Frasier (1993) s06e11 – Good Samaritan

This episode is transphobic garbage and shouldn’t be aired with a content warning, it should be shoved into a hole and only pulled out for academics trying to catalog nineties transphobia as it intersects with classism and general misogyny. Or for writers Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck to figure out how to attempt to atone for putting this reprehensible trash into the world.

I usually don’t—maybe I never have—made any of the credited writers possessive of the episode because there are writers rooms and writer’s guilds, and there’s a whole thing to how sitcoms are written and so on. But Gregory and Huyck were executive story editors on the show, so if they hadn’t wanted their names on this episode, they could’ve done something about it.

The transphobia doesn’t come into the episode until about halfway through. There’s nothing significant in the first half. Still, there are the occasional promises—Kelsey Grammer is trying to be a Good Samaritan, and everyone’s taking advantage or shitting on him for it. There’s a moderately amusing radio station sequence where he has both Ron Howard and William H. Macy as callers; in the end, it just means Howard and Macy guested on this transphobic trash episode.

Also, the radio station sequence is misogynist as Grammer and the episode crap on single mom Peri Gilpin trying to save herself some time as she works at one a.m. because Grammer’s a sucker.

The reason the episode’s got promise is Trevor Einhorn is in town as Grammer’s son. After missing the Christmas episode, Einhorn’s just here to take the stakes up a notch as fair as Grammer’s eventual public disgrace. Einhorn’s function in the episode isn’t actually bad and could have at least bandaged the hemorrhaging garbage, but instead, it turns out the episode’s got one last kick of transphobia left in it, right up until the end. With, of course, a healthy sprinkling of misogyny and classism.

Grammer’s most involved in the utter trash section, which has him picking up a damsel in distress to find out she’s a sex worker (and rude to him about the misunderstanding because he thought she might want a lift at 1:30 a.m. in pouring rain), only for the further gotcha to be she’s a trans woman. As Grammer navigates the misunderstanding—he doesn’t have any panic, which almost humanizes him against the other characters’ enthusiastic transphobia—mostly David Hyde Pierce, with John Mahoney getting instead reminiscing about taking out urges on South Korean girls during the war–only to chuck Grammer’s very slim less reprehensible edge to have him get in on it too through peer pressure.

Jane Leeves’s participation is the least odious—and maybe not at all; any motion is going to fling shit—but the episode rolls its eyes at her, so it’s not like a plus.

I paid attention to the writing after seeing their names. I wondered if Peter Huyck is related to American Graffiti co-writer Willard Huyck; apparently not, thank goodness. But there’s not some subtle shift to the shit, they smack you on the cheek with the misogyny, then the transphobia’s a punch in the nose. Just when the swelling is going down—and Einhorn is confronting Grammer about whether or not one should strive for an ideal—there’s the final jab. Turns out it was all a daydream, and Grammer’s just terrified of someone thinking he might be nice to a trans woman. Then it turns out… the woman in the rain? Not a sex worker, not a trans woman. Just some fellow rich lady who lives in his building.

Gross.

Good Samaritan is mortifying and loathsome stuff and shows popular entertainment wasn’t problematic so much as often repugnant in the late 1990s.

Frasier (1993) s06e10 – Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz

The first time Kelsey Grammer directed a “Frasier” episode, he barely appeared onscreen. Subsequently, he started including himself more, and with this episode, he’s got himself front and center. He gives David Hyde Pierce and John Mahoney some outstanding showcases—better than he ever gives himself—but he’s got the A plot from the start.

The episode begins establishing it’s a Christmas episode with Grammer and Peri Gilpin shopping for last-minute gifts. It’s a nice department store scene, lots of activity, some good smiles, and then a great introduction to guest star Carole Shelley. She saves Grammer from a social faux pas and gets her single daughter a date with a doctor out of it. The daughter ends up being Amy Brenneman, so it works out.

Brenneman’s appearance is interesting for a few reasons. First, she’s trying out comedy from drama and adapts her timing well. Second, she ends up being support to Shelley. Third, Grammer isn’t hostile towards her. The last time there was a big-name love interest guest star (Teri Hatcher), Grammer was visibly distressed. This time he’s far more gracious, and the proto-couple are charming together.

Especially when it turns out the A plot is Grammer and family hiding their Christianity from Shelley, who assumed he was Jewish. Problematically, Mahoney wants to hang up an electronic Rudolph wreath, and Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves are running around planning a musical Christmas pageant. Thanks to the pacing and the script—credited to Jay Kogen—the episode dances around being screwball and builds to an emotional conclusion. A funny, moving close, but very much a heartfelt Christmas episode.

Shelley’s fantastic. She and Brenneman toggle between moods immediately, which is part of the story, but it’s also very impressive to watch Shelley do it. Primarily since punchlines are entirely based on her read of a situation.

The subplot with Leeves and Hyde Pierce is excellent too, leveraging their chemistry and Hyde Pierce’s physical comedy abilities. Grammer’s other episodes had a big focus on Leeves and Hyde Pierce, and this one lets them find a good rapport as well, just in C plot territory. Turns out Mahoney and the Christmas decorating that wasn’t is the B plot and a perfect one.

“Frasier”’s always done satisfying Christmas episodes, but I’m not sure there’s ever been one as funny as this one. Of course, the stakes are low—Grammer and Gilpin are back at work, and there are no visiting family guest stars—but the lack of drama just lets them have more fun.

Plus, the credits postscript is Eddie being seasonally adorable.

Frasier (1993) s06e09 – Roz, a Loan

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 new cafe waitress Tricia O’Kelley dashes their hopes. She heard the station owner (sadly Miguel Sandoval doesn’t cameo) pish-posh the ratings and say salsa’s staying. So Gilpin’s bummed out because she’s not rolling in dough like Grammer, and he loans her fifteen hundred to tide her over for three more months.

Fifteen hundred dollars in 1998 money, incidentally, is twenty-five hundred in modern money. It also means Gilpin’s rent is something like a hundred and fifty bucks a month. The economics in sitcoms are fascinating and utterly depressing.

Anyway.

The A plot is then Grammer fretting over Gilpin misspending the loan as John Mahoney, Jane Leeves, and David Hyde Pierce all tell him to leave it alone, but of course, he can’t because it’s one of the character’s standard tropes. The B plot is them maybe getting their jobs back after all. The C plot is Hyde Pierce getting Mahoney to take him to a day spa; Mahoney has a gift certificate for two, but it’s got his name on it, so he’s got to go. There’s a profoundly “over his head” moment when Hyde Pierce whines he can’t afford to go to a day spa and whines to get Mahoney to take him. Grammer had just been complaining about similarly broke Gilpin going to the same day spa.

So it’s like seventeen minutes of Grammer ruminating on whether or not to be a rude jerk while everyone tells him not to be a rude jerk.

The rest of the time is O’Kelley playing oracle and then short (and funny) appearances from Dan Butler and Patrick Kerr since the radio station is kind of back.

Pamela Fryman’s direction holds it together, and the acting’s fine—Mahoney’s great with the spa stuff, ditto Leeves as she gets fed up with Grammer’s griping—but, again, it’s just about Grammer being a dick to good friend Gilpin.

Janis Hirsch gets the script credit—her first on the series.

Frasier (1993) s06e08 – The Seal Who Came to Dinner

The second half of the episode is such accomplished screwball I totally forget the first half ranges from problematic to cringe, with way too much self-awareness. The episode opens at the cafe, with Kelsey Grammer and Peri Gilpin talking about being out of work and David Hyde Pierce showing up to whine about not being able to have a fancy dinner party at his shitty bachelor pad. Next, Gilpin goes into a rant about how hard life is having a newborn as a single mom while being unemployed.

Grammer and Hyde Pierce instinctively ignore her because what do women even say and then wonder why she storms out. Exit Gilpin from the episode.

Then there’s John Mahoney perving on live-in employee Jane Leeves’s friend, Susie Park, because she’s Asian. And during the war (presumably Korean), Mahoney dated a lot of Korean girls. Though Leeves points out the power imbalance, Mahoney and the episode don’t care. They repeat the joke a little later, with Grammer and Hyde Pierce talking about geisha girls and Mahoney having a fit. They’re bad jokes, and there’s no way to do them “well,” but they could’ve been done a lot better.

Joe Keenan gets the script credit, and it feels like it’s been a while. Maybe he—or the room—was rusty. Or just particularly misogynist and predatory. Leeves is good at yelling at Mahoney, though. So whoever wrote her dialogue got it. Then again, maybe it was all good in the script, and director David Lee fumbled it.

So. Problems. Multiple, layered problems.

Until the actual dinner party, which has Grammer and Hyde Pierce breaking into his soon-to-be ex-wife’s beach house to throw the party. Only there’s a dead seal on the beach, and they’ve got to take care of it. Throw in a nosey neighbor (Marilyn Child), a demanding caterer (Arnie Burton), and the head of a syndicated radio network (Catherine Dent), and it’s a winner. Lots of good physical comedy for both Grammer and Hyde Pierce, lots of good dialogue humor for both of them. It’s spectacular stuff.

Just a rocky road to get there. The script characterizes Grammer and Hyde Pierce as inherently rude and shallow and leaves the actors responsible for making them still likable. Though it’s probably better they ignore Gilpin for a joke instead of stalk various women through the first scene like Mahoney’d apparently be doing.

The second half’s excellent, though. The ideal would be missing the first ten minutes, being confused for a couple minutes, then getting the glory of the dinner party. Particularly great work from Hyde Pierce throughout.

Frasier (1993) s06e07 – How to Bury a Millionaire

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 start to the episode, complete with general setup. Hyde Pierce is trying not to be seen because his wife took away his car in the divorce, and he’s in a hatchback. It’s awesome.

It eventually works out into a Crane boys episode—Lori Kirkland Baker gets the script credit; she’s not just distinguishing herself, in general, this season, she’s doing Crane boys episodes, which require delicate balance. The episode’s got to be simultaneously sympathetic to Hyde Pierce in his fantastical money woes while still making fun of him, often from Grammer and Mahoney’s perspectives, but also making a little fun of them too. It works out. Outstanding writing for all of it, leveraging Hyde Pierce’s physical comedy as well as dialogue banter. Pamela Fryman directs; no big swings like the opening car chase, but excellent direction throughout. It’s an exemplar “Frasier.”

Some of the episode has newly broke Hyde Pierce crashing at Grammer’s apartment, but they avoid the creep potential of having him around Jane Leeves, instead focusing on how much he annoys Mahoney and Grammer. There’s a great setup for that joke, starting in dialogue then moving into sight gags and physical comedy. Fryman’s got a wonderful sense of pacing and spends just the right amount of time building to punchlines. Again, it’s an exemplar episode. Even before they get to Hyde Pierce having to look at shitty, divorced dude apartments.

Most of the laughs for that subplot come during a tour with one of the apartment managers, Michael McShane, with the episode continuing on in more dramatic territory. Grammer, Hyde Pierce, and Mahoney all get to do character development as the finale progresses, and there are a couple divine concluding punchlines.

There’s scant but good material for Leeves and Peri Gilpin. No room for the girls in a Crane boys episode (Gilpin’s scene continues she and Grammer’s overarching unemployment arc, and then Leeves can’t be around Hyde Pierce too much, it’s not a romance episode after all).

Outside missing them, it’s a delightful episode; Fryman and Kirkland Baker are quickly becoming a new “Frasier” dream team.

Frasier (1993) s06e06 – Secret Admirer

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 got a couple bizarre composition choices. There’s this one close-up of Grammer in particular where the shot just doesn’t work, though maybe it’s Ron Volk’s cutting or Ken Lamkin lighted it wrong; Fryman keeps relying on it, and it hurts the scene (and Grammer’s performance).

Phillips’s backstory as the love interest stands out; she used to work at the radio station with Grammer and Gilpin (only never appeared on an episode, she apparently was some kind of executive, but it’s barely implied), so she knows them. I think she also knows Hyde Pierce. It makes her seem very familiar in the opening scene without actually being familiar. Gilpin’s interruption is just for a joke, but Hyde Pierce is setting up the B plot. He’s overjoyed—the financial settlement of his divorce is finally done.

The elation continues long enough for Hyde Pierce (offscreen) to beat Grammer at squash, which leads to the A-plot complications. Someone has slipped an expensive gift into Grammer’s squash bag, and it’s an ex-girlfriend. And he’s just got to know who, even if it messes up things with Phillips. Even though Phillips isn’t around for most of the episode, she’s never out of mind because the supporting cast repeatedly reminds the increasingly boorish Grammer he’s already got a girlfriend. He just wants one who buys him diamonds (despite the plot not involving any previously introduced characters, it’s very on point for the Frasier character, leading to an outstanding performance from him here).

There’s some excellent material for Hyde Pierce and John Mahoney as they interfere (and don’t), but then there’s also the B plot where Hyde Pierce has to get the soon-to-be ex-wife to sign the final agreement. Obviously, that task will not be going as planned for him. Mahoney, who initially doesn’t get too much to do (not more than Gilpin or Jane Leeves), ends up running the last third or so of the episode, including a hilarious physical comedy bit.

So kind of shaky opening, but it all works out in the end. The credits scene is fantastic. All the acting is real good—Phillips is a great guest love interest, too bad she hasn’t been around more—with everyone getting some fine showcases.

Not quite an exemplar episode, but very, very close.

Frasier (1993) s06e05 – First, Do No Harm

Oh, thank goodness, first-time “Frasier” writers Jordan Hawley and William Schifrin never have another credit on an episode. I didn’t recognize their names on the titles and wondered if they would be new regular writers this promising season. No, they are not. Whew.

Twenty-plus years on, “Frasier” has aged pretty well. I remember a few writers whose names regularly turned up on cringe-to-problematic episodes, but usually right in the middle and never too bad. It was the mid-1990s NBC, after all. But this episode stinks. Starting with Kelsey Grammer never finding the right moment to tease new mom Peri Gilpin about her ruffled appearance. Luckily John Mahoney can drive home the point. It’s after a random stranger (Randy Pelish) tells Grammer he’s missed on the airwaves. Only the joke is Pelish is really weird. Then there’s a joke about Mexico.

So it’s ableist, sexist, and racist before the credits are done.

The main story isn’t any better. Grammer starts dating Teri Hatcher, who’s playing the daughter of Mahoney’s best friend. Hatcher’s too hot for Grammer, and he can’t figure out why she’s with him (it’s a big question because they have a soul-crushing lack of chemistry together). She’s also got a lot of mental health issues going on. David Hyde Pierce suggests maybe she’s in it for the free therapy. So then the episode becomes about Grammer weighing good sex and unpaid therapist hours.

Meanwhile, Mahoney’s convinced he’s a great matchmaker, so he starts parading Jane Leeves out on the balcony for his friends to inspect.

In the first scene, the laugh track sounds off, and while there are some laughs thanks to the cast… a bunch of the laugh track laughs aren’t laughs. They’re mocking people with real things going on, including your boss trying to auction you off to a stranger. So it’d be better if they faked a laugh track than they found a studio audience of such terrible people, even in 1998.

Hatcher’s good a couple times but only a couple. She and Grammer have, again, absolutely no chemistry. He’s not even lustful and pervy, and “Frasier” is often about Grammer being lustful and pervy. He clearly does not like working with Hatcher. She’s better at the physical comedy, which is all problematic, than the dialogue. It’s a rough episode.

There’s also this hilarious sequence where Grammer and Hyde Pierce are talking about Hatcher’s mental health problems—as your therapist or therapist boyfriend apparently does—and Hyde Pierce is making microwave popcorn and putting Tabasco on it. Director Sheldon Epps (who I was expecting more from, but maybe he saved the script, who knows) showcases Hyde Pierce’s process, but neither microwave popcorn nor Tabasco sauce fit the character.

Whatever. At least the writers never come back.

Frasier (1993) s06e04 – Hot Ticket

It’s an outdoor episode for the most part, with the main action being Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce trying to get into a play. So it’s the two of them outside the theater—presumably on location, though I suppose there might be a big theater exterior on the Paramount backlot—trying to avoid looking desperate for tickets and getting embarrassed whenever they see someone from society around.

The episode opens with what seems to be a narrative non sequitur about Jane Leeves getting photographed “mooning” (it’s punny because her character’s name is Daphne Moon) for the Seattle newspaper lifestyle column. Then it quickly becomes a Grammer and Hyde Pierce snob team-up episode. Only we’re in season six now and disappointed dad John Mahoney has gotten used to it and now offers them plot perturbing advice instead of shamed observations.

The talk of the town is the new play starring legendary actor Fritz Weaver—seriously, if society snobs and legendary actor tropes continue to age at current rate viewers in another twenty years are going to be wondering why there aren’t any guillotines in the episode—and so the boys need to see it. Not because they really care about the play, of course, but so Hyde Pierce doesn’t feel like he’s being left out of society even though he’s divorcing his society wife.

Grammer’s along because it’s funnier when they’re snobby together. The weirdest part of the episode comes when Grammer doesn’t try calling his talent agent to get tickets to the show, instead relying on vague connections so the script can make ablest, sexist jokes at offscreen women’s expenses. They’re not even easy jokes, just mean ones—Jeffrey Richman gets the script credit, which has the occasional lows (those jokes) but also some great material for the actors once they’re outside. There’s something even more magical about Hyde Pierce’s physical comedy off set.

Weaver’s solid for what he’s got to do as the actor (believably narcissistically pontificate) and there’s a nice small part for Natalija Nogulich. Francis X. McCarthy’s okay as her husband but he gets maybe three lines, all unimportant. They’re the society folks Hyde Pierce so desperately wants to impress.

Peri Gilpin shows up for a single scene (on par with Leeves) and it’s pretty good, until the script goes misogynist for the finish, which doesn’t play well outside in the “real world,” but the episode recovers.

Director David Lee has some bad choices—ditto editor Ron Volk—but he keeps a great pace to the episode; it’s another strong season six outing, definitely bumpier than it needs to be, but very successful when the sailing’s smooth.

Frasier (1993) s06e03 – Dial M for Martin

It’s another great episode. Even with some often very iffy directing from Ken Lamkin. Rob Greenburg gets the writing credit on the inspired story. The episode opens with Kelsey Grammer and John Mahoney bickering—a lot more knives out than usual; they’ve gotten sick of each other since Grammer’s been out of work. Once again, greatest thing to happen to the show about a guy where his job is a major focus of the show—fire him!

Mahoney happens across Peri Gilpin (in her single appearance in the episode) and she suggests he try living with other son David Hyde Pierce until Grammer finds work. Hyde Pierce isn’t down for it until he finds out physical therapist Jane Leeves will be coming with. Or will she—turns out if Mahoney can get around Hyde Pierce’s staircase-heavy apartment, he’s well enough he doesn’t need a physical therapist.

So while Leeves is trying to find another job and dealing with the emotions of leaving the family and Grammer is desperately trying to make a date with model Laura Harring (having his apartment to himself at long last), Mahoney’s freaking out thinking Hyde Pierce is trying to hurt him to keep Leeves around. Lots of great physical comedy from everyone—including Grammer, who’s got a whole process to go through whenever he’s trying to start up date night after interruptions.

Season six is on a definite roll at this point; the episode structure—particularly the feint with Leeves’s impending departure—is now classic “Frasier” but there’s a renewed vigor about it. Despite Lamkin’s sometimes odd directorial choices, the cast has a fantastic pace together. Mahoney gets to do more physical comedy than usual, while Hyde Pierce and Leeves both get to play with their subconscious urges. And then Grammer gets to ham it up as a Lothario. It’s a wonderful mix of talent.

The script deserves a lot of the credit for the episode’s success as well. Not just the plotting or the pacing, but the dialogue jokes are all really good too. I’m getting more and more excited about this season.

Frasier (1993) s06e02 – Frasier’s Curse

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 Kelsey Grammer—he’s out of work—and to great success. The episode opens with a wonderful terrible job interview where Grammer can’t stop offending radio station boss Scott Michael Campbell (who does really well in an absolutely absurd role) and then moves into a fretting episode, but a very snappily paced one.

Though it just occurred to me the previous episode was a Grammer fretting episode too. Maybe they’ve just perfected it with the unemployment story arc. Doesn’t matter, it’s hilarious (and they should be writing for the reruns here anyway).

See, it’s Grammer’s high school reunion time and he’s convinced he’s cursed to humiliate himself. At the last reunion he’d just divorced—kind of fast and loose with the show timeline but, again, whatever—and now he’s out of work. There’s a good recurring bit with Peri Gilpin going with him to the reunion, with David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, and Jane Leeves offering commentary and advice from the sidelines. “Frasier” feels more more focused on Grammer than it has in seasons, only they’ve got years of experience informing how to best leverage the cast. It’s real funny.

Fine direction from Pamela Fryman as well. She gets open the episode up—Grammer makes an ill-advised trip to the grocery store where he runs into an old classmate (an appropriately snotty Tim Monsion)—and keeps the great pace. There’s an abbreviated approach to the narrative, relying on Grammer to emote the results of missed scenes; same approach with Gilpin, who gets some good, justified rants.

Hyde Pierce gets the opening comic bit—which showcases Erika Christensen as a giggling teenager like her NBC show is starting in two weeks—and it gets a nice echo in the end credits.

It’s a really funny episode and the season’s off to an excellent start; I am curious if there’s momentum or just better fodder thanks to the laid-off story arc, but only on reflection. During the episode there’s too much laughing to think about that sort of thing.