Category: Directed by Pamela Fryman
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“Frasier” does indeed run into immediate problems with Jane Leeves finding out David Hyde Pierce has a crush on her (and has had one for quite some time). Leeves has her first moment of romantic interest—post finding out—and it’s when Hyde Pierce puts his jacket on her. They’re standing out on the balcony unraveling the…
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This episode is the first entry in a two-parter, but one of those loose sitcom two-parters where it’s just so they keep them together in syndication. Whatever comes after Back Talk will be inevitably different because, after over a hundred and seventy episodes, “Frasier”’s going to deal with one of its longest-running story arcs. Not…
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This episode’s a great example of how a long-running show (probably specifically sitcom) can benefit from that longevity. There are new things in the culture relevant to the show, which it can now comment on. In this case, “Antiques Roadshow,” or whatever they call it on Tsar. “Roadshow” started in 1997, “Frasier” started in 1993.…
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This episode’s a sequel to the previous season finale, a two-parter where one of the subplots had Peri Gilpin sad about dating and ending up in bed with Dan Butler. The story resolves with Butler leaving the radio station—fired for bad ratings—saving Gilpin from having to address her seemingly growing but decidedly unwanted feelings for…
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It’s as though “Frasier” heard me across time and made some immediate adjustments—it’s another radio station episode, but unlike last episode, it features a bunch of scenes for Kelsey Grammer and Peri Gilpin at work. It’s also got regular station guest cast (Edward Hibbert), and then station manager Tom McGowan’s practically a regular. There are…
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“Frasier” has had some excellent season finales, but Shutout in Seattle might be the best so far. Definitely when taking into account it’s an hour-long and because it addresses previous plot lines. And because it has an elaborate set-piece conclusion, which director Pamela Fryman sublimely realizes. The episode opens with David Hyde Pierce and Peri…
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This episode starts as a Crane boys outing—David Hyde Pierce has just found out he’s gotten a lake house in his divorce and is taking brother Kelsey Grammer and dad John Mahoney up for the weekend—and ends up being a light screwball comedy of errors. Hyde Pierce has brought Peri Gilpin up in hopes of…
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For an obligatory Woody Harrelson finally guest stars on “Frasier” episode, they do all right. There’s a good mix of Harrelson with the regular cast–including some of the regular supporting cast—and there’s a little bit of an unrelated B plot. Station engineer Noel (Patrick Kerr) is trying to woo Peri Gilpin while everyone drops “Star…
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Okay, I’d forgotten whether or not Janis Hirsch was a distinct new writer on the show. Or a distinct new writer to get an episode credit. She’s not. She’s new (Our Parents, Ourselves is her second credited episode), but she’s not distinct, which is kind of better. The episode’s not bad. I mean, it wastes…
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Roz, a Loan is a peculiar episode. It’s ostensibly about Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) lending Roz (Peri Gilpin) some money since they’re still out of work. The episode opens in the cafe with Grammer and Gilpin thinking they’re about to go back to work at their original station—the salsa format hasn’t been working out ratings-wise—but then…
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The episode opens with a car chase sequence, with Kelsey Grammer and John Mahoney in one car and David Hyde Pierce in the other. There’s some outdoor shooting (seemingly second unit) and lots of banter during the actual driving—not just Mahoney and Grammer, but Hyde Pierce (via car phone) as well. It’s a great, distinct…
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After a peculiar opening—Peri Gilpin then David Hyde Pierce interrupt Kelsey Grammer on a date with Grace Phillips at the cafe–Secret Admirer soon becomes a spirited mix of a “Grammer the jackass” episode and a Crane Boys outing. Lori Kirkland Baker gets the script credit, Pamela Fryman directs. Both do some fine work, though Fryman’s…
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Jay Kogen gets the script credit on this episode; his name is quickly becoming a welcome sight. My rewatch of “Frasier” could be subtitled, “I should’ve tracked the writers,” but Kogen’s gotten to be memorable for being reliable. Frasier’s Curse is a very, very reliable episode. It again trades on the manufactured sympathy for star…
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It only took five full seasons to figure it out, but “Frasier” has finally realized Kelsey Grammer’s whine episodes are a lot better when he’s actually got something to whine about. Christopher Lloyd gets the script credit, Pamela Fryman directs. Both do excellent work—there’s a lot of integrated, passive wit—as Grammer has to contend not…
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It’s time for the Seabees again—the Seattle broadcasting awards show where the cast can reliably have antics once a season—this time with Kelsey Grammer emceeing the event. We get a lot of exposition real quick—Grammer, Dan Butler, and Peri Gilpin are waiting for coffee. We find out Butler’s nominated too, Grammer and Gilpin don’t have…
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It’s a Bebe (Harriet Sansom Harris) episode, even though Kelsey Grammer fired Harris last time she was on—last season. But it’s only sort of a Bebe episode; she’s still Peri Gilpin’s agent (maybe the biggest offscreen character continuity detail the show’s had to date, actually) and she wants Grammer back as a client, but Grammer’s…
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After surviving a whole episode as Kelsey Grammer’s love interest, Lindsay Frost dumps him at the beginning of this one, setting Grammer off on a self-reflection whine arc for the whole show. It’s an on-point episode as far as the character goes—Grammer’s done an obsessing episode at least once before, if not twice. Last time…
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It’s a particularly excellent episode, with the cast—minus Jane Leeves, who gets one great showcase scene and is then out—going on an Alaskan cruise. Peri Gilpin’s got a friend looking to book a celebrity entertainer and after some mild cajoling (and Gore Vidal-name dropping), Kelsey Grammer agrees to go and give a speech. David Hyde…
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Halloween buries the lede. The episode opens with David Hyde Pierce arriving at the apartment and talking with John Mahoney about costume problems. Hyde Pierce is throwing a costume party and isn’t having any luck finding Mahoney a Sherlock Holmes outfit. From background to foreground come Kelsey Grammer and Jane Leeves, who are giggling as…
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The Gift Horse is from a one-time writer (Ron Darian), which might explain the soft retcon regarding John Mahoney’s birthdays on the show. This episode turns the gift giving into a competition between Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce, as each tries to out do the other on the gift, leading to Grammer going all…
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It’s a fathers and sons episode, both for Kelsey Grammer and guest star Trevor Einhorn and then Grammer and John Mahoney. There’s also some nice stuff for Dan Butler—implying the possibility of character development, which hasn’t really been present before—and then David Hyde Pierce gets a hilarious subplot. Both Peri Gilpin and Jane Leeves get…
The Stop Button 