Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
Worlds collided on Frasier Season 2 Episode 8 when Frasier and Freddy used some of Roz’s frequent flier miles for a trip down memory lane in Seattle.
They left from Boston, where it wasn’t surprising to see Roz seated comfortably in the bar with the Harvard gang. After all, it feels like she’s been in more episodes this season than some of the main cast!
But that was just the first of many blasts from the past in an episode that perfectly melded the beats, strengths, and (it must be said) flaws of the OG show to create an emotional turning point for the new series.
Bon Voyage, Boston
The Harvard bar scene set up the main storyline of Frasier’s visit to KACL for a special tribute show and the smaller one of David leaving his job with Alan.
But to my mind, the actual sole purpose of this bar scene was to inform us that Niles and Daphne now live in Sedona (??), where they drive a Tesla (???) and own a vineyard (Okay, that tracks).
How did we not know this before now?!
Well, probably because it neatly explained why we wouldn’t see Niles and Daphne in Seattle any more than Frasier and Freddy would during their visit.
It also allowed the episode to focus on KACL and Frasier’s former professional life in Seattle.
Freddy tagged along on this trip, calling into question his fire department’s vacation days policy.
They already seem to look the other way with his frequent day drinking at the bar, so what’s another few days on the other side of the country?
Radio Days
Eve’s quip to Roz about radio being obsolete was accurate foreshadowing disguised as a generational put-down. It was indeed painful to see Frasier’s old KACL studio crammed with outdated equipment like a forgotten storage closet.
This made me think back to the end of Frasier’s original run when everyone was starting new life chapters (Niles and Daphne were new parents; Martin and Ronee were married and moving out of the condo).
I remember Roz being promoted to… KACL’s station manager? It seemed like a big deal then, a position that offered security and recognition of her true value as a producer.
So I was as shocked as Frasier to see how far KACL had fallen and how Roz hadn’t recognized it by now.
But before all that, how great was it to see Frasier’s former coworkers (plus Bulldog’s gong!) crowded into his studio once again?!
I could only hope that Noel Shempsky was absent simply because he was away at a Star Trek convention.
It was seriously thrilling to see the KACL crew together again — it’s almost like the show actually listened and gave the people what they wanted!
Bulldog and Gil were instantly and entirely themselves (well, with a little bit more from Bulldog’s revelation), while the restaurant jingle conflict felt familiar but also as if it were from a different century.
I loved seeing these characters fall right back into step with each other with steady, unforced grace. And then… the show kicked them all out of the KACL studio and ended the scene!
You know that scene was cut short because the cake was left on the desk untouched! Unless… it was still there from Frances’s welcome-back party?
Well, they did say their budget was tight!
The Coffeeshop Around The Corner
Our consolation prize for leaving KACL so abruptly was a visit to Cafe Nervosa, which was miraculously still in business.
It honestly didn’t look much different, and despite what Frasier said, I could swear I remember an old episode where he and Niles also complained about people bringing bikes into the cafe.
Another crumb of foreshadowing was dropped when Frasier grumbled that he couldn’t believe Roz still patronized Cafe Nervosa, which wasn’t as charming as he remembered.
But the familiar cafe was very much in keeping with the scope of her tribute interview and Frasier meeting an old caller.
That caller was Lou, a random new character, even though I was kind of hoping it’d be someone recognizable from the original show.
At first, I was confused because it seemed like Lou had just made these questionable life changes but had also supposedly gotten the idea from a twenty years ago call to Frasier’s radio show.
I’m not sure that this timeline discrepancy was ever fully cleared up. But we learned all about Lou’s dream of a career in magic, his failed marriage, and how he quit his law firm based on Frasier’s past advice.
A couple of the magic trick sight gags were good, but Lou wasn’t all that compelling of a character.
(However, when Freddy picked up Lou’s “Ace up my sleeve” playing card and said, “It’s a seven,” I almost died laughing.)
I was mostly anxious that we were still at Cafe Nervosa when I wanted to return to KACL and all of those much-missed (and presumably expensive) guest stars.
Plus, that “Welcome Back” cake wasn’t going to eat itself!
There’s Always Time To Heal
It was frustrating that Frasier became fixated on helping Lou right then, even though that would make him late for the radio show slot that Roz had set up for him.
Seriously, he couldn’t wait forty-five minutes to correct a twenty-year-old wrong??
This fixation on something to the exclusion of all else happened a lot on the old show. It was usually tied to a perceived slight involving class or ethics and was definitely anxiety-making for the audience.
Frasier stated he had a reputation to protect in Seattle, but judging from KACL’s shabby offices, methinks that was just a convenient excuse for him to indulge his ego without guilt.
Roz bringing Frasier out of retirement for “one last call-in show” was a sweet gesture that was hopefully pinned to a milestone broadcast anniversary.
However, I can’t imagine Frasier’s tribute show giving KACL the same numbers boost it might have in the pre-podcast era.
I also don’t know how big a Seattle audience would even remember The Frasier Crane Show — and I say that with so much love!
Still, I felt really bad for Roz having to scramble and get Gil to cover for Frasier after she’d arranged this whole tribute show for him and flown him out from Boston for it.
What Is Going On Here?
At this point in the episode, I wondered if this show was ever going to stop snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
I mean, gathering all of those beloved guest stars together just for a blink-and-miss-it scene? Giving us random-guy Lou and magic tricks instead?
(Okay, Lucky the rabbit was super cute.)
But then the show worked some magic of its own. In the process of helping Lou, Frasier showed Roz that it was time to leave the familiarity of KACL and perhaps even the West Coast.
He also had a surprisingly tender and unexpected breakthrough with Freddy as they maturely addressed long-standing father-son issues, as well as guilt and grief over Martin’s passing.
The only one literally left out on a ledge was Lou, but even there, Frasier’s obliviousness actually helped Lou become angry enough to figure out how to change his life.
This turned out to be a completely hilarious and superbly choreographed scene that made me feel bad for ever doubting Lou as a character. And Lucky was so well trained! I wish my cat listened to me like that.
It wasn’t just the guest stars and KACL setting that made Frasier Season 2 Episode 8 feel so much like an episode of yore. Part of it was the pacing, but most of it was seeing Frasier in his element as a psychiatrist.
In the same way that he gently suggested Roz let go of what no longer worked, he might have asked himself if his post-retirement return to academia was a version of his holding on to an outdated dream.
Back in Boston, the side plot about David getting fed up with Alan’s constant criticism was similar to the idea of discarding an old role for the chance at a better one.
It was impressive to see David stand up for himself against his revered professor even while I snort-laughed at the description, “tries a bit too hard with his sweaters.”
This whole minor Harvard storyline was way funnier than expected, and it made me wish Olivia had a reason to speak with a Scottish accent more often — or constantly! I loved it that much.
Olivia was kind of a badass in Frasier Season 2 Episode 8, and I felt like the show was FINALLY exploring different layers and directions for her character.
That, plus David growing a backbone under his delightful knitwear, proved that this was a truly transformational episode for every character on this show.
Even Alan was compelled to sit in the corner and think about what he’d done and act accordingly.
Maybe I’m just still obsessed with Alan’s version of The Parent Trap, but the show absolutely missed a golden opportunity to have Anders Keith play both David and his replacement.
However, the lint roller gag with David and Alan at the end was brilliant enough to almost make up for it, if anyone asks.
Hooked On So Many Feelings
This game-changing episode of Frasier Season 2 gave Roz permission to move on with her life and allowed us to say goodbye to KACL’s familiar voices.
Freddy’s regretful thoughts about his deceased grandfather formed a surprisingly poignant ending to this episode.
It’s impossible to think of the original series without remembering John Mahoney as Martin Crane, and it’s a (flimsy) testament to the new iteration that it acknowledges the character without necessarily doing him justice.
This episode managed to tie together a lot of threads we hadn’t even realized were loose and formed an incredibly organic way forward for the series. It wasn’t perfect, but it ended up being sublime.
What do you say, TV Fanatics? Has Frasier Season 2 finally found its way in terms of balancing pathos and humor? Let us know in the comments!
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