There’s nothing more classic than a Valentine’s Day episode of Frasier.
So, while the holiday placement of Frasier Season 2 Episode 2 might feel a little early, the show really can’t be blamed for not wanting to make the audience wait.
But when a dishwasher falling off a roof is your episode’s biggest laugh, I wish they’d waited a few weeks before airing this one.
Cyrano, Cyrano, Wherefore Art Thou?
True to its title, the episode enlisted Frasier as the eloquent intermediary between Moose and Olivia and traded a plumed quill for texts the way it swapped Shakespeare for originality.
I had completely forgotten that Moose and Olivia got together at the end of last season. I do remember that I liked their pairing at the time since Moose’s plain-spoken declarations seemed the perfect antidote for Olivia’s constant overanalysis of everything her usual dates said.
It seems that Olivia changed her mind along the way and now wishes that Moose was more verbose.
Frasier secretly providing texts for both parties was a comedic bit that never quite lived up to its potential. While it was nice to see some less-familiar Shakespeare quotes used (okay, maybe just less familiar to me), the sentences themselves weren’t all that swoon-inducing.
Even Frasier’s own original words were on the lackluster side and not up to his usual caliber.
His efforts did help me figure out what’s been bugging me about the revival so far: Frasier needs a job.
I guess Harvard technically employs Frasier, but he never seems to teach or do research. I mean, neither does Alan, but at least he actively avoids doing those things, and it’s mentioned that he has tenure.
There’s no sense that Frasier must be anywhere at any specific time. And while Olivia is ostensibly his (and Alan’s) boss, she herself doesn’t seem to be employed with much besides tending to her love life.
Come to think of it, Freddy also seems underemployed in the series. He even volunteered to help Eve work the bar on Valentine’s Day with no notice because… well, he was already having a beer at the bar in the afternoon.
Seeing Frasier briefly put on his psychiatrist hat to help Moose and Olivia communicate was a reminder that this huge part of his identity has been missing from the revival.
We haven’t gotten a ton of details about his television talk show days in Chicago, and I’m not advocating for a similar show in Boston (or am I??).
However, I do think that Dr. Frasier Crane’s lack of purpose (no work outlet) and related lack of coworkers (like he had at KACL) have resulted in a big central hole of character motivation that the show hasn’t been able to fill with its current setup.
Table For None
Frasier’s dinner reservation at a fancy restaurant became a hot ticket when his Valentine’s Day date canceled, and he gave the table to Moose and Olivia.
No good deed goes unpunished, though, and he found himself at the restaurant anyway, whispering advice to Olivia through fern fronds.
Between all the stealth advice-giving, he spent time chatting with Holly, the restaurant’s wry, comely, and age-appropriate bartender.
It was a delight to see Patricia Heaton in this role. But I was crushed when Fraisier asked her out and she said that she was already taken. They were so good together, with all the clever talking!
There was little time to mourn because Moose and Olivia soon put Frasier to work coming up with conversation topics for them.
Thankfully, this didn’t last long. It quickly became apparent that they weren’t romantically suited for one another, and they agreed they would be better off as, I guess, friends who have nothing in common instead.
Frasier’s date was able to make it after all and turned out to not be suited for him, either (or maybe it’s just that one restaurant table that’s bad romantic luck?).
All I know is that I really hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of Holly the Bartender this season.
Her character was definitely the episode’s highlight.
This was great to witness in the moment, but it also reminded me that the show might have a serious problem if its guest stars are consistently more memorable than the main cast.
Slings And Arrows
Back at the Harvard bar, Freddy tried using a bunch of different accents for some reason and messed up all the orders, but Eve was somehow okay with all this because… I dunno, Valentine’s Day?
Frasier mistakenly thought Alan was about to be fired, but just when Alan had made peace with it and was looking forward to a new life, Frasier returned with an OOPS! You’re actually not fired; carry on!
Alan’s character is in danger of getting stuck in a one-note rut. The disaffected alcoholic professor is a well-worn archetype by now, but more importantly, it doesn’t provide much for Frasier’s character to spark against.
Alan’s main purpose as a character was to aid and abet Frasier’s snobbish tendencies, just as Niles Crane did in the original series. However, that only worked because Niles cared very deeply about class acceptance.
Niles knew he’d married into his money, so he constantly tried to prove to Seattle society and himself that he was indeed worthy of his position.
Alan doesn’t have anything near that same pathology, at least that we’ve yet seen. Alan simply drinks and considers himself above everyone else because… he just does.
Don’t get me wrong, Alan often comes in with a snort-inducing zinger, but I feel like his character isn’t working up to full potential in how he fits into Frasier’s Boston universe.
The characters all end up pretty much where they started at the end of this one; the only thing permanently changed is that dishwasher.
Chime in, TV fanatics: what did you think of this Valentine’s Day episode?
Hit the comments and let us know!
Watch Frasier Online
