Frasier Episodes, Ranked

Ten half-hours in which two psychiatrists misunderstood everything, mostly at Joe Keenan's direction.

Entries
10
Category
TV
Updated
  1. A hotel room service tray with two champagne glasses outside a closed hotel door.

    10. Room Service

    Ken Levine and David Isaacs · 1998

    Lilith comes to Seattle after her new husband walks out, Frasier spends the episode trying to resist temptation, and it is Niles who ends up in her hotel room. Written by Cheers veterans Ken Levine and David Isaacs. It never comes up at Thanksgiving again.

  2. A decorated Christmas tree half-hidden behind a closet door in an upscale apartment, a menorah on the table.

    09. Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz

    Jay Kogen · 1998

    A woman in a department store sets Frasier up with her daughter, Faye, and both assume he is Jewish, so the Crane household has to hide every trace of Christmas when the mother visits. Written by Jay Kogen. The tree does not go quietly.

  3. Two wedding rings on a coffee table in a stylish apartment, a teacup knocked on its side.

    08. The Two Mrs. Cranes

    Joe Keenan · 1996

    Daphne's ex-fiance shows up, so Daphne introduces Niles as her husband to fend him off, and Martin and Roz pile on with their own lies. Joe Keenan stacks them until they all collapse at once. Niles gets to be married to Daphne for an afternoon and loves it.

  4. A wedding dress draped over a car seat at night, a church in the distance.

    07. Something Borrowed, Someone Blue

    Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan · 2000

    After seven seasons, Daphne tells Niles she knows how he feels, just as he admits he has already married Mel. Then, at her own wedding, she walks out in the dress and asks him on a date. The two-part finale undid the thing the whole show was built to delay.

  5. An ironing board with a scorched pair of trousers, an iron and a small fire in a sleek living room.

    06. Three Valentines

    Rob Hanning · 1999

    The opening is several wordless minutes of Niles alone in Frasier's apartment, ironing his trousers, losing a fight with a lint brush, fainting at blood and setting things on fire. David Hyde Pierce makes it a silent movie. The other two stories also happen.

  6. A vintage radio studio with an on-air light, a microphone stand and sound effects props scattered on a table.

    05. Ham Radio

    David Lloyd · 1997

    For KACL's 50th anniversary, Frasier produces a live radio murder mystery, over-directs it until the cast walks out, and has to get through the broadcast with whoever is left. Written by David Lloyd, a Cheers veteran. The only thing killed on air is the show.

  7. An opera house balcony box with two empty velvet seats and a pair of opera glasses on the rail.

    04. Out with Dad

    Joe Keenan · 2000

    Martin goes to the opera with Frasier, gets asked out by his date's mother, and claims to be gay to get out of it. Then her uncle Edward wants a date, and Martin has to invent a boyfriend, which is Niles. John Mahoney commits completely. Martin's recliner never finds out.

  8. An empty ballroom dance floor under a crescent moon decoration, a single rose on the parquet.

    03. Moon Dance

    Kelsey Grammer · 1996

    Niles's date cancels on a society ball, so he takes Daphne, and the dance they rehearsed turns into the moment the show had circled for three seasons. Kelsey Grammer directed; eight writers share the credit. Niles finally dances with someone other than his reflection.

  9. A candlelit dinner table set for three in a modern apartment, a wine bottle and a single dropped napkin.

    02. The Matchmaker

    Joe Keenan · 1994

    Frasier tries to set Daphne up with the new station manager, who is gay and assumes Frasier is asking him out. Every line at dinner lands twice. Joe Keenan's first episode on the show won an Emmy for directing and a GLAAD Media Award. A strong debut.

  10. A snowy mountain lodge hallway at night lined with identical bedroom doors, one ajar, ski boots by the wall.

    01. The Ski Lodge

    Joe Keenan · 1998

    Roz trades Frasier a free ski lodge weekend for a big-screen TV, and by nightfall everyone is creeping down a hallway toward the wrong bedroom, including a ski instructor misreading everyone. A pure door-slamming farce from Joe Keenan. Nobody skis.

Honorable mentions

  • A small airplane above the clouds, a Seattle skyline fading below and a radio microphone on an empty desk.

    Goodnight, Seattle

    2004

    Niles and Daphne have a baby, Martin gets married, and Frasier quotes Tennyson on the air before boarding a plane he says is headed for San Francisco and landing in Chicago, for a woman. Eleven seasons, then a quiet exit. Most finales could learn something.

Dishonorable mentions

  • A Boston brownstone stoop in autumn with a single armchair and a moving box on the sidewalk.

    The Good Father

    James Burrows · 2023

    The Paramount+ revival premiered without Niles, Daphne or the Seattle apartment, and moved Frasier to Boston. David Hyde Pierce said he had nothing new to bring and stayed home. It got two seasons before cancellation in January 2025. The recliner was not consulted.

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