Frasier is considered one of the best spin-offs, if not one of the best sitcoms, of all-time. Kelsey Grammer reprises his role as Frasier Crane from Cheers, as he returns home to Seattle to care for his ailing father Martin. He hires a live-in physical therapist, Daphne Moon, with whom his brother Niles falls head over heels for.
Frasier is getting a revival in the future on Paramount+, which will feature Frasier in a new city. It's a great time to review the best episodes of Frasier, which ran for 11 seasons 1993 and 2004. Though there are many hilarious episodes to choose from, some stand out from the rest because of their phenomenal writing and great comedy.
10 "Cheerful Goodbyes" Reunites Frasier With Several Cheers Alums
Season 9, Episode 20
In "Cheerful Goodbyes," Frasier brings his family with him to Boston when he is scheduled to speak at a business conference. They run into Cliff Clavin at the airport, who invites them all to his retirement party. "Cheerful Goodbyes" features many of the Cheers gang, including Norm, Carla, and Paul.
The episode was part of NBC's 75th-anniversary celebration in 2002. John Ratzenberger, Rhea Perlman, and George Wendt all reprise their roles from Cheers. It was great to see Frasier reunite with his Cheers counterparts, as most Frasier episodes only feature one guest star.
9 "High Holidays" Features A Misunderstanding On Two Fronts
Season 11, Episode 11
In "High Holidays," Frasier's son Frederick visits him in Seattle during Christmastime. Frasier is shocked to see Frederick going through a Goth phase and hopes to get his son out of it. Meanwhile, Niles decides that he wants to go on a rebellious streak, so Roz brings him a marijuana brownie. However, Martin eats it, not knowing its ingredients.
The misunderstanding with the brownie leads to some classic Frasier comedy. Martin has no idea what is happening to him throughout the episode. On the flip side, Niles thinks he has eaten a pot brownie and begins to act like he is high, which is even more hilarious.
8 The Entire Cast Shines In "Rooms With A View"
Season 10, Episode 8
"Rooms with a View" is part two of a three-part episode involving Niles' emergency heart surgery. When Niles goes into surgery, each member of the family processes the event differently. The episode shows flashbacks of the characters at the same hospital from other events that have happened over the years.
While this is not one of the funniest episodes of Frasier, it is still one of the great episodes due to the cast's strong performances. Each character is avoiding the thought that Niles could possibly die during surgery. The episode was nominated for several awards as well.
7 "The Dinner Party" Takes Place In Real Time
Season 6, Episode 17
"The Dinner Party" has the Crane brothers scheming to throw yet another doomed dinner party. During the planning, they come to realize that their friends view them as more of a married couple than individuals. This causes a rift between the two and ultimately dooms the party before it even gets a chance to begin.
Anyone who watches Frasier knows that the dinner parties never go to plan and ultimately fail. This is one of two episodes across the series' run that takes place in real-time, as the idea to have a party and then not having it happens in the span of 22 minutes.
6 "The Matchmaker" Received Praise For Its Satire Of Stereotypes Around The LGBTQ+ Community
Season 2, Episode 3
In "The Matchmaker," Frasier finds out that Daphne feels lonely after catching her smoking late one night. He schemes to fix Daphne up with the new station manager Tom, who is actually gay. When Frasier invites Tom to his apartment for dinner, a series of hilarious misunderstandings begin. Daphne is interested in Tom, but Tom is actually interested in Frasier and also thinks that Niles and Martin are gay.
The episode was one of the best from the series' early years. Director David Lee won a Primetime Emmy Award for directing as well as a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directing. "The Matchmaker" also received a GLAAD Award for Best Comedy Episode, and received praise for its good-natured humor and portrayal of gay men.
5 "Halloween" Sparked A Change For Roz
Season 5, Episode 3
"Halloween" features another classic Frasier mix-up. Niles throws a literary-themed Halloween party and Roz fears that she may be pregnant. She confides in Frasier that she is awaiting the results from her doctor at the party, but a drunken Niles misinterprets this information. He believes that Daphne is pregnant and Frasier is the father.
Ultimately, Roz finds out that she is pregnant. This episode marked the beginning of a new path for her in the show. Roz chose to be a single mom, had a successful career as a radio producer, and continued her habitual dating. Kelsey Grammer's ex-wife Camille Donatacci appears in the episode as a partygoer Frasier is trying to romance.
4 "Daphne Does Dinner" Showed Daphne Is A True Crane
Season 10, Episode 14
"Daphne Does Dinner" follows Daphne, who's recently married to Niles and wants to throw a dinner party with him. This upsets Frasier, who always throws dinner parties with Niles. As expected, things go south and Daphne has no choice but to turn to Frasier without letting Niles know.
The party is thrown so that artist Mike Shaw can unveil his new painting, but nobody other than Daphne's mother sees him until the very end. When the party goes downhill for a variety of reasons, topped off by a bed falling through the ceiling, Frasier tells Daphne: "Congratulations, you're officially now a Crane." Daphne weeps, but viewers can tell she fits right in with the Crane family.
3 "Moon Dance" Marked An Important Milestone In Daphne And Niles' Relationship
Season 3, Episode 13
In "Moon Dance," Daphne offers to teach Niles how to dance when he finds out that his ex-wife Maris is going out with other men. Niles plans to bring an heiress to a ball to make Maris jealous, but when the date cancels, he goes with Daphne. The pair do a memorable tango dance and Niles accidentally reveals his true feelings for Daphne.
Daphne thinks that Niles was just trying to impress his friends, so his secret love for Daphne is kept a secret. While it took another few years for them to officially get together, this episode kicked off their relationship. "Moon Dance" was also Kelsey Grammer's first episode as director, and he went on to direct 36 episodes.
2 "Ham Radio" Has Frasier's Radio Drama Descending Into Chaos
Season 4, Episode 18
"Ham Radio" has Frasier staging a radio drama mystery to celebrate KACL's 50th anniversary. Frasier enlists his friends and coworkers to take roles in the drama, but his constant criticism and over-directing drive everybody up a wall. Niles is brought in at the last minute to play several roles.
The show descends into chaos as one thing goes wrong after another. After having enough of Frasier's direction, Niles kills off all the characters and the show ends 9 minutes early. One of the funniest episodes of Frasier, "Ham Radio" is just one of the several events that Frasier spearheads, and it fails due to his overbearingness.
1 "The Ski Lodge" Is One Of The Best Sitcom Episodes Of All Time
Season 5, Episode 14
In "The Ski Lodge," Roz wins a free trip to a ski lodge and gives it to Frasier. He takes the family there for the weekend along with one of Daphne's friends. At the lodge, they meet Guy. Daphne is smitten with the ski instructor, but Guy actually wants to get with Niles.
All the lust going through the lodge that night, and Martin's obliviousness to it all, leads to a memorable climax where Niles finds Guy in his bed. This is when Niles gives the classic line: "I am not gay, Guy!" Only the audience has the full picture of the situation, which adds to the comedy of the episode. "The Ski Lodge" is the highest-rated episode of Frasier, and it was number 31 on TV Guide's Top 100 Episodes of All-Time list in 2009.