Frasier: The Complete Series Box Set [Blu-Ray] | Award-Winning TV Show Collection | Perfect for Home Entertainment & Gifts

One might not expect it from a spin-off TV show, but somehow Frasier managed to become one of the greatest shows in television history. It manages to be one of the smartest shows ever to air, and yet never got so full of itself that it was afraid to throw in some physical comedy. In fact, David Hyde Pierce in the role of Dr. Niles Crane gave us some of television's finest physical comedy. And yet it also manages to discuss serious emotional content with a wit rarely seen in the medium, simultaneously appealing to the most intelligent person in the room and accessible to the least intelligent person in the room.The comedy in this show manages to maintain its wide appeal without ever talking down to the audience by employing a strategy of layered humor. Literary and operatic references abound, for instance, appealing to the educated viewer who gets these jokes, but the lines always function at at least two levels: the joke itself and the meta-joke. Everyone understands *that* the character has said something obscure and intellectual, and this is funny in a self-referential sort of way, while the joke or reference itself is funny to those select audience members who get it.One of the remarkable things is that much of the show's humor comes from the conflict between the erudite and the everyday without ever insulting either side. Sure, the Doctors Crane can occasionally be "lovably pompous," and we sometimes laugh at their expense. And of course, their father can sometimes be amusingly crass and we occasionally laugh at his expense. But the brilliance of the show is that it manages to portray all of its characters respectfully. Even when we sometimes laugh at one of them, we seldom find ourselves thinking negatively of them. For a show about class to be so even-handed is a remarkable thing. More remarkable still, the show manages to be about the emotional and psychological toils of everyday life, yet none of the on-screen characters ever seen villainous or as if they've been used merely as a foil for another character. The sole exception to this rule is the never-seen Maris Crane whose portrayal is so over the top as to be delightfully absurd.Still, not all of the show's humor comes from the conflicts between such different people. Many of the best (and by "best" I mean both funniest and most thought-provoking) clashes occur between the most similar of characters. Frasier and his brother Niles are remarkably similar characters: sherry-swilling, opera-loving, French-speaking psychiatrists both. Yet the conflicts between these two are as profound and entertaining as those between any other characters, precisely because they speak the same language and understand each other so thoroughly.For all its even-handed intellectualism, it also manages to be one of the funniest shows I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Better still, its humor has aged remarkably well. For a show whose early episodes are now pushing thirty years old, everything feels just as timely as ever. And the humor and drama both survive repeat viewings as well, making this a perfect series to own on DVD. I've watched the complete series several times (and individual episodes more times than I can count), and I never fail to be completely entertained and pleased by the show.Speaking of the DVD, let's quickly turn our attention to this DVD set and consider its quality independent of the show's. Overall, I'm quite happy with it. A few people have complained about the transfer quality, but I don't see any problem there. The thing we all need to remember is that this is a thirty-year-old television program, not a recently-produced feature film. It's not going to look as good on our high-definition televisions as more recent programming is, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with the video quality presented.The set's packaging is compact but effective. The forty-four discs are divided into two plastic cases (one containing the first six seasons and the other containing seasons seven through eleven) and both are housed in a cardboard slipcase.Special features are enjoyable but inconsistent. The first three seasons contain a "Celebrity Voices" feature in which we can listen to the often-humorous calls to Dr. Crane's radio program while learning which celebrity's voice guest starred. This feature doesn't return in the remainder of the seasons. However, while it was an amusing feature, I don't really think I wanted to watch eleven seasons' worth of it anyway. Two of the episodes feature an audio commentary track, both of which I found quite interesting. I rather wish there were a few more of them. Additionally, there are several featurettes and retrospectives scattered throughout the discs, though many discs don't have any bonus features at all. Ultimately I find myself pleased with the features included but wishing for just a little bit more.Ultimately, though, I didn't buy this for the features, enjoyable though they were. I bought it because I wanted to own a copy of one of my favorite shows of all time. I'm incredibly pleased with my purchase. It has a place of honor in my DVD library, and I can't recommend it highly enough.