Frasier
- The Complete Tenth Season
(2002 - 2003/CBS DVD Set)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: B-
One
of the most annoying things about bad 1980s TV and its phony hype was
being told how great Cheers
was, even when it was at its best early on. Sure, it was a good
show, but not the all-time gem some have made it out to be. It is
one of the few TV sitcoms of its time that will hold up and was about
mostly mature adults. However, the real proof that the show was
somewhat overrated is the success of its spin-off, Frasier.
By
lasting longer, outclassing its original source show and taking
liberties with the Kelsey Grammer character to expand his life and
backstory, even if it meant contradicting Cheers,
the show did the one critical thing Cheers
missed through sloppiness to the end. It finally outdid the original
Mary
Tyler Moore Show
as the series with the most Emmy nominations. Yes, it took more
seasons, but that says something about its quality consistency.
A
sort of expanded play on the MTM-produced Bob
Newhart Show,
this series did not lose its way in later seasons the way that show
somewhat did, as the title character's psychology radio show becomes
the center of the nuttiness within his circle of friends and all the
outside characters they come across each episode. By this Tenth
Season
(the next season was the last one) two of the main characters (David
Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves) decide to marry, Frasier and Roz (Peri
Gilpin) experience interference from his ex-wife and Martin (John
Mahoney) does the banal thing of running for the presidency... of the
condo board.
The
only bad thing is that the package says these may be slightly
different edits from the original broadcast versions, which must
drive fans nuts, but the whole show is out on DVD and continues what
is becoming a trend as DVD is overtaken by new HD formats.
The
1.33 X 1 image looks good and like Seinfeld,
is one of the last filmed block-style TV series of any kind. You can
experiment with the framing on a 16 X 9 TV set and be surprised that
they cut well, but purists will want to watch this in the original
frame here. Color and detail can be limited, but this looks better
than it ever did on analog TV broadcasts. The lossy Dolby Digital
2.0 Stereo is good, but has limited surrounds, playing back better in
two-channel and there are sadly no extras. Expect new Blu-ray
editions soon from new HD or UHD scans since the announcement of the
revival series in 2021.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
