David Lee

In the concluding half of Frasier's one-hour series finale, chaos piles upon chaos as Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) prepares to leave Seattle for a new job in San Francisco, Daphne (Jane Leeves) goes into labor, Niles (David Hyde Pierce) rides herd over Daphne's rambunctious brothers, and Martin (John Mahoney) and Ronee (Wendie Malick) are forced to hold their wedding two months earlier than planned. Meanwhile, Roz (Peri Gilpin) gets an unexpected promotion, and Frasier's latest love, Charlotte, is determined to go to Chicago, even if it means the permanent breakup of their relationship. But there's a surprise in store at the very, very end of the story that has been related in flashback during Frasier's plane trip. Originally telecast as a one-hour episode, "Goodnight, Seattle" has been divided into two half-hours for syndiation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Those old pop-culture insinuations about the Crane boys' "closeted" sexual preferences are given quite a workout in this episode. In their efforts to find out if Roz's (Peri Gilpin) new boyfriend, Barry (David Muller), is homosexual, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) unwittingly cast suspicion upon themselves. The plot thickens when Frasier develops a warm friendship with Alistair Burke (Star Trek: The Next Generation's Patrick Stewart), the effusively generous -- and indisputably gay -- conductor of the Seattle Opera Guild. This episode won an Emmy award for best sound mixing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although it was common knowledge in the industry that the eleventh season of Frasier would be its last, NBC did not make a formal declaration of the series' cancellation until late December of 2003. The decision had largely been made by star Kelsey Grammer, who had been playing the role of psychiatrist Frasier Crane for nearly 20 years (counting the character's previous tenure on Cheers) and felt it was time to move on. Truth to tell, the series had been declining in viewereship and quality over the past few seasons, but season eleven made up for its recent shortcomings with some of the best Frasier episodes ever.

The first installment picked up where season 12 left off, with Frasier's former producer Roz (Peri Gilpin) returning to radio station KACL, ostensibly because she didn't like her new job but actually because she hoped that Frasier would dump his latest amour, the beautiful but tactless Julia Wilcox (Felicity Huffman). This he did, only to enter into another bumpy relationship with Charlotte (Laura Linney), the owner of a failing matchmaking service. Whether Frasier and Charlotte would remain together or whether she would cut things off and return to Chicago was a major source of comic suspense throughout the season. Elsewhere on the romantic front Frasier's recently married brother, Niles (David Hyde Pierce), was anxious to start a family with his cheerful cockney bride Daphne (Jane Leeves), who was still employed as part-time caregiver for Frasier and Niles' ex-policeman dad, Martin (John Mahoney). Inevitably Daphne became pregnant, a plot development cooked up to accommodate the real-life pregnancy of actress Jane Leeves. This being a sitcom, the nine-month gestation was fraught with anxiety, not least of which involved Niles' former wife Maris, who though still an unseen presence managed to raise a ruckus by killing her hot-blooded lover Esteban. In fact, ex-wives dictated several Frasier scenarios during Season Eleven, with Frasier having memorable confrontations with both his first wife, children's entertainer Nanny G (here played by Laurie Metcalf), and his second spouse, domineering psychiatrist Lilith Sternin (who else but Bebe Neuwirth?). Also appearing was the issue of the Frasier- Lilith marriage, their son Frederick, played this time around by Trevor Einhorn. The most surprising amorous development during this season, sixtysomething Martin Crane fell in love with sexy lounge singer Ronee Lawrence (Wendie Malick), who as a teenager had been Frasier and Niles' babysitter! Ultimately, Martin proposed to the much-younger Ronee, setting a wedding date for July -- which thanks to a last-minute snafu had to be bumped up to May, coincidentally just in time for the birth of Daphne's baby. Frasier's final episode, the 60-minute "Goodnight, Seattle," may well enter the annals of TV history as the series finale to end all series finales. It took some doing, but this episode managed to incorporate virtually every "Last Show" cliché known to man, setting each one of them on its ear with a clever and unexpected twist: The chaotic wedding where everything that could go wrong does go wrong, the heroine going into labor at the wrong time in the wrong place, the leading man facing a profound change of job and location, and a "will they or won't they?" romantic entanglement -- all wrapped into a neat and hilarious package and topped off with a surprise ending. Just as in its glory days, Frasier bade farewell to its fans by garnering a whole new crop of Emmy awards, including honors for series regulars Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce and guest star Laura Linney, as well as statuettes for Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series, Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing, and Outstanding Multi-Camera Sound Mixing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bill Gates guest stars on this, the 200th episode of Frasier. It so happens that this landmark event occurs on the same day as the 2000th radio broadcast of Frasier's radio call-in show. Having accumulated all but one of his broadcast tapes, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) must now negotiate with the overly obsessive fan (Adam Arkin) who owns the only surviving copy of the missing show. This episode orginally ran 35 minutes and was shown in tandem with a special comprised of clips from previous Frasier seasons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bored with the inactivity of his retirement, Martin (John Mahoney) takes a job as a security guard. As he prepares for his first night at work in years, Martin flashes back to his final days on the police force (with a few familiar faces dotting the landscape). Meanwhile, Martin's absence in the Crane apartment sparks an argument between Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Daphne (Jane Leeves) as to who will assume the care and maintenance of Eddie the dog. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The managers of KACL don't know what they've gotten themselves into when they ask Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) to write a theme song for his radio advice show. Instead of the few catchy couplets expected of him, Frasier elects to compose a veritable symphony. Adding to the cacophony is Frasier's brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), who insists that the theme song wouldn't be complete without a dramatic monologue, and his father Martin (John Mahoney), whose musical tastes are less than esoteric. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Future CSI co-star Marg Helgenberger makes a guest appearance in this Valentine's Day episode, in which Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) finally wears down his dad Martin's resistance and gets the older man to accompany him to the opera. Actually, this invitation is but a smokescreen, so that Frasier can "accidentally" run into his newest dream girl Emily (Marg Helgenberger). Uncomfortable to begin with, Martin is aghast when Emily's mother (Mary Louise Wilson) expresses an interest in him. To keep mom at arm's length, Martin drops a few hints suggesting that he is gay -- with catastrophic results for Martin's other son Niles (David Hyde Pierce). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Amy Brenneman and Virginia Madsen make return appearances as Fraiser's newest lady friends, Faye Moskowitz and Cassandra Stone. Romantically involved with both women, Frasier not only has difficulty choosing between them but also juggling his "date time." The more deeply committed our hero becomes to both Faye and Cassandra, the more ridiculous he and the whole situation becomes -- and the more impossible it seems that a solution will ever be reached. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

No manner the time or place, the sibling rivalry between Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) is never far from the surface. Cast in point: An impending dinner party, for which both Frasier and Niles have definite plans -- and radical differences. As the minutes tick down to the soiree (the episode takes place in "real time"), a misdelivered message on the telephone answering machine casts the brothers' relationship in a whole new light. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Can it have been only two years since Niles (David Hyde Pierce) found his "dream home" at the fashionable Montana Apartments? And now, Niles is facing eviction; it seems he has subleted his apartment to a therapist whose tap-dancing has kept his neighbors up all night. Niles must convince the snooty, sensitive coop board that he is not a menace and to allow him back into the Montana. A few of the characters introduced in the fourth-season Frasier episode "To Kill a Talking Bird" are in attendance here -- though one of them doesn't survive the night! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After months of dating the acerbic and outspoken Sherry Dempsey (Marsha Mason), Martin (John Mahoney) decides it is time to pop the question. This does not rest well with Martin's sons, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce), who have never warmed up to Sherry -- and are even less enamored of her once they learn some shocking facts about her past. Without giving away the ending of this episode, suffice to say that the cast of Frasier will soon be "lighter" by one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bebe Neuwirth makes another guest appearance as Dr. Lilith Sternin, the overbearing ex-wife of radio shrink Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer). This time out, Lilith has arrived in Seattle minus her new husband -- not to mention most of her sanity. Crushed because her latest hubby has left her for someone "more feminine," Lilith turns to Frasier for comfort. Admitting that he finds "her vulnerability highly desirable," Frasier seriously considers casting common sense to the winds and sleeping with his redoubtable ex (who has brought along some unbearably sexy lingerie in hopes that just such a rendezvous takes place!) Hoping to talk Frasier out of this rash act is Niles (David Hyde Pierce) -- who turns out to be even less resistant to Lilith's charms than his brother. This episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) would give anything to see the hottest play in town, but tickets are nowhere to be had, not for any price. Undaunted, the Crane brothers launch all manner of schemes both above-board and underhanded to gain entrance to the big show. What happens next should surprise no one who has followed Frasier, though it certainly comes as a shock to the characters. Fritz Weaver guest stars as celebrated stage actor Sir Trevor Aimsley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide