When a show spinsoff one of two things can happen. Either it starts off with a bang only to die quickly in the second season (The Ropers) or it slowly builds and builds until its a bigger or as big a show as the original (The Jeffersons). Frasier falls into the second category. The second season built upon the first giving the show more and more distance from Cheers and adding legitimacy to its independance.
The second season cover shows Frasier under an umbrella and for good reason! One of the funniest episodes ever has Frasier infuriating the entire city of Seattle when he complains about its rainy climate during his radio talk show. Tons of laughter ensues from that mistake. Another great episode focuses on father Martin (John Maloney) who finds that his favorite bar is slated for the wrecker's ball. What makes this even funnier is that noneother than his own two sons, Frasier and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) could be behind its demise!
The entire cast get their own shows of sort this season to with episodes that involve Roz (Peri Gilpin) who considers a new job offer and Daphne (Jane Leeves) who finds her privacy invaded. The season also culminates in Frasier's romantic island getaway with a new girlfriend which is ruined when his ex-wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) is discovered happily ensconced in an adjacent cottage! Such funny stuff and the sparks of what will become Emmy winning material!
The complete second 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-2
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 Commentary by director David Lee and writer Joe Keenan on 'The Matchmaker'. It must be interesting for the team to reflect on an episode that is nearly 9 years old. It surely was fun listening to the comments.
Season two really expands with the extras as there's several new features. One of the first is Marching On to Season 2 which features interviews with cast members and producers about their joy of making a second season. The disc goes deeper with a roz feature, Roz's Dating Tips, which if you watch the show you'd be weary of anything Roz has to say.
Just as with Cheers, we have yet another mysterious spouse which is examined in The Mystery of Maris Continues with some more information on Niles wife. Probably my favorite of all focuses on the first Eddie in And Then There Was Eddie.
bottom line:
Improved extras over the first season and fine writing make this yet another show worth collecting. Fans should be very pleased!
4 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
