Frasier viewers insist one ‘very troubling’ episode wouldn’t be made today
'It's gross.'
Frasier fans have suggested that one particular episode of the series wouldn’t see the light of day if the show was released today.
The original show was a spin-off of Cheers and ran for 11 years between 1993 and 2004, and followed Kelsey Grammer’s titular radio psychiatrist as he returned to his hometown of Seattle, reuniting with his equally pompous brother, Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and their dad, Martin (John Mahoney).
Although it came to an end more than 20 years ago, we have have been able to relive all of the chaos thanks to daily reruns on Channel 4 – meaning that viewers have been able to unpack some of the more awkward moments, decades after they originally aired.
Taking to the dedicated Frasier Reddit sub, Immediate_Map_6604 previously sparked a huge debate when questioning ‘which episodes do yall think would be too controversial’ for current times.
As many threw out a selection of instalments from over the years – including the awkward introduction of Dr Mary in season seven – it was claimed that season two premiere Slow Tango in South Seattle would be left on the cutting room floor today.
The instalment first aired in the early 90s and focused on Frasier becoming outraged that a pal from Boston had written a best-selling fictional book, inspired by his own past.
Frasier reconnected with an author pal, who wrote a story inspired by his past (Picture: NBC)The doctor explained that he had shared a story with the author in confidence, detailing how he lost his virginity to his older piano teacher (Constance Towers) as a teenager.
Everyone in Seattle grabbed a copy and reacted to the plot, leading to Frasier seeking out his tutor for closure – and ending up in a tricky situation with her elderly mother.
Unpacking the plot on Reddit, Forbiddenmemories suggested: ‘They definitely wouldn’t make Slow Tango in South Seattle today.
‘Frasier having an affair as a high schooler with a middle-aged woman who was also his teacher would be considered at least very troubling and quite possibly predatory by a lot of viewers today; at the very least it wouldn’t be considered an appropriate topic for a mostly PG sitcom.’
He eventually hunted down the piano teacher he lost his virginity to (Picture: NBC)Strawwrld_1 agreed: ‘This is the one honestly. As someone who is only 24 I feel like most Frasier episodes would still be allowed today. But this one is crazy.’
‘Daphne and Roz being mad at Frasier for going off to college abruptly instead of sticking around to have a tearful goodbye with the woman who groomed him is extremely yikes,’ Mattryan02 penned. ‘And we’re supposed to be on their side!’
Islandrebel shared: ‘I honestly skip this episode most the time because it’s just kinda gross [sic].’
As Equivalent-Spell-135 added: ‘Yeah, even watching then (I’m old enough to have watched many of the episodes during the original broadcast) I was raising my eyebrows.
‘Granted I don’t recall if they said how old Fraiser was supposed to be, but even so, yikes!’
Frasier suffered an awkward moment with his teacher – and her mother (Picture: NBC)Despite the storyline raising eyebrows in the current climate, Joe Keenan – who served writer and executive producer – insisted that the show has mostly grown well.
Speaking to Metro to celebrate the program’s 30-year anniversary, he touched on whether any plots had aged terribly.
‘Nothing stands out to me,’ he told us. ‘I’m sure if you go on a [forum], you’ll find people who find that moment didn’t age well… If there are, I don’t think it’s more than a couple of things that we might not have done if we’d been doing the show today.
‘But in all honestly, I don’t go back and watch it that much. You’re focused on the next thing all the time, I don’t know if I have to go back and relive my glory days.
‘With actors as well, the focus is on – do the work and hope that people still enjoy it, and then focus on what’s next – so I don’t know, if I watched it more often, I might find things.’
This article was first published on July 16, 2024.
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