found an audience (most notably Frasier’s radio
show producer, the plainspoken Roz Doyle, played
by Peri Gilpin, and Eddie, Martin’s imperturbable
Jack Russell terrier), the show centered on the com-
plex character of Frasier Crane, who under Gram-
mer’s subtle development emerged as an intriguing
contradiction: both narcissistic and lonely, torn be-
tween his needful heart and his overactive mind, an
egghead with an appealing neurotic vulnerability.
Frasier Crane became one of the most successful
characters in television history (only James Arness,
Marshal Matt Dillon onGunsmoke, played a charac-
ter as long). The show ran for eleven successful sea-
sons, finishing in the top ten in 1993, 1998, and
- It received an unprecedented thirty-seven
prime-time Emmy Awards, including recognition as
Best Comedy Series for five consecutive years (1994-
1998).
Impact With a richly ironic sense of comedy, a
nuanced approach to character, and intricately com-
plicated plotlines often involving misunderstand-
ings or misperceptions,Frasierbroke new ground by
setting a standard for highly stylized writing even as
network programming moved into an era of un-
scripted reality shows, lowbrow (often slapstick) sit-
coms, and gritty street dramas with barely articulate
characters. In addition, given the juxtaposition of
the two effeminate grown sons with a gruff macho fa-
ther, the show was part of the decade’s dissection of
the definition of masculinity.
Further Reading
Graham, Jefferson.Frasier.New York: Pocket Books,
1996.
Grammer, Kelsey.SoFar.... New York: Signet, 1996.
Marc, David. Comic Visions: Television Comedy and
American Culture. 2d ed. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell,
1997.
Joseph Dewey
See also Comedians;Friends;Iron John;Men Are
from Mars, Women Are from Venus;Murphy Brown; Psy-
chology; Schlessinger, Dr. Laura;Seinfeld;Sex and the
City;Simpsons, The; Television.
Friends
Identification Television comedy series
Producers Kevin Bright (1955- ), David
Crane (1957- ), and Marta Kauffman
(1956- )
Date Aired from September 22, 1994, to May 6,
2004
Using the ensemble cast format,Friendswas a half-hour
sitcom originally focused on the Generation X demo-
graphic. The cast and plotlines, however, appealed to both
younger and older audiences, making the show a “must-
see” event.
Friendswas produced by Kevin Bright, David Crane,
and Marta Kauffman, who had worked together on
the Home Box Office (HBO) showDream On, which
focused on people who have already made their
choices in life and are struggling to figure out how to
live with them.Friendsfocused on people who have
yet to make these choices. The show was in part
based on the experiences of all three executive pro-
ducers, who lived in New York as twentysomethings.
In the planning stage, the show was first called “In-
somnia Café.” The title shifted to “Six of One,” then
“Across the Hall” and “Friends Like Us.” The final ti-
tle, simplyFriends, was decided about the time that
the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) se-
lected the show to run on Thursday nights at 8:30,
preceding the hit seriesSeinfeldand immediately fol-
lowing another hit sitcom,Mad About You. Even with
the advantageous placement, NBC only ordered
twelve episodes, plus the pilot. However, because of
strong writing and an appealing ensemble cast, the
show was a hit and became an integral part of NBC’s
“Must See TV.”
The six actors who made up the cast were basically
unknown when the show was first broadcast in Sep-
tember, 1994. Courteney Cox, playing the compul-
sively neat, overachieving Monica Geller, was the
most well known of the cast members because of her
role as Michael J. Fox’s girlfriend onFamily Ties.
Television audiences first met Lisa Kudrow, playing
the eccentric, guitar-playing free spirit Phoebe
Buffay, onMad About You, where she played the ditzy
waitress Ursula. Jennifer Aniston, as Rachel Green,
was a new face to television audiences and an imme-
diate hit as the spoiled “Jewish American Princess”
looking for love and a job. The men were David
Schwimmer, playing the nerdy yet sensitive paleon-The Nineties in America Friends 351