Customer Reviews

Frasier: The Complete Series

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When Kelsey Grammer first introduced himself to Sam Malone as psychiatrist Frasier Crane on "Cheers" back in 1984, who would have believed that this television character would tie James Arness' Matt Dillon at twenty years of playing the same TV character? "Frasier" could hardly be called a sequel to "Cheers", though, in spite of guest appearances by alumni of that show that appeared pretty regularly in the early years. Frasier's new job on a radio show combined with his neurotic family and friends were a perfect setting for Frasier's trademark sarcasm and biting wit. The show seemed to lose a little steam around the time that Niles' pining away for Daphne actually became a relationship at the end of season seven through the middle of season eight, but the show could have perhaps overcome that had it not been for the tragic death of David Angell on September 11, 2001. Angell was the mastermind behind some of the funnier episodes of "Cheers", the creator of the series "Wings", and he was the creative force behind "Frasier". It just seemed like the show ran out of steam for a couple of seasons after Angell's death, but then came roaring back in its eleventh and final season. That's not to say that seasons nine and ten were bad seasons by network TV standards, they just weren't up to my expectation levels considering how funny and creative the show had been over past years. "Seinfeld" and "Friends" got more press and had a bigger fan base during the 90's, but Frasier consistently delivered the laughs over the years with a refined and elegant style of humor.

Finally I also have to say that I personally loved the character of Eddie from the moment he was introduced on the show after it was decided Martin, Frasier's dad, would be moving in with him. Frasier and Martin are having words over Eddie's presence because Frasier claims "Eddie stares at me". Expecting Eddie to be some older male acquaintance, in the next scene I was quite surprised to see Frasier being stared at by Eddie - Martin's Jack Russell terrier. The little dog had a personality of his own and just wasn't window dressing in the series, having a major impact in more than a few episodes and getting more fan mail than any other character on the show. I don't think anyone could call "Frasier" groundbreaking, but I think its humor will stand the test of time and it did manage to deliver the laughs and the heart creatively and intelligently for eleven seasons, which is a pretty big accomplishment.

We love Frasier! This show is hilariously funny, mostly fast-moving and so true-to-life. Never saw many episodes when it first aired, but find it's MUCH better to watch the episodes in order, now that we have the DVD set. We were hoping the price would go lower; got it for $149 recently. We don't like the way season two is packaged, it is packaged very differently (cheaper). Some of the second season discs were dislodged during shipping, as the case doesn't seem to hold them securely. Overall, we are glad we ordered Frasier, as we all need a little more humor in our lives! UPDATE: We're a few seasons in and have discovered one VERY ANNOYING THING about this set. There are an excessively COPIOUS AMOUNT of other series previews that you must wait for at the start of each disc. It started with a few and now is up to over 6 minutes worth and growing with each season. You can not fast forward or skip them and must wait for them each time you turn on the DVD player. So, every time we want to watch an episode, we must start the DVD player at least 6 minutes before we plan on watching. This is becoming EXTREMELY AGGRAVATING!!! We still love Frasier, but would hope this is removed with a new series set. We would never buy any of those previewed series, as we don't like being forced to watch them on a DVD we paid for and by now, we are thoroughly sick of those previewed series. Hope this helps! UPDATE: After several seasons of watching annoying previews, they seem to be lessening with the later seasons and mostly are confined to the first disc of each season. Will update further, if needed.

I've always loved Frasier and the whole cast. Unfortunately, Paramount has seen it fit to add up to seven minutes of commercials at the beginning of the discs, not editable and without the recourse of being bypassed. If I wanted to watch that c... I would do that in the reruns. Shame on Paramount!

It appears that the set is complete, except that SEASON 2 has a substituted volume that may or may not be a "sham." The set has seasons 1 through 11, as promised, but SEASON 2 has NO BOX and is what appears to be an "amateur" duplicate! IN NO WAY DOES IT MATCH THE SET AS AN ORIGINAL. THIS IS HIGHLY DISAPPOINTING and I AM SURPRISED SINCE THIS WAS ONE OF THE MORE EXPENSIVE SETS OFFERED AND WAS OFFERED BY AMAZON.COM!!!

I hope everyone considering buying this set reads this before doing os.

DO NOT succumb to the ultra-low-priced version of this DVD set. It comes from China, and the possibility that it will have one or more bad discs is extremely high. We've found at least one bad disc in every season. They simply won't play in ANY of the DVD players we have in the house (and we have three standalone players, and six in PCs. None of these DVD readers would work on the bad discs.

Further, there is NOTHING on the CDs except the episodes. If there are extras (like blooper reels and such), we ain't seen any yet. Lastly, the menus are just barely there (and look like they're home-made.

Pay the money and get the retail US-made/produced version. You have been warned.

I love the Frasier series but the commercials that my husband and I have to sit thru on some of these dvd's drives us crazy!! You are not able to forward over them or skip them and everytime you want to watch another episode on that dvd you have to sit thru the near 10 minutes of advertisements again and again. This was our hard earned cash we paid to enjoy the privilege of watching Frasier at our own leisure without having to forward over commercials. Fortunately the commercials are not on all of the dvd's. However, I wish I could get my money back for the ones that do have them.

Qualilty of sound and color is excellent!

The new, never opened, series of Frasier has some discs that will not play. They stop and have tiling, chunked squared effects and wont continue to play. The dvd's were not the same as the photo shown in individual boxes, like the ones you buy in a store or rent. Came in a different looking box with all of the dvd's in clear plastic sleeves with no markings on them. I just want the discs to all play so I can see the episodes. The sound is not very loud on them either.

I collect these great shows on DVD...but Frasier on DVD...my God is expensive!! I even got the Seinfeld Complete Series for $130.00 at Best Buy!! it doesn't matter where you look...Amazon or eBay it's over $200.00+++ for Frasier. 7/14/08 UPDATE: looks like Amazon listened and dropped this one to $179.00...guess who ordered one!! 7/17/08 UPDATE: Oops!! back up to $223.00 again.

8/9/2010 - I honestly don't see how anyone can possibly complain about this set! Audio quality is excellent. Video quality is also excellent, especially considering that the oldest episodes were (apparently) not digitally enhanced - as far as I can tell, NONE of the episodes were but the transfers were excellent nonetheless. All 40+ discs play perfectly well. Many of the added special features are quite good. And although Paramount's "coming attractions," starting with the Season Four set, play before the episodes do they CAN be skipped by pressing your remote's Chapter Skip Forward button.

Although $200+ is certainly a bit steep for a tv series, considering the total number of discs & episodes along with the generally high quality of the transfers, I'd say the set is a MUST BUY for any Frasier fan. If you enjoy Frasier, just buy the set - you'll not regret it!

8/24/2010 - HAD to offer this "update." I'd forgotten exactly HOW good this series was. I've got quite the collection of sitcom sets (including Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Ramond, among others) but this one is the TOPS hands-down. It's so good that once you start watching the first episode on a disc you're immediately inclined to watch the rest of them - kind of like reading a book that's so good you just can't put it down until you're either too tired or you know the AM alarm's about to ring... consequently I 'm already through Season Six. Sure the other shows are all top-notch, but this one has the depth, intelligence, heart AND soul that the others seem to come up a bit short on. The stars' superb comical acting skills are all pretty much consistently demonstrated throughout. The "guest callers" that are in most all of the episodes and even many of the guest stars collectively constitute a marvelous collage of memorable personalities of the stage, screen and television from decades past (and present). And the incredible Shakespearean and slapstick comedy elements here and there elevate it all to sheer genius. It's no wonder that the show lasted 11 seasons.

5 stars all the way!

In my (not so humble) opinion, this is the best sitcom that was ever on television. I have other favorites, of course, but every time I watch this series, I am reminded of how truly outstanding it is. (Sidenote: I did not like the "Cheers" TV show at all, but I absolutely adore "Frasier.")

The casting was spot on, and all the main characters--who are all played by simply brilliant actors--stayed for the full eleven years. They even added new characters (including children) efficiently and seamlessly without giving us the "Scrappy Doo" effect and brought in character appearances from "Cheers" that worked well. Unlike other shows that went on for a long time, their content never got stale, and I never said to myself, "They should have ended this show years ago." (Plus, the writers were pretty consistent in their facts, although I have noticed some inconsistencies because I have no life and have watched the series dozens of times.)

The writing is beyond brilliant, the characters grow and mature naturally and meaningfully. The budding romance between Niles and Daphne is done so very well, I just adore the tension and when they finally get together! The ending is really nice and hopeful, even if it doesn't give full closure to the series. It's one of the only shows that has made me laugh out loud in my living room because the combination of the actors' comedic timing and the script is so spot on.

This show has such quality that it endears itself to me even more because I really feel like it was a true labor of love for everyone who played a part in making it what it is.

Seriously. The best ever.