Written by: Mark Reisman & Rob Hanning

Directed by: Kelsey Grammer

Original US airdate: 22nd May 2001

Original UK airdate: 15th June 2001

• Getting There Is Half The Fun

CRANES GO CARIBBEAN, Jul 21, 2006

Reviewer: Cake for Brains from Manchester, UK

After the abysmal shambles that was the previous episode ‘A Day in May’, I was hoping that ‘Cranes Go Caribbean’ would perhaps be able to conclude the season on a bit of a high, what with Fraser, Niles, Martin, Daphne and Clare taking a trip to Belize and therefore creating a change of scenery and perhaps a change in tone/dynamic, I was hopeful that the eighth season finale would be a little special. Up until now I had never seen this episode in its entirety, but now that I’ve seen the complete episode, I must say that I felt that (as with a great deal of Season 8) that it was a missed opportunity, and whilst it contained some good ideas, and a welcome cameo from Lilith, the plot moves along at a slow pace and the jokes weren’t frequent or funny enough to keep me entertained throughout the twenty-two minutes. I think its genuinely a bad idea anyway when sitcoms/comedy shows venture away from their familiar settings, and the Crane clan in Belize doesn’t work at all for me. Frasier comes across as annoying, and he’s constant shouting and complaining does begin to tire very quickly, and I still strongly dislike the bland character of Claire, who seems to be liking charm, charisma and a personality. Niles boasting about how he and Daphne went streaking felt a bit stale also, although I did quite like Martin’s toast to the couple, in which he employed a fishing metaphor for their relationship. The beginning of the episode had a feeling of ‘been there, done that’ as well, because character’s overhearing and misinterpreting events is a trend that has recurred so many times in Frasier, and Daphne overhearing Frasier and Niles talking about the formers plans to give Claire a romantic weekend break and assuming it was for her is a trick that’s been played far too many times on the show. I wasn’t keen on the ending of the episode either, and although Bebe Neuwirth is always great value as Lilith, the conclusion to ‘Cranes Go Caribbean’ felt soapy and overly dramatic, a bit like ‘A New Position for Roz’ at the end of Season 10. Frasier has an erotic dream about Lorna whilst he’s sleeping with Claire, which (predictably) leads him to question his relationship, thus ending the episode on a cliffhanger. The cliffhanger conclusion did little for me, and its certainly not a question I’d have been desperate to have had answered during the fourth month hiatus prior to Season 9. So all in all, Season 8 bows out with a whimper; this episode feels underwhelming and fairly lacklustre I’m afraid.

Now that I’ve written a review for each individual episode of the eighth season, it seems right to compile a brief overview of the season as a whole. Prior to re-watching the series on DVD, I have written extensively and with increasing frustration and hostility regarding Season 8 on this website’s forum, labelling it as weak, out-of-character and no different from your average trashy run-of-the-mill US sitcom. I’m pleased to report that although I still fervently believe that Season 8 is an enormous step down in quality from the previous brilliant seven seasons, I have (for the most part) rather enjoyed it. It has had its fair share of enjoyable and entertaining episodes such as ‘Taking Liberties’, ‘The Show Must Go Off’ and ‘Daphne Returns’ but has also represented ‘Frasier’ at its very worst, with dire offerings such as ‘Frasier’s Edge’, ‘Motor Skills’ and ‘A Day in May’. I still find the new dynamic that the show has recently adopted largely weak, and I have been hugely disappointed by what the writers have done with the characters of Niles and Daphne. Their relationship comes across as banal, false and hugely placid, whilst their previous personalities have been compromised dramatically and whittled down into babbling, giggling schoolchildren. With the character of Frasier on the other hand, it’s a very different affair – for, even though he has been given some fairly terrible material at times throughout this season, Kelsey Grammer has been nothing but superb and engaging throughout, playing his character with unfaltering brilliance and conviction, foe which I applaud him. In summation then, whereas Season 8 definitely represents a downturn in the show’s quality and doesn’t come anywhere near to matching the standards of previous seasons, Season 8 is enjoyable for the most part and takes the show to places where it hasn’t been before. It’s not ‘classic’ Frasier by a long stretch, but (I never thought I’d say this), its much better than your average television show and certainly worth adding to your DVD collection.

Rating: 68%