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The Movie: In an era where shows are canned if they don't live up to expectations out of the gate, it has become more and more difficult for a sitcom to prosper. "Frasier" was not only been successful for nearly a decade, but achieved the rare feat of having a character pull an audience from one show to another - something that the "Seinfeld" cast members weren't able to do. As many know, "Frasier" tells the continuing stories of Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), the popular "Cheers" character who offered his take on the characters sitting across the Boston-based bar. After "Cheers" ended, Frasier headed across the country to Seattle, where he took the job of radio host, offering advice to those who called in (including many celebrity voice cameos). Surrounding Frasier is snobby brother Niles (the brilliant David Hyde Pierce), his grumpy father and former police officer (terrific stage-and-screen actor John Mahoney) and a few other supporting players, such as a caretaker for Frasier's father (Jane Leeves) and Frasier's co-worker, Roz (Peri Gilpin, replacing Lisa Kudrow from "Friends", who was originally cast). "Frasier" has recently wrapped up its 10+ year run, bringing back some of the show's key writing and directing staff back into the fold for the final season. Some of the plots had become slightly familiar, but the show often came up with inspired new stories for the characters. The seventh season of "Frasier" starts off with one of the funniest episodes of the series, "Momma Mia", where Frasier doesn't realize that he's dating a woman (Rita Wilson) who looks exactly like his mother. While the plot isn't anything too new, the way that the episode plays the situation is priceless, with Wilson acting like his mother and Hyde Pierce and Mahoney trying to hint at the fact. Other highlights from this season include: "Everyone's a Critic" (Frasier becomes jealous after Niles gets an art critic job, resulting in Frasier trying to get in good with the station owner's irritating daughter in hopes of getting an art-oriented radio show), "A Tsar is Born" (Frasier and Niles learn they may be Russian royalty, and Martin appears on "Antiques Roadshow". In a funny bit, the three turn watching "Antiques Roadshow" into a drinking game.), "The Apparent Trap" (Frasier invites son Fredrick and ex-wife Lilith to dinner, and Fredrick tries to get the two back together), "Rdwrer" (Niles mistakenly gets into the wrong Winnebago in the midst of a trip and thinks he's been kidnapped), "Big Crane on Campus" (Frasier goes out with a high school classmate with a temper), "Whine Club" (Frasier tries to get cork master of the local wine club, but Niles' girlfriend tells Niles to run against him), "Hot Persuit" (Frasier and Roz are forced to room together at a confrence) and the two-part season finale, where Niles and Daphne start really considering their feelings for each other. Season 7 145. 7- 1 147 23 Sep 99 Momma Mia 146. 7- 2 145 30 Sep 99 Father of the Bride 147. 7- 3 146 7 Oct 99 Radio Wars 148. 7- 4 148 14 Oct 99 Everyone's a Critic 149. 7- 5 150 21 Oct 99 The Dog That Rocks the Cradle 150. 7- 6 151 4 Nov 99 Rivals 151. 7- 7 149 11 Nov 99 A Tsar is Born 152. 7- 8 153 18 Nov 99 The Late Dr. Crane 153. 7- 9 152 25 Nov 99 The Apparent Trap 154. 7-10 154 9 Dec 99 Back Talk (1) 155. 7-11 155 16 Dec 99 The Fight Before Christmas (2) 156. 7-12 156 6 Jan 00 Rdwrer 157. 7-13 157 13 Jan 00 They're Playing Our Song 158. 7-14 158 3 Feb 00 Big Crane on Campus 159. 7-15 161 10 Feb 00 Out With Dad 160. 7-16 159 17 Feb 00 Something About Dr. Mary 161. 7-17 160 24 Feb 00 Whine Club 162. 7-18 163 23 Mar 00 Hot Pursuit 163. 7-19 166 6 Apr 00 Morning Becomes Entertainment 164. 7-20 162 27 Apr 00 To Thine Old Self Be True 165. 7-21 165 4 May 00 Three Faces of Frasier 166. 7-22 164 11 May 00 Dark Side of the Moon 167. 7-23 167 18 May 00 Something Borrowed, Someone Blue (1) 168. 7-24 168 18 May 00 Something Borrowed, Someone Blue (2) The DVD VIDEO: "Frasier" is presented by Paramount in 1.33:1 full-frame, the show's original broadcast aspect ratio. The picture quality looked very good, as these recent episodes looked crisp and clear, with no noticable instances of softness or inconsistency. Still, while sharpness and definition appeared consistently first-rate, I did encounter some minor issues. A few minor traces of pixelation were spotted a few times, but no edge enhancement was visible. Not surprisingly, no wear or other concerns regarding the source material were seen. Colors appeared bright and warm, with very nice saturation and no smearing. SOUND: "Frasier" is presented here in Dolby 2.0. The show's audio was perfectly fine, if nothing to write home about - not surprising, given the material. Dialogue is nicely balanced with audience chatter and the show's score/theme music. Dialogue seemed well-recorded and easily understood throughout, with no concerns. EXTRAS: Previews for other Paramount titles. Final Thoughts: "Frasier"'s seventh season keeps rolling along well, with some excellent, hilarious episodes. Paramount's set for the seventh season disappoints in the supplemental section, but audio/video is just fine. Recommended. |