Frasier

Starred review from July 1, 2017
He was originally called Frasier Nye, and, way back when he was conceived as a supporting player on the hit sitcom Cheers, the people who created the character imagined John Lithgow in the part. But eventually he was renamed Frasier Crane, and Kelsey Grammer played him for 20 years, in Cheers and then in its spinoff, Frasier. The authors' focus in this cultural history of a fictional character is on Frasier, but they can hardly ignore Cheers, since the differences between the two showsand, indeed, the differences between Frasier as he appeared in both shows are central to the character and his development. For example, Cheers and Frasier had vastly different comic and dramatic tones. Also, in Cheers, Frasier once said his father, a research scientist, was dead, while in Frasier his father, Martin, a former cop, was very much alive and a key character in the show. The authors explore various elements of Frasierthe show's production design, its use of intertitle cards, its casting (Niles, Frasier's brother, was in the show only because somebody noticed how much David Hyde Pierce resembled a younger Kelsey Grammer)to show how the producers were determined to make a spinoff that was markedly different from the original show and to make a comedy unlike anything else on television. For fans of Frasier, and for anyone who enjoys solidly researched, entertainingly written books about the making of a television show, the book is absolutely a must-read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)