Frasier (1993) s06e21 – When a Man Loves Two Women

Credited writers Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck wrote the shittiest episode of “Frasier” ever (thus far) earlier this season, and so I was dreading this one. Especially since the logline seems primed for a bad episode—Kelsey Grammer hooks up with not one but two women (consecutively, not concurrently) and has to pick the one he wants to pursue a relationship with. It stands out because the women are returning guest stars—Virginia Madsen and Amy Brenneman—and it’s rare for the one-episode guest stars to come back. They maybe never have; definitely not the love interests.

Madsen is the breathy coworker from the Valentine’s Day episode where Grammer could never figure out if she was romantically interested. Brenneman was in the Christmas episode where the family had to pretend they were Jewish for her mom’s sake. The episode starts with Grammer and Madsen together, then he runs into Brenneman and ends up with her, then starts fretting over the right choice.

Brenneman’s obviously the right choice because she’s nicer to Jane Leeves, who Madsen treats like crap. John Mahoney votes for Madsen because she’s breathy and not too intelligent and opinionated like Brenneman (seriously, Mahoney needs to get a recurring subplot besides being an amiable pig). David Hyde Pierce abstains from choosing but does try to help Grammer with the decision-making. Also, the writing’s really thin on Madsen, so she’s just annoying, whereas the episode’s eventually going to give Brenneman the most agency a love interest has gotten to this point. With the caveat, there’s a narrative device in play the show’s rarely used before and never let anyone but Grammer in on.

It works out, too; Brenneman’s excellent. Madsen’s a low okay. She’s really unlikeable, so it’s an uphill battle, and she was also a lot better last time. One of the problems with bringing actors back is when they’re not better or as good on the return.

There’s also a bunch of great physical comedy from Mahoney, Leeves, and Hyde Pierce. Like director David Lee (his best-directed episode in ages, if not ever) really wanted to have fun with the sequences. Leeves also gets to do a great American impression in the spotlight, which seems to have been meant to make up for her being the punchline for a guest star. And Peri Gilpin has some good moments as she counsels Grammer with his unexpected romantic dilemma. It’s a packed episode.

And rather successful, given it’s about Grammer gaslighting his love interests while he inspects their proverbial teeth. Not enough to make up for Gregory and Huyck’s last outing, but a very solid entry.

Frasier (1993) s06e20 – Dr. Nora

There’s a lot of hilarious stuff in this episode and some great performances from the regular cast, especially the guests, but wow, it does not age well. Christine Baranski guest stars as a Dr. Laura analog who calls women sinners and sluts, with a set of conservative values people like John Mahoney have been missing. The episode—script credit to Joe Keenan—assumes everyone watching the show will be white, secular, and at least middle class; they’ve got no horse in the race, but they’re supposed to still know Baranski’s, too much.

Of course, in two decades since this episode, we’ve learned this kind of radio personality will enable racism, homophobia, misogyny, and a whole host of other things. The episode doesn’t just age poorly in making light of something too serious to joke about; there’s also the stuff where Kelsey Grammer’s fighting against it. I’m sure he’s ashamed to have ever allowed himself to stand up to hateful MAGA values. Plus, having Mahoney like Baranski shitting on single mothers makes him two-faced when it comes to Peri Gilpin.

The show addresses Gilpin being a single mom and Baranski spitting in the face of them, but as long as the ratings are good, station manager Tom McGowan can’t do anything about it. So basically, it’s just an episode about enabling white Christian nationalism and making it into a gag.

It’s a good gag. Baranski’s excellent. Her sense of comic timing is exceptional and kind of shows up Grammer.

The only subplots have David Hyde Pierce trying to grow a mustache to impress Jane Leeves and Leeves having mother issues spurred by Baranski’s radio show. Both are funny—and the Leeves mother thing at least gives her an excuse, as opposed to Mahoney, who’s just an asshole.

There’s a surprise guest star at the end—with a perfect bit of casting as reference too—and the screwball finale is consistently hilarious as they’re able to keep it going and going.

Good acting from Gilpin, who never really gets to complete her arc (because she’s a hot-headed woman and yelling is unbecoming a lady), and Grammer. Also, McGowan’s excellent in his scene. Lots of great timing. Katy Garretson directs (her first time on the show).

The show pissed off Dr. Laura enough Paramount took it out of rotation after the original airing, which was a cowardly move. But the episode’s such a weird platforming of shitty people and their ideas… it may have unintentionally been the right one.

Frasier (1993) s06e19 – IQ

What I can’t figure out with episode director David Lee, whose name I’ve come to dread this season, is the obviously uneven enthusiasm. This episode’s got a couple literal set pieces—there’s an auction scene and a restaurant scene (in addition to the apartment)—and there’s a lot of detail during those sequences but the blandest three-camera sitcom. Maybe the answer’s simple, and the unbilled extras in the episode had more imagination than Lee, but this episode’s got all the right pieces to be tremendous, and Lee doesn’t put them together.

I missed the writer credits while watching, keeping them for a surprise until now (when I can also look up their track record). The credit goes to Rob Hanning and Jay Kogen, who’ve gotten solo credit before, with Kogen on better episodes than Hanning, but Hanning no slouch. It’s a Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce competitiveness episode, starting from the opening joke, with Hyde Pierce bragging about his new cufflinks. It’d be gauche for both of them to be wearing silver, Hyde Pierce best wear the gold. Then, they’re off to a silent auction with a recurring gag and delayed punchline as to the associated charity’s purpose, and there’s room for the whole cast.

Peri Gilpin gets to go along because one of the auction items is getting to sit in the booth with her during an episode of she and Grammer’s radio show. But, of course, it’s been a very long time since they’ve been to the studio, and this auction item becomes a nothing plot point just to get Gilpin into the episode.

The auction scene has Grammer and Hyde Pierce fighting over who should get to have lunch with geniuses, John Mahoney trying to con his way into a new grill, and Gilpin trying to get someone besides stalker co-worker Patrick Kerr from winning the show sit-in. It’s a lot of good acting—with one particularly good shot from Lee, finally seeming to get the potential for the scene—but the writing’s a little thin on everything for Gilpin and Mahoney. The stuff with Grammer and Hyde Pierce is good, though, and it’s going to be the A plot for the rest of the episode.

See, when they were kids—sadly no flashback—Grammer and Hyde Pierce took IQ tests, and their parents never told them the scores, just they were close. Now they’re adults and want to know the results. The episode glazes over how unlikely it seems neither had their IQs tested since, and it quickly becomes an absurd competition again, with only a few hours before their individual intelligence will be put to the test.

Hyde Pierce and Grammer both get a fair amount of physical comedy to do. More for Hyde Pierce, but thanks to Lee’s direction, the audience doesn’t get to see some of the best of it. Mahoney’s got some good moments, both conniving for a grill and being an exasperated dad. Jane Leeves gets a great monologue recounting her weird family, which is just tacked on to the episode to give her something to do, but it’s doesn’t matter because it’s excellent. Though, again, Lee could’ve done better with it.

IQ’s a pretty good brother vs. brother episode, but it should’ve been better.

Frasier (1993) s06e18 – Taps at the Montana

Sometimes marathoning “hurts” a traditional broadcast show. They were meant to be watched weeks or months apart, with commercial breaks distracting and obfuscating tropes. They’re not meant to be strung together. But even with those caveats, it’s kind of weird “Frasier” did an episode about a dinner party right after doing an episode called The Dinner Party. Okay, this episode’s party is a cocktail party. However, it still involves Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce lying to Peri Gilpin to get her to attend to perform menial labor.

It’s also another “Frasier” familiar episode with a script credit for David Lloyd. He wasn’t on the last episode, but he did a riff on a series classic a couple ago. In this episode, he goes more general—though I swear parties going wrong at Hyde Pierce’s swank condo have happened before; there’s also a ridiculous screwball gag amping up one they used towards the beginning of the season… when Hyde Pierce was having a different party. So it’s a riff on a riff on a riff, and everyone seems appropriately resigned to it.

Especially since no one ever gets too much to do. There are plenty of guest stars, but none of them stand out; even when someone’s funny, like Bill Morey as Hyde Pierce’s most irate neighbor, he’s just funny, not really good. Part of the episode is a party game—Murder—and Grammer wants to play detective first. But there’s nothing to it, just a few minutes of filler until the next disaster. Wait, does it rip off an episode of “Fawlty Towers” too? Maybe. Or it rips off an episode “Fawlty” ripped off from someone else. It’s just a series of disasters, sight gags, and bad jokes.

The bad jokes are even a subplot—Hyde Pierce tries punning his way into the angry condo board’s heart.

The main cast is mostly on auto-pilot, particularly Grammer and John Mahoney, but they’ve still got their timing. Similarly, David Lee’s direction is passively nimble. He never tries, never tasks, and it all works out fine, so why bother doing any more.

Of the main cast, Jane Leeves actually gets the closest thing to compelling material, but it cuts away from her scenes before she gets to do anything with them.

“Frasier”’s seemed somewhat listless since Hyde Pierce’s divorce arc finished; this episode seems like they reenacted a combination clip and outtake show, stringing it all together with a skinny, new plotline. The show feels so incredibly lost all of a sudden.

Frasier (1993) s06e17 – The Dinner Party

Turns out I’ve been bullish episodes where Jeffrey Richman gets the script credit. I thought his name was on my unenumerated list of problematic “Frasier” writers. And this episode certainly has a bunch of problematic elements. Lots of misogynistic jokes, some fat-shaming, and I think some other ableism. It’s also a “sitcom as continuous” play episode, with Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce doing one of their bickering brothers’ adventures without actually having an adventure.

David Lee directs. He doesn’t seem as into the concept as the script.

The episode begins with Grammer deciding he’s going to have a dinner party. Hyde Pierce is there, and they agree he will cohost. They want to get a specific couple to hang out with them, which will require wheeling and dealing with the guest list—so lots of jokes about rich white drunkards—finding a caterer, and convincing John Mahoney to move his poker night.

In the background, Peri Gilpin and Jane Leeves are going to a fancy dance, except Leeves can’t find anything to wear, so they keep trying on different dresses and having arguments. Having Gilpin in the apartment means Grammer can involve her in the dinner party, which has him manipulating and lying to her like any good friend and boss would do. There is a very amusing moment where Gilpin gets to comment on Hyde Pierce crushing on Leeves—he stops her in time—but Gilpin being in on that joke has a lot of possibilities.

But Gilpin and Leeves fighting about whether or not a dress is too slutty or whatever? It’s not good. Mahoney popping in and out? Not good. Even if Lee were into the concept of an episode about nothing in real-time, the script doesn’t have enough punch to get it through. There’s not enough drama in the party planning to get halfway, so there’s a voicemail twist thrown in to kill a few more minutes before the Gilpin and Leeves subplot has cooked long enough to help end the episode.

Ostensibly, the episode wants to be about Hyde Pierce hanging out at Grammer’s too much after his divorce, but Hyde Pierce has been hanging out at Grammer’s for almost the entire run of the show. They’ve already had episodes where Hyde Pierce and Grammer spending too much time together was a plot point, and they didn’t resolve with pat, forecasted twists.

Maybe if the acting were better—Grammer and Hyde Pierce are both okay, but Hyde Pierce seems very bored (his two-and-a-half-season character arc with the divorce is not paying dividends), so Grammer’s having to hold it up. Maybe if it were a live episode. As is, it’s a little too tedious, and a little too mean.

Frasier (1993) s06e16 – Decoys

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 getting her to seduce Saul Rubinek away from Jane Leeves while they pretend to be on their own romantic rendezvous, so Grammer doesn’t spoil the whole thing.

So basically, Hyde Pierce and Gilpin are really shitty, and they’re only going to get away with it—not sabotaging the relationship because it’d be too shitty for a sitcom–but get away with it in terms of not being tarnished characters if they learn enough of a lesson. Or at least eventually get enough of a chastising from the proper authority. Along the way, there are some excellent laughs and good direction from Pamela Fryman—the episode does the character X doesn’t see character Y because someone went through a door at just the right time ad nauseam. The joke is in the buildup, which is a fine enough device.

I mean, “Frasier” has already used it in other episodes. Including other episodes involving weekends away in cabin or lake house settings. The episode plays as a reliable standard, though there are some particularly nice moments. The first one is Hyde Pierce and Gilpin having a bonding moment in the coffee shop; the two actors took quite a while to share scenes and have never had an adventure together before. Usually, it’s just snippy banter. Here they’re collaborators. They’re good. It’s not a great plot, but they’re good.

And there’s a charming bit where Mahoney forces Grammer to go duck hunting. After promising the episode would feature Mahoney, he’s just around for scene setups and wise old man monologues. The duck hunting scene gives him a decent enough monologue, and Mahoney’s able to act the hell out of it. He does wistful quite well and watches Grammer process things through quite well.

Rubinek’s really likable in his few scenes—I’m also pretty sure it’s the first time we meet baby Alice; the real baby doesn’t get a credit, but I assume she’ll be back. Hyde Pierce is able to get Gilpin on board helping because Rubinek wants a family and getting back with Gilpin has a readymade one. Fryman can do a lot with the pace, but it’s troublesomely gross when the episode slows down enough there’s time to think about Hyde Pierce’s plan. Even for a nineties sitcom.

So, the very cute Eddie the dog bit during the end credits lightens things considerably.

Frasier (1993) s06e15 – To Tell the Truth

In terms of "Frasier"'s concept, To Tell the Truth is the most significant episode they've ever done. They've irrevocably changed something about one of the characters. When you watch the show in reruns, there's before and after this episode, six and a half years into the show's run, and resolving a story arc starting in the third season. The divorce of Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Maris (Maris Crane) is finally resolved, something the show's been boiling on a back burner this entire season and brewing the last two. Started in season three, decides in season six. It's a three-year episode arc.

And they do it in one episode. It's a great episode—I'm guessing director David Lee's best; he's done plenty of the larger scale episodes, but I never think of him as a particularly successful director. The first scene with Kelsey Grammer talking to Hyde Pierce about getting new lawyers leads to Peri Gilpin recommending an ex-boyfriend, they meet the lawyer (a perfect Saul Rubinek, I really hope he and Gilpin get to interact going forward), there's a crisis for Grammer because it's his show still, they wrap it all up, and they give it an epilogue. It's an awesome twenty-two minutes. In a season of strong episodes—and one really shitty one, not ready to forget that one yet—it's far and away the best. It just gets better and better as it goes, ending on a bittersweet and beautifully acted moment from Hyde Pierce.

Everyone gets a lengthy showcase, except Gilpin, who's only in the first scene. She's good, but it's a Hyde Pierce episode, and they're still in a reasonably distant orbit. Hyde Pierce gets a whole range of things to do, comedy and drama, as Rubinek's effective lawyering appears to be rushing the inevitable—Jane Leeves is going to find out about Hyde Pierce's crush on her. Maris's lawyers watched Moon Dance back in season three and are… wait a second; Moon Dance is episode thirteen of season three, Hyde Pierce leaves Maris in episode eight.

Anyway.

Even though Leeves doesn't know about the crush, Grammer does, and they've already established he can't lie. His ethics, you see, which Hyde Pierce accepts but John Mahoney doesn't. So then there's a great father and son scene for Grammer and Mahoney before Mahoney gets a great bit on his own stemming from it too. It's a fantastic family episode, lots of frustrated Crane boys.

But then there's also Rubinek, whose first scene is a comedy goldmine, mixing dialogue and physical comedy. It might be Lee's best-directed scene in the episode, and all of them are well-directed. It's a great introduction to the character, with Rubinek ably putting it all out there.

Rob Hanning gets the credit on the script, which is obviously phenomenal.

To Tell the Truth's one hell of a sitcom episode. Not just a "Frasier," but it's one of the great twenty-two minutes of television.

Frasier (1993) s06e14 – Three Valentines

Kelsey Grammer’s garbage politics were well-known when “Frasier” aired, which always made rooting for the show awkward. But Three Valentines, the fifth episode of the series he directed, is so good I thought about how it was too bad he never broke into movies. Though he’d just have made right-wing crap.

This episode is a divine showcase of the show’s main cast (except Peri Gilpin, who’s around and good but not showcased), starting with David Hyde Pierce doing a lengthy slapstick sequence. He’s getting ready for a society Valentine’s Day date with the president of his wine club and notices his pants aren’t quite well-ironed enough. The only dialogue in the scene is Hyde Pierce setting the stage for the audience (on a phone call to his wine guy) and then the occasional witty remark to Eddie the dog, who watches the silly human unintentionally wreak havoc. What’s great about the scene is Hyde Pierce, obviously, and how he, Grammer, and the script pace out the ordeal. It starts with Hyde Pierce doing one kind of a physical bit, then moves on to another, then moves on to another, then another, then rewind to the second, then skips ahead. It’s exquisite work from all involved.

Then it’s time for Grammer’s Valentines, which has him out on a maybe date, maybe business dinner with new colleague Virginia Madsen. The scene opens with Grammer calling Gilpin to talk about whether or not it’s an actual date. He’ll call Gilpin back throughout—it’s nice to see cell phones used to such good effect—to get feedback on the latest development. Grammer’s sequence eventually gives him some good physical humor, but nothing like Hyde Pierce’s masterclass in it. Instead, it’s mostly comedy of errors dialogue stuff and an enjoyable guest turn from Madsen. Rob Hanning gets the script credit on this episode; it’s an excellent script.

The third and final date is John Mahoney and Jane Leeves on a non-romantic evening. The Hyde Pierce segment was all physical gags; the Grammer one was physical and dialogue; theirs is all dialogue. Leeves gets bummed she doesn’t have any romance in her life, while Mahoney is upset everyone thinks he’s too old to be her fella. The latter’s a lot more problematic when you think about it than when you watch it… actually, so’s the former, given her relationship status is defining her. Even great, it’s still a nineties sitcom episode.

Lots of good acting from Leeves and Mahoney, emphasizing their abilities at immediate tone changes. It’s a lovely finish to the episode.

Three Valentines is obviously an exemplar “Frasier,” but it’s also an exemplar of the sitcom format. Grammer, as director, does a great job. The cast is all excellent. And Hyde Pierce’s physical comedy sequence is glorious.

Frasier (1993) s06e13 – The Show Where Woody Shows Up

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 Trek” jokes because he’s a nerd Trekkie. Or Trekker. I think he talks about it (but not on this episode). There’s additional synergy because it’s all Paramount—including directly making a William Shatner joke (but at Kerr’s expense). And it gives the script something to do besides make “Woody is dumb” jokes.

There are a lot of “Woody is dumb” jokes.

Rob Greenberg gets the script credit. Other than not knowing what to do with David Hyde Pierce—he hangs out with Kelsey Grammer and Harrelson for their bar buddy reunion, but since there’s nothing for him and Harrelson to interact on, Hyde Pierce just makes reaction shots to the “Woody is dumb” jokes. At least John Mahoney appears to be enjoying Harrelson doing the schtick. He’s beaming during some of the shots as he watches the energy buzz of Harrelson. Harrelson is genuinely great at playing a lovable buffoon.

Unfortunately, the episode can’t think of anything to do with Peri Gilpin (Harrelson’s happily married, though there could’ve been a fantastic baby bonding thing), so she’s only in it long enough to set up an offscreen gag for Grammer, Kerr, and Edward Hibbert. It’s okay—they all go to karaokeing offscreen, and then Grammer and Harrelson talk about it later, letting the audience imagine Kerr and Hibbert’s performances. There’s a reward for it too, so it does work out. But it’s a bit of a detour.

Because the crux of the plot is Grammer feels like he’s outgrown Harrelson and “Cheers” and wants to ditch him but can’t. Harrelson’s in town for a wedding, which never comes up after the first six minutes, even though it seems like it should. It’s an okay plot—a little meta with the now erudite Grammer unable to pal around with his working-class former regular bartender Harrelson; the writers’ room just gave up—and it’s funny. There are maybe too many of the “Woody is dumb” jokes but not too too many. Enough you remember why Harrelson couldn’t have led a spin-off plus one, but not so many a couple last-minute ones aren’t just fine.

Good direction from Pamela Fryman.

It’s a successful very special guest star episode.

Frasier (1993) s06e12 – Our Parents, Ourselves

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 guest star Eva Marie Saint with a slight misogynist bent and turns John Mahoney into a callous horndog, but it’s not bad… for a nineties sitcom.

Academy Award winner Saint plays Peri Gilpin’s much-mentioned mother, a former attorney general of Wisconsin. She’s in town, and she’s annoying Gilpin, who just wants some time to herself. So Gilpin and Kelsey Grammer cook up a scheme to set Saint up with his dad, Mahoney, who’s apparently been single since he broke up with Marsha Mason last season. I can’t remember, but I thought he’d had a date since.

Anyway.

The scheme involves meeting at Mahoney’s favorite bar, which means we get some funny Grammer and David Hyde Pierce amongst the working class moments. Then there’s the setup with Saint and Mahoney, and the kids are outta there. Until this point, outside a well-executed phone call bit for the radio show—Gilpin has to pantomime a football play, so Grammer wins a therapy bet—the most amusing joke involves bar waitress Alice Playten’s faux pas when she meets Grammer and Hyde Pierce (Mahoney’s been awkwardly talking up his sons).

After the single parents set up, the action moves to Grammer and Gilpin sitting around his apartment waiting for Mahoney and Saint to get home. There’s some decent barbed banter between them as they get more and more concerned, but what stands out is Jane Leeves watching a beauty show and making shitty comments about all the women’s physical appearances and concocting excuses to slut-shame.

So, yep, Hirsch’s getting distinct.

It’s going to turn out while Saint’s all about Mahoney, Mahoney’s not all about Saint. There’s a pretty good comedy of errors Super Bowl, solidly slobs versus the snobs, though it makes Mahoney into a frat boy grandpa, and Saint gets zilch. The ending gives Gilpin and Grammer a lovely character-building moment.

The episode’s not bad, and it’s got some decent and better moments, but its shitty factor isn’t non-zero, and the jokes it does land are cheap and easy.

Pamela Fryman directs, which probably explains the reasonable success.