tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post988686023394480971..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: How FRASIER came to beBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88733869086196501612010-12-21T13:27:31.060-08:002010-12-21T13:27:31.060-08:00In the episode where Sam Malone comes to visit, Ma...In the episode where Sam Malone comes to visit, Martin cheerfully suggests Sam has heard all about him. Sam uncomfortably says he was told Martin was dead. Frasier brushes by it with something about a difficult period in the relationship. It was a neat bit -- almost a wink to the audience acknowledging a continuity blip.dbensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73980410364326928372010-12-17T13:56:05.899-08:002010-12-17T13:56:05.899-08:00If I remember correctly, they did explain that Nil...If I remember correctly, they did explain that Niles and Frasier's mom was an intellectual into high culture, which explains how her sons turned out the same way. Later, Mrs. Crane appeared in flashback played by Rita Wilson.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30116912710593467172010-12-16T11:21:17.448-08:002010-12-16T11:21:17.448-08:00I loved Frasier, but couldn't get past the dif...I loved Frasier, but couldn't get past the difference between Martin and his 2 sons. I always wondered if I'd missed an episode explaining it (their mother's influence?), and the longer the show went on the more I thought about it. <br /><br />Also, did Frasier and Lilith's son ever age? It seems like he never made it past around the age of 12 or 13, when he should have gotten up into his teens.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60891569770661364252010-12-16T08:31:43.119-08:002010-12-16T08:31:43.119-08:00Thanks for the repost Ken and thanks to Mr. Casey,...Thanks for the repost Ken and thanks to Mr. Casey, for writing this. This is why I read your blog.<br />BrianBrianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00760229533287495672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16628459706167277692010-12-16T07:39:44.038-08:002010-12-16T07:39:44.038-08:00This was awesome. As it happens, I was about to po...This was awesome. As it happens, I was about to pose a question to Ken about the casting of David Hyde Pierce, who always struck me as one of the most genius pieces of casting ever, because he looked so much like Kelsey. I always wondered if that was a happy accident, and it turns out that his role in the show came about exactly the way I'd expected.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81454041948084015052010-12-16T02:55:42.005-08:002010-12-16T02:55:42.005-08:00Very interesting post. Enjoyable to hear how such ...Very interesting post. Enjoyable to hear how such a clever show came about. Maybe there would be a few more good shows if there wasn't so much interference.DBChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02398647288827645585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20280154053790365582010-12-15T17:15:25.485-08:002010-12-15T17:15:25.485-08:00Terrific post and will wait for tomorrow's pos...Terrific post and will wait for tomorrow's post.<br /><br />wv - irrest: when a person turns themself in to the police.bevonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27165604055142977452010-12-15T16:53:57.962-08:002010-12-15T16:53:57.962-08:00I felt the same way about a CHEERS spinoff with Fr...I felt the same way about a CHEERS spinoff with Frasier -- never thought it would work. Was glad to be proven wrong.<br /><br />Of course, I thought TITANIC would never be a hit (a period piece three hours long where you know the ending? The kids will never go see that!) and thought STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP would be great (com'on, Sorkin!) and had severe doubts about 30 ROCK (Could Tina Fey act? She didn't even do skits on SNL! And could she write stories rather than skits?)<br /><br />At least I know I should never be a movie or TV exec. I wish some of the real ones would admit it.Dave Creeknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50624699274251260222010-12-15T16:40:54.522-08:002010-12-15T16:40:54.522-08:00I can remember rolling my eyes when I first heard ...I can remember rolling my eyes when I first heard about Frasier. Cheers was one of my all-time favorite shows (I held a huge "Last Call" party for the finale), and I wasn't sure I was ready for JUST Frasier. I watched the pilot begrudgingly mostly because that's what you did on Thursday night -- you watched NBC comedies. I can remember just laughing non-stop. I'm a nerd who LOVES behind-the-scenes tales, so this is like manna from heaven for me!Melhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933349506129495734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68847175112139755612010-12-15T15:49:18.610-08:002010-12-15T15:49:18.610-08:00surrounded by a group of wacky, yet loveable chara...<i>surrounded by a group of wacky, yet loveable characters</i><br /><br />Not unlike the people who frequent this blog.<br /><br />Do people who complain about reposts never watch reruns?Mary Stellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02186261066656584772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84588990881124207362010-12-15T14:40:11.069-08:002010-12-15T14:40:11.069-08:00You mention that Frasier said that his father was ...You mention that Frasier said that his father was a research scientist in Cheers but do you remember that he actually appeared on Cheers itself.... if memory serves I think Sam was thinking of advertising Cheers on the radio and John Mahoney turned up as a jingle writer and had a stint on the piano (he could actually play?).media_lushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02910717455951557487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59888549675648328642010-12-15T13:57:09.887-08:002010-12-15T13:57:09.887-08:00Thanks for the re-posting this! Fraiser is one of...Thanks for the re-posting this! Fraiser is one of my all time favorite shows and it's amazing how it all came together. You can really tell that from the pilot, because it's the one pilot I actually don't mind re-watching! Looking forward to reading the rest tomorrow (too lazy to sort through the archives). =)Amyhttp://thedramadies.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78413319319114021642010-12-15T13:19:43.364-08:002010-12-15T13:19:43.364-08:00Coincidentally, I happened to catch the pilot just...Coincidentally, I happened to catch the pilot just last night and, except for Daphne being a bit flakier than she became later on, it was all in place...rare for even the greatest sitcomsBob Gasselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04748728107349857332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8381031926096378662010-12-15T13:18:06.463-08:002010-12-15T13:18:06.463-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Bob Gasselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04748728107349857332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43972212510725127882010-12-15T12:47:24.127-08:002010-12-15T12:47:24.127-08:00So the network lets talented, creative people do t...So the network lets talented, creative people do their own thing without hardly any notes and it becomes a critical and ratings success.<br /><br />Hmmm, you'd hope someone would learn a lesson from this.<br /><br />Funny you should repost this today. Last night, we stayed in a hotel downtown in Chicago (because we were seeing a show and didn't want to go home late and it was a partial Christmas present to ourselves); it was lovely but the only problem with the room is that we had no idea what TV channels were what. Rather than turning through them all while our dinner got cold, we settled on an episode of The Jeffersons, and though it took a little while to warm up, it was rather clever story where Florence and Mr. Bentley, though TV contrivance, end up going on a date. It goes miserably, but neither one of them wants to hurt their friend's feelings, and this is all communicated through subtitles (because they were going to see a Truffaut movie) I laughed out loud and was not at all surprised when Peter Casey & David Lee's names came up as the writers at the end.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14222454130248126891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79188173155531070252010-12-15T12:26:44.513-08:002010-12-15T12:26:44.513-08:00Again, off topic, but like throwing fresh meat to ...Again, off topic, but like throwing fresh meat to hungry lions...<br /><br />Nikki Finke tweeted:<br />CBS Developing Twitter-Based Family Comedy Produced By Jessica Alba<br /><br />Okay, I'll start. Do ya think she'll be hiring writers?bensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38544186358518731442010-12-15T11:24:48.640-08:002010-12-15T11:24:48.640-08:00Totally off topic but you folks may enjoy this vid...Totally off topic but you folks may enjoy this video from Roger Ebert's blog. The lyrics are all director's names. ('cept the left out Ken, thoughtlessly!)<br /><br />http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/movies-1/the-akira-kurosawa-song.htmlbensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11475578206419395042010-12-15T10:37:04.130-08:002010-12-15T10:37:04.130-08:00Whoops... scratch the part about "no titles&q...Whoops... scratch the part about "no titles" from my comment. They do show up in the archive.Williamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42640518454772078822010-12-15T10:34:52.665-08:002010-12-15T10:34:52.665-08:00Personally I don't mind reading reposts... and...Personally I don't mind reading reposts... and this one is great! However, I also want to point out that you might get more people reading the archives if you put some effort into organizing them. Most bloggers have something like a "best of" or "top 10" in the sidebar. Another possibility is to make some posts with links to all your posts on a certain theme, and then put these new posts in a sidebar. <br /><br />If you only have time to learn one thing, you should learn how to create links. "Use more links" is a basic rule of blogging for anyone over the age of forty. One or two links in each post pointing back to related material would be perfect.<br /><br />Sorry for the criticism. I love your blog. But the current archive interface is very frustrating (dates, no titles, difficult to go through sequentially).Williamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66931157633861876352010-12-15T09:10:58.582-08:002010-12-15T09:10:58.582-08:00Fascinating! Thanks, Ken. Aloha.Fascinating! Thanks, Ken. Aloha.Dave Williamsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53214889505975955752010-12-15T09:01:09.542-08:002010-12-15T09:01:09.542-08:00Ditto what tarazza says! I LOVE hearing the beginn...Ditto what tarazza says! I LOVE hearing the beginnings of shows and Frasier is one of my favorites. Other than Modern Family, I can't think of another I like as much! Thanks for sharing, Ken (and Peter)Pixienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76879462399688899152010-12-15T07:57:05.488-08:002010-12-15T07:57:05.488-08:00Tomorrow should tell the tale of Lisa Kudrow's...Tomorrow should tell the tale of Lisa Kudrow's initial casting as Roz. Fortunately, things eventually worked out for her from what I heard.Simon H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50034691867962052042010-12-15T07:32:54.717-08:002010-12-15T07:32:54.717-08:00Good re-post, I must have scanned right through it...Good re-post, I must have scanned right through it last time. More detail today.<br /><br />It's impressive just how many stars lined up. David Hyde Pierce? Pre-approved. John Mahoney? Pre-approved. Interruptions during the pitch? None. Notes? None.<br /><br />It's easy to fault studio execs for killing good shows, but these guys got it early and helped make sure the show took off.Max Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07706524941272103444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37516104019588371112010-12-15T07:30:37.394-08:002010-12-15T07:30:37.394-08:00tomorrow really? come on! now i have to check the ...tomorrow really? come on! now i have to check the archive... Sometimes I hate u Levine! hahaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65826629369095594352010-12-15T07:20:44.184-08:002010-12-15T07:20:44.184-08:00I'm pretty sure I read this sometime back in t...I'm pretty sure I read this sometime back in the day, but I'm loving it again. I wish I could hear backstories like this on all my favorite shows.*tarazzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01750756996602049812noreply@blogger.com