Doctor Frasier Crane has just left the confines of his wife, his job, his friends and most importantly his home away from home (Cheers) to reunite with his Father and Brother in Seattle where his life all began. With the Eleven Year run of Cheers now over, this spin-off has shown just as much staying popularity as the show that helped produce its birth. Heading into it's tenth year, Frasier is still a ratings winner from week to week despite its unfriendly night and time slot.
While the first season of Cheers took a while to hone in the personality of the cast, Frasier almost immediately had that ensemble camaraderie. Brother Doctor Niles Crane is just about as perfect a fictional brother can be. His casting is pure genius and the built in tension between the two makes for some of TV's most witty comments.
We can't forget the crotchety old father Martin, played by veteran actor John Mahoney. His role is pivotal to the conflicts that arise in Frasier's life. While both Niles and Frasier have well educated upbringings, which some might think of as snobbish, Marty is a retired police officer, a good old boy who loves dogs and his old decrepit chair. You have to love the stark differences between father and sons.
The cast is rounded out with caretaker Daphne, whom eventually becomes Niles love interest and Roz the loveable producer of Frasier's radio show. We have a well balanced cast that never takes itself too seriously and yet manages some of the most hillarious conflicts seen in any comedy. Unlike the first season of Cheers, Frasier is peaked right from the beginning. A worthy investment for one of the best spinoffs ever, if not the best.
The complete first season includes all 24 season episodes over four discs:
A complete synopsis of every episode can be found at http://tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/EpisodeGuideSummary/showid-70/season-1
The Disc:
Being that this is from a Television show it's not too surprising that the video and sounds aren't quite awesome. However the video transfer is quite nice, even more so than the Cheers set. Of course since this is a newer series that's not too surprising.
Offered up in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround, the clarity in the audio is surprisingly clear, especially voices without the aid of a center channel. Much like the Cheers box set, things here are rather clear.
The extras are not as well done as with Cheers. It begins with "The Making of "Frasier"
", which is somewhat interesting with some old interview footage but really does little for the viewer in terms of unknown information.
More interesting is audio commentary on the pilot by creators Peter Casey and David Lee. It's sad that co-creator David Angell would not participate as he was one of the victims of 911 in the plane that crashed into thr World Trade Center.
Finally we have a Production design featurette that is somewhat boring to be honest. The disc isn't quite up to par with the Cheers set unfortunately.
bottom line:
Although the extras aren't as good as with the Cheers set, we have to give the nod to this set because of the superb first season. The show has been consistently good through 10 years and that's testament to strong writing, great acting and perhaps a loveable dog that Dr. Frasier Crane despises.
4 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
