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Frasier - Season 10
Frasier's tenth season takes a dramatic turn early on with a three-episode arc in which Niles (David Hyde Pierce) undergoes heart surgery, but, much like Niles, the show rebounds quickly with more characteristic episodes such as the Emmy-nominated farce "Daphne Does Dinner," in which another Crane party hurtles toward disaster. In addition to Huffman, other memorable star turns this season include Millicent Martin as Daphne's impossible mother, Jeanne Tripplehorn as a coach whose berating of her students causes Frasier to conjure up hallucinations of his own former gym teacher, portrayed by Bob Hoskins. Bebe Neuwirth returns as Lilith, as does the magnificent Harriet Sansom Harris as Bebe Glazer, who shows up as Dr. Phil's agent (or is it just another Bebe scheme?) in "The Devil and Dr. Phil." There are throughout this season some wonderful play-it-again moments, such as the unwitting Frasier speaking Klingon at his son's bar mitzvah and invoking Sam Malone's classic, "Are you as turned on as I am" to bring a shouting match with Julia to an hilarious anti-climax ("No!" she screams disgustedly). A showdown between Roz (Peri Gilpin) and Julia doesn't make for the most compelling season finale, but because season 11 was previously released on DVD to coincide with the broadcast of the series finale, at least we don't have to wait to see how that turns out. --Donald Liebenson
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
"Irritating, but endearing." That's Frasier Crane in a nutshell, as diagnosed by Julia Wilcox (an Emmy-worthy Felicity Huffman), KCAL's abrasive and condescending new financial analyst. That's a delicate balance, but Kelsey Grammer still manages it with the usual aplomb in Frasier's penultimate season. Grammer is at his best when his character is at his stubborn, high dudgeon worst, as in "Enemy at the Gate" when he causes a parking garage backup while protesting a $2 parking fee, trying to find a suitable new coffee shop after Café Nervosa hires a folk singer (Elvis Costello) in "Farewell, Nervosa," or, after scamming his way into becoming a silver level member at an exclusive health spa, "chasing the eternal carrot" of the gold level ("'Please remain in the relaxation grotto.' Have crueler words ever been spoken?") in "Door Jam." But he wins us over anew as he does the hard-hearted Julia with his insistence on doing the right thing and faith in the good in people.
Good episodes and bad choices for Frasier's tenth season
Review date: 2008-07-23 Rating: 6 out of 10
'Frasier' season 10 attempts to claw back some of the comedy lost by the previous two seasons, which ran the risk of turning the show into a drama series. Unfortunately, the writers seem to believe that adding high farce and new characters are the ways to revitalise the show; wrong on both counts. Making Daphne's mother (played by Millicent Martin) a regular character is an insane decision, a fifth wheel who only serves to antagonise the other characters (and the viewers!) Similarly, the addition of Julia Wilcox (Felicity Huffman) to the KACL family means we are given yet another retread of Frasier being annoyed at a new colleague stealing his thunder: think back to Kate Costas (season 3), Dr. Clint Webber (season 5), Dr. Nora (season 6), Dr. Mary (season 7) etc! Knowing references to parent sitcom 'Cheers' are made as the relationship between Frasier and Julia becomes more heated than either had expected, but reminding the viewer that the story of two colleagues with a love/hate relationship was done (and done better) 20 years ago on 'Cheers' doesn't make sense! Worst of all has got to be the three-part story dealing with a major health crisis for Niles, where the show slips back in to the drama of the previous two seasons. This storyline sits uncomfortably with the rest of the season's episodes, and beyond the three-parter we rarely, if ever, hear mention of it ever having happened!
This season isn't a complete waste of time, however. While the show could never live up to what had gone before (ensured by the Daphne/Niles relationship, plus the end of the hilarious references to Maris Crane), we do see a return to good form in episodes such as 'Proxy Prexy', 'Star Mitzvah', 'Door Jam', 'Daphne Does Dinner', 'Fraternal Schwinns'; and the excellent 'Fathers and Sons', where the return of a former colleague of Frasier's mother brings the Crane boys to wonder if he could be their real father! There's also a compelling return for Frasier's ex-wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) in two episodes, and good use is made of Frasier's colleagues at KACL, who took a backseat in the last two seasons. Alas, the excellent Bebe Glazer (Harriet Samson Harris), Frasier's demonic agent, returns in the dull 'Devil and Dr. Phil' episode, which fails to live up to her past appearances. Another criminally underused character is Peri Gilpin's Roz, who the writers don't seem to know what to do with, and is saddled with a boring cliffhanger at the end of the season. All in all, there have been better seasons of 'Frasier' but there have been worse, and an average season of 'Frasier' is still miles ahead of most of the dross that passes for comedy on television!
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Reviews
Frasier almost back to it's best
Review date: 2008-07-02 Rating: 8 out of 10
Season 10 of Frasier somehow manages to re-ignite the comic brilliance of the early seasons (before the season 8-9 lull). Frasier is still single and bitter but absolutely hilarious at times. Niles and Daphne finally marry and Daphne leaves Frasier's apartment to move in with husband Niles.
We also get a fresh character in Julia, the new KACL financial reporter, with whom Frasier develops a relationship towards the end of the season.
The standout episodes for me were:
"Proxy Prexy", where Frasier plots to implement changes in the building through dad Martin, the new Condo president, but Martin has other ideas, leading Frasier to quip "the puppet thinks he's a real boy" - pure genius!
"Star Mitzva", where Frasier blesses his son in Klingon, instead of Hebrew, thanks to an angry Noel.
"Rooms With A View", where Niles goes to hospital for heart surgery.
"Door Jam", where Frasier and Niles outdo themselves in their snobbish pursuit to get into an exclusive spa.
"Daphne Does Dinner", where Frasier helps Daphne with her first dinner party.
"Roe To Perdition", where the Crane boys become dealers in illegal caviar, raising their profile amongst Seattle high society.
and "Fathers and Sons", where an old work-colleague of Frasier's mother visits. Amazingly, he is a cross between Frasier and Niles, but much older, causing Roz to suspect he is their real father.
There are one or two episodes that serve as mere fillers ("The Harassed" is very reminiscent of Frasier's encounters with Kate Costas in season 3), but overall this is a pretty good season. By now, you will almost have got used to viewing Niles and Daphne as a couple, but you do wish Daphne's mother Gertrude was left out of the show. One pseudo-north English accent in a US sitcom is quite sufficient.
The season ends quite dramatically with Roz asking Frasier to choose between her and Julia, while leaving for another radio station. You wonder what will happen next in the last season...
Running out of steam
Review date: 2008-06-03 Rating: 6 out of 10
With season 10 it seemed that the once perfect combination of writing talent & acting skills had finally been unbalanced beyond repair. Far too many of the peripheral characters were given prominent roles when quite frankly they weren't needed & in what seems like a desperate attempt to paper over the gaps guest stars pop up all over the place.
Too often a miniscule story line was stretched over a whole show,'Roe to perdition' has Frasier & Niles in with the Russian mafia while buying caviar, 'ring cycle' has Daphne & Niles marry several times to keep everybody happy & 'Lilith needs a favour' has Frasier spend a whole episode umming & ahhing over whether he should agree to be a sperm donor for his ex-wife. All wafer thin ideas stretched to the point of boredom.
For the first time Frasier is shown as being a completely unsympathetic character. In 'enemy at the gate' he harasses a car park attendant because he doesn't want to pay an extra 2 dollars. While in 'some assistance required' he becomes obsessed with a family in need who have a house built for them by the staff at KACL. In both these episodes he is portrayed as a very unpleasant & unlikeable person, surely a fatal idea for the title character!
However this is still Frasier so there are some funny episodes, 'Door jam' see's the hopeless brothers jealousy lead them to disaster in an upmarket spa where there always seems to be a level of snobbery just beyond their reach. 'Trophy girlfriend' has Frasier dating a sports teacher who reminds him of his old coach, played by a cigar chomping Bob Hoskins. The scene where frasier see's her as hoskins while in the bath being sponged & read poetry to is hilarious. Best of all is surely 'Daphne does dinner' where Niles & Daphne dare to break away & do there own dinner party without Frasier only to discover that they are as useless as him.
This season seemed to indicate that Frasier was going to go out with a whimper. With just 1 more series left to go it seemed fans would have to plunder the earlier shows to recapture what was easily the funniest show on TV. However miraculously series 11 would turn out to be one of the strongest & the disappointment of the previous 2 or 3 seasons could be put to one side.
If you are a fan then you will not be put off by a negative review. Quite right too! This season may have been the weakest but it still had enough to keep you watching. If you're new to Frasier & want to know why it was so popular then this is not the place to look. Although I would recommend starting at season 1 any of the first 4 seasons are as strong as any other ever seen on TV.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Kelsey Grammer
David Hyde Pierce
John Mahoney
Jane Leeves
Peri Gilpin
Creators:
Kelsey Grammer (Primary Contributor)
David Hyde Pierce (Primary Contributor)
Recording label: Paramount Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Entertainment
EAN: 5014437961938
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 4
Format: Box set, PAL,
Release date: 2008-07-28
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 507 minutes