I get the sense that the writers want us to side with Martin because he's "down-to-earth" - an assessment I've heard other people make of his character - while chiding Frasier and Niles' rarefied "pretensions".
Well, Martin has a much better understanding of people in general and of the realities of life than either of his children.
I always saw him as the good-natured, righteous old man who provides a reality check for the more intellectual Crane brothers.
These opinions raise a very interesting point about the show.
I've always found it interesting that the two main channels of criticism, and praise, that I've heard about
Frasier are completely opposing. Some people tell me they don't like it because it seems too clever for its own good and smugly revelling in its elitism and obscure, intellectual references. But the other complaint I've heard it's that it's an annoyingly
anti-intellectual show, where the down-to-earth Martin always shows up the stupid intellectuals who think they know better. Similarly, those who like it tell me that they like the way it's so refined and sophisticated, and a cut above your average sitcom. But others tell me that what they love about the show is the way that it makes fun of these silly, pretentious intellectuals. I find all this really interesting, because all of these opinions over-simplify the way the show works. In fact,
Frasier both delights in, and satirizes, both 'high' and popular culture in all its facets, both intellectualism and anti-intellectualism. (Yes, Frasier and Niles' snobbery and pretension is made fun of, but so are Martin's tastes - how about the shark-skin suit in a mayonnaise jar or the cheese-injected food - 'Just as nature intended', as Frasier quips.)
People often talk about how Frasier over-thinks things and Martin talks more common sense, but it can work the other way too. Frasier's over-thinking being wrong probably happens more often because he's the main character, and therefore his character flaws and dillemmas are more of the main focus, but Martin gets it wrong too. What about, off the top of my head,
Here's Looking At You or
3 Dates And A Breakup where Martin's unwillingess to really face up to, or talk about, his issues, is mucking up his relationships, and Frasier's approach of really making Martin think about his situation, to be honest about his feelings and desires, is actuallly the right one. So just as Frasier can over-think, Martin can also under-think. The writers let the audience make up their own mind who to side with. That's one of the reasons the show is so rich and satisfying. Martin is very much the old-school, 'bottle up your problems/emotions and pretend they don't exist' kind of guy, so the fact that his two sons are both psychiatrists, a profession which is about 'get all your problems and emotions out in the open', is fantastically ironic. In
The Unkindest Cut Of All, Martin's feelings of uselessness now he's retired are not being addressed, so he lashes out angrily at Frasier rather than tell him how he's really feeling. Once Frasier forces him to talk about it, Frasier is able to reassure him about how much he's respected, and this is a good thing, that wouldn't have happened without Frasier's prodding. This also happens in
The Babysitter (getting to the real root of Martin's impotency),
I'm Listening (urging Martin to be honest with Ronee about how he feels about her instead of covering it up) and
Boo! (getting Martin to admit that his heart attack (sorry, 'cardiac event'!) changes things and that he needs to be honest with Ronee about it (it happens quite a bit in S11, maybe because Martin has a lot of focus in that season).
This series-long conflict/debate about over/under-thinking one's problems is made very explicit in say,
Come Lie With Me, where the theme that links all of Frasier, Niles' and Martin's stories in that episode is 'Confront issues or live in denial?' In that episode, Frasier realises that Martin is right and that denial is the best strategy. On another occasion, in the excellent
Kenny On The Couch, this theme is what the whole episode is about and what Frasier and Martin argue over. But by the end of the episode Martin agrees that in this instance, Frasier is right and Kenny
should talk through his problems. And just as denial worked in
Come Lie With Me, so it causes Niles to crack in
Murder Most Maris because he's not allowing himself to feel his emotions, and he's only able to get back to feeling better once he
stops being in denial.
One of the reasons that
Frasier is my favourite T.V. show of all time is that I find this theme particularly pertinent because I find this issue to be the key to me being a happy and successful person - getting the balance right between thinking about things enough to be self-aware and empathetic to others, but not over-thinking to the point where you're seeing problems that aren't there or making life too difficult for yourself. This is a key theme of the show throughout its run. In fact sometimes I feel I have a debate going on in my head between my 'inner Frasier/Niles' and my 'inner Martin'! Sometimes you need to sort through your problems, and sometimes you just want to watch T.V. and have a beer and forget about everything. It's about finding the balance. Frasier and Martin are both imbalanced to either extreme. And in fact, through living together, one does sometimes help the other via their different approaches to life's problems.
The show started with Frasier going home to Seattle, and I dare say that there wouldn't be much comedy in a smooth transition.
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