Warning: SPOILERS for the Frasier episode "Thank You, Dr. Crane" are ahead!
The original Frasier concluded its 11-season run on 2004 by having Kelsey Grammer’s character leaving Seattle behind him and moving to Chicago. However, when the Frasier revival premiered last year to those who have a Paramount+ subscription, rather than follow along with Dr. Frasier Crane in the Windy City or have him move back to the Emerald City, the character instead moved back to Boston, i.e. his old Cheers stomping grounds.
However, the latest episode of Frasier to premiere on the 2024 TV schedule, “Thank You, Dr. Crane,” saw the title character returning to Seattle and reuniting with familiar faces like Bob “Bulldog” Briscoe and Gil Chesterton. This episode was packed with some big reveals, but after watching it, I’m especially thankful for how it progressed the story of Peri Gilpin’s Roz Doyle, who’s been recurring this season.
The Big Reveals Shared During Frasier’s Return To Seattle
Frasier Crane traveled to Seattle with his son Freddy to help Roz out with a trivia piece that she’s making for the KACL radio station and do a reprise of his live call-in psychiatry show. Much of the episode’s shenanigans involved Frasier meeting one of his former callers in person, Lou, a former lawyer who quit his job to become a magician upon Frasier’s urging 20 years earlier. Unfortunately, this one piece of advice resulted in the collapse of Lou’s life, as not only is he untalented in the ways of magic, but his wife left him and her new husband, who’s also Lou’s landlord, regularly bullies him. In the midst of this story,
KACL Has Seen Better Days
When the original Frasier was airing, the internet was in its infancy and KACL was one of the top radio stations in Seattle. However, now in this age of online content, including podcasts, radio has taken a major hit, and KACL in particular is a shell of its former self. While Bulldog and Gil still host their respective sports and restaurant review shows, the station is suffering from diminished funds, which, among others things, prevents them from acquiring certain music rights and not even being able to afford a second Welcome Home banner. The building itself is also in a state of disrepair, as evidenced by the animal nest underneath the the table where Frasier once hosted The Dr. Frasier Crane Show.
Bulldog Is Gay
Bulldog was an obnoxious macho man when he and Frasier Crane were working at KACL together, and that hasn’t changed in the last two decades. However, rather than still being a womanizer, Bulldog is now gay, reflecting actor Dan Butler’s own sexuality. This reveal was an amusing pivot from having Gil Chesterton come out of the closet instead given how often his coworkers speculated he was actually homosexual in the original show.
Niles And Daphne Now Live In Sedona
Following David Hyde Pierce saying that he has no plans to reprise Niles Crane on Paramount+’s Frasier, the revival came up with a good reason why Frasier and Freddy didn’t visit Niles and his wife Daphne during “Thank You, Dr. Crane”: they don’t live in Seattle anymore. Before the trip, Freddy informed Eve that his aunt and uncle now live in Sedona, Arizona, where Niles runs his own vineyard.
Café Nervosa Has A New Look
Café Nervosa joined Frasier Crane’s apartment and the KACL recording room as one of the core locations of the original Frasier. The good news is the coffee shop is still open and seems to be thriving. The bad news, mostly for Frasier, is that Nervosa has a completely different ambiance, which includes two couches being set up and the shop catering more towards bicyclists and other athletes.
McGinty’s Is Now A Gay Bar
When the late Martin Crane needed to enjoy some beers with his friends, he often went to McGinty’s. It was about as heterosexual of a bar as they came back then, but when Frasier and Freddy visited the watering hole to remember John Mahoney’s character, they realized that it was now a gay bar after Bulldog tipped them off. But Martin is still fondly remembered at McGinty’s, as there’s a picture of him there.
I’m Thankful That Roz Is Moving On From KACL
As a longtime Frasier fan, I enjoyed getting to see Frasier Crane back in Seattle in this episode, but at the same time, I also like that “Thank You, Dr. Crane” seemed to finally shut the door on this chapter of the character’s life for good. As mentioned earlier, Peri Gilpin has appeared as Roz in multiple episodes of the Frasier revival this season following her guest appearance in the Season 1 finale. She’s mainly been visiting Boston as part of her trips to see her daughter Alice (played by Kelsey Grammer’s daughter Greer), who’s attending the Rhode Island School of Design. Otherwise, she’s continued working as KACL’s station manager, the job she scored at the end of the original Frasier.
After seeing how far KACL had fallen and learning about Lou’s failed career as a magician, Frasier convinced Roz that it was time for her to move on from the radio station. She had a lot of good times in her 30+ years there, at least a third of which was spent with Frasier, but just like how he moved back to Boston to start a new chapter of her life, the time has come to for her to do the same. With Alice attending RISD, Frasier suggested that Roz could find something more rewarding to do on the East Coast.
So now the stage is set for Roz to appear even more frequently on Frasier, though keep in mind that as of this writing, it remains to be seen if the show will return for a third season. By extension, now that Roz is leaving Seattle and Niles and Daphne no longer live there, there’s really no reason for Frasier to ever go back there (Wendie Malick has already ruled out reprising Ronee Lawrence). It was fun getting to spend time with him and his supporting cast there for over a decade, but now he’s firmly rooted in Boston, and it’s great that one of his closest friends will now be living closer to him.
There are just two episodes left in Frasier Season 2’s run. While you’re waiting for them to drop and keep your ear out about if Season 3 will happen, check out the other best shows on Paramount+.
