Frasier: A Cultural History

The Cultural History of Television

by Joseph J. Darowski, Kate Darowski

After America's most pompous barhound left the Cheers gang in Boston, he returned to Seattle and found himself surrounded by an equally colorful cast of friends and family alike. For eleven seasons, radio psychiatrist Frasier Crane contended with his blue-collar ex-cop father Martin, English caretaker Daphne, coworker Roz, and his younger brother Niles. Looking at the world through Frasier's aristocratic, witty lens, the show explored themes of love, loss, friendship, and what it might mean to live a full life. Both fans and critics loved Frasier, and the show's 37 primetime Emmy wins are the most ever for a comedy series.

In Frasier: A Cultural History, Joseph J. Darowski and Kate Darowski offer an engaging analysis of the long-running, award-winning show, offering insights into both the onscreen stories as well as the efforts behind the scenes to shape this modern classic. This volume examines the series as a whole, but also focuses on the show's key characters, including Eddie, the canine. Close looks at set design, class issues, and gender roles are also provided, along with opinionated reviews of all 264 episodes, highlighting the peaks and dips in quality across more than a decade of television.

Despite the show's focus on an elitist intellectual—and his equally snooty brother—Frasier often embraced farce on a level previously unseen in American sitcoms, a mix of comedic elements that endeared it to viewers around the world. Frasier: A Cultural History will appeal to the show's many fans as well as to scholar of media, television, and popular culture.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, History

252 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

a little repetitive. main crime is that while reading it makes you think "why am i reading this instead of watching frasier"

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had moments of insightful analysis (history of the chairs, episode themes, set design and social status, etc.) and 90's context (race, sexuality, Cheers' spin off, etc.), but often the retelling of episodes became tedious to one who is already familiar with the episodes.
What I appreciated most was the behind-the-scenes information, such as chair history, network and ratings information, Cheers as predecessor, etc. The analysis was enjoyable when it went deep enough, but often the episode retelling for the sake of flushing out the analysis was already observable.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could have easily skipped the first half-- though the anecdotes and quotes from the actors and people who worked on the series that were peppered through out were delightful. The book shines in the second half with thoughtful analysis on the architecture, furnishings, and the character dynamics.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forewarning: Frasier is my favorite television show. So when I happened upon this book while doing inventory I got a little bit of a thrill, and checked it out immediately.

There is a lot to be said for this book, and many people here have already said it. If you're very familiar with the episodes, parts of this will seem unnecessary (particularly the episode "recaps" at the end of the book - I really wasn't sure what the purpose of that particular section was other than to pad the page numbers), and some of it may seem repetitive. This is especially true because the book does little analysis outside of the five main characters, which I found a little disappointing.

Fraiser, Niles (Niles!), Roz, Daphne and Martin are of course the main cast, however I think there is much to be mined from the representations provided by many of the other regular cast members, and aside from brief mentions of Bulldog's toxic masculinity, Gil's gender presentation and Cam Winston and Dr. Mary's role as antagonists, no other minor characters are mentioned. There is also an uneven favoring of the early seasons (Season 1 especially) in the analysis portion of the book, where I would have liked to see more through-lines, and a critical look at what (if anything) evolved over the 11 years it ran.

And the chapters on the set design and history of the particular pieces of furniture wasn't something I was necessarily very interested in, but it was thoughtfully considered.

At the end of all of this I learned that Frasier has been picked up for a revival in 2021 through Paramount's new streaming service, Paramount+. I'm not ashamed to admit I'm excited for it.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to hate this book. I'm not sure why, since Frasier is my all-time favorite TV show. I guess I didn't really see the point of a book of "Cultural History". However, I gave it five stars. I admit that I was a bit generous in my rating because honestly, it wasn't the best book about Frasier that I've ever read (I have read one other), but it was definitely the most interesting.

First and foremost, I do NOT recommend this book to casual viewers of Frasier or those who have not watched the entire series more than once. This book has MAJOR spoilers for major episodes (including the unexpected twist in the series finale "Goodnight Seattle") that will in fact spoil the show if the reader is one who likes to be surprised. Although I suppose a casual or new viewer of Frasier would be entertained by this book, it's so "deep" that only a true "Frasier fanatic" (such as myself-speaking in general terms of course, as I've seen the series more times than I can remember, thanks to multiple showings on the Hallmark Channel and my DVD collection) would appreciate.

So that being said, this book review will contain a LOT of spoilers for the book, so you have been warned.

I was never really a fan of Cheers and in fact I hated it when it was on Prime Time, so naturally when Frasier premiered, I refused to watch it, thinking it would be a continuation of Cheers. Years later (2010) I decided to give Frasier a try and after five episodes I was hooked. Thanks to the wonderful David Hyde Pierce. His amazing portrayal of Frasier's brother Niles was all it took to keep me watching.

So anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the beginning. The beginning of this book discusses the development of Cheers which is only right since without Cheers there would be no Frasier. That being said, I found it difficult to get into the book at first. But once I got past the "Cheers" hurdle and the real story of Frasier began, I couldn't stop reading.

The most interesting parts of the first half of the book were the parts about the individual characters and the trivia about the show, such as how/why Seattle was picked over Denver as Frasier's home. A lot of the stuff I already knew but I did learn quite a bit. I was happy that David Hyde Pierce was given a lot of credit as being one of the bright spots on the show and I enjoyed reading the insight that he gave about his character and about the show in general.
There aren't many funny moments in this book, except for when they mention a particular line or scene, so don't expect much in the humor department. However, it is very informative and I was impressed with how detailed they were with the descriptions and so forth.

In all honesty the first half of this book is the best because it deals with memorable episodes (although I wish they had gone into more depth about the making of them) and the facts about the characters on the show (including Eddie).
One of the most interesting parts of this book is the section on Set Design, which talks in depth about Frasier's Elliott Bay Towers condominium and the amazing thought and detail that was put into it.

Although I enjoyed the detail that was gone into about Martin's beloved chair, I was nearly bored to tears when the book suddenly veers in a different direction (IMO) and basically gives the history of chairs as they related to some of the chairs in Frasier's living room. It droned on and on and on and I was seriously relieved when the chapter was over. However there is another section later on that deals with one episode and I could have watched the episode at least twice in the time it took me to read the way too detailed explanation.

At the very end of the book is an episode guide, something that the previous "Frasier" book I had read didn't really have (it ended at the fourth season, but it was written during the series). The authors rate the episodes and of course the ratings are their opinions but the only time they explained the reason for their high or low ratings was if they ranked it at the top or at the bottom. Needless to say there were several that I didn't agree with but to each his own. I think it would have been better to just detail the episodes and let the reader decide for him/herself.
I should point out that contrary to a couple of the reviews here, this book does contain pictures; just not a whole bunch of them. They are scattered about here and there and I was happy to see pictures that I hadn't seen before.

This book isn't bad at all and no I didn't hate it, but I know that my giving it five stars is much too generous. It really deserves closer to four, but because it's such a "nostalgic" book and is written by people who seem to generally love Frasier as I do, it's worthy of five stars. I think the cast-David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, Kelsey Grammar, Jane Leaves and the late John Mahoney (Oh how it hurts to type those words!=( ) would be proud of what Joseph and Kate Darowski have written.

Again, if you want to read this book, I really do suggest watching the whole series first to get a better appreciation of it. You can, of course, read it as a casual viewer, but you will encounter major spoilers and secrets about the show that a regular/fan would appreciate more. I know that reading it made me want to sit down and watch the entire series again. I plan on doing that ASAP. But when I do, I know that I will never look at this show in the same manner again. And that, I think, is a good thing!

[Ryan Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors do a great job of diving into one of the greatest sitcoms of all time and digesting it for everyone.

I especially loved the chapters on set design and gender/race.

Their comments were insightful and there was enough background on subjects such as the history of chairs to give you a real look into some of the more subtle points of the show. Ultimately a great book with great research that really helped me to better appreciate a show I greatly love.

[Amanda]

I guess when I saw this book in the library I needed to know what kind of person writes a whole book about Frasier. And now I do.

[Sara Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Ceej Metz · Rating 4 out of 5]

CJ read a book? Don’t worry I started it in July…

I learned a lot about fancy chairs I already forgot the names of🤠

[Adora · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a real sweet spot for enjoying this book.

Ideally, you're a big enough Frasier fan to actually want to read a book like this, and not become incredibly bored. On the other hand, you're not so big a fan that you already know a lot of the background info.

I'm a little ashamed to admit I fall into the latter group. There were some really interesting facts I learned, and I appreciated hearing a little more about the type of subjects I don't really pay much attention to, like the set design. But there was also a lot I'd already heard elsewhere. That's obviously not the book's fault, but I also found myself wanting more analysis. A lot of the book felt padded with plot description, with little details pointed out like, "In this episode, Frasier says ______, although this is contradicted in this episode, when it's stated that _____". Sure, that's interesting to hear, but I wanted something a little more thoughtful in addition to basic facts and statistics.

For example, the book is broken up into sections/themes. There is an entire chapter dedicated to set design, and another one devoted to set decoration. Although I liked a lot about those chapters, they did go into what I thought was excessive detail about, for example, the history of a Wassily chair that Frasier has, simply to underline a point about Frasier's elite tastes vs. Martin's. By contrast, there is one chapter to discuss the themes of sexuality, gender, and race in Frasier. That's a lot to cover, and although they do support their opinions with examples from the show and quotes from critics, all of the topics end up feeling a little glossed over.

The book ends with a list of every episode, complete with a 1-to-4 star rating and a short blurb. For the highest and lowest rated episodes, there's also a short justification given. I appreciated this, although I think if you're going to bother rating every episode, I think you might as well give a reason for that rating for every single episode, including the middle-of-the-road ones.

[Craig Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. Some fantastic insight to the show and the world behind it . Did make it want to watch it as I was reading along . Definitely recommend

[Josie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan of the show, I was tickled to learn it was the subject of cultural analysis. On the whole, "Frasier: A Cultural History" delivered insights and behind-the-scenes information and anecdotes that added depth to my appreciation of the series. At the same time, the book had two co-authors and was uneven both in its writing quality and the merits of its various analyses.

I most enjoyed learning that the writers hadn't originally conceived of including the character of Niles but then, after becoming acquainted with David Hyde Pierce, chose to make Niles similar to rather than different from Frasier in his fussbudgety-ness, adoration of elitist culture and penchant for intellectual wittiness. This, the book explains, was brilliantly innovative, as TV main characters are typically surrounded by others who contrast with them, thereby creating comedic friction. Instead, they made Niles an exaggerated version of Frasier, a dynamic that produced its own wellspring of hilarity.

The book also points out that the actor who played Martin Crane was actually, in real life, more like Frasier in his tastes for books and classical music, whereas Kelsey Grammar (Frasier) and Pierce were more ordinary in theirs. Goes to show how good all three actors were.

I also found the historical context about NBC and changing cultural norms (such as Roz's single parenthood) interesting. The book also explores how the show treated the subject of homosexuality, noting that a writer, a producer and a main cast member were gay and thus the show was able to walk the line of creating humor around sexuality without being inadvertently disparaging.

I'll admit to skipping over the chapters about set design, which falls outside of my areas of interest.

The book concludes with "an opinionated compendium" of the 260+ episodes, each rated on a scale of one (bad) to four (excellent) stars. It was fun to read the authors' assessments of the episodes and their reasonings. I pretty much agreed with their ratings!

[indy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had fun with this book.

The Darowskis remind us of some of the funniest, cleverest setups and lines uttered by Frasier, Niles, Martin, and Daphne. They made me laugh so much that I want to watch the series for the nth time. Chandler nails it: “[the] main crime is that while reading it makes you think ‘why am I reading this instead of watching Frasier’”. If you hadn’t guessed, the book is full of spoilers.

I loved reading about the development of the characters and sets. They lost me in the pages of detail about the Wassily and Eames chairs (subjects close to Kate’s heart, perhaps), but I otherwise enjoyed the discussion of set design and dressing.

Gender and race are given lopsided treatment. There’s a thoughtful discussion of the “mistaken sexual identity” device to “increase confusion in farces” without making homosexuality a joke. After touching on the Murphy Brown single-parent furore, the chapter devolves into surface-level observations you’d expect from a throwaway blog post. I’m surprised they mention Bulldog only in the context of harassing women: he has moments of vulnerability and could have fuelled analysis of toxic masculinity. Bulldog’s episode Love Bites Dog springs to mind as fodder for this chapter. Race is tacked on like an afterthought, as reflected in the chapter title.

Given the academic presentation, I expected better prose and editing. There are some clumsy bits and many repetitions of ideas and phrases to irritate an attentive reader.

I skipped the episode ratings at the back—I’ll read them when I next watch each episode.

My partner gifted me a physical copy, and it’s beautiful. The Kindle price is ridiculous, so my advice is to borrow this book if you can.

[Sakura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the first two sections (@150 pages), the @40 pages on set design and its impact on viewers is by far the highlight of the book. If I could just have those pages expanded and fully illustrated, I would buy that book.

The third section (@50 pages) is just frustrating. It’s an episode guide, each with a couple of lines of synopsis and the authors’ evaluation indicated by a star rating.
In its introduction the authors explain how they devised this rating system. As an example, they spend two pages discussing the ‘old things’ theme that runs throughout ‘The Innkeepers’ episode and thus why they awarded it 4 stars. This makes for an interesting short read.
But that’s the only episode they break down in this way. All the others just get a couple of lines and a star rating.
The authors have done the work behind the scenes but they’re not going to tell us.
I would have much preferred a couple of pages of similar analysis on a small selection of the authors’ top rated episodes.

To sum up: the short section on set design is well worth reading.
The rest of the first two sections are of a medium interest level.
The last section is a wasted opportunity and is reduced to filler.

[Alexander Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a good job at explaining the actual development of the characters, sets, and the relationships between the characters. It brought to mind how emotionally effective much of Frasier was, and the authors did a good job explaining the impact of this emotional core.

However, other sections could definitely be expanded. The section on race and gender was good but ultimately brief, and many elements could have been elaborated on. Ultimately, the actual 'cultural' aspects of this cultural history seem rushed and incomplete. It would have been interesting to read more about the interactions between Frasier, television as a whole, and sociocultural history at large. As it does not pull much in from the larger American or global culture, I am not sure how much a casual reader or a non-fan would get from it. There were also a number of editing and focus problems.

Overall, it is a fine read for Frasier fans.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. I'm not a super fan of the show or anything, but it is a good snapshot of the better end of TV writing from the 90s. This book is well done, the intro, and conclusion are very interesting. Additionally the chapter of gender and race is really interesting, as is the chapter on the set, and how so much of the pieces in the apartment were REAL works of art.
This was a cool read!

[Judy Aulik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bland, nearly bleak cover speaks of academia, and academic it is. Issues such as gay culture and family ties are discussed within the context of the show. Probably this approach (hint: no photos) won't appeal to everyone, but hey, it has synopses and ratings of 11 seasons of shows.

[Janis Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should never have read this book. I watched the sitcom and loved to watch it over and over. It is nearly impossible to put into words what can only be conveyed by body language and visual movement. If you did not enjoy the show read the book otherwise “Frasier” fan read with extreme caution.

[Karlee Buske · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of the show definitely read this book. A fun and descriptive analysis of why the show worked. While I may not agree with the more subjective opinions, I appreciated the highlights, criticisms and fun facts! Will appreciate the show even more so now.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great academic study of the show. Had just the right amount of history of the making of the show tied together with critical analysis. Particularly liked the sections it was broken into and the episode rating and reasoning at the end.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that discusses the themes of the much-loved 1990s-sitcom Frasier. As far as discussion goes, it was well done. I learned a few things I didn't now, and considered a few things I hadn't ever considered. Although I did not agree with each and every conclusion, most were spot-on.

The authors didn't appear to have any inside knowledge or exclusive access or anything like that. Most of their sources are secondary, such as magazine articles. Still, the insights were they gleaned were generally good.

On the bad side, the "episode guide" is really paltry. Most episodes only get a one or two line description and no discussion. The best and "worst" get an additional line or two of analysis, but that's it.

And the list price (over $20.00 for a kindle) was way too expensive.

[Becky Pieszala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book because Frasier is one of my favorite TV shows.