Season Nine showed that Frasier was finally starting to lose a step.
8) "Sharing Kirby"--Weird dude Kirby, Lana's son, is dating someone who's related to a well-known wine collector, so of course the Crane brothers scheme to use him to gain access.
9) "Junior Agent"--Didn't we see one like this before? Frasier is bested in the ratings by a new MD, and neither GM Kenny nor Frasier's agent are any help.
10) "Bully for Martin"--Marty has a bullying boss, and Frasier goes to his aid. Really feels wrong, given all we've learned about Martin over the years.
11-12) "Mother Load," Pts. 1-2--Daphne's mother and uncouth brother come to visit at precisely the time that Niles and Daphne have finally decided to cohabitate.
13) "Juvenilia"--Frasier tries for the teen talk-show market, and has to turn to Kirby for help.
14) "The Proposal"--Niles wants the perfect proposal, but of course that's not how it turns out.
15) "Wheels of Fortune"--Lilith's brother Blaine turns up on Frasier's doorstep, saying he's no longer involved in get-rich-quick scams, but Frasier's not convinced.
16) "Three Blind Dates"--Everyone decides to set Frasier up with a blind date, but of course none of them work.
17) "War of the Words"--In perhaps the weakest episode, Frasier's son, Frederick, is accused of cheating in the National Spelling Bee.
18) "Deathtrap"--A murder mystery episode has Niles and Frasier trying to find out what's up with the skull that they find while digging for a box they buried under their childhood home.
19) "The Love You Fake"--Martin and Frasier's upstairs neighbor's mother fake a relationship in order to get their feuding sons to make nice.
20) "Cheerful Goodbyes"--A "Cheers" reunion show has Frasier, Niles, Daphne and Martin in Boston for a conference, where they're invited to Cliff Clavin's retirement party.
21) "Frasier Has Spokane"--Frasier shifts his broadcast to Spokane when a radio station picks up his show, but the locals aren't happy he's replacing a local legend.
22) "The Guilt Trippers"--When Daphne gets down because her father won't be there to give her away, Niles goes to England to look for him. So why are Daphne and her mother going to Hawaii? Another weak episode.
23) "Moons Over Seattle"--Niles brings back Daphne's father, and tries to play matchmaker between Daphne's mom and dad.
Video:
As with other seasons, the video is good but not spectacular, presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The colors are bright, and there's only the slightest hint of blurred edges with colors like red or yellow. Generally, there's a good level of detail.
Audio: The audio is a functional English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, with a surprising number of Foley sounds and voices coming from the left and right main speakers instead of everything emanating from the center, as is often the case. That's a bit striking at first, but you get used to it fairly quickly and it adds a nice separation of voices.
Extras: There are no extras, which is surprising, given the 200th episode milestone.
Bottom Line: Season Nine showed that "Frasier" was finally starting to lose a step. Though there were some very good episodes, the shows just weren't as consistently witty and edgy as those in the past.
9) "Junior Agent"--Didn't we see one like this before? Frasier is bested in the ratings by a new MD, and neither GM Kenny nor Frasier's agent are any help.
10) "Bully for Martin"--Marty has a bullying boss, and Frasier goes to his aid. Really feels wrong, given all we've learned about Martin over the years.
11-12) "Mother Load," Pts. 1-2--Daphne's mother and uncouth brother come to visit at precisely the time that Niles and Daphne have finally decided to cohabitate.
13) "Juvenilia"--Frasier tries for the teen talk-show market, and has to turn to Kirby for help.
14) "The Proposal"--Niles wants the perfect proposal, but of course that's not how it turns out.
15) "Wheels of Fortune"--Lilith's brother Blaine turns up on Frasier's doorstep, saying he's no longer involved in get-rich-quick scams, but Frasier's not convinced.
16) "Three Blind Dates"--Everyone decides to set Frasier up with a blind date, but of course none of them work.
17) "War of the Words"--In perhaps the weakest episode, Frasier's son, Frederick, is accused of cheating in the National Spelling Bee.
18) "Deathtrap"--A murder mystery episode has Niles and Frasier trying to find out what's up with the skull that they find while digging for a box they buried under their childhood home.
19) "The Love You Fake"--Martin and Frasier's upstairs neighbor's mother fake a relationship in order to get their feuding sons to make nice.
20) "Cheerful Goodbyes"--A "Cheers" reunion show has Frasier, Niles, Daphne and Martin in Boston for a conference, where they're invited to Cliff Clavin's retirement party.
21) "Frasier Has Spokane"--Frasier shifts his broadcast to Spokane when a radio station picks up his show, but the locals aren't happy he's replacing a local legend.
22) "The Guilt Trippers"--When Daphne gets down because her father won't be there to give her away, Niles goes to England to look for him. So why are Daphne and her mother going to Hawaii? Another weak episode.
23) "Moons Over Seattle"--Niles brings back Daphne's father, and tries to play matchmaker between Daphne's mom and dad.
Video:
As with other seasons, the video is good but not spectacular, presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The colors are bright, and there's only the slightest hint of blurred edges with colors like red or yellow. Generally, there's a good level of detail.
Audio: The audio is a functional English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, with a surprising number of Foley sounds and voices coming from the left and right main speakers instead of everything emanating from the center, as is often the case. That's a bit striking at first, but you get used to it fairly quickly and it adds a nice separation of voices.
Extras: There are no extras, which is surprising, given the 200th episode milestone.
Bottom Line: Season Nine showed that "Frasier" was finally starting to lose a step. Though there were some very good episodes, the shows just weren't as consistently witty and edgy as those in the past.
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[release]21197[/release]