Affairs of the human heart, Nov 29, 2011

Reviewer: David Sim from Skelmersdale, Lancashire

The first season of any TV series is perhaps the most crucial. Its the one where it has to sell an audience on the characters, convince the networks this isn't just a one-trick pony, but a show with a long and enduring shelf-life. Especially if they want to see a glimmer of that elusive second season at the end of the tunnel.

Frasier's first season took the time to shape and model its characters with an admirable restraint. But there is an unfortunate downside to that. When an episode is character-based it means that the laughs may have to be sacrificed somewhat, to pave the way for greater things to come.

The first four episodes managed to introduce themes and situations that became indispensable fixtures for this show. But they also balanced them out with a healthy share of good jokes and top comedy. Superbly in the case of The Good Son and Dinner at Eight.

The previous three episodes seemed less assured, and didn't hit the same bullseye when it came to maintaining that balance. After such an impressive beginning, it was disappointing to see that Frasier had the same growing pains as any show in its first season.

Happily Beloved Infidel picks the season up out of the rut it had fallen into and manages to shine a light on the characters, develop them, without ever sacrificing comedy for drama.

We've already seen the differences between father and son, Niles falling for Daphne, Frasier and Niles' snobbery, disastrous dinner dates as well as dinner parties. But Beloved Infidel is the first to show us a glimpse into the Crane family history.

Frasier and Niles are dining at a fancy restaurant (where else?) when they happen to spot Martin at an adjoining table with Marion Lawler, a former friend of the family. It looks a bit intimate, and when a tearful Marion flees the restaurant, it gets the Crane boys thinking about the rift that came between they're families.

Niles pores over his boyhood journals, and it dredges up a memory from when the Cranes and the Lawlers vacationed together. Niles distinctly recalls Marion in Martin's arms, meaning they must have had an affair. When they confront Martin about it, he confirms it.

This shakes Frasier's belief that Martin was a man of integrity. But when Marion stops by the apartment, and Frasier tells her he knows about the affair, it turns out that Frasier's mother Hester was the one who had the affair with Marion's husband.

It ends on a tender scene when Martin tells Frasier he lied for Hester because he didn't want to spoil the perfect image Frasier had of his late mother. And Frasier returns the courtesy when he tells of Lilith's affair with another man. Meaning the two are not so dissimilar after all.

This all sounds very dramatic doesn't it? Most US sitcoms wouldn't want to drag they're feet with such a weighty, emotional storyline, especially when the show has barely begun. While it is tempting to keep bombarding an audience with the funny stuff, and most sitcoms prefer this in they're early days, it only confirms why Frasier was light-years ahead of the competition.

The writers know the difference between drama and melodrama. Its easy to confuse the two, but Frasier sidesteps such a pitfall by leavening the serious plot with humour in every single scene.

Like when Frasier and Niles see Martin at the same restaurant they're at:

(Niles) "I just realised. If Dad's eating here this can't be a very good restaurant."

Or when Frasier sees Eddie rolling around on the couch:

(Frasier) "Well I see all sorts of things have been going on behind my back!"

Beloved Infidel has many funny things about it, but the chief pleasures of the episode is the way it brings Frasier and Martin closer together. The fact that they now have something to share in is a pivotal moment in the development of both characters. While it is fun to watch this proverbial Odd Couple snipe at one another, its gratifying to see them getting along. Only in small doses mind you!

Its also nice to see Niles getting in on the act as well. One of the peculiar things about the first season is that the producers took a long time to realise what an enormously gifted actor David Hyde Pierce was. Too often they shunted him off to the side, more like a spectator than an actual participant in the episode. But even that is better than the way Peri Gilpin is treated. Its sad to note that she's only in the opening scene, and she has no part to play in the actual plot.

Still, Beloved Infidel is definitely a highlight of the season. Its nice to see a show taking risks with itself, bringing drama to the fore when most sitcoms would be content to play it safe this early in the series' lifetime.

Rating: 85%

Pleasant and surprising, Jul 09, 2009

Reviewer: Sammy J from Canberra, Australia

This is an interesting and kinda ballsy episode for a sitcom in its first
season, centring around Niles and Frasier discovering that their
parents' marriage wasn't as blissful as they've always thought. This
episode isn't heavy on the humour, but it works - largely due to the
three male leads' performances and the fact that the character
relationships ring true. The continuation of smaller themes - Niles
and Roz's adversarial relationship, Niles' growing feelings for Daphne
- fit in nicely as well. In summary: not hilarious, but emotionally
sincere.

Rating: 82%

Dearly Beloved, . . ., Mar 18, 2009

Reviewer: Warren Lancaster from Toronto, ONT, CAN

"Beloved Infidel" is a fairly good example of how serious "Frasier" could be at times. A fairly dramatic show overall, this is about as serious as a sitcom can get and still call itself one. I quite liked how Martin was trying to protect Hester's image for the boys. Overall, a fairly serious episode, but one that can be quite enjoyable too.

Rating: 88%

Beloved Infidel, Aug 24, 2007

Reviewer: Amy from Wiltshire, England

A semi-serious episode which I enjoyed. I found the scene in the resteraunt where Frasier and Niles spy on Martin rather funny, but I couldn't really see any more parts which I found as amusing. I thought the episode had a more serious approach to it, which was good, but after seeing the previous episodes which were much more comical, I was a little disapointed.

Rating: 72%

BELOVED INFIDEL, Feb 02, 2007

Reviewer: Cake for Brains from Manchester, UK

After two, frankly rather weak episodes, Season 1 manages to get itself back on track with ‘Beloved Infidel’, an offering that manages to combine some effective pathos and good humour, even though it doesn’t qualify as a ‘classic’ in my opinion. On re-watching the first season of ‘Frasier’ recently, I’ve noticed that the ethos and environment of the show has gradually been built up and developed with each progressive episode, thus allowing the series to gradually establish various themes. The eight so far have all introduced the viewer to some element, style of comedy or type of relationship that will become important and integral to the show as a whole, (dating, elitist society, disastrous dinner parties, the gulf between father and son, etc) and ‘Beloved Infidel’ is no exception, bringing (for the first time) a slice of back story concerning Martin’s late wife, Hester Crane. Although Frasier’s mother and the illustrious history of the Cranes childhood would rarely take the central plot of an episode, it always remained a nice, effective underlying plot device, and contributed to some rather moving subsequent Martin moments. The episode begins with a not-very-funny caller whose language Frasier is finding difficult to interpret, but things quickly liven up when Niles and Roz are placed in the booth together, leading to some funny, snide remarks about Roz’s dating life. The central storyline of the episode kicks in when Frasier and Niles see Martin having dinner with a woman in a restaurant, even though he said it was going to Duke’s. Some great moments ensue – such as Niles revelation ‘I just realised that if Dad’s eating here, then it can’t be a very good restaurant’ and Niles attempts to remain concealed from Martin’s gaze – ‘Don’t look, not now, not now, okay now – not now!’ Martin’s companion turns out to be Marion Lawler; who (along with her husband) used to go camping with Martin and Hester when Frasier and Niles were kids, but she exits the restaurant in tears, thus arousing suspicions. Change of scene next however, and we get some lovely Eddie humour (Eddie going behind Frasier’s back and disobeying his sofa-rolling ban), and Daphne explaining that Frasier would look good with a moustache – after some kids spray painted one on a billboard for his show.

I have to confess that I have a soft spot for this episode, having as it does one of my favourite moments from the entire first season – the pricelessly flowery and refined diary extracts from a nine-year-old Niles’ childhood journal, which he digs out in order to shed some light on Martin’s involvement with Marion Lawler; it transpires that his parents had long screaming matches at night, although Frasier couldn’t hear them thanks to his slumber mask and wax ear plugs! Frasier quoting the diary is just so typical and in-character for Niles, ‘Though summer at the lake seems bud a vapid, vacuous experience, it is a necessary tonic for my troubled youth’ (can you spot the redundancy?). However, Niles begins to harbour fears that Martin was cheating on his wife, and having an affair with Marian Lawler – backed up by strange, edited photographs – which Martin admits, promptly demanding the subject be dropped… so let’s instead focus on Niles healing with humour group (‘I need to pick up my big shoes!’ and ‘over sized polka dot trousers!’) The episode seems to dispense with the comedy after this however, instead favouring a more dramatic approach – as Marion Lawler pays a visit to Frasier and reveals that Hester was the one that cheated on Martin. I have to admit that it is a pretty lovely and tender moment when Martin tells Frasier that he lied in order to cover up his late wife’s good name, because he didn’t want his sons thinking ill of her. What follows is a very touching exchange – and the fact that there is no comedy doesn’t seem to matter, because John Mahoney is gruffly excellent as he laments on Hester and the events of that summer; trying his utmost to make Frasier see it from her perspective and admitting that he wasn’t easy to live with. Frasier then makes the comparison between the situation and Lilith, who also had an affair – thus finally showing that perhaps the pair have something in common after all. In conclusion, this a rather dramatic episode, that perhaps lack big laughs and memorable lines, but is still, nonetheless an enjoyable affair. There are some great performances and creation of pathos, but Roz could definitely have done with a bigger role in the episode.

Rating: 76%

A breakthrough, Jan 26, 2006

Reviewer: Nick from North Wales, U.K.

Up to this point all of the episodes had provided plenty of laughs but none had really sought to bring something more emotional to the series. It's genuinely moving here to discover that Frasier's mother cheated on Martin and that Lilith then did the same thing to Frasier. Some nice comedy also comes from the scenes between the two brothers.

Rating: 92%

Review of Beloved Infidel, Aug 01, 2005

Reviewer: Beer Necessity from York, England

This is another character building episode of Frasier, which has more emotional moments than big laughs. The first half scene in which Niles and Frasier try to avoid Martin in the restaurant provides the comedic highlight of the episode. The second half is mainly concerned with Martin's alleged affair, and the scene where Frasier and Martin share their painful experiences is quite moving. Unfortunately the episode doesn't stand up well to repeated viewing due to the lack of laughs, but it's a nice episode all the same.

Rating: 74%

'Beloved Infidel' review, May 17, 2005

Reviewer: Jocelyn from London, UK

Quite a touching episode which explores more of the characters' backstories as we are lead to believe that Martin once cheated on his wife only to discover that it was Hestor who had been unfaithful to him. There were some good laughs early on with Frasier and Niles trying not to be seen while spying on Martin and Marion in the restaurant while I loved Martin's bemused reaction when Frasier admitted that Lilith had cheated on him too. Otherwise this was a more serious episode than usual, and a pretty good one too.

Rating: 75%