Who could have predicted a series that revolved around a stuffy Seattle radio host and his urban family would garner a whopping total of 37 Emmy nominations, going on to become one of the most popular spin-offs ever made? The fussy life and times of Dr. Frasier Crane, beloved series regular on Cheers, was a staple of network television since it began in 1994. It was praised for its taut storylines, witty dialogue, and memorable characters, which have been brought to an entirely new generation thanks to easy bingeing access on Netflix and Hulu.
Over its eleven years, writers introduced characters only to write them out, manipulated an over-arching plot to suit the whim of a single episode, and suffered from narrative failures. Here are 10 of the most perplexing that even die-hard fans may have missed.
LISA THE BOOKSTORE LADY
Frasier is going through yet another romantic slump when he gets mention of Lisa, the owner of a bookstore. For several seasons, Martin has occasionally mentioned Lisa and talked about her looks, but eventually he decides to push Frasier towards pursuing her because of her intellect.
The episode where Lisa is finally made into flesh and blood turns into the typical Frasier fiasco, as no matter how many times he attempts to meet her, fate intervenes, until the very end of the episode, where it’s suggested they might end up together. We never find out what happens to their relationship.
NILES’ PATIENT
After Niles and Daphne have finally revealed their feelings for each other, their life in Season 9 is one of (mostly) relationship bliss, with both of them finally able to flaunt their love to their heart’s content. Problems arise when Daphne becomes jealous of a patient that has developed feelings for Niles in a process of “transference,” due to the intimate aspects of their sessions.
Daphne goes so far as to first look at the woman’s files, and then begin to stalk her outside of the sessions. Niles is horrified by her breach of ethics, and Daphne worries he’ll leave her. No such thing happens, but we never get to find out what happened to the patient.
TRICIA
Frasier may be unlucky meeting women, but he was never so unlucky as when he attempted to go out with a young woman named Tricia in Season 5. He met her at the opera, where they only exchanged a few words but he was taken by her beauty, her wit, and her mystery. They vow to meet for coffee the next day but something comes up.
Something comes up for the rest of the episode, whether it’s Frasier’s surprise birthday party, or his attempt to get into an elite club with Niles. Finally,he intercepts her flight out of town, and offers to drive her the rest of the way. We never find out what happens after they get in the car, but we do find out that they’re completely incompatible. Then what?
THE TROUBLE WITH CATS
Despite appearing to loathe each other, Frasier and station manager Kate Costas have an animal attraction. Kate ultimately accepts another job out of town and the two are forced to break it off or attempt a long-distance relationship. While at the airport, one of the biggest issues they face is that she has a cat, Louis, which Frasier’s allergic to.
When Kate forgets Louis at the airport, Frasier has to take the little furball home. Louis is never seen again – did Frasier send him to Kate? Later, when Frasier is cat-sitting Mr. Bottomsley without incident, is it because he got the shot?
A GIFT HORSE IS A HORSE OF COURSE, OF COURSE
In one notable episode, Frasier and Niles try to out-do each other to impress their father Marty on his birthday. He remarks to Daphne that “it’s the same every year” and the Crane boys always try to buy his affection by each spending more than the other on his birthday gift.
When Niles purchases the old horse that Marty rode while on mounted patrol and puts him in a luxurious stable, Frasier concedes defeat. Does this put an end to the competitiveness? What happens to Agades the horse?
KENNY’S DATE WITH DESTINY
Kenny Daly (KACL’s station manager) was a series regular on the show who didn’t start to get meatier episodes until it was almost over. In Season 10, Roz’s cousin (a bright-eyed Zoey Deschanel) arrives in Seattle for a visit, and immediately hits it off with Kenny over their shared love of traveling.
She inspires everyone on the show to step out of their comfort zone except Frasier, who is entirely too comfortable being a grumpy old fart. Kenny calls his travel agent at the end of the episode to arrange to meet up with her on her next adventure, but she decides to go alone. We see Kenny unpacking his office later, but we never know if he ended up flying to Vietnam.
ANY INVOLVING MARTIN’S LADY FRIENDS
Remember all the way back to Season 1, when Marty Crane used to ogle women through Frasier’s fancy telescope? There was one he mentioned in particular, Irene, but like all the rest of the women in Marty’s life before his long-time girlfriend Sherry, they were rarely mentioned again after their initial introduction.
Sometimes they appeared twice, like the cop that dated Martin instead of Frasier because they had more in common. But, more often than not, they were introduced like Bonnie for a single episode, and then never featured again. There was never really any explanation as to where they went.
ROZ’S SISTER AND FRASIER
In Season 9, when Roz goes home to meet her family, she takes Frasier along to pose as her boyfriend “Roger.” She wants to impress her family (who generally view her as a screw-up), and silence her nosy sister who feels she’s better than everyone else. This would have been fine, if none of the family ever saw “Roger” again.
Later in the series, Roz’s sister attends an awards show with Frasier as her date. She never mentions that she knows he wasn’t really “Roger,” and seems to know who he is (Frasier Crane) without anything about “Roger” being addressed on-screen. Did Roz have to explain everything to her sister before she flew to Seattle?
DAPHNE’S PSYCHIC POWERS
Early on in Frasier, it was established that Daphne had psychic powers. The entire first season is filled with references to them. She’s even able to assist Marty solving the “Weeping Lotus” case after getting a psychic vision by touching the murder victim’s photograph.
She also gets visions when she touches people, such as when she shakes hands with someone for the first time. Eventually, this ability inexplicably goes away. It’s also never clear if Daphne is psychic – sometimes she’s completely wrong (Niles never had colitis a day in his life), and then other times, her oracular powers are of great assistance.
FRASIER’S NEW JOB IN SAN FRANCISCO
At the conclusion of the series, Frasier is approached by his agent Bebe to take a job offer in San Francisco, and so ends his eleven years in Seattle – his father is married and off to start his life with his new wife Ronee, and Niles and Daphne have just had their first child. It’s time for Frasier Crane to start a new chapter.
In the two-part series finale, we see him say goodbye to his co-workers, Roz (who’s become the new station manager), and his apartment. He boards his plane and has a charming young woman as his seat mate. Two questions all Frasier fans will never know the answer to arrived: does he wind up with the woman, or does he find his lost love Charlotte in Chicago (the plane’s actual destination)?
