosts, he also chases his high school glory 00:17:54.630 --> 00:17:57.910 days in the episode Big Crane on Campus. Enter 00:17:57.910 --> 00:18:00.470 Lorna Ledley. Played by the incomparable Jean 00:18:00.470 --> 00:18:03.150 Smart. She is fantastic in this. She plays the 00:18:03.150 --> 00:18:05.829 prom queen, the popular girl who wouldn't give 00:18:05.829 --> 00:18:07.890 Frasier the time of day back in high school. 00:18:08.109 --> 00:18:11.269 And now... Decades later, she wants him. For 00:18:11.269 --> 00:18:14.569 Frasier, this is the ultimate victory lap. He 00:18:14.569 --> 00:18:17.829 is validating his teenage self. He's saying to 00:18:17.829 --> 00:18:20.230 the world, look at me now, I'm deeding the prom 00:18:20.230 --> 00:18:23.549 queen. But the reality of Lorna is, she's kind 00:18:23.549 --> 00:18:25.869 of a nightmare, right? She is. She's loud, she 00:18:25.869 --> 00:18:27.670 chain smokes, she yells at people constantly. 00:18:27.789 --> 00:18:31.609 She is everything that adult, snobby, opera -loving 00:18:31.609 --> 00:18:34.430 Frasier hates. But he keeps dating her. Why do 00:18:34.430 --> 00:18:37.319 you think that is? I mean... Because the teenage 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:39.859 boy inside him is scaring the shit. Right. He 00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:41.900 is willing to endure the yelling and the secondhand 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:44.279 smoke just to say he finally won high school. 00:18:44.500 --> 00:18:47.559 It's another form of regression. Exactly. In 00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:50.920 Mamma Mia, he regresses to childhood. In Big 00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:53.599 Crane on campus, he regresses to adolescence. 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:56.559 He is not acting like a grown man in season seven. 00:18:56.660 --> 00:18:59.740 Not at all. He's moving backward while Niles 00:18:59.740 --> 00:19:02.299 is moving forward. That's a really sharp insight. 00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:04.660 We should mention Martin here, too, because usually 00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:07.119 Martin is the grounded one in the apartment. 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.640 He's the audience surrogate, usually. The one 00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:12.039 shaking his head at his pretentious sons. But 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:14.920 in season seven, even Martin gets into some serious 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:20.039 hijinks. He does. Out with Dad is pure, unadulterated 00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:22.759 farce. It reads like an episode of Three's Company. 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:25.819 It really does. Martin wants to avoid a date 00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:28.299 with a woman named Helen. So instead of being 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:30.559 an adult and just saying, no thanks, I'm not 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:33.740 interested, he panics. He panics and tells her 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:36.220 he's gay. And of course, it snowballs. It always 00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:38.160 snowballs. Helen tries to set him up with her 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:40.819 gay uncle Edward. So Martin has to bring Niles 00:19:40.819 --> 00:19:43.480 into the lie to save himself. He pretends that 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:45.440 he and his son Niles are boyfriends. Which is 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:47.299 just layers of inappropriate. It's hilarious, 00:19:47.420 --> 00:19:49.539 but it also shows that the apple doesn't fall 00:19:49.539 --> 00:19:52.329 far from the tree, does it? Not at all. Fraser 00:19:52.329 --> 00:19:54.730 and Niles get their complete inability to have 00:19:54.730 --> 00:19:57.970 honest, difficult conversations directly from 00:19:57.970 --> 00:20:00.470 their dad. They would all rather construct a 00:20:00.470 --> 00:20:04.250 massive, elaborate lie than just face one awkward 00:20:04.250 --> 00:20:07.289 moment of truth. And yet, Martin also has the 00:20:07.289 --> 00:20:10.289 most grounded romantic storyline of the entire 00:20:10.289 --> 00:20:13.549 season. With Claire. Right. Claire, what'd you 00:20:13.549 --> 00:20:15.369 do, Bukowski? I was hoping you would have to 00:20:15.369 --> 00:20:18.109 pronounce that and not me. I practiced. This 00:20:18.109 --> 00:20:20.089 arc with Claire is important because it deals 00:20:20.089 --> 00:20:24.619 with something real. Yes. Claire was a friend 00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:27.220 of a recently deceased friend of Martin's. And 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:29.579 Martin feels like he's betraying his dead buddy 00:20:29.579 --> 00:20:33.319 by dating her. It's a very real, very adult problem. 00:20:33.829 --> 00:20:36.269 Unlike Frasier dating a literal clone of his 00:20:36.269 --> 00:20:38.730 mother, Martin is dealing with genuine grief, 00:20:39.009 --> 00:20:41.490 loyalty, and moving on in your twilight years. 00:20:41.710 --> 00:20:44.069 It anchors the show. It gives it heart. It definitely 00:20:44.069 --> 00:20:46.230 provides a necessary counterweight to the farce. 00:20:46.470 --> 00:20:48.809 Let's shift gears and talk about the people who 00:20:48.809 --> 00:20:51.589 make these specific storylines possible. The 00:20:51.589 --> 00:20:54.589 new additions. The ensemble. Right. We've mentioned 00:20:54.589 --> 00:20:56.430 Mel and Donnie, but I want to dig a little deeper 00:20:56.430 --> 00:20:59.470 into them, specifically Mel. Mel Karnofsky, played 00:20:59.470 --> 00:21:01.829 brilliantly by Jane Addams. It is so easy to 00:21:01.829 --> 00:21:04.640 hate Mel. Very easy. She's fussy. She's controlling. 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:07.099 She's constantly holding Niles back. But hear 00:21:07.099 --> 00:21:09.180 me out. Isn't she kind of perfect for Niles? 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:12.480 On paper. Yeah. Absolutely. She's a plastic surgeon, 00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:15.440 so she values cleanliness, aesthetics, and precision. 00:21:15.700 --> 00:21:18.440 She loves fine wine. She's neurotic. She hates 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:21.420 germs. In a universe where Daphne Moon does not 00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:25.740 exist, Mel is Niles' soulmate. And that's exactly 00:21:25.740 --> 00:21:28.839 what makes her dangerous. Yes. She's not totally 00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:31.900 wrong for him. She is just the dark side version 00:21:31.900 --> 00:21:35.359 of him. Maris 2 .0. Exactly. She's the version 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.180 of Niles that never evolves. She encourages his 00:21:38.180 --> 00:21:41.099 absolute worst snobbery. Daphne brings out his 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:44.480 warmth and his humanity. Mel brings out his neuroses. 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:46.980 We see this perfectly illustrated in the episode 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:50.039 Wine Club. Oh, where she forces him to run for 00:21:50.039 --> 00:21:53.130 Corkmaster against Frasier. Right. Niles didn't 00:21:53.130 --> 00:21:55.029 actually care about being Corkmaster. He was 00:21:55.029 --> 00:21:57.029 perfectly happy to let Fraser have the title. 00:21:57.230 --> 00:22:00.009 But Mel just whispers in his ear. She manipulates 00:22:00.009 --> 00:22:02.650 him. She plays on his sibling rivalry. She pits 00:22:02.650 --> 00:22:04.890 him against his own brother. And that is the 00:22:04.890 --> 00:22:08.450 moment the audience realizes, okay, she has to 00:22:08.450 --> 00:22:12.150 go. She's an active threat to the core relationship 00:22:12.150 --> 00:22:14.430 of the show. And then on the flip side, there's 00:22:14.430 --> 00:22:18.049 Donnie. Poor, sweet Donnie Douglas. Saul Rubinick 00:22:18.049 --> 00:22:21.220 plays him with such genuine warmth. The writers 00:22:21.220 --> 00:22:23.240 did a really cruel thing here, didn't they? They 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:25.579 made Donnie lovable. He's a great lawyer. He 00:22:25.579 --> 00:22:28.259 treats Daphne like an absolute queen. He even 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:30.960 gets along with Martin. He plays poker with him. 00:22:31.019 --> 00:22:33.660 He fits into the family. And if Donnie was a 00:22:33.660 --> 00:22:36.339 jerk, the finale would just be a pure celebration. 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:39.059 But because he's such a good guy, the finale 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:41.039 feels, like you said earlier, like a crime scene. 00:22:41.299 --> 00:22:44.450 It makes us, the viewers, complicit. We want 00:22:44.450 --> 00:22:47.109 Niles and Daphne together so badly, so we find 00:22:47.109 --> 00:22:49.930 ourselves rooting for a genuinely nice man to 00:22:49.930 --> 00:22:52.430 get his heart completely broken. It's very sophisticated 00:22:52.430 --> 00:22:54.869 emotional manipulation by the writers. It is 00:22:54.869 --> 00:22:57.470 masterful sitcom writing. We also get some workplace 00:22:57.470 --> 00:22:59.450 shakeups in season seven that we should touch 00:22:59.450 --> 00:23:01.109 on. I want to look at something about Dr. Mary. 00:23:01.349 --> 00:23:03.470 Yes, this felt like a very different kind of 00:23:03.470 --> 00:23:05.970 episode for Frasier. It was. It tackled race, 00:23:06.170 --> 00:23:09.009 which the show usually avoided entirely. Frasier 00:23:09.009 --> 00:23:11.789 hires Mary Thomas to fill in for Roz while she's 00:23:11.789 --> 00:23:15.579 away. She's black? And she has a very folksy, 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:18.660 advice -heavy style on the radio. Which Frazier 00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:21.140 fundamentally hates. He wants clinical precision. 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:24.380 He wants Freudian analysis. But he can't bring 00:23:24.380 --> 00:23:26.420 himself to fire her. He can't even criticize 00:23:26.420 --> 00:23:29.400 her on the air. Why? Because he's a wealthy white 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:31.799 liberal who is absolutely terrified of being 00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:34.740 perceived as a bigot. Exactly. His white guilt 00:23:34.740 --> 00:23:37.400 completely paralyzes him. Mary starts taking 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:39.539 over the show, giving this grandpappy's wisdom 00:23:39.539 --> 00:23:42.619 -style advice, and Frazier just sits there sweating. 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:45.339 Because he doesn't want to be the bad guy. It's 00:23:45.339 --> 00:23:48.680 a really sharp satire of his performative progressivism. 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:50.819 He cares much more about looking tolerant than 00:23:50.819 --> 00:23:52.940 he does about the actual quality of his own radio 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:55.380 show. It is squirm -inducing to watch him twist 00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:58.380 himself into knots. And then, keeping with the 00:23:58.380 --> 00:24:01.299 workplace theme, we have Poppy. Poppy Delafield, 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:04.460 the station owner's daughter. The human chatterbox. 00:24:04.740 --> 00:24:07.460 She talks without inhaling. She serves a similar 00:24:07.460 --> 00:24:10.710 narrative function to Mary, in a way. Frasier 00:24:10.710 --> 00:24:13.369 tries to use her. He only tolerates her annoying 00:24:13.369 --> 00:24:15.849 personality because he thinks her rich daddy 00:24:15.849 --> 00:24:18.930 will give him a lucrative TV career. But Poppy 00:24:18.930 --> 00:24:23.549 is an agent of chaos. She completely misunderstands 00:24:23.549 --> 00:24:26.029 his intentions and takes the hosting gig for 00:24:26.029 --> 00:24:29.289 herself. Again, Frasier's scheming blows up right 00:24:29.289 --> 00:24:31.789 in his face. And we also have to mention Simon 00:24:31.789 --> 00:24:34.680 Moon. Daphne's brother. Played by Anthony LaPiglia. 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:37.019 He is the catalyst for ruining that red dress 00:24:37.019 --> 00:24:39.220 we talked about earlier. He's a chaotic force 00:24:39.220 --> 00:24:43.099 too. He represents the messy working class background 00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:45.700 Daphne comes from, which contrasts so sharply 00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:48.119 with the crane world she's marrying into. So 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:50.339 we've got the massive romance, the inflated ego. 00:24:50.970 --> 00:24:53.910 The workplace chaos. And the audience just ate 00:24:53.910 --> 00:24:56.130 it up. They devoured it. We mentioned the 34 00:24:56.130 --> 00:24:58.329 million viewers for the finale earlier, but it 00:24:58.329 --> 00:25:00.730 wasn't just a popularity contest. The critics 00:25:00.730 --> 00:25:03.089 were entirely on board, too. The hardware really 00:25:03.089 --> 00:25:05.329 speaks for itself this season. Kelsey Grammer 00:25:05.329 --> 00:25:07.589 won the Golden Globe for Best Actor. The cast 00:25:07.589 --> 00:25:09.849 won the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance 00:25:09.849 --> 00:25:12.049 by an Ensemble. Which they absolutely deserved. 00:25:12.369 --> 00:25:14.589 The chemistry between the core five and season 00:25:14.589 --> 00:25:17.369 seven is practically telepathic. It's a masterclass. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:22.579 And the writing won huge awards. The WGA award 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:25.859 for the finale. It is very rare for a show in 00:25:25.859 --> 00:25:28.220 its seventh season to be winning best writing 00:25:28.220 --> 00:25:30.359 awards. Yeah, usually by season seven, shows 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:32.500 are running on fumes. They're doing clip shows 00:25:32.500 --> 00:25:34.759 and stunt casting. Frasier was running on jet 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:37.259 fuel. It really was the peak of the mountain. 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:40.640 And in many ways, reading their sources, it feels 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:42.960 like the end of an era. Oh, without a doubt. 00:25:43.099 --> 00:25:45.079 The show went on for four more seasons, but it 00:25:45.079 --> 00:25:47.039 was never quite the same after this, was it? 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:49.589 It couldn't be. The central tension that drove 00:25:49.589 --> 00:25:52.920 the plot for six years was gone. Niles and Daphne 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:55.359 were finally together. The dynamic had to permanently 00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:57.980 shift. Season seven was the climax of the original 00:25:57.980 --> 00:26:00.640 premise. Everything after that, regardless of 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:03.279 its quality, was either an epilogue or a completely 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:05.759 new story. Before we wrap up today's deep dive, 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:07.720 I want to go back to that final image we talked 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:10.359 about earlier. The moral ambiguity of the finale. 00:26:10.660 --> 00:26:14.039 The wreckage. Yes. We see Niles and Daphne driving 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:16.539 off into the sunset. They are terrified. They've 00:26:16.539 --> 00:26:19.359 ruined lives. But they have each other. Right. 00:26:19.879 --> 00:26:22.640 Martin has his new romance with Claire. True. 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:24.759 Even Donnie and Mel, well, at least they were 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:27.480 genuinely chosen by someone, even if it ended 00:26:27.480 --> 00:26:29.759 in a disastrous betrayal. They had prospects. 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:31.859 They were actively engaged in life. But look 00:26:31.859 --> 00:26:36.000 at Frasier. It is a very stark. image to end 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:38.619 a comedy season on. The season literally ends 00:26:38.619 --> 00:26:41.339 with Frasier Crane sitting in a beat up Winnebago 00:26:41.339 --> 00:26:44.220 drinking terrible undrinkable wine with his dad. 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:48.259 He is completely alone. His radio career is stalled 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:51.500 out. His TV attempt failed miserably. He broke 00:26:51.500 --> 00:26:53.519 up with the prom queen and he ran away from the 00:26:53.519 --> 00:26:56.859 mom clone. He is arguably in a much worse position 00:26:56.859 --> 00:26:59.380 personally and professionally than when the season 00:26:59.380 --> 00:27:01.839 started. He is. So for you listening I want to 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:03.759 leave you with this provocative thought to chew 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:06.779 on. Is season seven, the most celebrated season 00:27:06.779 --> 00:27:09.460 of this comedy, actually a tragedy for Frasier? 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:11.859 I think you can absolutely argue that. Right? 00:27:11.940 --> 00:27:14.180 He is the ferryman. Oh, I like that. He guides 00:27:14.180 --> 00:27:16.980 everyone else to their final destination. He 00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:19.000 accidentally tells Daphne the truth, setting 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:21.720 her free. He pays for the wedding that doesn't 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:24.700 happen. He mediates the conflicts. He helps Niles 00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:26.839 finally be brave enough to take what he wants. 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:30.819 But he cannot cross the river himself. That is 00:27:30.819 --> 00:27:33.740 heartbreaking. It is the central painful irony 00:27:33.740 --> 00:27:36.599 of the character. He can explain the intricate 00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:39.059 mechanics of love and psychology to millions 00:27:39.059 --> 00:27:41.559 of listeners on the radio. But he cannot make 00:27:41.559 --> 00:27:44.980 it work in his own living room. Never. His ego, 00:27:45.220 --> 00:27:47.599 his neuroses, his desperate obsession with perfection, 00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:50.859 it all keeps him isolated. While Niles is willing 00:27:50.859 --> 00:27:53.200 to blow up his entire life and be completely 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:56.319 messy for love, Frazier is still trying to be 00:27:56.319 --> 00:27:58.619 perfect. He's still trying to be royal. And that 00:27:58.619 --> 00:28:00.720 is what keeps him alone. He's stuck. Stuck in 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:03.099 that Winnebago, watching his brother drive away 00:28:03.099 --> 00:28:05.079 with the happiness he has always wanted for himself. 00:28:05.339 --> 00:28:08.269 A very sobering thought for a 90s sitcom. But 00:28:08.269 --> 00:28:10.589 I think that's exactly why we still love it and 00:28:10.589 --> 00:28:12.569 why we're still talking about it 26 years later. 00:28:12.690 --> 00:28:15.549 It's funny. It's yellow alert, chaotic. But underneath 00:28:15.549 --> 00:28:19.450 all the farce, it's deeply messily human. Absolutely. 00:28:19.890 --> 00:28:21.750 Well, thanks for taking this deep dive with us 00:28:21.750 --> 00:28:24.390 today. Next time you watch season seven, keep 00:28:24.390 --> 00:28:26.670 an eye out for that yellow title card. It's a 00:28:26.670 --> 00:28:29.250 warning. Emotional wreckage ahead. Catch you 00:28:29.250 --> 00:28:29.789 next time.