Niles and Daphne Take Center Stage in Frasier's Seventh Season

Back when Cheers was still on the air, I used to catch an episode now and then, but I was too young to really appreciate it, and I mostly just liked the theme song. Of the characters, my least favorite was Dr. Frasier Crane, a smug psychiatrist, so it seems a little odd that, years later, I started watching Frasier, but around the time I was in college, I was pretty caught up in it.

I suppose it helped that the erudite psychiatrist and his equally effete brother Niles were always making allusions to works of literature I studied in my college English classes, and I loved the clever wordplay of the titles that preceded each scene. It was one of the quirky touches that made the show so distinct. Additionally, when I was a freshman, I went through a particularly powerful obsession with the music of Art Garfunkel, which I’d always loved but hadn’t really listened to in years. When I read that he once had a voice-only guest spot as a man who calls into Frasier’s radio program, I began watching the re-runs as often as I could in hopes that I would see that episode. I still haven’t. But I did see a lot of other good ones.

As the series begins, Frasier has relocated from Boston to Seattle, where his crusty dad, Martin (John Mahoney), a retired cop, and his younger brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), a psychiatrist with a private practice, reside. Niles and Frasier are two peas in a pod, and they love taking in fine culture and talking about it over complicated coffees at their favorite shop, Café Nervosa. While they are very much in sync with each other, they also frequently find themselves in competition.

Martin is much more down-to-earth, which causes some friction. He moves in with Frasier, and he insists upon filling his son’s condo with such distasteful elements as his ratty old chair and his shrewd Jack Russell Terrier, Eddie (Moose / Enzo). He swills beer and watches sports. He tires of his sons’ constant high-falutin’ talk. His kind but tough live-in physical therapist, an Englishwoman named Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves), has much more in common with the father than the sons, but Niles adores her, first for her beauty, then for her sweetness. Meanwhile, Frasier must daily deal with Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin), the street-smart, promiscuous producer of his radio show. These six characters form the core of the show.

I mostly watched Frasier in syndication, but season seven was when I really became a fan, and as I watched all those older episodes in which timid Niles sighed over Daphne, I became anxious to see whether he would ever let her in on his feelings, and I found myself watching more current episodes. At first, Niles is merely infatuated with her. In fact, he is a married man, so his appreciation for Daphne’s finer features hardly is something to encourage. But as the seasons wear on, and Niles is still pining for Daphne years after his marriage to a deranged socialite dissolves, rooting for the two of them to give it a shot feels more inevitable. By the seventh season, it had become the central question of the series.

Thus, I tend to think of season seven as Frasier’s most pivotal. Pierce is a brilliant actor, and just as Brad Garrett so often steals the show on Everybody Loves Raymond as Ray’s lumbering, resentful brother Robert, so Pierce gets most of the biggest laughs with his fidgety bundle of insecurities and compulsions. Yet by this point in the show, he is also the most compelling dramatic character. I ached for him in the many moments when he nearly gets up the nerve to tell Daphne just how much he cares about her, only to lose heart at the last minute or have something come along and interrupt him.

Pierce embodies that angst perfectly, and show creators David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee drag out the tension as long as they possibly can. Daphne is always entirely congenial with Niles, but the writers go out of their way to leave her feelings toward him ambiguous as long as possible. Particularly with her role as an employee of the family, it seemed that it was up to Niles to bare his soul even if she shared his regard, and I know I shouted at the TV for him to do so on more than one occasion, even as I thought, Well, would I have the guts to do it? No, probably not. And if I tried, I’d probably just end up sticking my foot in my mouth. So I could sympathize with his plight. But I knew I was going to be pretty aggravated if all of this anticipation was not rewarded.

This season finds Daphne engaged to lawyer Donny Douglas (Saul Rubinek), which means plenty of agitation involving her overbearing relatives, especially her mother (Millicent Martin) and her destructively boorish brother Simon (Anthony LaPaglia). Niles, bemoaning all his missed chances to declare his feelings for Daphne, embarks upon a series of whirlwind relationships that leads him to Dr. Mel Karnofsky (Jane Adams), a woman as icy and abrasive as Daphne is warm and compassionate. No one can stand her, and it’s pretty plain that Niles can’t either; he’s just getting married in an effort to get over losing Daphne, which always struck me as an absurdly stupid thing to do. Far better to remain single than get hitched to someone who makes you miserable. She does provide some funny moments, but she’s so hard to take that I mostly just cringed whenever she showed up.

Aside from all the complications of these two impending marriages, which are set for the same week, the season does have some individual episodes that aren’t quite so wrapped up in the romantic drama. My favorite of these is A Tsar Is Born, in which Frasier and Martin are startled to learn that they are both fans of Antiques Roadshow, though for different reasons. When the PBS series comes to town looking for treasures culled from Seattle attics, Martin brings along a kitschy old clock and is astonished to discover that it once belonged to the Romanov family. Frasier decides to do some digging, figuring this must mean that the Cranes are descended from Russian royalty, but his findings are not quite what he had anticipated. Another great one is The Late Dr. Crane, in which a case of mistaken identity leaves most of Seattle believing that Frasier is dead.

Frasier was an unusual sit-com that was equal parts family and workplace comedy, with plenty of pathos and romance mixed in. I would say that I probably fall about halfway between the Crane brothers’ intellectual elitism and their father’s salt-of-the-earth kick-back style, so I found plenty to identify with on both ends, and I was more invested in the seventh season than any other. Of course, it’s that much better with the first six seasons behind it, so I highly recommend this season, but I wouldn’t start here. It’s worth it to really get to know these characters first.

The Anastasia Soundtrack Is a Melodious Celebration of Adventure and Romance

It’s a frosty Valentine’s Day in Erie, PA, the perfect excuse to pull out the soundtrack to one of my favorite wintry romances: Don Bluth’s Anastasia. My brother and I caught this underrated gem in the theater in high school, and it may just take pride of place as my favorite Bluth movie, though there are several others that I love as well. One of the big reasons I’m such a fan of Anastasia is the music, with songs by Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music) and a score by David Newman. I liked it so much that I not only bought the soundtrack, I got the sheet music too. It’s sweeping, melodious and adventurous, with just a dash of romance. A great way to start off my Valentine’s Day.

A Rumor in St. Petersburg - A lively opening number. This isn’t the first scene in the movie, but it’s the one that firmly sets us in a time a decade after the initial scene, during which villainous Rasputin launches an attack on the Romanovs, Russia’s royal family, in which most of them are killed. Princess Anastasia, a young girl, escapes but loses her memory. This song brings us up to speed in delightful fashion, with a whole city full of characters gossiping about the rumor that Anastasia might still be out there somewhere. This song gets a lot of exposition out of the way in a most entertaining manner, and it also introduces us to likable conmen Dmitri and Vladimir, who plan to find a girl who looks like Anastasia and go to Paris, where Anastasia’s grandmother has put out a reward for her return, to pass her off as the princess. Jonathan Dokuchitz voices slick young Dmitri instead of John Cusack, while Kelsey Grammer is one of the few voice actors in the movie who takes on his character’s singing role as well as speaking. I’m a big fan of Frasier and of Grammer in general, but he’s so effectively disguised his voice in a thick Russian accent here that I always half-forget it’s him. A wonderfully chaotic beginning that reminds me of such Disney greats as Beauty and the Beast’s Belle and Aladdin’s One Jump Ahead. “We’ll find a girl to play the part and teach her what to say, dress her up and take her to Paris. Imagine the reward her dear old Grandmama will pay! Who else could pull it off but you and me?”

Journey to the Past - I love this song, and as is almost always the case with these animated musicals that produce radio hits, I prefer the in-movie version. There’s such an air of wonder and anticipation, as well as trepidation, about it, and I can relate so well to that tug-of-war between a longing for adventure and a fear of leaving the familiar. The song reminds me a lot of I Have Confidence from The Sound of Music, and it’s one of my two favorites in the movie. The piano and violins evoke the snowflakes and wind that accompany her as she sets out. Liz Callaway, singing in place of Meg Ryan, voices Anastasia with a clear-throated exuberance and beauty that reminds me of Jodi Benson from The Little Mermaid. This is the moment during which the audience is meant to fall in love with the adult Anastasia, who goes by Anya and does not yet realize who she is. All she knows is that she yearns to belong to someone. An exhilarating track. “Heart, don’t fail me now. Courage, don’t desert me. Don’t turn back now that we’re here. People always say life is full of choices; no one ever mentions fear…”

Once Upon a December - Callaway has this one to herself as well, and it’s a whispery, awestruck waltz that is nothing short of haunting. Anastasia has returned to her childhood home and is catching snatches of memories, none of which make much sense to her. The song is an outgrowth of the lullaby she and her grandmother used to sing together, the song that played in the music box that she received on the night her life changed forever. It’s an utterly beautiful song that captures the sense that all of Anastasia’s childhood lies just beyond a veil, and dim glimpses are all she can see. It carries with it the hope that one day those memories might be recovered. Starts and ends quietly, with a crescendo in the middle as everything comes into focus for one shining moment before eluding her again. Gorgeous. “Far away, long ago, glowing dim as an ember, things my heart used to know, things it yearns to remember. And a song someone sings once upon a December…”

In the Dark of the Night - The big villain’s number. Jim Cummings, voice actor extraordinaire perhaps best known for replacing Sterling Holloway as the voice of Winnie the Pooh, is Christopher Lloyd’s singing counterpart as the evil, putrescent Rasputin. This is an appropriately dark and creepy song reminiscent of Gaston’s Kill the Beast from Beauty and the Beast and especially Scar’s Be Prepared from The Lion King. He’s plotting the destruction of the one person who foiled his perfect plan for the annihilation of the Romanovs. The sound is ominous, and Cummings’ delivers the lyrics with sadistic relish. “I was once the most mystical man in all Russia. When the royals betrayed me they made a mistake. My curse made each of them pay, but one little girl got away. Little Anya beware, Rasputin’s awake!”

Learn to Do It - This is a fun number that covers several hours or days during which Dmitri and Vladimir give Anastasia a crash course on how to be a Romanov. There’s a banter type of feel to this song as Vlad, Dmitri and Anya interrupt each other in their eagerness to instill and display knowledge. Definitely one of the most fun tracks. “Count Sergei.” “Wore a feathered hat.” “I hear he’s gotten very fat.” “And I recall his yellow cat…” “I don’t believe we told her that…”

Learn to Do It (Waltz Reprise) - The same basic melody as the last track returns in this gentle, much shorter reprise. Where the last one was energetic and a bit zany, this one is quiet, slow and romantic. It’s mostly instrumental as Dmitri shows Anya how to dance to prepare her for the possibility of a formal ball in Paris. As Vlad watches, it’s painfully obvious to him that this tender moment was the only catalyst these spitfires needed to realize that they have fallen in love – and that could wreak major havoc on their perfect plan. A nice little showcase for Kelsey Grammer. “Vlad, how could you do this? How will we get through this? I never should have let them dance…”

Paris Holds the Key (to Your Heart) - Another very lively song that gets the whole city involved, but in this case we’re in France instead of Russia. It’s basically an exuberant celebration of French culture led by Bernadette Peters as Vlad’s old flame Sophie, with a moment at the end for some quiet reflection by Dmitri, who has just realized that Anya actually is Anastasia and suddenly doesn’t find the idea of a hefty cash reward all that attractive. I don’t get that into the more raucous parts of the song, but I really like Dmitri’s lines, which show how much he’s changed over the course of this journey. “Paris holds the key to her past. Yes, Princess, you’ve come home at last. No more pretend; you’ll be gone, that’s the end.”

At the Beginning - This radio-ready end-credits song is performed by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx. It’s a nice follow-up to Journey to the Past as it reflects Anastasia and Dmitri’s desire to embark on a new journey together. I’m not a huge fan of Lewis’s voice, but I do like this song, and I think it’s nice that one more song was written to give us a sort of epilogue to the movie. Of course, it’s a great stand-alone too. “No one told me I was going to find you. Unexpected what you did to my heart. When I lost hope, you were there to remind me this Is the start.”

Journey to the Past (Aaliyah) - I considered this song pretty superfluous at the time, but even though I prefer the movie version, there’s something very poignant about listening to this song now, since Aaliyah, the promising young singer who performed it, died in a tragic accident a few short years later. She puts a funky vibe on it and sings beautifully; this arrangement is a little repetitive, but it’s still a nice track.

Once Upon a December (Deana Carter) - This song scarcely changes from the movie version. It’s a little less dynamic, and the most prominent instrument is a mandolin, played by Jerry McPherson. I love his instrumental work here, and that’s the main reason to listen to this, though Carter does a nice job with the vocals too.

Prologue - This mostly-instrumental track captures the sense of majesty in the Romanov court, along with the tenderness between Anastasia and her grandmother. We get to hear Angela Lansbury, who, unlike Kelsey Grammer, is immediately recognizable despite her Russian accent, as well as Lacey Chabert as the young Anastasia, singing a snippet of Once Upon a December together before the tone turns dire with the appearance of Rasputin.

Speaking of Sophie - A bright, sunshiny instrumental track heavy on the woodwinds that evokes the giddiness of Vlad’s recollections of his long-ago love. Just a very cheerful, sweet track that puts me in mind of a picnic in the park.

The Nightmare - The creepiest of the instrumental tracks, it’s half blissful dream and half torturous nightmare. The chorus of voices adds to the eeriness, and the full orchestral backing captures the frightening flavor of a storm at sea.

Kidnap and Reunion - Starts off a bit perilous but blossoms into one of the loveliest tracks on the album, with a hope-filled melody peeking out hesitatingly as Anastasia’s memory finally begins flooding back and her incredulous grandmother begins to think that this might actually be the little girl she lost so long ago. It concludes with a reprise of Once Upon a December, with Lansbury and Callaway this time. Probably my favorite instrumental track, along with Reminiscing with Grandma, which almost feels like a continuation. Lovely and stirring, it incorporates Journey to the Past and feels mysterious and familiar all at once. Finale also feels mostly like an outgrowth of these two scenes as we get the impression that her journey has come full circle and she is home at last but has gained something valuable in the journey as well as the destination. A joyous conclusion.

Viaje Tiempo Atras (Journey to the Past) - You know, this song would make more sense if it was in Russian, or even French. But a Spanish version of Journey to the Past seems pretty random, not to mention superfluous, since it’s the third version of this song on the soundtrack, not counting the song’s appearances in the instrumental tracks. Thalia does a nice job with the vocals here, it just seems like a rather odd choice.

But I really do love this album, especially the first eight tracks. Another plus is that the liner notes include stills from the movie, along with the lyrics to the songs. It’s very attractively packaged. Anastasia is a story of self-discovery and learning that sometimes it takes another person to help you become yourself as fully as possible. A touching tale and stirring music for Valentine’s Day or any day.

An Everyman Strives to Make the Country - and Himself - Better in Swing Vote

This past week found me glued to the television two nights in a row for a pair of long-anticipated events: the Inauguration of Barack Obama and the season five premiere of LOST. A couple days later, I found myself watching a movie with relevance to both: Swing Vote, a feel-good satire about our nation's political process.

Okay, so it's mostly relevant to the ushering in of a new president, as the whole movie is about an extraordinarily close presidential election whose outcome is to be determined by a single man, an immature, beer-swilling single dad in New Mexico named Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner). The particulars of how this duty is bestowed upon him stretch believability, but this is a movie designed to lampoon the circus that is campaigning, so realism isn't a terribly important consideration.

There's enough truth within it to strike a chord with those weary of the endless games politicians seem to play in hopes of winning that coveted vote. In this film, the contenders are Republican incumbent Andrew Boone (Kelsey Grammer), an ultra-conservative fellow who finds common ground with Bud in such earthy activities as football and Nascar, and Democratic hopeful Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper), who appeals to Bud's love of fishing and his fondness for Willie Nelson. I appreciate that writer-director Joshua Michael Stern depicts both candidates as honorable and capable, albeit with very particular prejudices on certain matters. With only one man to impress, both parties throw all of their effort behind attempts to appease him, egged on by their unethical advisors, played by a sibilant Stanley Tucci and pushy Nathan Lane. Meanwhile, Bud becomes a media darling, an instant celebrity on whom the hopes of the country are pinned.

The LOST connection comes in the form of Madeline Carroll, the young actress who plays Bud's daughter Molly. It only took me a moment to realize why I recognized her; though her total onscreen time probably amounted to less than fifteen minutes, she made a big impression on me as Annie, childhood sweetheart of the perpetually perplexing Ben Linus, in season three's The Man Behind the Curtain. I've been itching for the return of her character on the show and expect it will happen at some point, though not necessarily with Carroll in the role; hence, I was pretty tickled to see her here.

Inevitably, I had to draw a few LOST comparisons. We don't know much about Annie's parentage, other than that she must have at least one parent who works for the Dharma Initiative. But Molly's relationship with her father has parallels with Ben's - not, happily, in his level of affection toward her, which is undeniable, but in the way that she has to look after him, particularly after he has been drinking. Bud is clueless but not abusive, but Molly's best friend isn't so lucky, and the isolated children find solace in each other, particularly during a swing set scene that reminds me not only of Ben and Annie but also of a certain shadowy Hogwarts professor and his long-lost love.

Molly really is the heart of the film, a middle schooler with big ambitions who's tired of feeling as though she is raising her dad instead of the other way around. At times, she's an insufferable know-it-all, as only a clever preteen girl can be, but for the most part, she is likable, and it's heartwarming to see how Bud's awareness of the importance of his decision develops because of his daughter. The movie is less snarky and more warm-hearted than I expected, and the great cast helps make the outlandish situation easier to swallow. With this last election still fresh in everyone's minds, Swing Vote is a funny and timely film.

Journey to the Past

How many elementary school kids could say they knew about the Russian revolution before Anastasia came out? Not to say that this movie is any more historically accurate than Disney's Pocahontas. Instead of a talking willow, the most bizarre character in this movie is Rasputin, who actually did exist. But in this rendition of the tale of the missing Russian princess, Rasputin is dead and we watch him literally fall apart in scene after scene. It's morbid to the point of being comical.

The story centers around Anya, an eighteen-year-old orphan whose only link to her family is a locket which says "Together in Paris". She can remember nothing of her life before the orphanage. As the headmistress sends her out to strike out on her own, advising her to get a grunt job in town, Anya wonders if there might be more in store for her. She waits at the crossroads and prays for guidance: should she be Anya the orphan forever, or should she pursue the one clue she has to the family she's always wanted? Her answer comes almost immediately in the form of a puppy tugging her towards St. Petersburg.

When she arrives, she is directed to Dmitri, a con artist bent on finding someone to portray Anastasia so he can present her to the Grand Dowager, her grandmother, in Paris. If he can convince her that his Anastasia is real, he'll have a hefty reward to look forward to. Anya knows none of this. She only wants to get to Paris, and she has heard that Dmitri can get her there. Stepping into the abandoned castle, memories come flooding back to her, but she can make sense of none of them. She is rudely interrupted when Dmitri sees her and demands to know how she got in. But then he notices how similar she looks to the princess who disappeared ten years ago when the rest of the Romanov family was killed. Ecstatic, he and his partner Vladimir agree to take her to Paris.

With Pooka the puppy in tow, the travelers set off, but Rasputin attempts to foil them at every step along the way. It is one thrilling adventure after another as Anya grows ever closer to Paris, and to discovering the key to her past.

With endearing characters, many played by big names (Meg Ryan, Kelsey Grammer, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lloyd), amazing graphics, and a great plot, this movie is a sure hit. Images of St. Petersburg and Paris are especially elegant, and each character is animated to perfection. The songs range from fun to beautiful to frightening, each standing on its own merit. The haunting Once Upon a December will leave you with chills running down your spine.

As stated before, this is not incredibly historically accurate. But it's first and foremost a story in this movie, and if kids want to find out more about the Russian Revolution they should be inspired to read up on it in the library. This is an adventure, a love story, and a tale about the ties of family. It has something for all ages, and it will be a treasured addition to your family video collection.