Written by: Saladin K. Patterson & Heide Perlman

Directed by: Katy Garretson

Original US airdate: 13th May 2003

Original UK airdate: 2nd June 2003

• The Bang Gang

ANALYZED KISS, Dec 17, 2005

Reviewer: Cake for Brains from Manchester, UK

After the brilliance of the previous episode ‘Fathers and Sons’ this one couldn’t be more different and contrasts the former gem enormously. I suppose the only good thing to come out of the mess that was ‘Analyzed Kiss’ was the satisfactory knowledge of knowing that this was the last time the credit ‘written by Saladin K. Patterson’ would come up on screen because this dreadful author left at the end of this season and was replaced by a team of much, much more competent writers. This episode also develops the relationship between Frasier and Julia, and after they share a kiss in a closet, Frasier is left wondering why she did this. I found the other plot with Roz receiving a call from radio station KPXY out of the blue, although offering Peri Gilpin a larger role to play in the episode, strangely unnecessary. I could be wrong here but I imagine NBC were trying to inject some emotional drama into the show in order to boost the ratings, but I felt that this storyline wasn’t needed.

I have still failed to notice any chemistry between Kelsey Grammer and Felicity Huffman, but I can’t say I was surprised to see them share a passionate kiss. I presume that this device was again an attempt to place some drama into Frasier, because this whole section was devoid of any laughs and felt very weak indeed in my opinion. The plot is basically Julia attempting to get some files from her ex-boyfriend’s office (Avery from Farewell Nervosa) and as an act of kindness Frasier agrees to accompany her. To escape being seen by the cleaning lady, they hide in the closet and Julia (apparently to shut Frasier up) kisses him, which leaves him wondering why she did this. To me, this sudden burst of desirous passion felt very soap-opera like, like a scene from a serial drama and not a sophisticated Emmy laden sitcom. I’m digressing here though, but I found this subplot very dull indeed, and although I liked Julia’s description of Frasier as ‘a teddy bear she just wanted to hug until its head fell off’ reasonably amusing, this episode amounted to nothing more than a contrived cliffhanger, to which I couldn’t care less about the outcome.

What is the point of getting Roz to leave KACL? Ratings, perhaps? Although there were a few smiles raised in this subplot, and although Peri Gilpin was excellent, I felt that this was (like the Frasier/Julia storyline) an excuse to boost the dramatic dynamic of the series. The one genuinely funny moment though was when Roz went for her interview, convinced that she wasn’t going to get the job because she had slept with the interviewer a decade ago, only to embarrassingly discover that she had slept with his father, who shared the same name. It must have been a good tactic though, because it won her the job, which is an issue that I’m sure will be addressed in the upcoming season finale. Again though, why bother? As far as I’m concerned it was unnecessary to engender such a pointless plot, and I think it shows how desperate the people at NBC were at this point. Peri Gilpin has had little to do over the past three years, and I think this rare opportunity to push her into the limelight has been wasted, and further determines that the writers didn’t have a clue as to what they should do with her character.

Even the subplot, in which Niles develops an interest in ‘hand-guns’ and forms a bond with some ‘regular guys’ feels oddly out of place. Although it was great to see David Hyde Pierce armed with a handgun, the rest of it just didn’t deliver the laughs. I liked the notion that Niles shouldn’t have a gun in the same house as Daphne’s mother, and liked the resolution which saw Niles ‘buddies’ revealed as people who were intent on overthrowing the government, but all in all it was too silly and basic to throw up any really big laughs. In conclusion then, this episode is on the whole poorly written, with three plots that fail to reach their potential. I couldn’t care less about Frasier and Julia’s relationship, Niles’ interest in guns wasn’t the most exciting of plots, and I can’t see why the writers’ have lost Roz her job at KACL. A question I’m sure will be answered in the season finale, which I can’t say I’m particularly excited about, which I imagine was the aim of this penultimate episode. But on the plus side, Saladin K. Patterson has left the building – yes!!! Finally somebody has flushed the toilet… (Sorry that was uncalled for).

Rating: 67%