Top 10 Frasier Episodes

Frasier (1993) is one of my all-time favorite shows and woefully underappreciated as far as 90s sitcoms go these days. I mean, I think it should be up there with Seinfeld and Friends. People should still be watching and laughing at this show- I know I do. The show is about psychologist Frasier Crane who has just moved back to Seattle from Boston (it's a Cheers spinoff, but you don't really need to be familiar with Cheers). He now has his own radio show where he talks to callers live on air, helped by his producer Roz Doyle. At home, his retired-cop father Martin Crane has moved in with him because of mobility issues after he was shot in the line of duty. Martin needs a physical caregiver, so the eccentric Daphne Moon is hired. Frasier's brother Niles also makes frequent appearances (and happens to be my favorite character, which the following list might suggest). It's really a great show- I would highly recommend checking it out if you're even remotely interested. It ran for 11 seasons, so I have a lot of episodes to choose from. Okay, onto the list!

#1: s4e18 Ham Radio

You'll see this episode on a lot of people's favorite lists, and there's good reason for it. In this episode Frasier tries to produce a radio drama, but a substellar cast combined with his own pushy and annoying directing habits quickly cause a lot of problems. The final product had me cry-laughing. Points off for one racist joke in the middle there... Eegh, I'm glad this show usually avoided humor like that on the whole. Overall a really solid episode with a unique and memorable premise... I might be overfond of it being from the world of production myself.

#2: s2e23 The Innkeepers

One thing I never get tired of in Frasier is the Crane brothers butting heads. I think it was genius to give Frasier a brother, and rather than making him a foil in any way, to make him... Exactly like Frasier but even worse. This episode is one of many in which they start out on the same team, and everything pretty much goes to shit. The hubris... I love the physical comedy, and I love when Frasier gets humbled. And it's another big ensemble episode, because it's always fun when the whole cast gets involved! I loved seeing the lower-brow characters playing staff at this high-brow restaurant.

#3: s4e14 To Kill a Talking Bird

Who knew you could write a whole episode using Bird-Based Comedy. It's an absolutely ridiculous premise- Niles' pet bird gets spooked by the doorbell and sinks her claws into his head, refusing to let go for the whole episode. Him hiding in the kitchen and refusing to greet his guests is so stupid and so funny- Frasier's attempts to help him while still flirting with one of the guests are great, too. Oh, I just love Niles, that's the real reason this episode makes it on my list. It's not even the only Niles dinner party episode on my list- but to be fair, these characters throw a lot of hoity-toity dinner parties.

#4: s4e1 The Two Mrs. Cranes

This was actually the first episode I saw of the show, and in my opinion, it's a great one to start with. Season 4 was just a really strong season, and probably my favorite overall. This episode is Daphne-focused... When an ex-lover comes to town to try and get back together, she panics and pretends to be married to Niles (who has been harboring a "secret" HUGE crush on her since they first met). Come to find out that her ex has changed and Daphne might be interested in him after all. But, she's stuck in her lie and more characters showing up and adding to the lie make their fake lives completely bizarre. A++

#5: s2e21 An Affair to Forget

Frasier finds out Niles' wife is cheating on him. Niles confronts the guy... A huge german fencing instructor. The physical comedy in this episode is to die for- David Hyde Pierce always totally nails physical comedy in this show. The translation line is stupidly funny. All this for Maris, who isn't even that great to begin with.

#6: s5e15 Room Service

Look, any episode featuring Frasier's ex-wife Lilith could feasibly go on my list, because she's hot. She's SO HOT!!! And I love watching her. This one is probably my favorite of the bunch, though- Lilith comes to Seattle hoping to sleep with Frasier in a moment of weakness. When Frasier stays strong and doesn't give in, she accidentally ends up sleeping with Niles instead. And of course Frasier comes by to give in after all... It's so messy, and so scandalous, and so uncomfortable, and still funny. It's a great episode. God, Lilith is so hot.

#7: s4e21 Are You Being Served?

I love you Niles/Maris divorce arc. The marital problems throughout s4 and s5 make for some of my favorite episodes. Mostly because I like Niles. Did I mention I love Niles? And I like to see him upset because he's funny. This one has one of my favorite gags of all time. Warning for a suicide joke!

#8: s10e11 Door Jam

Frasier steals his neighbor's invitation to an exclusive new spa. Already a great start. He and Niles go and fall in love with the spa, only to find even more exclusive areas they're continually denied access to. Every time they see a more VIP-y door, they immediately become disenchanted with the entire rest of the spa, even though they were just enjoying it. Their hubris... Knows no bounds.

#9: s5e14 The Ski Lodge

Do you like comedies based on misunderstandings? Erm, if not, then this whole show might not be for you actually. This one is a good one, though. A bunch of characters go on a skiing trip, and they all wanna get it on... But each one of them has a different target of their admirations. Frasier's line at the end really makes the whole episode: "Wait, wait, wait. Let me see if I've got this straight. All the lust coursing through this lodge tonight, all the hormones virtually ricocheting off the walls, and no one... was chasing me?"

#10: s1e21 Travels with Martin

The Crane Family (and Daphne) go on a huge roadtrip in a Winnebago. Trouble strikes when they cross the Canadian border while Daphne is asleep, only to later discover that Daphne doesn't have her green card and won't be able to get back into the United States. Daphne's "American accent" had me rolling.

Honorable Mentions