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tori_reviews2020-04-26 10:21 pm
jedi_of_urth) wrote in tori_reviews2020-04-26 10:21 pm
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Frasier 2x16-20
Whoops, I did it again. But I also kind of like this system I've stumbled into of trying to either get a either a Saturday or Sunday review out, but not necessarily both.
Frasier 2x16: The Show Where Sam Shows Up
There is a lot to like in this one, and I think I do, but I'm not sure it's that good. It feels a little like an episode of a different show, and I don't mean Cheers; it feels like an episode of a show where each episode has Frasier helping out a different person or group that comes into his orbit, the stories more about the guests than the series regulars. This just happens to be an episode of that show that happens to focus on the reappearance of an old character.
It's actually been a while since I watched an episode like this; my recent TV viewing has included crossovers certainly, but largely between shows that are ongoing instead of where one ended and another started up. This is sort of a necessary episode in that regard, to remember that the Cheers world exists and is still going on; though in a way it feels very 90s in that these people can't just keep up on Facebook if they want to. I also think there are a few timeline issues (Woody and Kelly's kid can't be that old to know how smart he'd be) and I have some question about how Frasier and Sam are close enough that Sam would run to him after the wedding, but not invite him to it. This is very different than episodes involving Lilith; Frasier and Lilith have their own story that's ongoing while Sam represents Cheers and lets the audience know that life has gone on.
Of course it's also there to paper over some contradictions between the parent show and here. And there was fun to be had in that, but I'm glad they didn't drag the joke out.
But I end up finding Sam and Sheila's relationship to be utterly baffling. And if the writers on this show (or the hypothetical other one) were more accustomed to writing episodic stories like this I think it would be better done; or it's just too much to pack into a single episode. Most episodic stories here focus on at least one regular character so they don't have to establish a whole story package. Yes Sam is a known character (although it's been a while since I watched Cheers), but this version of Sam doesn't seem to have been entirely thought through. He was ready to get married, and surely two sexual compulsives would have discussed how much leeway there was in the usual fidelity vows, and he supposedly had mostly been faithful for several months; but as soon as he shows up he's flirting with everyone and when their relationship ends he goes right back to it. I can make it work, that he's reverting to form after running out on the wedding then ending things with Sheila, but the show doesn't give us time to have any other feelings about what's gone down.
It doesn't help that I've never really understood the appeal of Sam. I don't find him that attractive, he's far from bad looking (then or now) but I don't understand what drives everyone wild. And as far as a personal level I just don't go for that type. When I'm watching Cheers I enjoy the character well enough, but his character is so compressed for a single episode appearance that I don't have time to get into it.
Production: 7/10 I do respect the work that went into this even if I think the end result was flawed
Story: 5/10 there really isn't much story for the first half of the episode, then there's too much in the second half
Writing: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Relationships: 2/5 I do enjoy everyone's reaction to Sam, but the main relationship here doesn't have much to work with
Comedy: 3.5/5
Drama: 2/5
Personal: 7.5/10 would watch again, but I did have a lot of problems with it
Overall: 33.5/50
Frasier 2x17: Daphne's Room
While I wouldn't say I think this is a great episode, it's story structure is impeccable. It builds expertly and the while the climax is short, it clicks perfectly together. There's a decent amount of character work (is this the first time we've started hearing more about Daphne's family?) and deals with a very natural concern about the living situation at the apartment.
To go along with the well crafted story, the acting does an excellent job too. There's a fair amount of subtle work, and also some broad humor that all comes through really well.
I like the idea that Frasier and Tom are swapping books and probably opera recordings, and have managed to make a decent friendship after their awkward beginning. It's nice to think about even though I don't know that we ever see Tom again, and he's going to completely disappear before too long I assume. While we're still not getting a lot of Roz, the last couple eps since they started putting her and Niles in scenes together have opened up new options for what to do with her limited scene time, since they can now be group scenes at Nervosa instead of just at the station or ducking out of the cafe as soon as Niles shows up.
There's a small, easy to miss line as we leave the cafe scene where Frasier refers to Niles and Maris as a non-marriage, and I almost want to get into that idea. Because as if it hasn't been clear for a while that relationship had problems, for all Niles had been crowing about getting lucky the night before, as soon as the conversation turned to Daphne it's as if Maris doesn't exist anymore. The show isn't quite ready to actually do something about how shaky-to-bad that relationship is, but it's slipping in a few more overt comments in that direction.
Production: 9/10 the acting and staging deserve high marks
Story: 7.5/10 it's not a complicated story, but it's well told
Writing: 3.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Relationships: 3.5/5 it's kind a group relationship we're working on here, which is good but not a ton of specifics
Comedy: 3.5/5
Drama: 3/5
Personal: 7.5/10 I do relate to Daphne a lot in this one
Overall: 41.5/50
Frasier 2x18: The Club
I'm having almost the opposite reaction to this one as I did the last episode; I liked it, kind of a lot, but I'm not sure how good it actually was. It was perfectly fine, but it's definitely not the perfectly structured piece that the last one was. It's almost the opposite of the last one in that where that climax was short but exactly the right moment; this time it dragged and made me cringe and is probably part of what's confusing my feelings about everything leading up to it.
I also really don't like Frasier in this one. Yes Niles is an insufferable toff, but he owns that and has put in the 'work' to 'earn' this spot, but then Frasier can't let Niles have his moment. That there were two slots makes it a little more acceptable that they ended up in that spot, but even decision prime that if Niles is good enough for the club so should Frasier makes me annoyed with Frasier. If they were in Boston I'd feel the same about Niles butting in on Frasier's people that he'd spent years ingratiating himself to. Niles married money, that puts him into circles that Frasier isn't part of yet, and as bad as that marriage is I guess I think he deserves to get something out of it.
That said, if the club didn't really know either of them well enough to know which one they wanted to let in besides who had the right connections, I have a hard time feeling too bad. Besides, it probably just would have made Niles' life that much harder to convince himself to get out of the relationship with Maris and leave the circles that puts him in.
I like the inclusion of Daphne into this plot; it's less obvious than it is with Frasier and Martin, but the boys' relationship sometimes needs her to step in and knock some sense into them. Plus I adore Niles dealing with the Frasier-Daphne game. Really most of my fun and feelings from this episode are about Niles.
Production: 6.5/10 the leads' acting is good but guest cast is bland and the staging is a bit awkward, and while the club looks suitably stuffy it doesn't have a lot of character
Story: 6/10 the contrivance with the names and my annoyance with Frasier gets in the way of some good stuff
Writing: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Relationships: 3/5
Comedy: 2/5
Drama: 2/5 the drama here doesn't really work for me that well
Personal: 5.5/10
Overall: 30/50
Frasier 2x19: Someone to Watch Over Me
I sort of feel like objectively this episode was fine, but I got basically nothing out of it. I didn't find it very funny or dramatic, there weren't any substantive character beats, it was just generally boring. Competent but boring is basically the stamp on this one, so I find there's basically nothing to say.
Although I guess now is as decent a time as any to say that I have issues with the way the radio show is shown to work; they always take a call right before they either end or cut to commercial, I'm not sure how anyone even gets their problem described before they have to wrap everything up. And for a show like Frasier's that seems like a bad set up. I guess I fail to understand how Frasier's show is that popular or award-worthy.
Production: 4/10 the guest cast isn't very good, though for now I can say they seem to have kept the time of year for the Sea-Bees consistent
Story: 5/10 Cari should have been seeded earlier; a lot of Frasier's actions don't work, then his beat-down at the end doesn't seem appropriate
Writing: 3/5 there are a couple witty pay offs
Characters: 2/5
Relationships: 1.5/5
Comedy: 2/5
Drama: 1.5/5
Personal: 4.5/10 I don't hate it, I just didn't think it was very good
Overall: 23.5/50
Frasier 2x20: Breaking the Ice
This episode is a little hard to articulate how I would rate it. It's the kind of episode that I'm glad exists, I think it has a lot of fun and/or touching moments that I'm glad we get; but at the same time it's the kind of episode that makes me glad I'm moving through the episodes at a pretty good rate rather than week to week as it doesn't offer a lot to keep you hooked over a long stretch of time.
I can't tell if I saw this episode back in the day or not; ice fishing was a plot point in a lot of shows I watched in the 90s so I might be thinking of one of those slightly better remembered (by me) episodes, or maybe I did happen to be around for part of this one.
I don't know what it is with this current crop of episodes, but I'm getting easily annoyed with Frasier. I even find his motivation here somewhat sympathetic, I guess I just don't find him very sympathetic. And while it's actually more forgivable in this one because they're explicitly drunk, I'm still bothered by all the jokes about Niles and Maris' relationship; I just don't find it funny. I don't know if I ever did even back in the day, but I was certainly putting less thought into that relationship as it was just an obstacle in the Niles/Daphne story, so I probably didn't think about it too much and just laughed along with the crowd. Now I actually care about the characters involved (even Maris a little bit) and jokes about the loveless state of their marriage are not very amusing.
Production: 5/10 acting is as usual solid, but the lighting in the cabin doesn't work too well with people wearing hats. It's also pretty limited on staging in the small space
Story: 6/10 the complete contrivance of Niles trying to throw keys over the hole and expecting Frasier to catch them is a big strike against this one (maybe Niles wasn't trying to toss them over the hole and that's how bad he is at throwing). But otherwise it's a decently put together story with solid moments and character work
Writing: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Relationships: 3.5/5
Comedy: 2.5/5 not a ton of laughs, but a few decent ones
Drama: 3.5/5
Personal: 6.5/10
Overall: 34/50
Frasier 2x16: The Show Where Sam Shows Up
There is a lot to like in this one, and I think I do, but I'm not sure it's that good. It feels a little like an episode of a different show, and I don't mean Cheers; it feels like an episode of a show where each episode has Frasier helping out a different person or group that comes into his orbit, the stories more about the guests than the series regulars. This just happens to be an episode of that show that happens to focus on the reappearance of an old character.
It's actually been a while since I watched an episode like this; my recent TV viewing has included crossovers certainly, but largely between shows that are ongoing instead of where one ended and another started up. This is sort of a necessary episode in that regard, to remember that the Cheers world exists and is still going on; though in a way it feels very 90s in that these people can't just keep up on Facebook if they want to. I also think there are a few timeline issues (Woody and Kelly's kid can't be that old to know how smart he'd be) and I have some question about how Frasier and Sam are close enough that Sam would run to him after the wedding, but not invite him to it. This is very different than episodes involving Lilith; Frasier and Lilith have their own story that's ongoing while Sam represents Cheers and lets the audience know that life has gone on.
Of course it's also there to paper over some contradictions between the parent show and here. And there was fun to be had in that, but I'm glad they didn't drag the joke out.
But I end up finding Sam and Sheila's relationship to be utterly baffling. And if the writers on this show (or the hypothetical other one) were more accustomed to writing episodic stories like this I think it would be better done; or it's just too much to pack into a single episode. Most episodic stories here focus on at least one regular character so they don't have to establish a whole story package. Yes Sam is a known character (although it's been a while since I watched Cheers), but this version of Sam doesn't seem to have been entirely thought through. He was ready to get married, and surely two sexual compulsives would have discussed how much leeway there was in the usual fidelity vows, and he supposedly had mostly been faithful for several months; but as soon as he shows up he's flirting with everyone and when their relationship ends he goes right back to it. I can make it work, that he's reverting to form after running out on the wedding then ending things with Sheila, but the show doesn't give us time to have any other feelings about what's gone down.
It doesn't help that I've never really understood the appeal of Sam. I don't find him that attractive, he's far from bad looking (then or now) but I don't understand what drives everyone wild. And as far as a personal level I just don't go for that type. When I'm watching Cheers I enjoy the character well enough, but his character is so compressed for a single episode appearance that I don't have time to get into it.
Production: 7/10 I do respect the work that went into this even if I think the end result was flawed
Story: 5/10 there really isn't much story for the first half of the episode, then there's too much in the second half
Writing: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Relationships: 2/5 I do enjoy everyone's reaction to Sam, but the main relationship here doesn't have much to work with
Comedy: 3.5/5
Drama: 2/5
Personal: 7.5/10 would watch again, but I did have a lot of problems with it
Overall: 33.5/50
Frasier 2x17: Daphne's Room
While I wouldn't say I think this is a great episode, it's story structure is impeccable. It builds expertly and the while the climax is short, it clicks perfectly together. There's a decent amount of character work (is this the first time we've started hearing more about Daphne's family?) and deals with a very natural concern about the living situation at the apartment.
To go along with the well crafted story, the acting does an excellent job too. There's a fair amount of subtle work, and also some broad humor that all comes through really well.
I like the idea that Frasier and Tom are swapping books and probably opera recordings, and have managed to make a decent friendship after their awkward beginning. It's nice to think about even though I don't know that we ever see Tom again, and he's going to completely disappear before too long I assume. While we're still not getting a lot of Roz, the last couple eps since they started putting her and Niles in scenes together have opened up new options for what to do with her limited scene time, since they can now be group scenes at Nervosa instead of just at the station or ducking out of the cafe as soon as Niles shows up.
There's a small, easy to miss line as we leave the cafe scene where Frasier refers to Niles and Maris as a non-marriage, and I almost want to get into that idea. Because as if it hasn't been clear for a while that relationship had problems, for all Niles had been crowing about getting lucky the night before, as soon as the conversation turned to Daphne it's as if Maris doesn't exist anymore. The show isn't quite ready to actually do something about how shaky-to-bad that relationship is, but it's slipping in a few more overt comments in that direction.
Production: 9/10 the acting and staging deserve high marks
Story: 7.5/10 it's not a complicated story, but it's well told
Writing: 3.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Relationships: 3.5/5 it's kind a group relationship we're working on here, which is good but not a ton of specifics
Comedy: 3.5/5
Drama: 3/5
Personal: 7.5/10 I do relate to Daphne a lot in this one
Overall: 41.5/50
Frasier 2x18: The Club
I'm having almost the opposite reaction to this one as I did the last episode; I liked it, kind of a lot, but I'm not sure how good it actually was. It was perfectly fine, but it's definitely not the perfectly structured piece that the last one was. It's almost the opposite of the last one in that where that climax was short but exactly the right moment; this time it dragged and made me cringe and is probably part of what's confusing my feelings about everything leading up to it.
I also really don't like Frasier in this one. Yes Niles is an insufferable toff, but he owns that and has put in the 'work' to 'earn' this spot, but then Frasier can't let Niles have his moment. That there were two slots makes it a little more acceptable that they ended up in that spot, but even decision prime that if Niles is good enough for the club so should Frasier makes me annoyed with Frasier. If they were in Boston I'd feel the same about Niles butting in on Frasier's people that he'd spent years ingratiating himself to. Niles married money, that puts him into circles that Frasier isn't part of yet, and as bad as that marriage is I guess I think he deserves to get something out of it.
That said, if the club didn't really know either of them well enough to know which one they wanted to let in besides who had the right connections, I have a hard time feeling too bad. Besides, it probably just would have made Niles' life that much harder to convince himself to get out of the relationship with Maris and leave the circles that puts him in.
I like the inclusion of Daphne into this plot; it's less obvious than it is with Frasier and Martin, but the boys' relationship sometimes needs her to step in and knock some sense into them. Plus I adore Niles dealing with the Frasier-Daphne game. Really most of my fun and feelings from this episode are about Niles.
Production: 6.5/10 the leads' acting is good but guest cast is bland and the staging is a bit awkward, and while the club looks suitably stuffy it doesn't have a lot of character
Story: 6/10 the contrivance with the names and my annoyance with Frasier gets in the way of some good stuff
Writing: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Relationships: 3/5
Comedy: 2/5
Drama: 2/5 the drama here doesn't really work for me that well
Personal: 5.5/10
Overall: 30/50
Frasier 2x19: Someone to Watch Over Me
I sort of feel like objectively this episode was fine, but I got basically nothing out of it. I didn't find it very funny or dramatic, there weren't any substantive character beats, it was just generally boring. Competent but boring is basically the stamp on this one, so I find there's basically nothing to say.
Although I guess now is as decent a time as any to say that I have issues with the way the radio show is shown to work; they always take a call right before they either end or cut to commercial, I'm not sure how anyone even gets their problem described before they have to wrap everything up. And for a show like Frasier's that seems like a bad set up. I guess I fail to understand how Frasier's show is that popular or award-worthy.
Production: 4/10 the guest cast isn't very good, though for now I can say they seem to have kept the time of year for the Sea-Bees consistent
Story: 5/10 Cari should have been seeded earlier; a lot of Frasier's actions don't work, then his beat-down at the end doesn't seem appropriate
Writing: 3/5 there are a couple witty pay offs
Characters: 2/5
Relationships: 1.5/5
Comedy: 2/5
Drama: 1.5/5
Personal: 4.5/10 I don't hate it, I just didn't think it was very good
Overall: 23.5/50
Frasier 2x20: Breaking the Ice
This episode is a little hard to articulate how I would rate it. It's the kind of episode that I'm glad exists, I think it has a lot of fun and/or touching moments that I'm glad we get; but at the same time it's the kind of episode that makes me glad I'm moving through the episodes at a pretty good rate rather than week to week as it doesn't offer a lot to keep you hooked over a long stretch of time.
I can't tell if I saw this episode back in the day or not; ice fishing was a plot point in a lot of shows I watched in the 90s so I might be thinking of one of those slightly better remembered (by me) episodes, or maybe I did happen to be around for part of this one.
I don't know what it is with this current crop of episodes, but I'm getting easily annoyed with Frasier. I even find his motivation here somewhat sympathetic, I guess I just don't find him very sympathetic. And while it's actually more forgivable in this one because they're explicitly drunk, I'm still bothered by all the jokes about Niles and Maris' relationship; I just don't find it funny. I don't know if I ever did even back in the day, but I was certainly putting less thought into that relationship as it was just an obstacle in the Niles/Daphne story, so I probably didn't think about it too much and just laughed along with the crowd. Now I actually care about the characters involved (even Maris a little bit) and jokes about the loveless state of their marriage are not very amusing.
Production: 5/10 acting is as usual solid, but the lighting in the cabin doesn't work too well with people wearing hats. It's also pretty limited on staging in the small space
Story: 6/10 the complete contrivance of Niles trying to throw keys over the hole and expecting Frasier to catch them is a big strike against this one (maybe Niles wasn't trying to toss them over the hole and that's how bad he is at throwing). But otherwise it's a decently put together story with solid moments and character work
Writing: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Relationships: 3.5/5
Comedy: 2.5/5 not a ton of laughs, but a few decent ones
Drama: 3.5/5
Personal: 6.5/10
Overall: 34/50