It's been a long time since I've seen the third season, but from what I can recall, Sam, although he didn't have a bad relationship with Frasier, seemed, to me, to see him as just a pompous, stuff psychiatrist (which, I'll admit, he was.) I guess the others generally tended to view him that way as well.

I think they really started to become friends later on in the fourth season; certainly by the end, they had a very good relationship. I've always liked the relationship between Sam and Frasier; I've always liked how they were able to form such a good friendship, in spite of the fact that they started off as rivals for Diane.

Does anyone else like their relationship?

It was a very good relationship. They really started to bond once Diane left Frasier at the altar.

Yeah, I wonder how close a friend Sam considered Frasier to be. I mean, he'd known Norm and Cliff and Carla for ages before Frasier came along, and he was very close to Woody as well, but, especially in the later seasons, Frasier seemed just as great a friend of Sam's as Norm and Cliff were. I'm remembering the season 11 episode where Frasier's standing on the window ledge, threatening to throw himself off unless Lilith returns to him, and Sam tells Frasier he loves him. Quite sweet, I thought, and not really something one would expect the normally macho Sam Malone to say.