Kelsey Grammer reprises his role as Dr. Frasier Crane in the ninth season of Frasier. Spanning eleven seasons, winning 39 Emmy Awards, and being one of the most critically acclaimed shows of its time, these are just a few of the achievements Frasier amounted during its eleven year run. So there’s no denying that Frasier has quite a following and for any of us who have watched can admit that it has its moments, and its more ‘sophisticated’ humor can be quite funny at times.
For those of y…u that aren’t familiar with this program I’ll fill you in on its premise before I get into the Season nine details. I’m sure most of you remember Dr. Frasier Crane drinking his money away with his fellow alcoholics in that little Boston pub, Cheers. If you know that much then I’m sure you can put it together that Frasier is a spinoff of the character created on Cheers, making Frasier the most successful spin off on television. The show began with Frasier moving back to his hometown of Seattle after a divorce. Before he gets to enjoy the bachelor life he takes in his father Martin, who is an ex cop and due to being shot in the line of fire has retired and left physically disabled. Among the frequent visitors to Frasier’s house are Daphne who is Martin’s physical therapist, Niles who is Frasier’s brother and a fellow psychiatrist, and Roz Doyle who is a producer on Frasier’s radio call in show. The overall feel of this show is somewhat intellectual, the main characters are pompous, but that doesn’t mean you have to be high society to enjoy the show. Although some of the jokes require a bit more thought that you’re standard sit-com just about anyone can enjoy Frasier.
Season nine saw the 200th episode of Frasier air, which is a landmark for television shows, but even with this accomplishment occurring during this season Paramount didn’t deem it necessary to include any features, but I’ll get to that later. Over the course of the previous eight seasons a lot has happened on the show, marriages, divorces, romances, snobby humor, and all the fun stuff. Although some of the more profound humor that made this show popular begins to wear off by the ninth season, the laughs are still here. Some highlights of the 23 episode season include a reunion with some of Frasier’s Boston buddies, an overseas visit from Daphne’s family, and of course the milestone 200th episode.
The characters in the ninth season are just the same as always – witty, obnoxious, and even bull-headed. The sibling rivalry between Niles and Frasier is just as fierce as ever and love lives are still just as mixed up as nine years previous. But even though the show still remains funny and entertaining something seems to have been lost over the years. The episodes don’t seem to be as edgy as ever and some of the jokes seem to be getting repetitive. But even so, I have always enjoyed this show and of course season nine isn’t an exception. If you’re already amounting a collection of the Frasier seasons then of course by all means by this one, but if you’re looking to relive so of the shows many classic moments you might want to consider buying one of the earlier seasons box sets.
Video
Presented in a 1.33:1 full screen format, Frasier looks substantially better than it did during its original airing in the early 00’s. There is a good amount of detail throughout the picture; colors as well seemed very vivid and sharp. There were only a few instances where certain colors seemed blurred, but hardly anything to write home about. My only major complaint would be that being a TV show the picture understandably looks quite soft at times, but of course this is common amongst TV show releases so it’s hard to hold it against Paramount.
Audio
Paramount has included the standard Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, which is the norm for television show releases. For any of you who have seen the show before you know that it is completely dialogue driven and the witty banter between Niles and Frasier has never sounded so crisp. Surprisingly sound is emitted quite frequently throughout all three front channels as opposed to most TV shows which focus all their sound into one speaker. All and all Frasier has a pretty crisp sounding audio track.
Special Features
I was quite surprised when I saw that this disc contained absolutely no features. So if its features you like you sure are going to be disappointed with this one.
Final Thoughts
Although Season nine includes absolutely no goodies, the audio and video transfers are pretty crisp and the entertainment as well, making this season a worthy purchase.
