Not much to say, Dec 11, 2011

Reviewer: Sammy J from Melbourne, Australia

Certainly not a great episode, but things move along at a nice clip.
Grammer, Pierce and Mahoney hold things together with their
chemistry. This was a plotline that had to happen eventually -
Martin trying to do something nice for Frasier, only to get it
hopelessly wrong because he can't read the signals of their
"artsy-fartsy" world - and, while the episode is nothing special, it's
watchable. The final scene with the crying is quite funny.

I'll miss the Maris jokes once the divorce is finalised, and I suspect
the writers did too, so it's nice that they're getting in all the
zingers they can. And it's an amusing gag that Daphne uses her
cooking to get the men out of the house, even if I can't help
expecting Frasier to simply tell her what to cook.

There's not much to it, but the cast and director are firing on all
cylinders, and that's enough.

Rating: 74%

An enjoyable episode, Apr 02, 2011

Reviewer: Fido from Cambridgeshire, England

It may not be one of the best episodes, but it was fun. The scene with all 3 Cranes in tears had me in hysterics. The storyline involving Niles and his feud with Maris was interesting - it would've been nice to see more of it.

Rating: 82%

Our Father Whose Art Ain't Heaven, Apr 27, 2010

Reviewer: Norm, Jr. from Somewhere, CA

Rather disjointed little deal that feels like three plot points shoehorned into one story. It begins with a tiff over Marty feeling unaccepted on the same level as his sons, segues into Frasier's revulsion at a painting gifted him by Martin, and finishes with an unlikely collapse of self-control. With that said, it all nearly comes off, and if you can suspend disbelief during the crying game antics at the close, you should enjoy yourself.

Rating: 85%

Mixed blessings, Nov 18, 2008

Reviewer: Tid from SW England

Well, certainly an episode that arouses a wide variety of responses! Most seem
to love it or hate it, so we should perhaps nickname it 'The Marmite Episode'?
(A Brit reference I'm afraid). I found quite a lot to like about it, namely the
Crane Brothers snobbishness in restaurants, Daphne's deviousness in getting
the apartment to herself, and the poignant opening up of the reasons beneath
the rift between Martin and Frasier.

I have to agree with some other reviewers though, about the crying scene.
Not because I'm British and it "made me uncomfortable" (it didn't), but because
it was out-of-character for all involved, it was clumsily executed, and I simply
didn't find it funny. It is not "British" to dislike this scene - indeed, 'Frasier' as
a show is possibly much more British in nature than (say) 'Friends' or 'Cheers'.
And to assert that Americans are more upfront than the British about dealing
with emotion - that may well be quite true in general, but Frasier? Here we
have three of the most emotionally repressed men you will encounter in any
sitcom! Especially Martin. So it was simply un-Frasier-like for them to cry.

One missed opportunity was the otherwise excellent final scene between Frasier
and Martin : I loved the emotional honesty and the way it was played for truth
rather than laughs. So it would have been much more appropriate if it really
HAD been his badge that Martin passed to Frasier (rather than yet one more
object for him to dislike just so Martin could say "...you'll have to prise THAT
from my cold dead fingers").

Rating: 85%

Our Father Whose Art Ain't Heaven, May 16, 2008

Reviewer: Steven from New York, NY USA

I really don't see why people actually like this episode, it really isn't that funny. The only part I laughed at was when Daphne is talking about the sheeps head. I've seen some worse Frasier episodes, but not many.

Rating: 15%

Our Father Whose Art Aint's Heaven, Apr 25, 2008

Reviewer: Danielle from Birmingham, UK

I defy anyone to watch this episode and not love it, and the acting is what makes it so brilliant. When Frasier yells "Oh my God, I've made my father cry", you can imagine yourself saying it that way exactly if you'd made your father cry, and the rest of that scene is a pure gem. The crying is so funny and I agree, the timing is excellent. A really great episode!

Rating: 96%

This was an excellent episode, Nov 16, 2006

Reviewer: Richard Davidson from Fort Wayne, IN USA

I think critics of this episode have gotten a number of things wrong so far. First of all, it isn't a mistake for Martin to take his hand off his cane. A person with one bad leg doesn't need a cane to stand; they need it in order to walk. All Martin had to do was shift his weight onto the good leg, for the moment he needed to place the painting on the mantle.

More importantly, I do not think that the relationship between Frasier and his father was hammered home to the viewer. I have to remember that most of the people posting here are British when I see that sort of comment, and smile. We Americans frequently deal with our emotions, and are not terribly concerned with who we make uncomfortable. I say that with nothing but respect and affection for you lovely Brits.

Most importantly of all, however, the comic timing of the crying scene is positively brilliant, especially on the part of David Hyde Pierce. It is a funny scene, and not really meant to tug at your heartstrings at all.

This is not my favorite Frasier episode by any means, but I can see why it might be Kelsey Grammar's. It is well-acted, and well written, and I have always thought a major strength of the show has been the willingness to develop the characters, and take them beyond cardboard cutouts who only exist for the purpose of entertaining us.

A solid episode, and worth watching.

Rating: 88%

Our Father Whose Art Ain't Heaven, Jan 21, 2006

Reviewer: Tom from Cumbria, England

Our Father Whose Art Ain't In Heaven:

Ha Ha! A great episode!
Martin buys Frasier a painting he said he liked at Le Cigare Volone, trying to do something nice for his son. There's only one problem - Frasier was lying in order to get a table, but can't seem to find a way to tell his father the truth...
This episode features one of Season 4's funniest moments. Frasier tells Martin that he doesn't like the painting and both burst into tears! When Niles enters & sees them both crying he also erupts into tears! Hilarious. This episode has been named by Kelsey Grammer to be his favourite episode & aired as part of 'Frasier Night' on New Year's Day 1999.

When watching this episode on DVD I noticed a slight error. The scene is this: Martin has got Frasier the painting and is putting it up above the fireplace. When he goes to put it up I noticed that John Mahoney leaves go of his cane completly & puts both his arms up in the air. Now, wouldn't Martin have fallen down? Take a look at this next time you watch this episode.

A very highly recommended episode that was written by Michael B. Kaplin. He only worked on three episodes of Frasier, all of them from Season 4. To be honest he should have written more as his 3 episodes do stand out (his other two were 'Three Days Of The Condo' & 'The Unnatural'). I give this episode a very high 90% rating!

Rating: 90%

'Our Father Whose Art Ain't Heaven' review, Jun 11, 2005

Reviewer: Jocelyn from London, UK

An episode in which Martin tries to do something nice for his son by buying him an expensive painting which he wrongly assumes he likes, leaving Frasier with the awkward task of telling his dad how he really feels about it. The first half is superb with the restaurant scene where the Cranes bicker with each other about not wanting to pay the bill, prompting the waiter to ask them if they'd like three happy meals (!) followed by the wonderful moment where Martin presents Frasier with the hideous Cordoba painting - the look on Frasier's face is priceless. A shame then that the second half doesn't sustain the brilliance of the first with Frasier and Martin's crying session seeming rather forced (although Niles crying that no-one wants to come to his party is very funny) and the closing scene where Frasier thinks his dad is giving him his police badge a touch too sentimental, making for an often very funny but ultimately flawed episode.

Rating: 78%