Frasier (1993) s05e15 – Room Service

While this episode does a great job with Eugene O’Neill references—Kelsey Grammer at one point remarks to David Hyde Pierce they’re brothers out of an O’Neill play (because Hyde Pierce is suffering narcolepsy due to divorce proceeding stresses and Grammer is a sex maniac regarding ex-wife Bebe Neuwirth) and then the title cards all riff on O’Neill plays… it does have a gaff with Hyde Pierce talking about Freud. He’s a Jungian. Writers Ken Levine and David Isaacs, who turn in a fantastic script, gaff-included, hadn’t been watching the show apparently.

Or there just aren’t any good Jung jokes for after you sleep with your brother’s ex-wife.

Neuwirth is in town visiting Grammer after her marriage suddenly collapses—her husband leaves her for another man, which never gets too cringe vis-à-vis homophobia but does make a couple hard jokes at Neuwirth’s expense—and ends up canoodling with Hyde Pierce. The majority of the episode has them in her hotel room trying to reconcile their passionate night the morning after, with Grammer arriving to complicate things.

Most of the episode is just the one scene, which oscillates between screwball comedy (people hiding, Hyde Pierce’s narcolepsy causing trouble) and comedically minded dramatic conversation. Or maybe dramatically minded comedic conversation. The actors do a phenomenal job, with Hyde Pierce and Neuwirth quickly establishing a rapport—the “seduction” happens offscreen, with their initial meeting in the episode being humorously prickly—as they try to resolve the situation with and without Grammer’s involvement.

Grammer mostly gets to act the horny buffoon in the first section of the episode, grinding against Neuwirth as opportunity presents, unable to stop himself. It’s a funny turn of events given how unsympathetic Grammer gets in his lusting.

There’s only a little for the regular supporting cast, with Peri Gilpin and Neuwirth mini-bonding in the opening, then John Mahoney and Jane Leeves literally running out of the episode to avoid Neuwirth at the apartment. Mahoney comes off best—he’s at least got a gag, whereas Leeves is a passive sidekick to it—but it’s an exaggerated, easy joke, betraying a lack of effort towards character development in the script. It’s a rush to the main, morning after sequence, which is more than excellent enough to cover for the slightly bumpy opening.

Good direction David Lee, great performances from Hyde Pierce, Neuwirth, and Grammer. Also John Ducey as the room service waiter. Ducey’s essential.

Frasier (1993) s05e14 – The Ski Lodge

It’s a very fun riff on Midsummer Night’s Dream with confused romantic intentions at a ski resort weekend. There’s a very quick setup with Kelsey Grammer combination guilting and bartering Peri Gilpin’s ski weekend prize away from her—as she’s pregnant and can’t enjoy the weekend, Grammer’s passive aggressive reasoning goes, wouldn’t it be better for someone else to have the weekend instead. It’s initially a very unlikable bit, but does have a decent resolution once Gilpin catches on to Grammer’s machinations. She’s out of the episode after that first scene, with Ski Lodge quickly on its way to being a family only episode.

Well, family only but with a couple important guests—in order to get David Hyde Pierce to go on the ski weekend, Grammer’s got to let Jane Leeves bring her friend along. Her friend turns out to be swimsuit model Cynthia LaMontagne, who Grammer salivates over—which would probably be more problematic if Grammer were in the episode more instead of straight man because he’s trying to manipulate LaMontagne into the sack–and then there’s French ski pro James Patrick Stuart. Stuart’s not French but does a great over-the-top lascivious Frenchman.

Leeves likes Stuart a lot.

Only Stuart likes Hyde Pierce, who’s decided it’s finally time to tell Leeves how he feels. Except LaMontagne is all about Hyde Pierce.

There’s also Stuart thinking LaMontagne and Leeves are lesbians, which thankfully barely factors into anything—nothing plot-wise and just a couple conversations—because it’s entirely based on LaMontagne and Leeves giggling off screen at one point.

John Mahoney’s along to make hot buttered rum in the kitchen while his ears are plugged up from a cold so he can’t understand anyone and keeps mishearing people so he gives other people incorrect advice. The scene where Stuart’s impressed at Mahoney being okay with Hyde Pierce being gay is a standout. But even more than Grammer, Mahoney’s just around for a comedy prop. Grammer at least gets to work his way through the adjoining bedrooms of confusion, leading to some really funny reveals.

Good direction from David Lee—there’s a lot of big movement during the confused bedtime sequence, as people change rooms, confuse rooms, and then try to find their way to their presumably intendeds’ beds. Joe Keenan gets the script credit; outside the occasional zinger, the script’s strength is in getting all the pieces moving. Hyde Pierce gets to play Ulysses, traveling from room to room, picking up temporary passengers on the arc until everyone’s in play and present, so the episode can give it a nice, tidy, very funny resolution.

The Ski Lodge is a great episode, albeit one leveraging the cast’s comedic abilities over their dramatic ones—it’s screwball after all, and screwball doesn’t need drama in thirty minute doses.

Frasier (1993) s05e13 – The Maris Counselor

After a rough opening—with Peri Gilpin trying to gin up interesting callers in a bit where transphobia and ableism are the punchlines—the episode quickly becomes a David Hyde Pierce episode. Kelsey Grammer’s always around, but is always playing support to Hyde Pierce, who gets two great comedy set pieces. John Mahoney gets the subplot, which is about him finally agreeing to go on a date with one of their neighbors.

The episode (sort of) juxtaposes Mahoney’s dating adventure against Hyde Pierce’s latest marital woes, which has he and ever off-screen Maris finding a marriage counselor they both like—a very funny Bob Dishy—but Maris maybe likes him a little too much, leading to breakdowns and breakthroughs for Hyde Pierce. Grammer’s around to offer advice, but not really. They’re finally ready to resolve Hyde Pierce’s season and a half long marriage separation subplot. Also, as Hyde Pierce points out, Grammer’s actually not equipped to offer good relationship advice.

In the end, it’ll be a nice Crane boys episode for Hyde Pierce, Mahoney, and Grammer—particularly well-directed, courtesy Jeff Melman, who does well all episode and then goes out on a high point with the finale—though Grammer’s just along for the ride. They also make a big deal about Mahoney being unlucky in love, but he only broke up with Marsha Mason like three episodes ago so they’re clearly stretching to make it work.

David Lloyd gets the script credit. Outside the rough opening, he does a low okay job. The really funny scenes are really funny because Hyde Pierce is excellent. There’s one where Hyde Pierce is getting ready for some romance, which means he gets to show off physical comedy, then there’s one where he hijacks a couples group with his own problems, so dialogue comedy.

Hyde Pierce is great, Grammer and Mahoney are both good (the script’s not there for either of them as much). Gilpin only gets that crappy opening scene and Jane Leeves has a moment in Mahoney’s dating subplot but disappears fast. There just doesn’t seem to be space for them in the episode.

It’s a bit of requisite episode—Hyde Pierce’s outstanding separation subplot needs to get some resolution—with some highs and lows. It’d be nicer if it could’ve gone out on a high instead of a return to a low but Lloyd’s got to get some ageism in at the last minute for the end credits. But as a Hyde Pierce showcase (and for Melman’s return to directing form), the episode works well enough.

Frasier (1993) s05e12 – The Zoo Story

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 still angry Harris is a soulless agent. Instead, with station negotiations looming, he’s going to find a nice guy agent.

Even though everyone, including John Mahoney (who simultaneously shouldn’t have a valid opinion on the subject but is also really funny in the scene), tells him it’s impossible to find a good nice guy agent. Grammer finds one–Robert Stanton—who spends most of his time volunteering around town, not being a cutthroat advocate for his clients. But he’s wholesome and Grammer wants it to work out.

Even though everything Stanton comes up with ends in disaster—to be fair, however, Mahoney does aggravate at least one of the disasters, rather comedically—and Grammer has to weigh his morals against success with Harris and potential ruin with Stanton. Complicating things are the disasters having public ramifications for Grammer, making him Seattle’s laughing stock, something David Hyde Pierce revels in.

Hyde Pierce’s subplot has him in martial counseling troubles with estranged wife Maris, who wants him to fire their latest counselor and is withholding their weekly naughty time until he does so. Grammer convinces Hyde Pierce to take the high road and stand his moral ground, leading to some very funny lustful Hyde Pierce moments.

Most of the episode’s entirely solid and often very funny—good script, credited to Joe Keenan, and decent direction from Pamela Fryman—but the conclusion’s incredibly rocky because Fryman doesn’t seem to know how to direct Harris. Or doesn’t know how to compose shots when Harris is in a scene? It’s a very strange disconnect and rather unfortunate.

Good guest performances from Harris (not quite the usual showstopper or showcase) and Stanton. Hyde Pierce is the regular cast standout. Mahoney’s got some good material, Jane Leeves has a funny subplot about stanning a news anchor; Grammer’s the straight man throughout.

Its parts are better than the whole, but the whole’s all right.

Frasier (1993) s05e11 – Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do

It’s a potentially great episode, done in by David Lee’s oddly inept direction during the most important scene—though Ken Lamkin’s photography doesn’t help—and the script. Jay Kogen gets the credit. I’m starting to recognize the new crop of writers on “Frasier” and it’s never for good reasons.

The episode resolves one of the show’s longer running subplots, John Mahoney dating Marsha Mason. Mason hasn’t been around much this season and she gets an okay part this episode (it’s like someone else wrote the dramatic stuff, which is great until Kelsey Grammer can’t act it). She and Mahoney get stuff to do in the second half. The first half is the rest of the cast freaking out about Mahoney proposing to Mason. Rest of the cast except Peri Gilpin. The only thing Kogen can find her to do is a mini-scene leading into another scene in the cafe. It’s a good joke and the episode ends up not having room for Gilpin, but she’s missed when it’s not focused on Mahoney and Mason.

Jane Leeves has found an engagement ring and tells Grammer and David Hyde Pierce about it. All three of them are freaking out, though Hyde Pierce most of all because he hires a private investigator to snoop on Mason’s past. Grammer’s taking the more respectful of Mahoney’s wishes route, though if the detective’s already done the work what’s the harm….

There’s some bad material with about sex jokes about Maris (at , there are a couple transphobic jokes—which is apparently Kogen’s thing, he had one the last episode he wrote too—but eventually, when the story becomes about Hyde Pierce and Grammer intruding on Mahoney’s life, it gets surprisingly good, mostly because of the acting. So it’s even more disappointing when Grammer’s got no idea how to play the dramatic scenes with Mahoney later on. The same ones Lee can’t figure out how to direct and Lamkin can’t figure out how to light. There’s this exceptional performance from Mahoney, but the show lets him down.

It ends up being better than it ought to be, but never deserving of the good work Mahoney puts into it.

I spent the entire last scene wondering how Lee could whiff it so much on the direction; he’s always been absolutely competent to this point and he just cannot make it happen. And then there’s Grammer’s bad approach to it too. Thank goodness for Mahoney, shame he had to Atlas it.

Frasier (1993) s05e10 – Where Every Bloke Knows Your Name

I don’t know if the laugh track is actually louder in the first scene or if it just seems louder because the laughs seem a whole lot more forced. The episode opens with an inspired flashback to Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce’s characters in middle school having lunch and being obnoxious prigs, then fast forwards to them having a similar conversation in the cafe. Only all of the jokes are really forced in the present and the laugh track seems to be amped up to convince everyone to laugh along instead of accompanying existing laughter.

Laugh tracks were weird.

Anyway.

The episode sadly has nothing to do with the flashback kids (Andrew Dorsett plays young Grammer, Michael Welch plays young Hyde Pierce—Dorsett’s better but Welch is funnier), instead having to do with Grammer being sick of hanging out with Hyde Pierce all the time and looking for something else to do. It ends up being Jane Leeves’s hangout bar, as it taps into something Grammer hasn’t had since “Cheers,” though it’s an English pub in Seattle where Grammer’s the only Yank and so it fuels his obnoxious Anglophilia.

On one hand, it eventually gives Leeves an arc where she gets to treat Grammer as an equal not act like she’s the hired help, on the other, Leeves initially brings Grammer to the bar to meet her lingerie model friend (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick), which isn’t without awkward optics.

The episode’s mostly Grammer, Leeves, and the bar. Peri Gilpin’s single scene has her playing poker with John Mahoney and his buddies, which is one of the best scenes in the episode (I wasn’t expecting much from an episode with a solo Rob Hanning writing credit, but the poker scene’s real good). And Mahoney’s got the poker and then trying to take advantage of an empty apartment and giving Leeves advice based on that desire.

Though Mahoney gets the excellent end credits sequence.

The episode’s got its moments and it’s nice to see Leeves eventually get some agency, it just never lives up to any of its potential. Again, it’s about on par with what I was expecting from Hanning but Jeff Melman directed; I’d gotten used to Melman episodes being better.

Frasier (1993) s05e09 – Perspectives on Christmas

Perspectives on Christmas is an exceptionally easy episode, starting with the title. There’s even a plot point about someone not trying hard enough with Christmas presents after making a big deal about trying hard with Christmas presents, which seems to be some kind of meta plea to be allowed an easy Christmas episode from writer Christopher Lloyd.

The episode is split into four parts, with John Mahoney, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, and Peri Gilpin all telling their masseuse what’s been going on the last couple days regarding Christmas. It’s an easy gimmick and sets up a bunch of good laughs, but they’re all exceptionally easy. Like Mahoney being bad at singing a note in a Christmas carol, Leeves thinking Mahoney’s dying, Hyde Pierce in a slapstick bit, Gilpin having a screaming match with Kelsey Grammer while she’s dressed as Mrs. Claus and he’s Santa, around a bunch of shocked kids.

It’s all very, very easy.

And some of it absolutely hilarious because the cast is great. But it always feels like Lloyd and director David Lee are getting away with something, leveraging the cast, leveraging the situation, instead of actually reaching for anything. There’s no attempt at being a great Christmas episode in terms of the “goodwill” vibe, rather everyone’s in one state of miserable or another, even though there’s very little specific to the characters outside Gilpin’s pregnancy causing a plot point. But there’s no discussion of Grammer’s kid, Mahoney’s girlfriend, Leeves’s family back home, or Hyde Pierce’s martial troubles. Again, it’s all very easy, which sometimes can up the antics—Leeves in hysterics over everything Mahoney says, Hyde Pierce and the slapstick, Santa and Mrs. Claus melting down.

There’s some vaguely interesting developments—well, at least one—we get to see how Leeves experiences Hyde Pierce’s doting, which is both wonderful and creepier. Mahoney gets an absolutely fantastic finale to his arc, which has him trying to hide his participation in a Christmas pageant from Leeves. Some of the deception leads to her thinking he’s dying, but it’s all very problematic when you consider she’s a trained healthcare professional.

Great performances from the cast; okay, easy writing and directing; it’s an often really funny episode, but it needs to be since Lloyd is going for three jokes a minute to cover for not having the story down. If it weren’t for the actors, they’d never be able to get away with this episode.

Frasier (1993) s05e08 – Desperately Seeking Closure

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 it wasn’t about being dumped, however.

Grammer’s good at being whiney and annoying—actually, the episode provides a fairly comprehensive list of character defects in a hilarious sequence (Peri Gilpin and Jane Leeves cracking up at the jokes in scene)—but it’s fairly tiresome given there aren’t any subplots. John Mahoney and Leeves get a joke to themselves and David Hyde Pierce gets a coffee shop anecdote at the start. Otherwise, it’s all about Grammer and what’s wrong with him. Wait, I forgot. There’s a good remote control bit and it’s the second funniest thing in the episode after the character defect scene.

There’s an eventual okay character arc from it, but in the meantime there’s just a lot of whining. Rob Hanning’s got the writer credit. He asks a lot of the actors to pull it off. They pull it off for sure—and Pamela Fryman’s direction is excellent—but it’s a fairly thin story about Grammer coming to terms with different expectations for the relationship with Frost.

Despite getting to come back for a second appearance as a Grammer love interest, a rare feat, Frost gets practically nothing to do until the last scene and even then it’s playing off Grammer being absurd. The stuff with Grammer namedropping all the celebrities he gets to meet thanks to dating famous attorney Frost (who shouldn’t be in town after the month they’ve been dating because last episode established she was just there temporarily)… I mean, Hyde Pierce being annoying with Grammer being a shallow star f*cker is good because Hyde Pierce is great at expressions and his timing of them, but they're smiles, not laughs.

Hanning can’t seem to do laughs, just smiles and monotony.

Still, the scene where Grammer forces the cast to have an intervention with him is pretty hilarious, with Mahoney, Leeves, and Gilpin all getting to shine. Hyde Pierce is excellent in it too, but the others get all the best material.

It’s fine. Well-acted, really well-directed, okay script. It’s just a bit of a cop out as far as a resolve on the relationship between Grammer and Frost. Especially since Grammer spent the entire last two and a half seasons whining about not being able to get a date.

Frasier (1993) s05e07 – My Fair Frasier

Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) finally gets to end an episode without driving away his latest love interest—this time it’s Lindsay Frost, guest starring as a high powered attorney who’s in town to try a sensational case and she and Grammer have a meet cute where she helps him get a purse returned. See, Peri Gilpin’s pregnant and very moody, so she doesn’t like the purse Grammer got her. Except she also just doesn’t like the purse Grammer got her.

So when Grammer goes to return it, they won’t take it back until Frost intercedes and basically Karens the clerk until they relent. Only Grammer and Frost head out from their meet cute before he can actually get his money back, which is a fine enough gaff because it means there won’t be anymore vaguely transphobic jokes about Grammer possibly being a crossdresser. They’re not specific, just credited writer Jay Kogen thinks it’s really funny to have a set full of women laugh at the idea of Grammer being a crossdresser. Wokka wokka.

The majority of the episode is the supporting cast conferring with Grammer about him not being the alpha in the relationship with Frost, who breaks their dates, uses Grammer for quickies, and doesn’t appreciate the time he puts into cooking. There’s a decent enough resolution to it all—especially after Grammer meets all the other trophy wives—but it’s a bit of an easy episode. No one else gets a subplot, with Gilpin disappearing after the opening scene until the end credits when it’s a repeat of the moody pregnant lady gag (albeit extremely well-acted), with David Hyde Pierce being shaken to his core by a boat show snack bar the closest the episode ever gets.

Those asterisks aside, everyone’s really good supporting Grammer in his contemplations over the relationship.

Frost’s a fine guest star. She’s barely in the episode (actually it all reminds way too much of the Sela Ward guest starrer, which opened the season—they may even go to the same restaurant) and even when she is around, she’s an accessory to Grammer (while in the plot he’s her accessory). It’s a solid showcase for Grammer, who’s very good at being whiney about everything. It’s Kogen’s first episode (of many) as writer so hopefully he’ll improve but he could’ve done a lot worse; although, I was expecting more from a Jeff Melman directed outing.

Frasier (1993) s05e06 – Voyage of the Damned

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 Pierce and John Mahoney end up going with after Grammer gets home to find a despondent Hyde Pierce loitering around the apartment. Maris is giving him the cold shoulder on their wedding anniversary after he had thought it would be a good time to work on their reconnecting. Mahoney just wants the buffet.

The opening is tightly executed; Jeffrey Richman’s got the writing credit, Pamela Fryman directs. There’s just the right combination of jokes and exposition to set up the idea of the cruise, both at the radio station with Gilpin and Grammer, then back at the apartment. Because once they get on the ship, it’s a comedy of errors and the jokes are going to be fast and frequent, putting the cast through their paces.

The initial setup on the cruise is Grammer pissed off he doesn’t have the nicest room, Mahoney overeating at the buffets, Hyde Pierce fending off an amorous acquaintance (Stephanie Faracy), while Gilpin’s getting similar attention from a seventies one-hit disco wonder “The Barracuda” (Miguel Pérez). Both Faracy and Pérez have scant moments to establish themselves and both do a fine job. Pérez’s speedy character introduction has to resonate because he’s going to be very important to the rest of the episode, although he’s mostly off screen. Gilpin and Grammer become convinced Pérez has got something inappropriate up his sleeve and so they snoop around investigating, which just gets them into more and more trouble, their situation quickly becoming screwball.

Grammer and Gilpin are phenomenal this episode, handling the absurdity of their situation just right, with Mahoney’s eventual inclusion just ratcheting it up another few notches. Everyone works in great timing with one another, especially since there’s often something big joke going on around them. There’s one time you can just watch Gilpin not able to hold in the laughs in the background; it works for the scene, but it’s very clearly Gilpin.

Hyde Pierce is also excellent; he ends up with the spotlight in the beginning scenes of the cruise ship section, then fades out a bit, the episode then focusing Gilpin, Grammer, and Mahoney and their antics. Hyde Pierce gets more to do in the finale, wrapping everything together nicely.

Voyage of the Damned is an awesome episode. Definitely an exemplar. The cast and the crew nail it, with Grammer, Gilpin, and Mahoney a fantastic comedy team.