Look who's talkin' 'bout Frasier!

Hey Frasier heads, it appears that this little diary is really causing a shit storm in the blogosphere. My buddy Marina typed up a little essay about my work, I thought I should share it with you. Here she is:

In thinking about my own work, I have been looking at my friend Jordan Card's extensive Internet interventions. One of her fairly recent projects, she has been compiling synopses of Frasier episodes in a blog called What's Goin' On With Frasier? In her most recent meditation on the series, she responds to Lifetime Television's airing of the first season in their 12 AM timeslot.

"It's amazing in that I have never realized how much Frasier changed over the
years. Some real doozies that were knocked in my direction were Frasier's long
'do despite his clearly visible receeding hairline (I thought he was supposed to
be sophisticated!), and the fact that in these early episodes Daphne's character
is psychic! The most interesting thing, however, is not the changes that the
series made over the years, but the things that were always the same."

The photograph exists as an intervention in time, giving the viewing subject the frail consolation of permanence. The photograph is a trace of the real, of a specific occurrence in time and space. However, in its status as mere trace, it creates only an illusory notion of permanence. It is this illusion which acts as a consolation, a defense against the decay and ultimate death of the subject, which forms a striking parallel to Freud's death drive. The image seeks to destroy the life of the subject portrayed. Thus, Frasier's personality, the sets, the form of the series are preserved, but we witness the decay of Frasier Crane's hairline. This parallels Card's own project, creating an archive out of what gets forgotten in the grand scheme of popular culture, though it is an archive in its own right. Card's archive exists, just as the Frasier archive does, in a medium that is subsumed in its own forgetting.

As Derrida reminds us, "Because the archive, if this word or this figure can be stabilized so as to take on a signification, will never be either memory or anamnesis as spontaneous, alive and internal experience. On the contrary: the archive takes place at the place of ordinary and structural breakdown of the said memory." The retelling of the Frasier plotlines is an act of memory, but by placing these memory works in an archive, both the experience and the recounting are effaced within Freud's death drive.
In the late episodes of Frasier one witnesses a telling display of the bourgeois obsession with permanence and ultimately a crack in the smoke-screen of the bourgeois image world, revealing the abject beneath the veil of the image. The set of Fraiser remains the same, over many years, accommodating the bourgeois desire for permanence, however as Card reminds us, the status of photographic representation as a trace of a verifiable reality is confirmed by Frasier's receding hairline. Card's subtle observation throws into question recent debates in which radical scepticism regarding 'truth' in photography has been displayed.

In a bold move, Lifetime: Television for Women has started playing the first season of Frasier in their 12 midnight time slot. It's amazing in that I have never realized how much Frasier changed over the years. Some real doozies that were knocked in my direction were Frasier's long 'do despite his clearly visible receeding hairline (I thought he was supposed to be sophisticated!), and the fact that in these early episodes Daphne's character is psychic! The most interesting thing, however, is not the changes that the series made over the years, but the things that were always the same. Roz's wanton lifestyle and Eddie's troublemaking nature were a hit straight from the beginning (and beyond!!)!!!

Speaking of bold moves, I have joined and created a few new blogs. Check out my profile to see such great faves as I'm Going Clubbin: The Sandwich Ingredient Blog and Dogz Blogz. Much like Roz's inability to keep her legs crossed, they should be sure to keep audiences entertained for many years to come (and beyond!!).

Hey, Frasier Fans! Sorry for the lack of updates, but I have been really busy lately. As a peace offering, here is a great joke I saw on Frasier a few days ago:

Martin is complaining about the lack of radio programming for older people. He gives Roz some suggestions of better shows, which are "a show about owning a dog, or a show where people call in and tell jokes they have heard". Martin's down-to-earth sensibilities are an inviting contrast to Frasier's high-class nature.

This episode begins with an embarrassing situation, when Daphne and her boyfriend awake after a torrid night to find that Frasier and Martin are already up and about, and he cannot leave without everyone seeing him and knowing what went on. Daphne makes various attempts to shoo the Cranes out of the main area of the apartment to let her beau escape which do not work in their indended manner. The pair is caught by the father and son, and awkardness ensues. Frasier is unable to deal with the idea of sexual encounters taking place under his roof, citing the example of giggling disturbing his reading time. He discusses his concerns with Daphne, telling her that she is not allowed to entertain gentlemen in her room. Daphne answers him by letting him know that she is going off on vacation for the weekend, and that she will be looking for a new place to live as soon as she gets back. During her time away, viewers are treated to a delightful display of comic sqabbling between Frasier and Martin. First of all, Martin refuses to dress in a way that would be acceptable in front of women, choosing instead to galavant around the house in his undershirt and shorts. Furthermore, when left to cook for himself he makes choices such as tater tots for breakfast, alluding to a subplot of the episode in which Martin has gained at least ten pounds but is in denial, claiming that the washing machine is shrinking his pants and that the scale is broken as he chokes down eclairs. To Martin's credit, Frasier is also behaving in an annoying way by leaving lights on in rooms he is not in, misplacing the remote control, and moving Martin's iconic recliner. These personality clashes escalate until a wild argument breaks out between the two, which is interrupted only by Daphne's arrival. She makes he way through the room, straightening everything in her path effortlessly. It is now that Frasier and Martin truly realize how important Daphne is to their homelives. Frasier talks with Daphne, telling her that he doesn't want her to leave but cannot come to terms with her having relations in his house. Daphne creates an improbable story about how her boyfriend was injured in a war and is unable to engage in sex, and it is only love poems that they are reading to one another late at night, which Frasier gladly accepts in order to keep his home in order.

This episode features a particularly charming scene in which Eddie runs into the living room holding Daphne's boyfriend's underpants in his mouth just as Frasier and Martin walk in to see Daphne trying to sneak him out. Roz also plays a very small but equally charming role in this episode, where she displays her typical tell it like it is wisdom in a scene where Frasier tells her about the morning's excitement and his discomfort.

In this hilarious episode, Frasier is surprised by a blast from his past: Diane, a barmaid at the bar he frequented in his previous days in Boston, Cheers. Furthermore, Diane was also his fiance who left him at the altar many years ago, an incident from which Frasier's heartwounds have never healed. At first Frasier struggles to impress his former lover during a quiet dinner in his home, (accompanied by Martin, Niles, and Daphne) by proudly displaying his awards of accievement and breaking out his most rare and exciting bottle of wine. However, Diane appears to be unimpressed by these displays, for example claiming that she herself has the bottle of wine that Frasier deems his most important on hand at all times. This shell of nonchalance breaks down in time when Diane discusses a new play she has written which is being put on at a local theater and is the reason she is in Seattle. She is upset because her life has fallen apart, as her husband has left her and the backer for her play pulled out at the last minute. Frasier agrees to help her with the financial troubles of her play, and interprets their relationship as one which is soon to restart. Niles warns him about this, and stresses how important it is for him to tell Diane how deeply her past actions have effected him. When it comes time for Frasier to view the play during a special dress rehersal of the play, he is shocked by what he sees. The curtain rases to reveal a set which is shockingly reminiscent of the previously mentioned Cheers from days past. Furthermore, all of the characters have two things in common: they are all characatures of other regulars from the bar, and all of them (at least the male ones) are obsessed with the character modeled after Diane. It is at this point when two important events take place. First, Frasier realizes that Diane is currently romantic with one of the actors. Second, he gets the chance to tell Diane how he feels about their past when he instructs the character modeled after him in how he should feel about the Diane character's leaving him at the altar. Frasier explodes in an emotional torrent and walks out on the rehersal. However, in a scene which is implied to take place muhc later in the day, Frasier meets with Diane once again to say goodbye forever.

This episode had a lack of adorable Eddie moments, aside from the ending where Martin scolds him from chewing on his socks. Furthermore, there was also a very disapointing lack of Roz time.

Intro

This is a blog where I will post a summary of the last episode of Frasier seen by me. There are plenty of opportunities for me to post as it is possible to see Frasier at least 3-4 times a day, so check back often!