The 15 Best Frasier Episodes Of All Time, Ranked

In the fall of 1984, Dr. Frasier Winslow Crane simultaneously walked into Sam Malone's little Boston bar and into the hearts of a nation when Kelsey Grammer first appeared on the hit NBC sitcom "Cheers." More than 40 years later, not only are generations of fans still fondly embracing the pompous yet endearing psychiatrist, but the award-winning actor still continues to revisit the character whenever he gets the chance ... even after his show gets canceled.

On top of commercials and guest spots over the years, the good doctor also went on to star in "Frasier" for 11 seasons, plus two underrated revival seasons on Paramount+. And though we don't know what's next for him, his iconic character appears in hours and hours of television that we can reexperience.

In honor of his many adventures and misadventures, we're going to examine Frasier's entire history up to this point and rank his best episodes of TV (so far).

For Frasier Crane, his beginning starts at the end of Sam Malone (Ted Danson) and Diane Chambers' (Shelley Long) relationship. When viewers returned to the bar where everybody knows your name for the series' two-part third season premiere in September 1984, it was revealed that Sam starts drinking again after the breakup. Not willing to see his old friend go down that path again, Ernie "Coach" Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto) seeks out Diane's help to snap Sam out of it. The now former barmaid brings her psychiatrist friend to Cheers in an attempt to help with the relapse, and Sam successfully gets back on the wagon. But as it turns out, Dr. Crane is also Diane's new boyfriend, a new development that adds a whole new dynamic to Sam and Diane's relationship as the season continues.

Originally, Frasier was only meant to appear in a handful of episodes before Diane broke up with him as well. However, the executives and writers behind the show embraced the new character and decided he should stick around for a while longer. 

Frasier doesn't exactly have the best luck when it comes to finding a soulmate. That may be because he just can't leave well enough alone. One of the best examples of this is "Frasier's Imaginary Friend."

At the end of Season 4, Frasier spontaneously boards a plane in the hopes of connecting with a beautiful woman he meets at the airport (Lisa Guerrero). When we return for Season 5, he blows his chances pretty quickly when she learns that he only bought a ticket for that flight because of her. But, somehow, he meets and starts dating a supermodel zoology student (Sela Ward) who just broke up with a famous football player and happens to be on that same flight.

Obviously, this sounds too good to be true for Frasier's loved ones, so he keeps trying to prove that his new relationship is the real deal. Unfortunately, the truth is only uncovered after another humiliating breakup for Dr. Crane. At least everyone sees that he wasn't lying.

Fun fact: The "Cheers" universe shares many connections with "Star Trek." Both franchises shot on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles during their heydays. Notably, Kelsey Grammer himself joined Starfleet as Captain Morgan Bateson on an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." But when the crew exchange resulted in Captain Jean-Luc Picard beaming down to Seattle to appear on "Frasier," fans were treated to one of the most memorable episodes of the series' latter half.

In "The Doctor Is Out," Frasier is mistaken as gay after he is seen leaving a gay bar, which he only enters to see if Roz's new boyfriend is in there. One person who catches wind of this is prominent opera director Alistair Burke, played by the legendary Patrick Stewart. Alistair begins to court Frasier ... unbeknownst to Frasier. In the end, Dr. Crane must decide whether he will continue this charade or give up his newfound status as part of a Seattle power couple.

After returning to Boston for the 2023 revival of "Frasier," the newly minted Harvard psychiatry professor moves in with his firefighter son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) in an effort to get better acquainted with him as an adult. But when the Crane boys agree to be set up on blind dates by Freddy's good friend Eve (Jess Salgueiro), they are shocked when a women named June (June Diane Raphael) arrives at their front door and could be a great match for either of them. In typical Crane fashion, rather than ask the uncomfortable questions to clear things up right away, Frasier and Freddy compete for June's affections. That is, until Frasier's actual blind date arrives.

While it took the Paramount+ show a few episodes to find its footing, "Blind Date" is the first time the reboot really feels like a classic episode of "Frasier." Farcical humor is a cornerstone of the character's world, and luckily, the new generation of "Frasier" writers definitely understood the assignment.

When it comes to "Frasier" and farce, the Season 5 episode "The Ski Lodge" might be the pinnacle, but the comedic style is on full display much earlier — Season 2's "Daphne's Room," for one example. 

Without permission, Frasier goes into Daphne's room to look for a book, and she doesn't take kindly to the invasion. Despite promising that it won't happen again, the doctor keeps finding himself in his housekeeper's room, each time via a bigger misunderstanding.

Simply put, this episode is just incredible comedy writing. Kelsey Grammer really shines here with his physicality and line delivery as Jane Leeves fills in the straight man role for a change of pace. Not only does this episode set the stage for more farcical elements on the show down the line, but it also provides a foundation to get more outrageous each time the writers room goes back to that well.

Complete and utter chaos has a way of following Frasier Crane, but it's often a result of his own doing, like in the Season 4 episode "Ham Radio."

For KACL's 50th anniversary, the radio station decides to remount "Nightmare Inn," the first live radio play that they broadcast over their airwaves. Dr. Crane steps in to direct. But when the production is plagued by sickness, stage fright, and Frasier's micromanaging, everything goes off the rails. When his brother Niles finds out, he picks up the slack by playing multiple roles with different accents.

This episode is almost the perfect entry point for new viewers. Grammer is firing on all cylinders as the comedy elevates with each act. The ensemble does everything they can to sprinkle zaniness into the situation. And when David Hyde Pierce loses his composure as Niles, it's just the cherry on top.

Months after Diane leaves him at the altar in Italy, Frasier returns to Cheers as a fraction of himself. He isn't practicing psychiatry and he retreats into alcoholism to pass his time. The poised individual who first walks into the bar the season before to help Sam get back on his feet is barely recognizable. So when Diane enlists Sam to return the favor and help Frasier out of his funk, the former Boston Red Socks pitcher is hesitant since it involves lying about his mental state. But when Frasier deduces that the root of Sam's issues is unresolved romantic feelings for Diane, he starts to get his psychological groove back.

Because of their immense loyalty to one another, Sam and Frasier's friendship evolves to be one of the best things to come out of the "Cheers" universe.

While shopping for Christmas presents in December 1998, Frasier stumbles into a pretty great gift for himself: A date with Faye (Amy Brenneman). However, when she realizes that he isn't Jewish, they decide to hide it from Faye's mother so they don't ruin the holidays.

Like many great episodes of "Frasier," this misunderstanding could be easily solved with some communication. Instead, everything gets blown out of proportion, forcing the gang to hide every inch of Christmas in their Elliott Bay Towers apartment. This is especially difficult since Daphne ropes Niles into playing Jesus in a holiday pageant and Martin typically goes all out this time of year.

This episode not only highlights the relationship between Frasier and Martin, who unsuccessfully try solving their latest issues, but also serves as a great introduction to Brenneman's master pastry chef. While she is only in four episodes, Faye is one of Frasier's sweetest and more memorable paramours.

Though Frasier has a rocky history with marriage, his relationship with Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) is one of the most significant ones in his life, even after their divorce. But it takes a lot of work for them to get to that point, especially after the events of the "Cheers" Season 11 episodes "Teaching with the Enemy" and "The Girl in the Plastic Bubble." In the first part of the story, Frasier learns that his wife is cheating on him with one of her colleagues. But when Lilith reveals that she will be leaving him and their son to spend a year in a biosphere with her lover, the prominent psychiatrist is pushed to the edge ... literally.

Kelsey Grammer gets to explore a wide range of Frasier's emotions in these episodes. He balances the darkness and betrayal of an affair with the outlandish and over-the-top comedy that we're used to seeing from his character.

When Frasier first appears in "Cheers" during the show's third season, he's just Diane's new boyfriend. Just over halfway through the season, he's officially initiated into the inner circle of the bar.

In "The Heart is a Lonely Snipehunter," Diane convinces the guys in the bar to bring Frasier along on their fishing weekend. As excited as he is to join the guys-only trip, the group becomes bored of Frasier's stuffy, "unmanly" aura. So rather than deal with him, they put him in charge of hunting snipe (which do not exist) alone in the woods while they return to the bar. Obviously, this upsets Diane, but when Frasier returns to the bar ecstatic that he was included, he endears himself to the guys and genuinely becomes part of the group.

The gang even recounts this story fondly years later in the "Frasier" episode "Cheerful Goodbyes," where Frasier and his family unexpectedly end up at Cliff Clavin's (John Ratzenberger) retirement party. The snipe hunt becomes a core memory for everyone — even Niles, who wasn't there but revels in hearing embarrassing stories about his brother.

The pilot for the original run of "Frasier" is called "The Good Son." To pay homage to the show that came before it, the 2023 "Frasier" revival for Paramount+ titled its pilot "The Good Father." However, the title goes on to have an even more significant meaning.

In this series premiere, Dr. Frasier Crane visits his adult son Frederick in Boston. However, since the younger Crane dropped out of Harvard, became a firefighter, and recently skipped his grandfather's funeral in Seattle, his relationship with his father is a bit strained. Eventually, Freddy opens up to Frasier about the survivor's guilt he's dealing with due to a close friend in the fire department passing away on a call. Feeling guilty himself about not being present enough in his son's life, Frasier buys Freddy's apartment building and accepts a teaching job at their alma mater.

The episode is a heart-warming tribute to Martin Crane, his actor John Mahoney, and Frasier's whole journey that also acts an excellent way to kick off the new chapter of this story.

Before Frasier hosts his popular daytime TV show or his acclaimed talk radio show, a crossover between "Cheers" and "Wings" reveals that his first foray into pop psychology is a self-help seminar called "The Crane Train To Mental Well-Being." But when he and Lilith bring the workshop to Nantucket to film his presentation for a potential home video release, Helen Chapel (Crystal Bernard) reveals that Dr. Crane's advice ruined her life. Determined to prove her wrong (and get footage for his tape), Frasier invites Helen to attend another workshop to hopefully yield a different result.

Yes, "Wings" is part of the "Cheers" universe, along with the original "Frasier," its revival, and the short-lived (and largely forgotten) series "The Tortellis." And as fun as it is to see Frasier at the bar or the radio station, it's even more fun to see the interactions he has with the gang at Tom Nevers Field. In fact, Kelsey Grammer was even nominated for an Emmy for this guest spot, making him the first actor to land three Emmy nominations from three different shows playing the same character.

Bebe Neuwirth as Dr. Lilith Sternin was originally meant as a one-off character in one scene during Season 4 of "Cheers," but the chemistry between Neuwirth and Kelsey Grammer was undeniable, and Lilith became a mainstay of the franchise.

One of the best showcases of their relationship came in Season 5's "Dinner At Eight-Ish," where the two psychiatrists move in together and invite Sam and Diane over to be their first dinner guests. But as the evening progresses, Lilith learns more and more details about Frasier, including the fact that he was once engaged to Diane. Up until this point, Neuwirth's character is mostly portrayed as icy and emotionless. But when she unleashes emotion with each new revelation, the audience really sees how Lilith matches Frasier's personality.

The series finale of the original "Frasier" is one of the best finales in the history of television. In this two-part conclusion, all the Cranes have reached a meaningful crossroad in their lives. Martin is about to marry Ronee (Wendie Malick), Daphne and Niles are preparing to welcome their first child into the world, and Frasier is about to start a new job in San Francisco despite his girlfriend Charlotte (Laura Linney) moving back to Chicago. However, due to a series of misunderstandings, everyone thinks that Dr. Crane is actually dying. Once that's all cleared up though, the group shares some extremely heartfelt goodbyes.

But it's Frasier's final KACL broadcast that serves as the emotional lynchpin of the entire episode. Grammer masterfully recites a famous Alfred Lord Tennyson poem "Ulysses," which Frasier interprets as meaning that we shouldn't stop growing and taking risks as we get older since you never know what good could happen. As he wraps up, Dr. Crane is seen on an airplane that has just brought him to a new city. However, instead of ending up in California, he's actually in the Windy City to take a chance with Charlotte.

When Diane Chambers leaves Cheers behind in favor of a writing career in Hollywood, Sam Malone isn't the only ex-lover that doesn't get closure. Of course, by the time she returns six years later in the "Cheers" series finale, Dr. Frasier Crane has married Lilith and started a family. But when the third season of "Frasier" rolls around, Lilith is out of the picture and it turns out Frasier still has some raw feelings about how things worked out with Diane.

During the only episode of the show where Shelly Long's character actually appears in real life rather than in Frasier's mind, Diane visits Seattle because her new play is being mounted there. However, since a financier has pulled out of the project, she asks her old flame if he can help her out to save the production. After he agrees to become an investor, Frasier attends a dress rehearsal and sees that the play is actually a twisted version of Diane's life at Cheers.

Things come to a head when the character based on Frasier states that he holds no ill will towards the Diane character for leaving him at the altar. The real Frasier then launches into a soliloquy stating that his former fiancé is actually the devil. This leads to an incredibly sincere heart-to-heart between the two that ends on the perfect joke where Frasier exits the set as if he's leaving Cheers. The episode is well-written, well-acted, and just a delightful treat for long-time Frasier fans.