Good Grief! How can an episode get better?, Jul 30, 2009

Reviewer: A pro-opera Jungarian. from Where every Critic goes.

Good grief has always been one of my favorite episodes, making my third all in all. It was the greatest beginning for any season (Though 'The two Mrs. Cranes was a very good rival) and was pure comic genius.

The episode, in brief summary, is about Frasier losing his job and how he copes with it. He goes through a series of psychological stages of Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The episode goes through each stage and how Frasier deals with it, with each one getting funnier than the last one every time.

It includes some classic scenes such as when Frasier, after learning he was turned down on a job application, beats a pinata till as Martin says 'Jawbreakers were found on the highway'. Other great scenes include when Frasier's fan club comes over to his apartment for a party, only for Frasier to find out that it contains only three members. All of them 'kooks' as Frasier called them. Other great scenes include when the fans first come to the apartment. Frasier tries to introduce them to his father only for the fans to say 'Oh, we know these people!' And with Martin replying 'And now where we live too'.

The party becomes even funnier with great lines by Niles, who arrives. One fan comments 'It must be cool, your brother having his own club and all.' 'Oh I know' Niles replies, 'seeing all of you here, I wish I had a club myself.'

The episode then ends with Frasier, after weeks of overeating, accepts that he lost his job and grieves. Thus ends a great episode, with dozens of great lines I didn't mention to save for the value of the episode.

All in all it was superbly done. Frasier as a show banked on that episode, for it was their first one in the spot Seinfeld used to fill. And they filled it masterfully. The screenplay was witty and hillarious, the acting captured all you wanted of the characters, and the show seemed like it would never end, and you were glad because of it. Ranking up with the other great Frasier episodes, it began a new Frasier 'era'. That from this point on, Frasier, while he had more episodes dealing with him than any other character, collectively however, the plots dealt more with the other characters.

The episode, in a breakdown goes as such:

Main plot-100%-I can't think how they could have improved it. Flawless in every regard.

Subplot-50% Non-existent but due to not needing it I gave it 50%.

Usage of Characters- 90%-Done very well with Frasier, Niles and Martin and Daphne, Roz on the other hand isn't used as well.

Screenplay-100%-Perfect.

Supporting cast\guest stars-85%-while not there much, they are all good when they appear.

All in all 85%, however I give it a boost due to not needing a sub plot and for the circumstance they had to live up to-all in all-95%.

Rating: 95%

Good Grief...this is underrated!, Dec 02, 2008

Reviewer: David Sim from Skelmersdale, England

Fans generally agree that Season 6 is much poorer than the five seasons before it. My own opinion of it is a little more cautious. Its not a bad season by any means. But it is an unusual one. The first eight episodes covers Frasier's sacking from KACL, before the show reverted back to its traditional format.

I've never been able to understand the writers reasons for this particular storyline. Certainly it had no bearing on anything else in the series. They may have been trying to work in a more dramatic thrust, but I think the experiment proved unworkable. They backed the show into a corner it never should have gone in the first place.

Still, in spite of my distaste for this story arc, I think Good Grief is a good, strong opening episode for Season 6. Many Frasier fans have an astonishing hatred of it. I suspect because they're dismissal of the "out of work" scenario has blinded them to the episode's merits. I would much rather watch Good Grief over Season 2's underwhelming opener. That's a truly dire episode!

Good Grief is scripted by Christopher Lloyd, the finest writer on the staff after Joe Keenan. And he has the unenviable task on his shoulders of penning the first proper episode with Frasier out of work. And he does a superb job. Christopher Lloyd is an extremely adept plot-master. He's proven that time and again. And does so with Good Grief.

Reminiscent of the pilot episode, Good Grief goes through five separate stages. The different ways Frasier deals with his unemployment. First up is DENIAL. Frasier tries to keep up a brave face, even when he blows an audition (hilariously!). He tries writing an operatta. Decorating. Researching. Cooking. Gardening. Painting. Burying his head in the sand not having to worry about his prospects. Christopher Lloyd has always had a knack for balancing serious stories with great comedy. This is no exception:

(Frasier) "I'm a beloved Seattle institution."
(Martin) "A few more days like this, he'll (Frasier) be in a beloved Seattle institution."

Next is ANGER. Frasier throws a picnic for the KACL staff. Most of whom have found work, except for poor Frasier. When he loses out on a job to Gil, Frasier takes his anger out on a pinata. I thought that was pretty funny, even if most people didn't. Don't forget...it was Gil (brilliantly smug as always).

Onto BARGAINING. Frasier's throwing a party for his fan club. Niles' reply to that is classic. ("What's wrong with the bridge they usually meet under?!") But there are only three of them. Three oddballs, and they're all hilarious, especially George. All he says is "This is Great...This is Great!" Notice the way Frasier starts eating all the entrees. And that sets us up for stage 4, DEPRESSION.

Frasier is mired in misery, and he's taken to eating compulsively. Look at the size of his belly! He even eats Alice's baby food! So in a rather touching scene, Niles, Martin, Daphne and Roz all pull together to get Frasier through it and into the last stage, ACCEPTANCE. But Frasier has a lot of grieving to do first. I loved Niles' trigger. ("Frasier, you're not famous anymore"). Frasier blows like Krakatoa!

Things come to a lovely conclusion. Frasier has accepted his losses, but will no longer repress them. And in an inspired touch, Niles assures Frasier his divorce will come off without a hitch. DENIAL comes up again. How can anyone hate an episode that has such a delightful ending?

I still think Frasier's unemployment was an unnecessary addition to the series. But it's nice to see a sitcom willing to take risks with itself. Its just most of the following episodes couldn't juggle the balance between comedy and drama as successfully as Christopher Lloyd did here. If they had, Season 6 would probably be more highly rated then it is.

Certainly Good Grief is not the failure most people accuse it of. Its not quite a Christopher Lloyd classic, like Mixed Doubles or High Holidays, but its affecting and funny in all the right places. Kelsey Grammer's performance is faultless. The way he must cover such a wide spectrum of emotion is brilliant. A promising debut for this story. A shame the following episodes didn't deliver on it.

Rating: 90%

One of the best, Nov 25, 2007

Reviewer: Loveliest Girl from UK

This has to be one of the best episodes ever. I too don't understand why some other reviewers see it as average, maybe comedy is in the mind of the beholder? Our household laughs uncontrollably despite seeing it a number of times. The bit where Niles tells Frasier he is no longer famous is especially funny. BTW it is a comedy - and as such uses exaggeration, slapstick and over-emphasis for some of it's comic pulls - it's not meant to be an accurate portrayal of mental illness, whilst worthy that would be, it wouldn't be very funny...

Give it a go - we really liked this one...

Rating: 92%

This is great! Really!, Apr 25, 2007

Reviewer: Guess from Frasierland

I have no idea what the other reviewers are smoking; this has got to be, hands-down, the funniest Frasier episode. It is honestly my favorite.

The video Roz plays of Frasier eating the baby food.... made me laugh so hard, I almost peed myself. Then, there was the "fan club" scene. OMG LOL! Hilarious beyond description.

Well-scripted, side-splitting humor. Too many great scenes to list.

What person in their right mind would give this gem any less than 100%??? Not me, that's for sure! : )

Rating: 100%

Another, Jan 12, 2007

Reviewer: Me123 from Scotland, UK

It is, once again, important to realise that this episode is designed to progress the storyline, in this case to show Frasier's grief at his job loss. Therefore, one must realise that humour is not the most important thing to look for here.

It is fairly good at the progression theme. Grammer shows his acting skills off really well through most of the stages (particularly anger), however his depression acting was... depressing, and insulting to many people who have depression or have dealt with depression (myself included, having many friends who are depressed).

I loved Niles and Daphne's only moment in the show:

"Frasier: Oh my God, that's my duck! Thank you, Daphne. When you're done with that, I need you to run some errands for me. I need a very sturdy lemon-zester, some more music paper, some potting soil and an easel.

Daphne: I'd be happy to.

-Niles appears, starting to enter behind Daphne.-

Daphne: [muttering] And then maybe after that I could draw a bath, strip you naked and scrub you with a loofah. Would that be
all right, Dr. Crane?

Niles: Yes."

The fan club was possibly the funniest moment of this episode. The actors here were brilliant at being creepy, particularly George (The "This is great" guy). His obsession acting was darned good, and actually made him seem like a total creep!

And it was nice to have another look at baby Alice.

All in all, an OK start to Season 6, and a good progression from Season 5, but nothing particluarly special.

Rating: 84%

Review of 'Good Grief', Feb 23, 2006

Reviewer: Nick from North Wales, U.K.

This episode follows on from the end of season 5 with Frasier having to deal with his unemployment. While there is nothing to particularly criticise here there is also nothing to get excited about. The sight of Frasier working through his grief is convincing enough but there are precious few moments of humour to enjoy.

Rating: 69%

'Good Grief' review, Jul 10, 2005

Reviewer: Jocelyn from London, UK

Following the KACL staff's sacking at the end of Season 5, the Season 6 opener sees the now unemployed Frasier going through the five stages of grief. Whereas the previous season opener 'Frasier's Imaginary Friend' saw Frasier's family concerned about what they thought was his delusional behaviour, this time his sense of denial is for real as he immerses himself in various activities to try to make up for his lack of work. While Frasier may be the main focus of the episode, it's Niles who gets the best lines here with his wish that he had a 'club' of his own when meeeting all three inhabitants of Frasier's internet fan club as well as his method of getting Frasier to break down and let out his feelings by telling him he's not famous any more while there's a great closing joke where he confidently predicts how smoothly his divorce proceedings will go, only for this to be followed by the caption 'DENIAL' - cleverly bringing the episode full circle. Despite this being a well structured episode (as is to be expected of Christopher Lloyd), it somehow lacks the spark and steady stream of laughs of previous episodes. Use of location footage in 'Frasier' rarely works and this is one of the reasons why the scene at the KACL picnic where Frasier takes his aggression out on a pinata falls rather flat. On the whole then, an interesting idea for an episode which signals a brave departure for the show but which is marred by rather too much heavy-handed humour to be considered truly successful.

Rating: 75%

GOOD GRIEF, May 21, 2005

Reviewer: Cake for Brains from Manchester, UK

And so begins Season 6… a season which stands as showing a noticeable decline in quality after the glorious Seasons 1-5, which in the eyes of the majority of ‘Frasier’ fans stand as being the best and most consistently funny seasons. However I feel this episode is treated quite poorly by fans, as it receives the unpleasant burden on it’s shoulders as being the episode that begins the downhill spiral from greatness. It was wrong when the television critics judged this episode as being the day ‘Frasier’ jumped the shark. Needless to say Season 6 perhaps does contain more ‘clunkers’ that the seasons that had proceeded it, but I don’t think ‘Good Grief’ qualifies as a turkey, as I find it very funny in many places and firmly believe that it is underrated in the fact that it is held partly responsible for the decline in quality, which is a shame. As I have said on numerous occasions Christopher Lloyd (seven times Emmy winner) is my favourite writer, and although this isn’t perhaps his best effort, it is by no means his worse and deserves more praise than it gets.

I loved it in the first scene when Frasier and Martin sing the opening to the operetta about legendary poet Robert Browning that Frasier has composed, of which depicted Martin being heartily embarrassed at the mention of love. It was nice to see Frasier (although probably unsuccessfully) embarking on other projects since being fired from KACL at the end of Season Five, as a becoming a gourmet chef with his duck l’orange, an aspiring artist and a novelist. However Niles explains that this is just a form of denial.

Following on from denial comes anger, which shows a hysterical scene at the KACL unemployed picnic, except it seems that everyone (apart from poor Frasier) has acquired new occupations. In a sudden burst of fury Frasier beats a piñata with monstrous vigour to hilarious effect. The picnic however is perhaps the weakest part of the episode as the piñata gag is really the only funny thing in the scene, except for Gil Chesterton’s priceless quip:
‘I was tempted to describe your entire Middle Eastern buffet as 'The Sorrow and the Pita.' Oh, who’s got a pencil I’ve got to write that one down!’

Following on from this comes the next stage in Frasier’s saga, bargaining. In this painfully funny scene we see Frasier inviting his fan club round for turkey, spring rolls and crab puffs. However, to Frasier’s dismay it turns out that there are just three geeky members! Daphne’s line is great: ‘I’ll just go out and get those pens now!’ It is in this scene that Frasier moves on to the penultimate stage, depression in which he puts on lots of weight. The sight of Kelsey Grammer with an enormous stomach is very funny, as is his home-video of him babysitting for Roz’s daughter, Alice, where he proceeds to eat all her dinner. However the depression wears off when Frasier realises he’s not famous anymore and after a whirlwind of tantrums and tears, everything goes back to normal as Frasier accepts it.

Favourite quote (in terms of his neglecting his fan club)
FRASIER: I’ve been a bad celebrity (!)

In conclusion, although not a patch on the peerless Season Four episode, ‘The Two Mrs Cranes’ this episode still manages to throw up loads of great moments, especially the nerdy fan club. I think this episode deserves more praise that it gets and it is really cleverly structured and filled with nice subtle moments.

Rating: 87%