User Reviews

This one was hard to watch because although it is extremely well designed, I did not find it to be very funny. The mechanics of the episode are great, if not better than any previous episode: Frasier's narrative and David's narrative end up weaving together for the finale scene. But for me, none of it was terribly worth laughing at. First, Freddy being "smart" when he's drunk isn't really clever enough for the Frasier show. It's a little bit too That 70's Show or maybe even Seinfeld (cf. George becomes abstinent and gets "smart"). What was funny in the original Frasier was when Martin was unexpectedly good at chess - an irony that is truly funny without involving the character being inebriated. Then, David: I just don't know if a grade-grubber storyline is that funny in 2023. I don't very much like the character yet, but in their defense, stressing out over getting a B is not great material to work with. What would have been funnier, and more "Frasier", would be for Frasier to have simply given David an A to begin with, but without any comments on his paper. Imagine - Frasier gives a C grade to the hockey player but with insightful comments on the paper's thesis, but only scribbles a crude red "A" on David's paper, without any feedback or comments. David proceeds to freak out over this, pursues Frasier, needlessly rewrites the paper, etc. Etc. That could have had comic potential.

Additionally, this episode really pushes the bounds of verisimilitude. First, I'm quite sure a guest lecturer like Frasier can't simply "petition" to become a tenure-line professor...at Harvard. (Then again, it being Harvard, we may be working under the notion that anything goes). Second, the trio of Frasier/Alan/Tonks gesticulating over which cup has the booze in it right in front of the provost (who doesn't seem to notice) also pushes the limits of reality a bit. What makes Frasier funny are these moments that are simply unreal, and the side conversations that occur right within an earshot of other characters, but in this episode I thought the gray area of acceptability was stretched quite a bit.

An enjoyable episode and a gift from Paramount+ to give us a fresh show tonight on the Thanksgiving holiday. It was enjoyable, it was funny and it actually tackled the kind of drama smart kids really go through. As outrageous as some of David's behavior was, we would expect someone like that to freak out over a B.

One of the only downpoints was the allergic reaction from Frasier and him passing out. That kind of humor does not feel up to snuff for any series, let alone Frasier, one we traditionally have held to a slightly higher standard when it comes to crafting out and writing these scripts.