Tag: Luck Hari

Frasier (1993) s01e24 – My Coffee with Niles

My Coffee with Niles is a concept episode victory lap for the first season, scripted by two of the three creators (David Angell and Peter Casey), with James Burrows directing, set entirely in the coffee shop where Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) regularly meet to have coffee together. The difference—besides the entire episode taking place at the shop and “Frasier” finally showing the patio seating—is they aren’t checking in on a plot, resolving a plot, or starting a plot, there is no plot.

Other than Hyde Pierce asking Grammer, a year after moving to Seattle, if he’s happy and the two trying to find a place to sit on a particularly busy afternoon.

The regular cast checks in—Peri Gilpin’s there to meet a date, which doesn’t go well and gives Grammer the chance to confide in Hyde Pierce he’s had the stray fantasy involving Gilpin but they work together and Grammer’s professional.

Wasn’t Diane his patient on “Cheers”?

Then dad John Mahoney and Jane Leeves stop by, which kicks up some dust as Mahoney’s in a bad mood and it’s pissing off Leeves and Grammer. It all blows up in the episode but it’s not even a subplot really. It’s just an update on the status of the relationship.

There’s a little bit of talk about Leeves as far as Hyde Pierce’s feels are concerned. Hyde Pierce is really good in that part. It’s Grammer’s episode overall and he does well, but Hyde Pierce’s performance is better. It’s a stagy episode and he does well with stagy.

The unsung hero of the episode is Luck Hari, as the unnamed waitress who spends the entire runtime trying to get Grammer a cup of coffee he won’t complain about.

“Frasier” has a great first season and Coffee is an outstanding conclusion of it. There’s nothing new, except the format—and Hyde Pierce remembering Gilpin exists—but it shows how much the show can stretch and still excel.

Finally, there is some cringe related to Hyde Pierce and Grammer joking about Hyde Pierce’s Niles being gay—and who’d get to tell Mahoney because he’d be so upset with it. At the time of the episode, Hyde Pierce was stuck in the closet; he’d never have gotten the part if he’d been out.

Hell, he probably wouldn’t get it today, would he?

But the episode itself is a big win.

Frasier (1993) s01e22 – Author, Author

It’s another great episode. As in, great example of what a multicam sitcom can do. What’s particularly interesting is Author, Author is the first episode credited to writers Don Seigel (not to be confused with Don Siegel, insert Dirty Harry reference here) and Jerry Perzigian. James Burrows directs, which is great, as the episode requires a great deal of sure-footed nimble moves. See, it’s the first Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) episode. They try to write a book together. It does not go well.

But it doesn’t go well in multiple stages, starting right off with Grammer not really wanting to do it but getting talked into it because Hyde Pierce is facing a deadline and publisher Mako (who has an absolutely fantastic time in the small part) doesn’t want to take no for an answer. Especially not after finding out Hyde Pierce’s brother is the Frasier Crane from the radio.

The brothers take a while to find the creative process—the book is going to be two eminent psychiatrists writing about the psychology of siblings—partially because they think they’re going to have a goldmine in anecdotes from dad John Mahoney, but then he ends up not being able to get past the little details. Lots of good one-liners in the scene with them. Jane Leeves is noticeably absent in that scene, though she shows up after the last commercial break for a good final punchline. Seigel and Perzigian also have a small scene for Peri Gilpin, who’s not happy to be part of Plan B, which involves Hyde Pierce sitting in on the radio show and taking notes as the brothers mine the callers for sibling anecdotes. The stuff with Hyde Pierce on the radio is great.

And nothing compared to Plan C, where the brothers lock themselves in a hotel room (a la the Gershwin Brothers) and try to work on the book.

Great dialogue, great performances from Hyde Pierce and Grammer (with Grammer getting into the physical comedy this time too).

It’s absolutely hilarious throughout, then a nice, wholesome but not too wholesome resolve. And another one of those great layered delay “Frasier” jokes. They’re not Chekhov’s guns, they’re Eddie’s muffins.