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May 13, 2004
FAREWELL, FRASIER
Of the three television shows having their ballyhooed finales this year, the one I think I will miss the most -- and the one most likely to be seen as a classic 20 years from now -- is "Frasier." I watched the last show tonight, and it has only solidified my opinion.
The brilliance of Frasier was similar to the brilliance of "All in the Family" -- they managed to take a main character who was generally unsympathetic, and they made him not only funny, but lovable. They simply did it from opposite ends of the spectrum; Archie Bunker was a closed-minded bigot, while Frasier Crane (and his brother Niles) were effete, pompous snobs. If you pitched a show today to a network executive and said, "we're going to make the main character someone that most of America not only doesn't relate to, but doesn't even like -- and we're going to make him funny!"... well, you wouldn't be in the office for very long. (As an aside, why is it that in America we always talk about education being the key to social advancement -- but when someone is educated and articulate, we belittle them and call them "eggheads" or "elite?" Either we aspire to education, or we don't - right? But I digress.)
It's unquestionably true that Frasier overstayed its welcome -- the last few seasons have plodded on, and the show lost its direction somewhat and began repeating itself. But the first five or six seasons of Frasier rank among the greatest sitcom seasons in television history -- and those episodes will stand the test of time. I have no doubt that my kids someday will watch Frasier reruns and laugh just as hard as I did in their first airing; the show will be remembered in 2019 the same way the Mary Tyler Moore Show or Cheers are remembered now.
"Friends" will be the Cosby of its era -- very funny for its time, but aging in reruns to the point of eventually becoming a time capsule. Frasier will be seen as one of the all time greatest sitcoms.
