Top 15 Frasier Episodes

Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons, premiering on September 16, 1993, and concluding on May 13, 2004. The series was created as a spin-off of Cheers, continuing the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane as he returned to his hometown of Seattle and started building a new life as a radio host while reconnecting with his father and brother. Frasier stars Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, and John Mahoney. The show was critically acclaimed, with the show itself and the cast winning thirty-seven Emmy Awards, a then-record for a scripted series. It also won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for five consecutive years

15. A Midwinter Night’s Dream

One of the longest, most prominent storylines of Frasier was Niles secret desire for Daphne. It was often played for laughs, but there were a few episodes like this one where it was treated seriously as part of the main plot. In this season one episode, Maris, Niles wife, is out of town and Niles and Daphne find themselves unwittingly trapped in his house by a storm. Alone. Like most classic Frasier episodes, the writing is clever, the pacing is fantastic and the plot leaves the viewer intrigued till the closing credits.

14. The Maris Counselor

This episode marked the end of Niles' toxic marriage with Maris and in keeping with their marriage, it ended in farcical shambles. Just when Niles thinks the separated couple are on the road to reconciliation, he finds out Maris has been seeing their new marriage counselor. Truth be told, this isn’t exactly one of the funniest episodes of Frasier. But for committed viewers of the show, this episode will always be notable for the way Niles finally accepts the demise of his marriage. It also has a somewhat happy ending as the Crane men all toast to brighter days ahead.

13. An Affair to Forget

There are certain moments in episodes of sitcoms that not only come to define said episode, but the show as a whole. “Papa’s Got a Brand-New Excuse” is now known as the Fresh Prince episode where Will’s dad walks out on him again. “The One With the Embryos” may as well be titled the Friends episode where Monica and Rachel lost their apartment to Joey and Chandler. This season 2 episode of Frasier is best remembered for Niles Crane attempting to joust with his wife’s fencing instructor to defend her honor. The only problem is the latter only speaks German. Which means he can only communicate with Marta, Niles maid. But since her English isn’t very good, she has to translate to Spanish to Frasier, who in turn translates to English for Niles. Admittedly, it does sound a little convoluted on paper but watching the three way translation scene play out makes for hilarious viewing.

12. Something Borrowed, Something Blue

The episode all Frasier fans had been craving for years. Niles and Daphne were destined to end up together eventually – the only issue was how the writers would handle this most delicate of storylines. After all, Daphne was engaged to another man and Niles had recently remarried. To call this season 7 closer an emotional rollercoaster would be a tad trite. It was a heartbreaking, funny, joyful and dramatic television event.

11. Dad Loves Sherry, the Boys Just Whine

It goes without saying that Martin Crane is significantly different from his two sons. They watch operettas, he prefers basketball games. They eat at restaurants with reservations while he’d just as soon eat at a local bar. He prefers a cold beer and they’re sherry people. Well, except in this particular case. When Martin meets his version of the perfect woman in Sherry Dempsey, he is naturally giddy with excitement and wants his family to like her too. Unfortunately for him, the same things he loves about her repel Frasier and Niles. Watching Frasier and Niles struggle to warm up to a “regular Joe” like Sherry makes for hilarious viewing, but this episode also serves to remind the viewers just how far the Crane boys had come in their relationships with each other.

10. Halloween

Some of the greatest Frasier episodes were filled with brilliant farcical moments. There is nothing funnier than watching these characters completely misunderstand each other while we the viewers are in on the misunderstanding. In this episode, Roz endures a pregnancy scare (a secret she only shares with Frasier) a day before Niles’ big Halloween party. Mix a little alcohol and a little misunderstanding on Niles’ part and he ends up believing Daphne’s the pregnant one! With Frasier’s baby, no less. “Halloween” ends up introducing a new storyline for Roz, but it owes its notoriety to been one of the great Frasier farces.

9. Three Valentines

Frasier was not a show that always experimented with its format but based on the quality of this episode, maybe they should have considered doing it more. In this special Valentine’s Day episode, we get to see how our favorite characters are spending their special day. The episode splits into three different stories – for Niles, Frasier and Daphne/Martin. Each story is funny in its own way and yet the clear stand out is the opening story with Niles getting ready for a date in Frasier’s apartment. Words could never do justice to David Hyde Pierce’s gifts for physical comedy so I would simply recommend watching some of the funniest minutes in television history.

8. Dinner Party

As mentioned earlier, Frasier was not a show that usually experimented with its format. But with bottle episodes like “Coffee With Niles” and “Dinner Party”, the chemistry with the lead actors makes for such an engaging watch that you don’t even realize this is all playing out in real time. It’s such a simple plot too - the Crane brothers want to throw a dinner party and invite some of their high society friends. But between trying to fix a date when they’re both available, finding a caterer and agreeing on guests to invite, this turns out to be a complicated task. Roz and Martin make brief appearances here, but this is very much a Frasier and Niles affair and as with all episodes that focused on the brothers’ friendship, it makes for great viewing.

7. Moon Dance

What is it about “will they/won’t they” TV couples that keeps viewers consistently entranced? Maybe there’s something relatable about watching our favorite characters longing after unrequited love. Maybe it’s watching these characters becoming better people in the interim. In any case, watching Niles longing after Daphne season after season was the longest running Frasier storyline and it fascinated viewers for years. But until they officially became a couple in the eighth season, the writers always teased viewers with the prospect of their coupling. This was best done in “Moon Dance”. During his separation from Maris, Niles finds himself needing a date to a fancy ball as well as dance lessons. Enter Daphne, who is not only happy to teach Niles some moves but is eager to enjoy a fancy night out. Although this wasn’t to be their “falling in love” episode, this certainly helped whet the appetite for their eventual union.

6. The Innkeepers

While it was clear that Frasier and Niles’ friendship was cemented by a bond stronger than mere blood could provide, they were also insanely competitive with each other. This strange dynamic meant that while they were clearly best friends, they could never successfully collaborate on any project as they’d both end up sabotaging it. Several episodes addressed this strange dynamic but none better than “Innkeepers”. In this episode, the Crane boys find out that one of their favorite restaurants is closing up and at a whim they decide to buy the place and go into the restaurant business. Unsurprisingly, everything that can go wrong on the opening night does go wrong in hilarious fashion. It wasn’t to be the last time Frasier and Niles showed a penchant for self-sabotage, but none more memorable than this.

5. My Coffee With Niles

There’s a strong case for this been the greatest Frasier episode of all. Considering what this episode was supposed to represent – a first person summary of Frasier’s first year back in Seattle – this season one finale hit all the right notes perfectly. In fact, David Angell and Peter Casey’s script is so tightly written that a first time viewer might forget that this is all happening in real time. Like all great bottle episodes, the plot is deceptively simple. While Frasier and Niles are sharing a coffee on a regular afternoon, the former points out that it had been almost a year since he moved back to Seattle. This provokes a question from his brother, “Are you happy?” Between trying to get his coffee order correct, listening to Niles’ issues, and dealing with interruptions from Martin, Daphne and Roz, he never gets to actually answer his brother’s question. With that been said, by the end of the episode it becomes clear how Frasier really feels.

4. The Two Mrs. Cranes

In the first 2 to 3 seasons, we don’t get much insight into Daphne’s past and childhood in England. We know she has a myriad of brothers and her father liked a drink, but it wasn’t until season 7 (when she was supposed to marry Donny) that we actually meet anyone from her family. Before that though, there was this season 4 opener, where Daphne’s ex-fiancé from Manchester, Clive tracks her down and professes his still enduring love for her. Clearly Daphne doesn’t feel the same way, but she wants to let him down easy. So she pretends to be married to Niles, who is only too happy to keep up the charade. It doesn’t take long for Frasier, Roz (who has to pretend to be married to Frasier) and Martin to get embroiled in the ever more complicated lie. Watching the five characters spin tall tales on the spot to deceive poor Clive is funny enough, but watching them turn on each other elevates this episode to a classic episode.

3. The Matchmaker

It wasn’t very often that Frasier dealt with homosexuality as a plot device, but when it did the episodes were not only handled respectfully but were hilarious as well. This was most likely because most of these episodes were penned by Joe Keenan, a brilliant writer who just happens to be gay. He penned classic episodes like “The Doctor is Out” and “Out With Dad”, but the best episode of this nature is undoubtedly “The Matchmaker”. When Daphne confides in Frasier about her lack of luck in the dating department, Frasier has a brilliant idea – he’ll set her up with his new boss. He’s intelligent, successful, witty and just recently moved to Seattle from England. Unfortunately, he’s also gay! In fact, he misinterprets Frasier’s dinner invitation as a signal of interest. As with most classic Keenan scripts, double entendres and double speak abound as Daphne, Frasier and his boss delve deeper into the misunderstanding until it’s all you can do to stop your sides from splitting.

2. Ham Radio

Honestly, there is no real reason why this isn’t number one. Most Frasier fans would choose this over “Ski Lodge” and I would find it difficult to argue against that assertion. It’s a coin toss really.

It’s KACL’s 50th anniversary, and as part of the celebration, Frasier decides to recreate KACL’s first mystery theatre broadcast on the radio. He recruits some work associates and friends for the radio play and sets to direct a masterpiece. But in true Frasier fashion, he only gets on everyone’s nerves with his over controlling tendencies. Things threaten to spiral out of control when the only professional voice actor involved – and portrayer of six different characters – walks out. With some quick thinking, Frasier is able to draft Niles in as a last minute replacement. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough to stop the production from descending into hilarious shambles. Everything that can go wrong goes wrong at such an alarming rate that the drama they’re putting on simply pales in significance. This is Kelsey Grammer’s favorite episode and I can certainly understand why. It’s wit and slapstick merged in perfect unison.

1. The Ski Lodge

When a pregnant Roz wins a raffle draw prize for a free weekend at a ski lodge – complete with free skiing lessons from an instructor - she is naturally delighted. That is, until Frasier reminds her that in her condition, it’d probably be wasted on her. So with some convincing (a big screen TV), she lets Frasier have the prize. He invites his family, including Daphne and her good friend Annie, to what promises to be a relaxing weekend. It turns out to be anything but as the romantic setting only seems to rev up everyone’s hormones to breaking point. Toss in a little bit of alcohol and Martin’s impaired hearing and all sorts of shenanigans occur. This is Frasier at its very best – the writing is immaculate, the acting is brilliant and the titular ski lodge almost seems like a character in itself as it helps with the episode’s remarkable pacing. There is very little between this and “Ham Radio”, but for me Frasier’s grand realization at the end of the episode gives this the slight edge.

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