by Cake for Brains » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:00 am
Please read my other thread 'Frasier Forum Awards - The Rules' in order to know all about the voting process.
IMPORTANT: I have decided to return to the ‘Frasier Forum Award – Nomination’ threads once again after last week’s success ‘Favourite Farce’ thread, and they will be running alongside the ultimate polls simultaneously. Whether or not it’s a good idea to run the two simultaneously remains to be seen, although the evidence looks hopeful – but let’s hope so. Don’t forget the nomination process is very different to the recent polls that have been running, and require you to list your 10 (more than usual I know) personal choices for the category in question. There will be a poll in the near future that relates to the results of this nomination process. I hope that all makes sense – please let me know if it doesn’t! You have will have a nice long while to list your nominations, because the voting process for this thread wouldn’t finish until I launch the poll for it in the near future.
Well, it’s been over a week now since I started the last ‘Forum Awards’ thread, so I think we’re due another one. I’m a little bit concerned about this new idea, because I have my doubts that it will work properly, and have therefore have been contemplating whether to do it or not for some time. I still haven’t forgotten about the ‘Best Moments’ threads for Roz or Eddie, but this time I’m asking everyone to post their nominations for the ‘Most Underrated Episode’, - which episodes do you consider to be under appreciated and don’t earn enough praise on this forum? However, in order to get a diverse representation of people’s opinions, I am asking you to nominate 10 episodes that you feel don’t get the true recognition they fully deserve.. The reason I am raising the amount is because I am sceptical that we’ll be able to put together a good final poll if we don’t have a lot of material to choose from, as this thread is incredibly subjective and could throw up many, many different ideas (I hope so anyway). I hope this works. Please note though, that you are NOT voting for your favourite episodes, but the ones that you love that you feel other people aren’t as crazy on as you are.
I am going to ask everyone to nominate their 10 underrated episodes of ‘Frasier’ and the episodes that receive the largest amount of nominations will make the eventual shortlist and contend for the ultimate award. The 5 most popular underrated episodes, with the most votes will make the shortlist for the award, and when the final shortlist is published, you will have another chance to vote in this category. The episodes that make my list are a mixed bag – some represent what I believe to be ‘Frasier’ at its best (although these choices represent the minority), some episodes are my guilty pleasures and some episodes, although not some of my favourites, are episodes that I feel demand more respect and acknowledgment. If this pol proves successful (fingers crossed), I’ll do a ‘Most Overrated Episode’ thread soon too.
Anyway, my 10 Most Underrated Episodes are:
1. Boo! (Why the hell is this episode rarely mentioned? The more I watch it, the more I simply adore it. It’d one of the most consistently funny, entertaining and witty scripts ever produced, packed with visual gags, hilarious one-liners and some beautifully judged pathos at the end. From Frasier dressed as the clown, Martin’s ‘man problem’, the wonderful ‘football ball’ and Frasier screaming like a girl, there is simply not a second wasted. I urge anyone and everyone to re-evaluate this episode. A classic)
2. Death and the Dog (I know this episode doesn’t have a bad reputation and on the whole is well-liked, but every time I watch it, it just blows me away. Its one of those incredibly rare episodes that really does feel like an ensemble piece – allowing every member of the cast to shine. From Eddie’s depression, Roz’s deathwish, Niles visions of the afterlife and the wonderful handling of the dark subject matter, I consider this episode an absolute triumph; trouble is, I think I’m in the minority).
3. Deathtrap (Okay, this episode certainly isn’t my favourite from the ninth season and its certainly not perfect, but on the whole I think this is a very enjoyable funny episode, that has received a fair amount of critique in the past. I think both plots work well, and although its not as funny as ‘Bia-Z-Boy’, ‘The Proposal’ or ‘Moons Over Seattle’, I am positive that its one of the episodes I’ll be watching quite a bit when we get the Season 9 DVD)
4. Good Grief (I think this episode has an unjust reputation – as it represents the show’s first foray into dark territory, and I really honestly believe that it’s a successful venture. Again it’s not perfect, but I really do think its overlooked. We don’t have as many people left now who believe that Season 7 is superior to 6, but I always felt that they saw ‘Good Grief’ as a below average episode because it opened a season that many felt didn’t deliver to the same level of quality as the previous years)
5. Rivals (A typically clever Christopher Lloyd episode that I get a real enjoyment of. Yes, perhaps it tries a little too hard to be clever and complicated, but I think its done superbly. Many fans have said it’s a copy of ‘Moondance’ but I really don’t see it like this. I think the tango sequence creates a totally different feel and effect, and there are some lovely lines peppered into the script.. Unloved gem.)
6. Father of the Bride (Another Season 7 episode that really gets a mention on these boards, and an episode that I only re-discovered over the summer, previously thinking it was rather boring and distinctly average. However, on re-evaluating, I adored it – so many hilarious moments, witty lines and standout scenes, especially Niles unwitting employment of ‘Executive Match’. We also get a great insight into Frasier’s controlling personality, which works very well I think.)
7. Shutout in Seattle (Again, I think this episode doesn’t get the recognition that it deserves, and is often overlooked by the more dramatic SBSB or the finale, but (along with My Coffee with Niles from the first year) this episode is my pick for the best season finale, particularly the second half. I don’t think the two finales I mentioned above, although terribly moving, are as high on laughs as this one, which is perhaps why I prefer it. The ‘Goldfinger’ rendition at the end is the perfect way to close a hideously underrated season, a season which gets better more than any other on repeated viewings).
8. War of the Words (An utterly terrible episode – but surely not the worst ever? It’s not even my least favourite Saladin K Patterson episode. The dialogue is cringe-worthy., the characterisation unredeemable in every single respect and the plot is utter drivel, but ‘A Day in a May’ and a handful of episodes from the three barren years are much, much worse in my humble opinion. I still hate it though)
9. The Impossible Dream (Amidst the comedy cannon of the fourth season, I think this very clever episode is frequently overlooked and stolen from by surrounding episodes. It’s certainly not the best that this season has to offer, but on watching it yesterday morning on Channel 4, it struck me as to how well-plotted and well-written it was, although containing a very funny subplot with Daphne and Martin scaring people in the elevator.)
10. Daphne Does Dinner (My last choice, and there many more I wanted to include, but I stand by the idea that if you can perhaps ugnore some of the previously brilliant Keenan/David Lloyd farces, then this episode is a hugely enjoyable romp. Maybe it goes a tad too far at the end, but Frasier hiding in the cupboard, the flashback to a previous dinner party fiasco and Martin’s alter-ego Mike Shaw the artist make for a great watch.)
I can’t tell you how difficult that task proved – its probably taken me the longest to compile out of all the nominations threads thus far. As I looked down the episode guides, there were many more under appreciated episodes that I initially realised, and so it was difficult preparing a list of nominations. I hope everyone else doesn’t find it so tricky to do! So, everybody get voting, and hopefully your favourite underrated episodes will make the final list of nominations for this category, and may even win the Forum Award. Happy voting! (And btw, no-one is allowed to vote for ‘Ham Radio’ in this category).
"I don't want to go." - The Tenth Doctor