Frasier’s Departure

I just now watched the final episode of Frasier. It was delightful, sentimental and full of so many surprises that I just am left speechless. I never forgave the show for sewing up the Niles/Daphne thread too easily a few years ago, and I expected a low key tear jerker a la Friends.

But that didn’t happen at all. The episode was happy-go-lucky and full of some screamingly funny situational jokes just tossed in there. Plus, there were reprises of several minor characters and jokes. In one of my favorite moments, Frasier’s father sits on the new chair after Frasier gets rid of his old chair, deciding, hey, this chair is not half-bad. In the last hour, the show accomplished more than some shows accomplish in ten.

One newsgroup poster remarked: The finale was a classic example of what the show has always done best — giving a humorous set-up and then not wasting time with the explanation that hopefully the audience has figured out already or doesn’t need to see. That is precisely right. The fade ins and fade outs let us see the buildups but not the actual overflowing of energy, whether it be anger, passionate or sadness.

Finally, a nice article by Dana Stevens about the end of Frasier. I cannot think of any sitcom whose final episode was as appealing and as happy-go-lucky as Frasier. Bravo, Frasier for ending a season the right way.