When looking back at sitcoms in the 1990s, Seinfeld and Friends might be the two most popular series that come to mind, but neither of them was as successful as Frasier. Developed in 1993 as a spinoff to Cheers, with supporting character Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) leaving the Boston bar behind to move across the country to Seattle, the show could have been a disaster. Instead, it was so well written, its characters so unique, that when it finally left NBC airwaves in 2004, it went down as one of the smartest sitcoms ever made, having won 37 Emmys over its run, including five straight for Outstanding Comedy Series. Frasier and the people in his life could be a little selfish and rough around the edges, but their goodbye was a happy ending for all.
'Frasier' Made Us Forget About 'Cheers' By Delivering a Superb Cast
Frasier Crane worked as a therapist in Boston. In Seattle, he becomes a radiotherapist, hosting his own show alongside his producer Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin). She's a tough woman, able to give it back to Frasier whenever he's in a cranky mood, which is often. Frasier lives in a high-rise apartment with his retired cop father, Martin Crane (John Mahoney). Due to Martin being a widow and partially disabled, having to use a cane after being shot in the line of duty, Frasier takes him in. Even though the two don't get along the best, due to them not having much of anything in common combined with Frasier's pompous attitude, we forgive the son, because he has a good heart behind his selfish nature.
Then there's Frasier's brother, Niles (David Hyde Pierce), a man somehow even more bizarre and self-centered than Frasier. He's a therapist as well, and much of his life revolves around his miserable marriage to Maris, a woman we never meet. But it's through Martin's British in-home caretaker, Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves), an odd but sweet woman, that Niles finds his true love. He is completely smitten with Daphne.
The true star of Frasier, however, may have been Eddie, Martin's Jack Russell terrier. Played over the years by father and son Moose and Enzo, Eddie gets the most laughs due to the way he stares at Frasier which drives him crazy. For 11 seasons, these five people and a dog became an inseparable family. They bickered, they fought, they made up, they loved each other, and then they did it all over again. On May 13, 2004, in a two-part episode titled "Goodnight, Seattle," which drew over 25 million viewers, they said farewell.
Martin Crane Is Getting Married, While Daphne and Niles Are Having a Baby
In the eleventh season, Frasier is dating a woman named Charlotte, played by Laura Linney. She's a professional matchmaker that Frasier hired to help him find love, but in the process, they found each other instead. They get along great, but fate is taking her away from Frasier, as she's moving to Chicago for her business. Frasier will be alone yet again.
The rest of his family is the opposite of alone. Their lives are working out perfectly. Niles and Daphne fell in love many seasons before and married. They are now expecting the birth of their first child any day now. Martin, the widower who depended on his sons to help him out, has found love as well through a woman named Ronee, played by Just Shoot Me's Wendie Malick. The finale sees everyone rushing to get ready for their wedding after Martin finds out that he accidentally scheduled it for two months earlier than he meant to.
The wedding day is a complete sitcom disaster, leading to several laughs. Daphne's brothers arrive. A man hired to shoot a cannon at the wedding gets sick, which means Frasier has to put one of the brothers in charge. The flower girl gets drunk on accident, and is unable to perform her duties, so Roz's daughter is put in her place. The cannon firing results in chaos, and to top it off, Eddie eats the wedding rings.
Niles and Daphne take Eddie to the vet to get their rings back, but all the stress causes Daphne to go into labor. Jason Biggs has a cameo as the veterinarian, and in an awkward but hilarious scene in which he talks to Daphne like she's an animal, he gets her up on an exam table to help her as Niles calls 911. Niles calls Frasier, who can hear a baby crying in the background. Daphne didn't make it to the hospital. Instead, she gave birth right in the vet's exam room.
Frasier shows up at the vet's office with Martin and Ronee still in their wedding clothes. "Boy, some day, huh?" Martin says. "Getting married and meeting my grandson in the same afternoon." Just then, Niles opens a door, holding a monkey that he's bottle feeding, leading to some strange looks from the family. They all go in to meet baby David, with Daphne worried that Martin and Ronee are missing their wedding. They don't care though. To show how perfect of a fit Ronee is for this family, she mentions that they should get married right now so Niles and Daphne can be there. Frasier is an ordained minister after all. So he weds his father and new stepmom right there in the vet's office.
Frasier Crane Says Goodbye to Seattle
Two main stories have been resolved, but as this show is called Frasier, its namesake now becomes the focus. Earlier in the episode, Frasier learned about an opening for a TV therapist in San Francisco. He quickly said no though, as he loves his life in Seattle. Then comes a rather heartbreaking scene back in Frasier's apartment. The series premiere saw Martin's worn and ugly recliner being wheeled in. Frasier has always hated the chair and how misplaced it looks among his expensive artwork and furniture. Now, as he watches it being wheeled away, and he sits there all alone, we can see how sad and lonely he is. Everyone is moving on with their lives except for him.
In a bold move, Frasier changes his mind and decides to take the job in San Francisco. This sets up scenes that so many sitcom finales have, with our main characters moving away and saying their goodbye to the ones they'll leave behind. Frasier has Martin, Ronee, Daphne, Niles, and Roz come to the apartment. They don't know what's going on. Roz sees Frasier crying alone in the kitchen, and they hear a concerning voicemail from a doctor. They fear something is horribly wrong with him, especially when he starts handing out presents. They begin to cry as he begins his announcement, totally clueless that Frasier is talking about something else. It doesn't help when he says things like, "Cry if you must, but when I pass through that golden gate, I'll be smiling." When he finally tells them about the job, they celebrate with relief. Not exactly the reaction he thought he'd get. He talks about his reasons for leaving in. "The only reason I'm leaving is because I want what all of you have now." In a powerful moment then and later in his last broadcast from his radiotherapist gig, he reads the poem "Ulysses" by Alfred Lord Tennyson while everyone watches on.
It all leads to a heartwarming and unexpected finale. At the beginning of the double episode, Frasier is on a plane talking to a psychiatrist he just met, played by Jennifer Beals. The whole finale has been him telling her the story about his recent weeks. Now we come back to them. She tells him that she thinks it's great what he's doing. "Well," Frasier said, "I just knew I'd regret it if I didn't take the chance." We're sorry to see him go, but we understand why he's going to San Francisco. Just then the pilot comes across the overhead speaker and welcomes the passengers to Chicago. Frasier wasn't going to San Francisco. He's going to Chicago for Charlotte. He's not taking a chance on a new career, but a chance on love, the one thing everyone else in his life has but him. What a way for one of TV's greatest sitcoms to say goodnight.
Frasier is set to return soon with a new sequel series on Paramount+. It doesn't look like any of the regular cast will be there, which is a shame. While we can hope for cameos, sadly John Mahoney, who played Martin Crane, passed away in 2018. Whether this new series works or not, we'll always have the original classic to look back on fondly.