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Frasier's Best Year
After the solid third season, Frasier came back with what could arguably be its best season. There were new storylines: Martin meeting a new lady, Sherry (played by Marsha Mason), who doesn't exactly hit it off with the rest of the gang--as well as continuations of old ones: Niles trying to reconcile with Maris. The biggest story of this season, though, was off-camera: star Kelsey Grammer went into rehab, which necessitated that the others in the cast pick up the slack. They proved up to the task, of course, and upon Grammer's return the show became better than ever. In this season, we were visited by familiar faces like Lilith and Frederick for a memorable Thanksgiving episode, as well as Agent Bebe, as well as surprise appearances (James Earl Jones). In addition, this season contained some of the truly greatest episodes of this show: the opener, The Two Mrs. Cranes, had the show's farcical sense of its humor at its most potent, Ham Radio featured delightfully unhinged performances...

A year of comedy perfection
Frasier was about to come into its off years, but they got it exactly right in Season 4 - it's full of heavy laughs, pitch-perfect timing, meaningful characterizations, and a breezy, nimble energy that carries through one shockingly good episode after another. I may never laugh harder at a half hour sitcom than I did during the brilliant season premiere, "The Two Mrs. Cranes," which features Daphne and Roz trying to outlie each other for a random Brit's affection, or during "Ham Radio," the slapstick masterpiece about Frasier trying to put on an old-time radio mastery. The writing was the best it ever was this year, but I think that's because the characters had reached such a place of familiarity and ease that every scenario is just another grand excuse to see the bizarre ways they'll all interact. As brilliantly embodied by the entire cast (especially, this year, by John Mahoney as Martin, and David Hyde Pierce, in the Niles golden years), it's hard not to argue that this was one...

great season, slightly disappointing packaging
Yes, season 4 of "Frasier" was filled with some fantastic episodes but the DVD set leaves a lot to be desired. First off, like a lot of people have already mentioned, you're forced to sit through several interminable minutes of ads for the first season DVD sets of "Happy Days," "Laverne & Shirley," and "Mork & Mindy" on disc 1. Painful! Second, there are no bonus features of any kind: no bloopers, behind-the-scenes featurettes, nothing. C'mon, Paramount, we know you have some good stuff! That's one of the main reasons why people buy DVDs, for all the extras!

Those are minor quibbles, however, compared to this - we do not get all the episodes in their uncut, original broadcast length! I haven't watched them all yet but I know that at least one ("Mixed Doubles") has been shortened a bit. I know that shows are often trimmed during reruns for time considerations, but for crying out loud, if you can't get the full-length episodes on a "Complete Season" DVD set, then...

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