These Are the Plotlines ‘Frasier’ Fans Hated During the Show’s Original Run
While streaming viewers were lukewarm to the Frasier reboot, here’s a reminder that the sitcom dominated the 1990s. During its initial run, the comedy won 37 Emmy Awards, including five in a row for Outstanding Comedy Series. But not all of the sitcom’s plots were created equal. Writer and executive producer Joe Keenan told Metro that there was one storyline in particular that viewers didn’t like.
“I mean, when Frasier lost his job for a period in Season Six, I know some fans didn’t like that he was out of work at the station, and then that he was depressed and went through a rough patch,” Keenan revealed. “We always knew that was going to last for seven or eight episodes. It was planned right from the get-go that by episode seven or eight, they’ll be back at the station.”
Unemployment, depression and grief don’t seem like natural subjects for comedy, that’s true. But ironically, the sitcom’s ratings don’t back up Keenan’s assertion that fans didn’t like those episodes. Frasier finished number three in the overall ratings during its sixth season, the best showing of its 11-year run. Maybe Frasier’s return to the radio station jolted the numbers — or maybe viewers didn’t hate the job-loss episodes after all.
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Keenan doesn’t always seem to be in touch with viewers' opinions. “Nothing stands out to me,” he told Metro when asked about episodes that didn’t age well. “I don’t think it’s more than a couple of things that we might not have done if we’d been doing the show today.”
Fans of the show have no problem identifying the episode that soured like week-old cottage cheese, however. Metro found plenty of viewers in the r/Frasier subreddit who agreed on the series’ creepiest storyline: the first episode of Season Two, “Slow Tango in South Seattle.”
The plot: Frasier is furious when a friend writes a fictional best-seller, based on a story that he told the writer in confidence about how he’d lost his virginity to his piano teacher when he was a teenager. “Frasier having an affair as a high schooler with a middle-aged woman who was also his teacher would be considered at least very troubling and quite possibly predatory by a lot of viewers today,” observed one Redditor.
“This is the one, honestly,” wrote another. “As someone who is only 24, I feel like most Frasier episodes would still be allowed today. But this one is crazy.”
“Daphne and Roz being mad at Frasier for going off to college abruptly instead of sticking around to have a tearful goodbye with the woman who groomed him is extremely yikes,” commented another fan.
In fairness, Keenan admits he doesn’t remember all of the storylines that might have aged poorly. “In all honesty, I don’t go back and watch it that much,” he confessed. “You’re focused on the next thing all the time.”
