Frasier: The Five Funniest Episodes

David Hyde Pierce, Kelsey Grammer and John Mahoney in Frasier Photo: Getty/NBC

It will be extremely difficult, if at all Maybe. , for the upcoming revival of Frasier — starring Nicholas Lyndhurst, not all the people — to match the beautifully written script and incomparably acted episodes of the original 11 seasons. Although it certainly lost something after Daphne and Niles' relationship ceased to be a source of comic tension, Frasier remained one of the most upscale treats in American comedy.

Choose the five funniest episodes is an almost impossible task. But here are some that not only stand up to re-watching, but, if possible, get funnier the more you watch them.

1. Ski lodge (season 5, episode 14)

The one episode of Frasier that fans and its creators most often cite as their favorite is nothing short of a convoluted and superbly performed bedroom slapstick set in a ski lodge that Frasier bought over the weekend as part of a deal with Roz. As its author Joe Keenan later said, «More than most farces, it was a very mathematical, much more complex and precise chain of misunderstandings that had everyone knocking on the wrong bedroom door by the middle of the second act.»

As always in Frasier's greatest episodes, it combines carefully timed physical farce — Martin's partial deafness caused by a bad cold leads to him relaying incorrect information, which results in characters including Frasier, Niles, Daphne and her friend Connie mistakenly believes that another character is sexually interested in them — with brilliant verbal wit. Whether it's Niles taunting Fraser by saying, «Let you bring the 'pig' back to Pygmalion,» or a frustrated Dr. Crane lamenting, «All the lust flowing through this house tonight, all the hormones practically ricochet off the walls, and no one … haunted me?», he softens his huge laugh with an innate understanding of the characters involved in the farce.

2. No Doctor (Season 11, Episode 3)

It remains to be seen if the new season of Frasier will feature any jokes related to the good doctor being mistaken for gay — in the original it was something of a common theme for both Frasier and Niles, and it was very funny (though often non-PC) effect. Rarely has this been shown better than in the episode «The Doctor's Out,» where the wonderful Patrick Stewart played conductor Alistair Burke at the Seattle Opera. He is fascinated by Fraser, who he mistakenly believes has come out as homosexual on his radio show, and begins courting him with expensive gifts and invitations to lavish parties.

Fraser is both flattered by the attention this charismatic man has given him and willfully blind and deaf to Niles and Daphne's warnings that Burke's interest in him is more than a mere friendship. A smaller show would turn Burke into a predatory caricature, but Stewart's warm and charismatic performance allows him to emerge as a decent, kind person — albeit with an unusual penchant for Seattle's most difficult psychiatrist.

3. Are you being served? (season 4, episode 21)

One of Frasier's charms for British audiences is its sheer fondness for old-fashioned, carefully written farces, and it's no coincidence that the title of this episode sees Niles and Frasier forced to try and rob the house of Niles' invisible wife Maris. To get some important docs, this is a clear homage to David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd's favorite comedy series set in a department store. It hasn't been publicly reported what Croft and Lloyd think of Fraser, but it's tempting to believe that they would have enjoyed the show as much as anyone else.

This extremely hilarious episode, in which the Crane brothers are forced into a series of escalating disasters and consequent loss of dignity, can be compared to the best films from Croft's Father's Army, which features another formidable off-screen wife as Elizabeth Mainwaring. «You're Being Served» contains one of the show's funniest moments when Niles, when asked by a concerned Frasier what would happen if Maris ran out of pills, simply laughs and says, «Thank you, Frasier. I needed it.»

4. «Look Before You Jump» (season 3, episode 16)

Although Grammer has come under fire in recent years — his status as an avowedly pro-Trump conservative has not helped him in traditionally liberal American broadcasting circles — he remains an incomparably talented comic actor, having won five Emmys and three Golden Globes for good reason.

His performance in the brilliant film «Look Before You Jump», in which Frazier comes up with the bold/inspired/crazy idea to convince his friends and colleagues to take advantage of the leap year, or as he puts it, «bonus day», and do something . what they would normally shy away from is one of his finest hours, not least his decision to sing the song «Buttons and Bows» as part of a charity initiative. The fact that he can't remember most of the lyrics, resulting in chaos and humiliation, is even funnier given Grammer's total conviction in everything.

5. The Show Where Woody Shows Up (Season 6, Episode 13)

Fraser started out as an offshoot of the beloved Boston bar sitcom Cheers, and while it may have surpassed the original in popularity (especially in the UK) . ), he continued to pay homage to his progenitor by bringing in Cheers cast members to guest appearances throughout his run.

Opinions are divided as to whether this episode, which is about the return of dim-witted bartender Woody Harrelson, Woody, or Shelley Long's reappearance in the third season of The Show Where Diana Comes Back is excellent — the latter's appeal is that she and Fraser were romantically involved in Cheers, which gave it some poignancy amidst the laughs. But Harrelson's boisterous performance as his good-natured but deeply limited old friend gives this film an edge and also continues to tie the fabric to the previous show.