Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse.
Frasier The Innkeepers is the 23rd episode of the second season of the hit sitcom Frasier, the spin-off of Cheers. It starred Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, and Peri Gipin, the story begins after the brothers hear that Seattle’s oldest restaurant is closing its doors and they decide to buy it and become restaurateurs; despite having no restaurant experience, with the resulting opening night turning into a comedic nightmare.
UNDER THE LENS: Comedic Change
Comedic Change: Frasier was already a show that knew how to pace its episodes, with its events perpetrated less by environmental influences and more by the use of witty dialogue, double entendres, and puns. However, things change in Frasier The Innkeepers, with much of the humor being perpetrated by slapstick and physical comedy, most upon hearing this would be leery of this, as Frasier is a show built on intellectual comedy, however it works brilliantly here.
All the actors are at the top of their game, with Frasier and Niles dousing their cherry’s jubilee in increasing amounts of brandy until it explodes in a fireball. Niles irritates the entire kitchen staff into quitting, and Frasier blackmailing Roz into working as a waitress. It’s all comedy gold.
Pacing: Frasier is generally a show that is slower-paced, with long conversations and witty banter, however in The Innkeepers the show’s pacing turns more madcap. The whole episode feels like an ode to the slapstick shorts of Laurel and Hardy, with the whole story of Frasier and Niles learning about the sale of the restaurant, buying it, reopening it, opening night, and its spectacular collapse, all in 22 minutes. Its comedy never lets up, and it barely gives you a chance to finish laughing at a joke before the next hilarious one comes.
HIGHLIGHTS
- When Daphne Moon is fed up with Niles’s inability to kill an eel and grabs it and thrashes it against the counter.
- Otto driving “Car 23” through the wall of the restaurant
- Niles and Frasier spending the whole episode dousing the cherry’s jubilee in increasing amounts of brandy
QUOTABLE QUOTE
Frasier: We’ll make the place very, very exclusive! No sign on the outside, no advertisements and oh, an unlisted number!
SOMTHING TO THINK ABOUT
Have you ever gone into business with a family member? How did it turn out? Was it a good or bad experience?
CONCLUSION
Frasier The Innkeepers is quite simply one of the best episodes in the whole run of Frasier, everyone’s comedic timing is on point, and it takes the cast and places them in a new environment to sell them interact in. Its madcap runtime keeps the audience breathless and on the edge of their seat waiting for the next hilarious gag to occur, and it never once disappoints. This episode is a wonderful introduction to the show for someone who has never seen it, while also providing lots of Fraser lore for longtime watchers of the show.
