Frasier: The Complete Sixth Season

Season six gets off to a rib-tickling start when Frasier is fired by KACL after failing to conform to the new format. While looking for another job he journeys through the five stages of grief. Kelsey Grammer pulls this off with panache, setting the tone for what will be another superb year for this perennial favorite. In “Frasier's Curse” he realizes that it's once again time for one of his high-school reunions, which seem to pop up whenever he is at low ebb, personally and/or professionally. “Dial ‘M' for Martin” shifts the focus to Frasier's dad Martin (John Mahoney), brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), and housekeeper Daphne (Jane Leeves), when Frasier's whining about being jobless gets on Martin's nerves and he and Daphne temporarily move in with Niles (here, Daphne speculates that she'll have to look for work since Martin's health is improving, and Martin begins to fear that the hopelessly smitten Niles will try to injure him somehow in an attempt to keep her within the family). Grammer's Cheers co-star Woody Harrelson reprises his character in an episode that finds him visiting Frasier for a week and driving his old friend crazy, while “When a Man Loves a Woman” has Frasier juggling two gorgeous women (guest stars Amy Brenneman and Virginia Madsen). As the season draws to a close, Frasier and Roz (Peri Gilpin) are back at KACL and Niles is still pining for Daphne, whose relationship with boyfriend Donny (Saul Rubinek) seems to be heating up. Few sitcoms in television history consistently maintained as high a level of quality as Frasier, and the 23 episodes from the 1998-99 season collected here offer positive proof of that. Highly recommended. (E. Hulse)