I was bummed when Netflix pulled this series, so I broke down and bought the first season though I know that eventually I will buy them all. If you're not familiar with Frasier, and even if you are, there's nothing much to say except that this was one of best of 90's situation comedy. Sophisticated yet funny despite the network television stereotyping. This applies all the way though the entire eleven years. Season 1 is only held back by the inevitability of new character development, but the comedic timing is still spot on.

To me this is the funniest and best sitcom ever made. (Although mash, Seinfeld and mrs maiselle are very close) It’s no wonder why it aired for 11 years. I watch on a loop basis. I’ve seen the entire series over 15 times. It’s witty, funny, with some drama at times. It reminds me of laurel and hardy- aka Frazier and Niles. All the many characters have their comedic moments. The writers for this show are amazing. There are some episodes that I don’t like though and I skip over them, but very few. I thought they jumped the shark when Donny came on board but he didn’t last long.

If you are looking at reviews here, you've already seen that there are currently over one hundred reviews for Season One of "Frasier," and you doubtless noticed that the overall summative rating for the show is nearly a perfect five stars. That's pretty rare, but it demonstrates what most people say about this show, and it's what I, too, have discovered myself as I've been reintroduced to the Frasier on these disks.

I can't add much "substantive" content than what others have already written, but I'll just pitch in a few of my own comments, for whatever they may be worth. "Frasier" is simply hilarious, so hilarious (a word frequently overused, but I assure you, correctly used in this case) that you will find yourself having to stop the disk because you're doubled over with laughter. It's an example of that rare combination of a unique set of actors, superb script writing, and a great story concept. I've seen a lot of shows in my life, and I was completely convinced that no one would ever "top" "The Dick van Dyke Show" because it set the bar so high), but I would have to say that this one is right up there with some of the very best ever made. As I write this, I'm thinking of some of the lines from Season One that simply had my CRYING with laughter, and I so wish I could share them here, but that would just spoil the experience of watching them yourself. Also, the humour does not come across in writing as powerfully as the production itself provides it.

Frasier is a psychologist in Seattle who has a call-in talk show for helping listeners with problems. His brother, also a psychologist, but with a more traditional practice, also lives in the city. Their father, a retired policeman, lives with Frasier in his somewhat upper-middle class ("The Elliot Bay Towers, on the Counterbalance") high rise apartment. They have a live-in physical therapist, Daphne Moon, who is there to help Frasier's dad with his hip problem (who was injured by a gunshot wound while on duty and retired as a result). Frazier has a producer, Roz, a young woman who is always trying to find "Mr. Right," but doesn't seem to be very successful in doing so.

Sound boring? Trivial? Of no interest? Unoriginal? Yes, that little description above might sound that way, but I can assure you, once you waded into the very first episode (one of those rare exceptions where the pilot is actually as good as the rest of the show: this thing starts right on Episode One), you'll see the reason why over 100 people rate Frazier with essentially a perfect five-star score. The fun starts on the first episode and doesn't let up from that point.

Frasier is one of those shows that requires you to think a little as you watch in order to catch all the jokes (it's a tad like "The Simpsons" in that aspect, although the two shows bear no similarity). And you have to listen "quick": the witty interjections that make up so much of the comedy can come at a blisteringly fast rate. Sometimes the interjections will catch you completely off guard, and it is some of these lines that will just knock you over with laughter.

"Frasier" is a show that indeed requires you to think, but it pays off in spades. The show does not "reach down" to a low common denominator, as we see in so many comedies. If you like witty dialog, strange situations, and enjoy seeing how humanity intersects with humor, this is the show for you. The show assumes an educated audience, and that is that.

An easy five stars, but you already know that.

ADDENDUM:
After re-watching all 11 seasons of this show with my wife numerous times, I can still say it. This show is hysterically funny. When you are new to it, you get "caught" by the verbal gags and you'll have to stop the disk or you'll miss then next three jokes. Witticisms abound. Obscure references are not uncommon. And the fact that they could hold this up for 11 years is remarkable. It is said that the only reason that it did not keep going is because of the cost involved due to the very, very high salaries of the cast, and Kelsey Grammer may or may not have been the longest playing single character in TV history (spanning three shows), but none of that matters. We may be sad that we missed out on what unquestionably would have been another hilarious Season, but I guess we'll have to be content with 263 episodes. And do you know what is even more miraculous? As incredibly good as this show is--and it truly is--the show does not even showcase Grammer's greatest acting achievement. That achievement doubtless lays in "Boss," a two-season show on Starz that anyone who grew up in Chicago will cleave to, and everyone else will be mesmerized by the performances ([[ASIN:B005S97ULU Boss - Season One]] and [[ASIN:B00B2TU1R0 Boss - Season 2 [DVD]]]).

I don't watch much television. I also tend to be a latecomer to a television series. I watched "Frasier" from time to time when it originally aired, but it wasn't until this past year that I really started to take a serious interest in the show. I have always enjoyed humor based on a psychological premise. I particularly like neurotic characters. For those reasons, shows like "The Bob Newhart Show," "Monk," and "Frasier" hold a special appeal for me. I thought I would start buying seasons of "Frasier," and I'm glad I did. What a great show!

I really admire Kelsey Grammer's comedic skills. His timing, his delivery of lines, his sensitivity, and even his diction, are truly exceptional. He brings the character of Frasier to life. I can't picture anyone else playing that part.

The actors are right in character from the first show. I think Martin Crane is a bit too gruff in the first couple of episodes. On the other hand, it was probably necessary to establish the underlying tension between Frasier and his father. Martin softens a bit after the first few episodes. I think the writers and John Mahoney found just the right amount of tension to present to the audience each week.

The episode "Author, Author" is a real gem. Niles and Frasier decide to write a book together. Their insecurities manifest themselves---the ones that go all the way back to Niles's crib. Another gem is entitled, "Frasier Crane's Day Off, "which is about Frasier being too sick to go to work. Of course, he comes to work with a fever, and, well, you can guess how he acts on air. Finally, I enjoyed the season finale entitled, "My Coffee with Niles." It is an episode that finds Frasier trying to decide if he is happy or not. Many emotional twists and turns occur in that episode, but in the end he has an answer to that question.

There are good interviews with the cast members included in season one. Also, there is an interesting segment dealing with the set of Frasier's apartment.

I have the first eight seasons of the series. Each season has brought me much laughter. Take this endorsement of the first season as an endorsement of the first eight years of the show.

I'm retired Army and a Gulf War Veteran and have traveled all over and "FRASIER" just does it for me. The feel of all of the shows are off the chart and I watch each show with a nice red wine and kick back and enjoy because the show will take me to a place that is calm and for sure you will have a "SMILE" on your face when all is said and done trust me on this. Sit down alone or with your friends or with that certain love of your life and I promise you'll end the night on a high point and ask yourself why in the world have you not done this sooner 8-)

Even though this show is from the early 90s it still holds up really well. The entire cast is always on point and the humor is just hilarious. I had completely forgotten how much fun this show was to watch until I finally caught it on Prime. If you liked Frasier on Cheers then you'd definitely want to check out this spin-off. His humor is pretty much the same, except instead of a bar setting it predominantly takes place in either the recording booth for his show or his swanky apartment, and it revolves mostly around his interactions with his his father and brother.

Some of the Cheers cast mates also guest start periodically so that's pretty cool.

and I was right, I didn't like it...I LOVED IT!!! I was a little late getting on the Frasier train. I didn't start watching it until it came on in the daily rerun block on our local cable station. I can't believe I missed all these great shows and all the laughs! When I realized it was on DVD I decided not to let the laughs pass me by again.
Frasier-The Complete First Season DVD set is fantastic. It is full of hours of laughs from the 24 episodes it contains. The laughs start with the pilot episode The Good Son and don't stop until the last episode My Coffee with Niles. Each episode is full of great acting and writing. This cast fits together so perfectly you forget they are acting and the characters they portray aren't actual people. Kelsey Grammer is wonderful as Dr. Frasier Crane, David Hyde Pierce is excellent as cutely nerdy Dr. Niles Crane. John Mahoney is right on in the role of the sensible, down-to-earth father Martin Crane. Jane Leeves is hilarious in the role of kind-of-psychic health care specialist Daphne Moon. And last but not least Peri Gilpen adds the finishing touch to the cast as Roz, the producer of Frasier's radio show.
I must add I even love the non-character character Maris, played by...no one. This non-role adds such comedy to the show. It is hilarious to hear of Maris' problems and issues.
Ok..on to my favorite shows on this set. My favorite is Frasier Crane's day off in which Frasier is sick and must stay at home. I laugh until I cry everytime I watch this episode. It must have been so much fun to make! I have seen this episode several times on TV and now on the DVD and it doesn't loose it's laughs. My other favorite, seen for the first time on this DVD was Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast. In this episode Frasier sees his dad in a new light when Martin's lady friend spends the night and show's up in the kitchen at breakfast. Nothing Frasier says comes out right. I laughed until I cried watching this hilarious episode.
I love everything about this series and could go on and on. I can't finish though until I say I love the Niles/Daphne storyline. It is so sweet the way Niles has a crush on Daphne. This whole storyline provides a ton of laughs.
This DVD set is a must have for anyone who loves comedy. If you've never watched Frasier buy this set--you'll love it. And if you already love Frasier buy this set to have in your collection. It is a treasure trove of laughs to keep you on your couch for hours laughing. A must-have DVD set.

Frasier was on American Forces Network in South Korea throughout the 90s, and I remember seeing it from time to time. However, since my English wasn't that good then, I didn't pay any particular attention, and didn't get much in any way out of this brilliant sit-com either. So, all I remembered before I bought the DVD set was oddly funny images of Niles, his way of talking and his facial expressions, and written messages that divide the segments of each episode, as if in silent movies.

It didn't take me long to realize that I was watching one of the best (or, for now, *the best*)sit-coms. What is so amazing, and what is consistently called the "intelligent" aspect of the show, is that Frasier never makes a mockery out of life, which so many sit-coms do (one painful example, to me, is Will & Grace, a show with gay-embracing theme on the surface, but so openly and persistently gay-humiliating). Instead, it takes its humor from unavoidable, and often too painful, human condition: status anxiety, relationship (parent-child, spousal, romantic, workplace), mortality, failure, etc. Other sit-coms may do so too, but what makes Frasier special is its mature, intelligent approach to these important aspects of life, which rarely fails to deliver a certain *lesson* to its viewers, along with laughs.

Examples abound. To take one from the third episode ("Dinner at Eight") of the first season: Martin, Frasier, and Niles have dinner at Timber Mill, Martin's favorite steak house, but a house of horror to these snobbish brothers. Frasier and Niles do not stop complaining and taking a jab at people who eat at such a place. (There's a lovely joke here, too, where to Martin who says "Sometimes there's nothing like a good steak," Frasier responds: "I wish this is one of those times.") Angry Martin leaves the place, after telling his sons that, while their sophisticated tastes may come from their mother, they did not take after one quality from her: "She may have had fancy tastes, but she had too much class to ever make me or anybody else feel second-rate."

This was the first moment, which is to be followed by many, that I knew the scripts of Frasier would indeed be the very best I can expect from TV. Martin's words so admirably, and in a nutshell, sums up what is wrong with so many middle to upper-middle class, overly educated, people who take pride in their impossibly refined tastes in everything. I've been watching Frasier for over a year, and with moments like these, I often thought that I may even someday write a piece called How Frasier Can Help Make Sense of Your Life. First season is only the beggining, all the successive seasons are equally brilliant.