Frasier: Season 02 (1994)

Frasier marked the beginning of its second season on NBC by moving from Thursday evenings to Tuesdays, remaining in this slot for the next four years. The cast from the previous season was by now pretty well set, with only one significant addition to the roster for season two: Eric Lutes as Tom Duran, the new manager of Seattle radio station KACL, where Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) held sway as a phone-in advice show host. Otherwise, the plotlines were the mixture as before, including the erudite Frasier's shaky but affectionate relationship with his down-to-earth dad, Martin (John Mahoney), the nervous efforts by Frasier's brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) to remain in close proximity with Martin's attractive caregiver Daphne (Jane Leeves) without revealing his obsession with the girl--and without destroying his marriage to the fabulously wealthy (and still unseen) Maris. Acknowledging the excellent response to the Season One episode "The Show Where Lilith Comes Back", Kelsey Grammer's former Cheers co-star Bebe Neuwirth made a return appearance as Frasier's insufferable ex-wife, Dr. Lilith Sternin in the second-season entry "Adventures in Paradise". This two-parter concluded with the biggest surprise of the season (one that was successfully concealed from TV reviewers and industry pundits alike until the very last moment), in which Frasier's former fiancée Diane Chambers (Shelley Long, another one-time Cheers regular) popped up unannounced, much to our hero's horror. In this same "old home week" spirit, still another Cheers star, Ted Danson, guest starred in his familiar role of Sam Malone in "The Show Where Sam Shows Up." As before, a number of high-profile celebrities "appeared" on Frasier, providing the voices of Frasier's call-in listeners. This time the guest roster was an eclectic one indeed, including Tom Cruise, Art Garfunkel, Sandra Dee, Gary Sinise, Jodie Foster, and, most significantly, John Lithgow, the actor who had originally been considered for the role of Frasier Crane back in the Cheers days. Frasier added several more Emmy awards to its trophy room during season two, with stauettes going to regulars Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce, director David Lee, writers Chuck Ranberg and Anne Flett-Giordano, and the series itself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi