Frasier Season 1 Episode 3 Review: First Class
Christine Orlando
at
.
Frasier dove into the world of academics and brought us more than just a fashion show displaying the latest in the world of tweeds during Frasier Season 1 Episode 3.
We got a glimpse into why Frasier's recent talk show was so popular and perhaps why he decided to leave it behind.
While some moments were classic Frasier, others brought the idea of psychology as entertainment to a new low.
It's not difficult to believe that Frasier went down this road. Although he's a brilliant psychiatrist, he's also got an ego the size of the Grand Canyon.
Where NIles was happy in private practice helping patients one at a time, Frasier enjoyed doing his work in the public eye.
It's never taken much to lure Frasier towards the limelight. Although he tried to hold to certain standards on his radio show, when it came to having his face on TV, those ideals became more negotiable.
Do you remember when he hosted a morning TV show with his agent, Bebe. Each day of that show he got better at selling standard talk show drivel and enjoying its perks.
Oh, I'd love to see Bebe head to Boston to try to entice Frasier away from academia and back to TV. Bebe would eat Olivia Finch for lunch and still be hungry.
And although all of this is likely a well-meaning jab at Dr. Phil, who did make a guest appearance in the original series, and other talk shows, it's almost too close to reality to really be funny.
But Frasier is determined to leave behind the glitz and glamour that has made him quite a rich man over the last two decades, and he's upset when students want to treat his class as though they're guests on a talk show.
They booby-trapped you with your own charisma. How dare they debase you by forcing you to do the very thing you did by choice for 15 years.
David
To Frasier's credit, he is here to teach. But Olivia Finch didn't go through all of that effort to snag Dr. Frasier Crane as a member of her staff to watch students walk out because his class is boring.
And she's no longer even trying to hide what she expects out of Frasier.
Why do you think I hired you? For your negligible teaching experience. For the zero academic papers that you’ve written. No! Because you are a big, beautiful dancing bear in a pink tutu that the students will actually pay attention to. That is why you are here. So dance, bear, dance!
Olivia
Frasier's expression drops when Olivia whips out the Thinking Cap, which was a regular skit from his talk show.
I was so taken aback by the Thinking Cap that I found it hard to laugh. It seems to be a cross between the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter and the Thinking Chair from Blue's Clues.
Did Frasier really resort to those types of gimmicks for ratings? Yes. Yes, he did.
But he's desperate to get away from all of that and so despondent that it's all Olivia thinks he's capable of or wants him to be capable of that he considers quitting Harvard.
This leads to one of the funniest Frasier moments from this installment, where Freddy gives him what was likely the same speech Frasier gave his son when he wanted to leave the esteemed University.
And in an inspired Frasier quote that throws back to the original series, Freddy reminds his father of all the things he's quit in his life.
Frasier: I am not a quitter.
Freddy: You quit your radio show. You quit your TV show. Didn’t you and Uncle Niles once have a restaurant you quit after one day?
As much as I love a reference to Niles, it just makes me miss David Hyde Pierce all the more.
But here in Boston, Frasier has Alan to bounce things off of and help him figure things out. Of course, Alan has a flask instead of sharing a sherry like he would with Niles.
Alan: You’re rich. You’re famous. Your students love you. For some reason, you smell naturally of sandalwood. What more could you possibly want?
Frasier: I wanted to make an impact. I wanted to realize the potential I had when I set off on this career path forty years ago.
Frasier gives his version of teaching one last shot, and this time, Eve gets into the scheme as he has her pretend to be a student with questions that aren't as trivial as how tall he is or what is his net worth.
But David is livid. How could his uncle, who apparently given his net worth gives what could be considered stingy Christmas presents, ask Eve to help out and not him?
We're only three episodes into this reboot of Frasier, and I'm already wishing for a spin-off that has Niles, Daphne, David, and perhaps whatever sibling David might have at home.
But back to Frasier.
As David and Eve are about to start dishing some personal dirt that, in reality, is quite innocent but would make great fodder for the tabloids, Frasier desperately breaks out the Thinking Cap as a distraction.
Then, when Frasier is feeling even lower for groveling to what the masses still want from him, Olivia swoops in with a story about how he's inspired her.
Was Olivia really a Craniac? Probably. But that Thinking Cap wasn't bought years ago, but recently, and she uses pieces of fact and fiction to win over Frasier and keep him working for her.
And it makes me like her even less than I already did, which is saying something.
But Frasier wants to be here. He's likely wanted to impart his wisdom to the students of Harvard since the moment he graduated.
So, what did you think of Frasier's famous talk show? Did I hear things, or was his sidekick named Gelman, as in the famous Gelman who goes all the way back to Live with Reggis and Kathie Lee and is still with the current Live with Kelly and Mark?
Hit that SHOW COMMENTS button below to share your thoughts on this new reincarnation of Dr. Frasier Crane.
Then check back in for our review of Frasier Season 1 Episode 4.
New episodes of Frasier drop Thursdays on Paramount+.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
