In 2004, the hit NBC sitcom Frasier came to an end after 11 seasons.
Fans are oftentimes unhappy with the way the ending of a sitcom is handled, as the NBC
network had experienced previously with the dismally received Seinfeld finale.
The finale of Frasier became an exception, as the final two-part episode of the series
was generally beloved by both critics and fans.
Now, a potential reboot stands to undo the original series’ perfect ending, which is
a bittersweet prospect for fans of the show.
As negotiations continue to go on for the prospective reboot, join Facts Verse as we
examine the scene that took Frasier off the air for good.
The Series Finale of Frasier Aired in 2004 2004 ended up being a fairly tough yet momentous
year for the NBC network.
That year, two of the network’s biggest sitcoms came to an end after being on the
air for around a decade each.
Those sitcoms were Friends and Frasier, but the Frasier finale is the one that we’re
going to be focusing on in this video.
Frasier premiered in 1993 and was a spin-off of the series Cheers, which first introduced
the character of Frasier Crane during the premiere of its third season.
Cheers’ writers initially didn’t except for the character to appear in more than a
few episodes, but Kelsey’s performance ended up winning over the audience.
Few Could’ve Predicted Frasier Crane’s Popularity
Kelsey Grammer’s turn as the character of Frasier Crane during the early episodes of
Cheers’ third season proved such a hit with audiences that the writers realized that they
may have a new main character on their hands.
The character of Frasier was initially intended to provide some romantic competition for Ted
Danson’s character of Ted Malone, forming a love triangle with Shelley Long’s Diane
Chambers.
However, once that arc was resolved, the show’s writers ended up finding a permanent place
for the character of Frasier within the series’ titular bar.
As Cheers went on, the character of Frasier became more and more of a central focus, with
audiences loving the juxtaposition of the psychiatrist’s sophisticated demeanor against
the show’s more blue-collar characters.
When it was time for Cheers to come to an end in 1993, Frasier was viewed as the most
lucrative character to place into a potential spin-off.
The final episode of Cheers aired on May 20, 1993, and the first episode of Frasier premiered
on September 16 of that same year.
True to its titular character’s spirit, the show had a much drier sense of humor than
Cheers.
The show also took place in the more sophisticated location of Seattle, as compared to Cheers’
Boston location.
The series followed the character of Frasier after moving to Seattle to start up a radio
program, and also saw him attempting to patch up his estranged relationship with his father
and brother.
Those characters, of course, would be John Mahoney’s Martin Crane and David Hyde Pierce’s
Dr. Niles Crane, respectively, with the latter being Frasier’s fellow psychiatrist.
Frasier Proved an Unlikely Success with Audiences Many wondered if Frasier was going to have
a hard time connecting with audiences on account of the show’s dry tone in comparison to
Cheers.
However, the show proved an unlikely success!
A big part of the show’s appeal was the aforementioned characters of Martin and Niles,
both of whom provided unique sorts of comic foil to the comparatively stern and serious
character of Frasier himself.
Frasier’s father in the series could never understand a word of what his two sophisticated
sons were saying, though he still managed to find it in his heart to love them.
Meanwhile, Niles was always a little bit goofier than his older brother.
Frasier was such a success that there were arguably Cheers fans who grew to love the
spin-off series even more than its parent program.
Like its parent series, Frasier ended up lasting for 11 seasons before finally being taken
off of the air.
The finale of Frasier was named “Goodnight, Seattle”, and it took its name from the
signature ending line that the character of Frasier used on his in-show radio program.
The finale also featured a custom animated intro that feature a rainbow over the main
intro’s traditional Seattle skyline.
“Goodnight, Seattle” proved a perfect denouement for Frasier and the rest of the
supporting characters on the series.
Much of the finale revolved around the character of Frasier trying to figure out his future.
Frasier’s last love interest on the series was a character by the name of Charlotte,
who was a matchmaker played by Laura Linney.
In the finale, Charlotte moves off to Chicago and Frasier opts not to come along.
Of course, the character of Frasier was always afraid of commitment over the course of the
series’ run, so this choice certainly wasn’t out of character.
However, Frasier ended up deciding by the end of the finale that he wanted to make things
work with Charlotte after all.
While Frasier is supposed to be boarding a plane to San Francisco to start a new radio
program in the venerable California city, he instead has a change of heart and opts
to head to Chicago to pursue Charlotte.
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“Goodnight, Seattle” Gave Everyone a Happy Ending
The finale of Frasier might sound a little bit cheesy on paper, but audiences and critics
loved it!
As compared to the Seinfeld finale, which doubled down on the creators’ insistence
that none of its character should ever grow or progress over the course of the series,
the finale of Frasier showcased some immense growth from the character of Frasier himself
that fans of the popular character truly appreciated.
By the time that Frasier came off the air, audiences had spent around two decades with
the character of Frasier Crane and truly wanted to see him get a happy end.
The appreciably open-ended finale suggested that Frasier had finally accepted love in
his life and was no longer afraid of commitment, which meant a lot for his character.
While the issue of Frasier and his self-sabotaging love life proved the main concern of Frasier’s
finale, the finale also tied things up nicely for the rest of the series’ beloved characters.
We finally got to see the character of Frasier get a “thank you” from father Martin Crane,
which was a callback to the very first episode of the series.
Besides this, we also got to see Dr. Niles Crane become a father.
Over the course of Frasier, Niles fell head over heels in love with the character of Daphne
Moon, who was portrayed by actress Jane Leeves.
Daphne was the caretaker of Frasier and Niles’ father, and she eventually grew to love Niles
back.
Niles and Daphne were married by Frasier’s series finale, and that finale also depicted
Daphne giving birth to a son by the name of David.
Many fans might not have been aware, but this baby was actually named in honor of one of
Frasier’s co-creators.
That co-creator was a man by the name of David Angell, who had tragically passed away in
the 9/11 attacks.
David’s sister was amongst the members of the studio audience whose reactions can be
heard during Frasier’s finale, and she was deeply honored by the homage.
One of the finale’s big emotional moments came when it was time for the character of
Frasier to give his final radio broadcast to the city of Seattle, and the scene ends
with a shot of some strange men lurking behind the studio’s soundproof glass.
While these men might not have been instantly recognizable to most audience members, it
would later be revealed that the men were Frasier’s producers.
A Different Dog Played Eddie in the Finale Besides all of the characters that we’ve
already mentioned, another memorable character on Frasier was Martin Crane’s dog, whose
name was Eddie.
Throughout the majority of the series, a dog by the name of Moose played the character
of Eddie.
However, Moose had grown too old by the time of Frasier’s finale and subsequently had
to be replaced in the two-part episode by his understudy, named Enzo.
Sometimes Cheesy Can Be Okay!
The finale of Frasier pleased critics and audiences alike, and still stands today as
a great example of how to end a series without pissing off fans.
The finale was so effective that Tina Fey claims she used it as inspiration when crafting
the finale of her own NBC sitcom, 30 Rock.
According to Tina, watching the Frasier finale made her realize that moments that might seem
cheesy on paper can actually be really effective in the context of a series finale, particularly
when that series finale involves characters that audiences love.
The Cast of Frasier Went from Seattle to Hawaii Following the filming of “Goodbye, Seattle”
the cast and crew of Frasier were treated to a week-long vacation in Hawaii.
Many were sad to see the series go, but it had to come to an end sometime!
A big part of why the series ended up getting canceled after 11 seasons was because of Kelsey
Grammer’s salary, as the actor was said to be making a mind-blowing $2 million per
episode by the show’s 11th season.
However, budgetary problems or not, the show had arguably done enough by 2004, and its
season finale ended up being the perfect capstone to the beloved comedic series.
Will a Potential Reboot Ruin Frasier’s Perfect Ending?
While Frasier had a perfect ending, it appears that a prospective reboot may eventually come
to mess this up!
Kelsey Grammer has been talking about a reboot of Frasier for years, and it seems that the
talks are only ramping up.
It’s unclear who all will be returning for this potential reboot series, but Kelsey claims
that he intends to get all of the original series’ living main cast members back.
This includes all of the main cast members besides John Mahoney.
There are plenty of fans who would be grateful to see the return of Frasier Crane, but there
are also plenty who fear that this potential reboot might ruin the original series’ perfect
ending.
The success of Frasier’s finale stems from the fact that the audience got to see the
character of Frasier get a happy ending, but a happy Frasier likely wouldn’t be an interesting
enough character to fuel his own reboot series.
After 11 seasons, Frasier ended its run with a series finale that has gone down in history
as one of the most crowd-pleasing ever!
Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that one of the co-creators of Frasier
was killed in the 9/11 attacks and that Kelsey Grammer was said to have been making $2 million
per episode by the series’ end?
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