Frasier: The Complete Series

One might not expect it from a spin-off TV show, but somehow Frasier managed to become one of the greatest shows in television history. It manages to be one of the smartest shows ever to air, and yet never got so full of itself that it was afraid to throw in some physical comedy. In fact, David Hyde Pierce in the role of Dr. Niles Crane gave us some of television's finest physical comedy. And yet it also manages to discuss serious emotional content with a wit rarely seen in the medium, simultaneously appealing to the most intelligent person in the room and accessible to the least intelligent person in the room.The comedy in this show manages to maintain its wide appeal without ever talking down to the audience by employing a strategy of layered humor. Literary and operatic references abound, for instance, appealing to the educated viewer who gets these jokes, but the lines always function at at least two levels: the joke itself and the meta-joke. Everyone understands *that* the character has said something obscure and intellectual, and this is funny in a self-referential sort of way, while the joke or reference itself is funny to those select audience members who get it.One of the remarkable things is that much of the show's humor comes from the conflict between the erudite and the everyday without ever insulting either side. Sure, the Doctors Crane can occasionally be "lovably pompous," and we sometimes laugh at their expense. And of course, their father can sometimes be amusingly crass and we occasionally laugh at his expense. But the brilliance of the show is that it manages to portray all of its characters respectfully. Even when we sometimes laugh at one of them, we seldom find ourselves thinking negatively of them. For a show about class to be so even-handed is a remarkable thing. More remarkable still, the show manages to be about the emotional and psychological toils of everyday life, yet none of the on-screen characters ever seen villainous or as if they've been used merely as a foil for another character. The sole exception to this rule is the never-seen Maris Crane whose portrayal is so over the top as to be delightfully absurd.Still, not all of the show's humor comes from the conflicts between such different people. Many of the best (and by "best" I mean both funniest and most thought-provoking) clashes occur between the most similar of characters. Frasier and his brother Niles are remarkably similar characters: sherry-swilling, opera-loving, French-speaking psychiatrists both. Yet the conflicts between these two are as profound and entertaining as those between any other characters, precisely because they speak the same language and understand each other so thoroughly.For all its even-handed intellectualism, it also manages to be one of the funniest shows I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Better still, its humor has aged remarkably well. For a show whose early episodes are now pushing thirty years old, everything feels just as timely as ever. And the humor and drama both survive repeat viewings as well, making this a perfect series to own on DVD. I've watched the complete series several times (and individual episodes more times than I can count), and I never fail to be completely entertained and pleased by the show.Speaking of the DVD, let's quickly turn our attention to this DVD set and consider its quality independent of the show's. Overall, I'm quite happy with it. A few people have complained about the transfer quality, but I don't see any problem there. The thing we all need to remember is that this is a thirty-year-old television program, not a recently-produced feature film. It's not going to look as good on our high-definition televisions as more recent programming is, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with the video quality presented.The set's packaging is compact but effective. The forty-four discs are divided into two plastic cases (one containing the first six seasons and the other containing seasons seven through eleven) and both are housed in a cardboard slipcase.Special features are enjoyable but inconsistent. The first three seasons contain a "Celebrity Voices" feature in which we can listen to the often-humorous calls to Dr. Crane's radio program while learning which celebrity's voice guest starred. This feature doesn't return in the remainder of the seasons. However, while it was an amusing feature, I don't really think I wanted to watch eleven seasons' worth of it anyway. Two of the episodes feature an audio commentary track, both of which I found quite interesting. I rather wish there were a few more of them. Additionally, there are several featurettes and retrospectives scattered throughout the discs, though many discs don't have any bonus features at all. Ultimately I find myself pleased with the features included but wishing for just a little bit more.Ultimately, though, I didn't buy this for the features, enjoyable though they were. I bought it because I wanted to own a copy of one of my favorite shows of all time. I'm incredibly pleased with my purchase. It has a place of honor in my DVD library, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Perfect set for a great sitcom. Fan of Frasier during its final seasons, I needed something to watch after Seinfeld ended. This set is just as good if not better than the regular DVD set which is honestly, much more of a neutral viewing experience.Seasons 1-9 feature a new Paramount/Viacom/CBS ending signature, but the final 2 seasons feature the regular Paramount fanfare.Seasons 1-9 are presented in 4:3 while the final 2 seasons are presented in full 16:9.Visual breakdown of each season...Season 1 High GrainSeason 2 High GrainSeasons 3, 4, 5, 6 are perfectSeason 7 is softSeasons 8 & 9 are really really greatSeason 10 is the first in full HD for actual broadcasts and it looks the worst, really strange. It's not much better than DVD quality.Season 11 is perfection, full 16:9 and everything looks crisp.Frasier fans will love this set, regular fans just buy the DVD.Packaging was THIN, if this set drops you'll have a problem.

I watched this right after completing the Cheers set of DVD's.. I loved Cheers and hated to see it end. It truly entertained me and had so many moments that made me laugh. Like many spin-offs, or even new shows, Frasier needs a few episodes to get into the groove and develop the characters and break the comparison to Cheers. It wasn't Cheers so I found it disappointing and a dim second the first few episodes.Then the second disc was played.I started laughing then and didn't stop until the last disc. I mean REALLY laughing HARD---to tears!. Incredibly funny! David Hyde-Pierce, as Niles, Frasier's younger but equally stuffy brother, can bring me to tears of laughter with just a look. There is nobody to compare to this man's talent. His timing and expressions are brilliantly ON THE MARK funny. All characters are perfectly casted. Kelsey Grammar as Frasier, really comes to full bloom in this series. I couldn't imagine him with his own show when on Cheers, but---wow--- he really took off.Equally funny is the crusty, lovable father who bears no resemblance to his sons. They couldn't be more opposite. He's a good-ole boy, retired cop, wise-cracking, impish and always up to something. The show's characters play off of him perfectly. The show is lively and every show retains a fresh and original script. At no time did I feel any of the episodes were rehashing of themes or material that's already been done in a myriad of ways by other shows. No dull over-played jokes. Every episode was one of a kind. SO happy I bought this complete set. I will watch it over and over again, especially when I feel I need a good laugh. For me it has that same timeless and brilliant script that will endure the test of time, and can be watched time and again for decades to come.

This was my favorite sitcom on TV. Spot on humor, great cast, and very witty writers.

I did not watch but maybe a handful of these hilarious episodes when this comedy series was popular. I think it may have been my job which kept me very busy and away from my home a lot. But now that I was lucky to see a handful of these episodes on Peacock a month or so ago, I just knew that I must purchase the entire 11 yrs. of this wonderful series. The totally wonderful and very talented cast, led by Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce, was supported and enhanced by the amazing late John Mahoney, a one-of-a-kind great character actor, along with two great ladies and talents, Jane Leeves and Peri Gilpin.And, last but not least, who cannot love "Eddie Crane", the Parson Russell Terrier, who kept us laughing with his talented well-taught antics. His real-life name was "Moose", who was born on December 24, 1990, and passed on June 22, 2006, at age 16. Interestingly, Moose had a son, Enzo, who sometimes played Eddie in the later years of the show and doing stunts.