A Fraiser / Cheers Question From a New Viewer

[Brand_New]

Hi Everyone! I've never watched Cheers or Fraiser but I've heard so many good things about Frasier that I really want to pick up the first two season on DVD in a couple of hours (literally! i'm now going into town! i'm in the uk so unfortunately i can only get season 1 and 2 so far.)

But I have also never watched Cheers and I am really worried that I won't be able to understand Frasier if I don't know anything about Cheers. Is this true? What do I need to know about Cheers, or can I understand and enjoy Frasier just as well on its own?

Thanx for responses

[I Love Carol Burnett!]

No I don't think so. Try Cheers some time its great as well!

[AKA]

You don't really need to know the Frasier Crane backstory in Cheers to watch Frasier. But it definitely helps! You should really check Cheers out.

[Chambers]

Both shows stand on their own. You don't need to know Cheers to get Frasier. But, like everybody else, I strongly recommend that you get BOTH shows on DVD - just because they're so great. I hope you become a fan!

[McFly121]

I'd say not really. There are a ton of referances to Frasier's ex-wife, Lilith, that he met on Cheers. She was not the cheeriest of people and they had some good jokes poked at her. She does turn up from time to time on the show and without having seen her and Frasier's Cheers stuff, much of it wil go over your head. But there's another 200 episodes that deal only with the world created on Frasier so you should be good.

[Brian Damage]

The only times that knowing about Cheers will come in handy is when Cheers characters guest star on the show.

[H. E. Pennypacker]

Frasier is a fully reaslised show in it's own right and should pose any problem for you to get into, just know that his Ex-Wife Lilith is an Ice Queen and they had a son together, Frederick and you'll have no worries.

[CliffClavin]

"Frasier"
Eminent Boston Psychiatrist, Frasier Crane, last seen gracing the bars of Cheers has left his life there to start afresh in Seattle. He now has a spot as a popular radio Psychiatrist, giving him the chance to spread words of wit and wisdom to the masses. He shares his apartment with his retired cop father, Martin, and his father's physical care assistant, Daphne Moon. Add in brother Niles, Eddie the dog, some bizarre situations and plenty of humour and you've got all the ingredients for an excellent show and worthy successor to Cheers.

Character Bio's :
Dr. Frasier Crane, an eccentric intellectual who has a popular radio program in his hometown Seattle and has also developed quite a reputation as the "host with the most." With this fame, Dr. Crane has developed somewhat of an ego -- an ego that the sharp-tongued Roz constantly keeps in check. Frasier is still looking for the right woman to complement his personality.



Martin Crane, the blue-collar father of two upper-crust psychiatrist sons, who is gruff but lovable beneath a hard exterior. Injured in the line of duty and forced to retire from the police department, Martin begrudgingly moved in with his son, Frasier. During the last ten years, Martin has shown glimpses of his soft side, a side that outwardly cares for his sons, his friends and most importantly, his dog Eddie. However, Martin never loses his sarcastic edge, and continues to mock the idiosyncrasies of his boys.



Daphne Moon, a a warm-hearted, home-care worker from Manchester, England, whose delightful demeanor often defuses the tension in the feuding Crane household. Over the years, Daphne's platonic relationship with Niles flourished into a romantic love affair and last season, Daphne and Niles married. During their first year of matrimony Niles was faced with a serious health scare when at a routine doctor's appointment, he was rushed to the hospital for bypass surgery instilling fear in him, his loving wife and family. Fully recovered, the two have began their lives together.



Niles Crane, Frasier's competitive psychiatrist brother and uptight Yale graduate. After years of doting after the ever-loveable Daphne, Niles professed his love and married her. During a rough year with a risky health problem, Niles concluded that nothing is more important than growing old with Daphne and having a family with her.



Roz Doyle, the witty, good-natured radio producer who offers a wry outlook on Frasier's callers and his life. Her refreshing attitude actually lends a realistic balance to Frasier's sometimes uppercrust perspective. Roz has become accustomed to being a mother, but continues to dream of a meaningful relationship. After a romantic encounter with Frasier and competition at the office, Roz questions leaving her job.



Eddie, Martin's Jack Russell Terrier, his true companion and partner-in-crime

Some extra Facts:
Frasier's radio station, KACL 780 AM, is named after the show's three executive producers (David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee.)


Frasier, Niles, and Martin deliver a cab driver's baby. The cab number, 804, is the same as the one in which Alex (Judd Hirsch) delivered a baby on an episode of "Taxi".


The show's 100th episode, which first aired in September 1997, was filmed on the streets of Seattle.


The celebrities who play the callers on Frasier's radio show, instead of coming in to record a voice-over, often just phone in their lines.


Kelsey Grammer has been Emmy-nominated for playing the same character on three different shows: "Cheers", "Frasier", and a guest appearance on "Wings".


In the premiere episode of season 8, Niles takes a mobile phone call. After a pause, he says, "No, there is no Wendell Vaughn here." Wendell Vaughn is the real name of the Marvel Comics superhero Quasar.


Lisa Kudrow, Phoebe from "Friends", was originally cast as Roz. Disputes with cast and crew, however, led to her departure and Peri Gilpin later obtained the role.


David Hyde Pierce's Niles Crane is a stuffy milquetoast with a mad passion for his father's live-in therapist. In his previous series, _The Powers That Be (1992)_ , he played a stuffy milquetoast with a mad passion for the maid.


'Mahoney, John' has also appeared in an episode of Cheers playing the part of Sy Flembeck


Peri Gilpin has also appeared in an episode of Cheers playing the part of Holly Matheson.


Niles' wife Maris is never seen (at least her face) or heard from in the entire series. The same thing is mentioned about Vera, the wife of Cheers' Norm. We only hear of Maris from Niles about what is wrong about her. This method is done again when Martin meets the girl he has been watching from across the street via his telescope.


The only television show to date that has won five consecutive "Outstanding Comedy Series" awards.


The only television show to date that has won five consecutive "Outstanding Comedy Series" EMMY awards.


The show was originally written with Frasier as an only child (references had already been made to this in "Cheers" (1982), but one of the producers saw a headshot of David Hyde Pierce and commented that he looked exactly like Kelsey Grammer did when he first started to appear on Cheers.


In one episode, Frasier plays the first few notes of the Cheers theme on his piano.


Frasier's apartment set occupies the same soundstage at Paramount Studios that housed the set of "Cheers" (1982) for so many years.


Lisa Maxwell was originally cast as Daphne, but severe disagreements with the producers led to her being replaced.


Frasier's radio producer Roz Doyle is named after Roz Doyle, a producer of NBC's "Wings" (1990), a Cheers-like show which shares show creators with Frasier.


The show's theme song "Tossed Salad & Scrambled Eggs" composed by 'Darryl Phinessee' and Bruce Miller was performed by star Kelsey Grammer.


Series Executive Producer David Angell was on board one of the airplanes that hit the World Trade Center in New York City during the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001.


When it is said that "Daphne" (Jane Leeves) has lost 9 lbs 12 oz at the spa, this is a reference/inside joke to the weight of Jane Leeves' daughter Isabella's birth weight when she went on maternity leave and she took time off and they sent "Daphne" off to the fat-farm.


David Hyde Pierce has said that, prior to this series, he didn't have strong interests in wine or opera. Ironically, he was introduced to both by 'John Mahoney' , whose Martin Crane character eschews anything cultured.


As of 2004, Kelsey Grammer will have been playing the character of Frasier Crane for 20 consecutive years. This is one of the longest periods that an actor has played the same character on American prime time (non-soap opera) television. Fellow record holders include James Arness of "Gunsmoke" (1955) who also played Marshall Dillon for 20 years straight.


2003 was the first year that Kelsey Grammer didn't receive an Emmy nomination for this series. David Hyde Pierce's streak remains unbroken.


Frasier has won more Emmys than any other show in TV history.


Every regular character from "Cheers" (1982) - with the exception of Rebecca (Kristie Alley) and Coach (the late Nicholas Colasanto) - has appeared on at least one episode.


In the 11th season (2004), guest star Laurie Metcalf, playing a children's entertainer, asked Frasier, "Do you know what it's like to play the same character for twenty years?" Kelsey Grammer had been playing Frasier Crane since 1984.


John Mahoney grew up in Manchester, England - which is where Daphne (Jane Leeves) is from.


The glass sculpture to the right of Frasier's fireplace is a piece made by Dale Chihuly, a well-known glass sculptor whose studio is based in Seattle.


After "Cheers" (1982) had finished filming, the bar was taken down and the 'Frasier' sets were built over it.


In an episode of "Cheers," Frasier tells the gang that his father was a psychiatrist and has passed away. When Ted Danson guest-starred on the show in 1995 the continuity error was explained away by having Frasier admit that he made up the story because he was embarrassed of his father.


Bebe Neuwirth was offered a regular role on this series as Lilith but she turned it down so she could return to the Broadway stage. She appears only as a guest star.


Niles and Daphne's baby, born in the final episode, is named David, after David Angell, one of the producers who was killed on 11 September 2001.


The deliveryman (Cleto Augusto) who drops off Martin Crane's easy chair in the first episode also took it away in the final episode.


In the series finale, three of Daphne's brothers visit from England, however, none of the actors playing them are English. They were Anthony LaPaglia (Australia), Richard E. Grant (Swaziland) and Robbie Coltrane (Scotland).


As the series progresses, we learn that Frasier and Niles were named after two lab mice their mom was using in an experiment (psychology?) when she was pregnant with Frasier. Frasier (the mouse) had already died when Frasier (the human) was born.


The show's makers made certain there were no stools in the coffee shop to purposefully distance it visually from the Cheers bar.


Niles's alma mater is Yale, which is David Hyde Pierce's alma mater in real life.

[barwars]

Originally posted by CliffClavin
Bebe Neuwirth was offered a regular role on this series as Lilith but she turned it down so she could return to the Broadway stage. She appears only as a guest star.

I never knew that!!
That's awesome.

Too bad she had to go with Broadway though.

I wonder what the series would be like if Lilith was a regular.