Frasier: RTÉ 1 Sunday 10.20p.m., Channel 4 Wednesday 11.05p.m. So, Frasier is finally leaving the building. After many years at the top of the sitcom ratings charts, this sharply written comedy is about to come to an end and I will be sorry to see it go.
When the series started, many of the male characters were young enough to have full heads of hair. Although several have lost it over the intervening years, the same cannot be said for the sharp and clever scripting. The secret to its lasting appeal has to be its sophisticated and elegant writing. Coupled with visual humour, this programme rarely disappoints and has retained its edge.
The series originated as a spin-off from the comedy Cheers, and centres around Dr Frasier Crane, a 40-something radio shrink. Separated from his wife and son, he now lives in Seattle with his elderly father, Martin. His brother Niles, a psychiatrist in private practice, makes up the basic "Crane-a-trois".
The Crane brothers are similar in many ways. Both are egotistical, vain, vintage-wine sipping anglophiles. Unlucky in love, they have scores of failed relationships behind them. Snobbish and self-obsessed, they are the diametric opposite of their down-to-earth, beer drinking, sports-loving father. Usually found reclining in his shabby easy chair, Dad is a gritty ex-cop who has so little in common with his sons that he often wonders if a mistake was made at the maternity hospital.
Frasier and Niles are fiercely competitive in their personal and professional lives. As psychiatrists - Frasier favours the theories of Freud while Niles prefers Jung - they invariably end up counter analysing each other's subconscious motives before coming to an inaccurate conclusion.
Although alike there are subtle and important differences between them. While Niles is fastidious, prone to panic attacks and just a tad on the obsessive-compulsive side, Frasier is gauche, self-opinionated and pompous. And although he thinks himself a bit of a lady's man, he has little luck with the opposite sex. Flashbacks to childhood, such as their fondness for playing "air violin" to Beethoven's 5th Symphony, show us where the first priggish seeds were sown.
The central female characters, Daphne and Roz, are in stark contrast to the elitist and bombastic Crane boys. Roz Doyle, Frasier's radio producer, is your typical American good-time girl. With the morals of an alley cat, she is sassy and streetwise but is not the best at choosing men.
Daphne Moon, a Manchester care worker, was originally hired to care for Martin. She enchanted Niles from the start. Over the years she's drifted from one blighted relationship to another. That was until Niles finally made his feelings known and they lived happily ever after... well, more or less. Even for the most ardent fans it did get a little dull when Niles finally won the heart of his true love but thankfully once the honeymoon was over it was business as usual.
Less central but equally interesting characters spice up this tasty dish of humour. Lillith, the icy ex-wife who makes Mortica Adams look like a red hot mama; "Bulldog" Brisco, the skirt-chasing sports commentator; and Bibi, Frazier's less-than-ethical agent, (who in her own words has made so many deals with the Devil she has frequent flyer miles!) - keep this comedy bubbling.
And finally, Eddie. Played by a number of different dogs over the years, Eddie is Martin's constant companion and bane of Frasier's life. He has no table manners, lies on the couch all day watching TV. In fact, Eddie is probably the nearest thing to the son Martin always thought he'd have.
The comic timing and theatrical acting skills of Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) and David Hyde Pierce (Niles) are second to none. With a combination of pithy writing, brilliant acting and clever plots, this series deserves its place among the comedy greats.
Dr Frasier Crane may no longer be listening on Radio KACL but I'll be watching Frasier reruns for as long as they're on. Without my weekly dose of Dr Crane, I really would need to start seeing a shrink.
Marion Kerr is a qualified occupational therapist and freelance health writer.