‘Frasier’: The Series Finale Had 1 Bittersweet Callback to the First Episode

There was something about Frasier Crane that appealed to people. From the day he first stepped into Cheers until the day the spinoff show, Frasier, ended, Kelsey Grammer’s character was wildly popular. The actor was able to take a character that should have been unlikeable and infuse him with just enough relatability that viewers were constantly rooting for him.

The fact that he was surrounded by enjoyable and quirky supporting characters, including an adorable dog, helped. Fans were sad when the show finally wrapped up. What many fans didn’t realize as they watched Frasier say his final goodbyes was that the series finale included a bittersweet callback to the very first episode.

Frasier broke records

Few people realize just how successful Kelsey Grammer and the Frasier character were. While most spinoff shows only survive for a season or two, Frasier enjoyed solid rating throughout its eleven season run. By the time the show ended, Grammer had played the pompous, unlucky-in-love psychiatrist for twenty years. Not only did the character appear on three different shows, but Grammer has the distinction of being the only actor to have the same character get nominated for an Emmy on each of the shows. During his time on Frasier, Grammer won four Leading Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy Awards.

The character’s backstory changed from one show to the next

One of the things that really drove fans crazy when Frasier premiered was that the character’s backstory changed. On Cheers, the only living blood relatives Frasier had was his mother and his child. When he moved to Seattle he magically gained a father and a brother. The change in backstory was never discussed until Ted Danson guest-starred on Fraiser, according to IMDb.

His character, Sam Malone, commented on how he’d been told that Fraiser’s father was dead. When Marty Crane questions why Frasier lied, he simply says he was mad at his family. Weirdly enough, Lilith, Frasier’s ex-wife who was married to him when the character lived in Boston, appears to have known about the Seattle family and never told anyone.

A fan-favorite cast member

Hands down, the greatest character on Frasier wasn’t the title character. It was Moose, the Jack Russell Terrier who played Martin Crane’s faithful pet, Eddie. As the seasons passed, Moose grew older and had a harder time performing his role.

He was eventually retired and his son took over the role. Moose might not have been on the set during the final seasons but he was never forgotten. During the series finale, he was invited back and reprised his role as Eddie one last time.

Moose wasn’t the only returning star

Everyone knows Frasier couldn’t stand his father Marty’s old reclining chair. Frasier’s apartment was decorated uniquely, and Marty’s chair threw off the decor. Frasier knew his dad loved the chair, but that didn’t stop him from attempting to get rid of it — but he never had the heart to after a mover dropped it off on the first day.

The same mover appeared in the last episode, too – to take the chair out of the apartment, according to Screenrant. Fans might not have noticed this bittersweet detail, but actor Cleto Augusto appeared in only the first and last episode, in the same outfit, to move the beloved chair.