Frasier Finale
I've got to be honest--I've enjoyed
Frasier since the beginning and it's one of those shows that when I wander by a repeat of it, I'm likely to stay and watch. There was a special a couple of years ago where Kelsey Grammar payed homage to Jack Benny and in looking back at Grammar and
Frasier as a series, you can see how true that is. One thing Benny understood was the best laughs were those you set up by establishing not only a great situation but also great characters. Both comedy programs were firmly established in the characters and each one had characteristics and foibles that we not only recognized in ourselves but we could laugh at. And just like Benny, it appears Kelsey Grammar recognized the talent around him and allowed them to often have some of the bigger laughs--even at the expense of his character. And let's face--Grammar's slow burns and stares are just right out of the mold of Jack Benny's pauses and stares at the audience.
And the finale of
Frasier just showed how good the show is. It wasn't about wrapping up plotlines, but continuing some forward and keeping them going. And we didn't have everything gift wrapped for us--would Frasier taking a chance pay off for him with Charlotte? Did she even know he was coming? Was she waiting for him at the plane? We don't know. Not anymore than we know Daphne and Niles will be good parents, how their son will grow up to be or even if Martin and Ronnie will find married bliss. I like that we didn't have it all spelled out for us and it left us to fill in the gaps. Yes, we had some resolution to some things, but we didn't have a neat, tidy little package to end the stories on the series. Which, in the end, reminds me a bit more of how our lives are and why we care so much about these characters--because they're drawn out of the cloth of reality.
Frasier has left the building...and ya know, I think I'm gonna miss him.
posted by Michael Hickerson at 5/15/2004 10:44:00 AM |
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