For its second season, Frasier still hasn't quite developed a plot yet, but it did solidify the farcical structure that the series would become known for.
Season 2 of Frasier is pretty much more of the same for the show. Not only is there no overarching storyline once again, it might even be worse than the first season, which at least had the character development of Frasier and Martin adjusting to living with each other. Frasier's second season, on the other hand, is as episodic as episodic gets. Pretty much every episode is its own individual story, which means that the general level of quality can fluctuate. Thankfully, none of Season 2's episodes are worse than the worst that Season 1 had to offer (Fortysomething), and its high points are even higher. Aside from the general improvements in dialogue and writing, what makes Season 2 a marked improvement on the first is the fact that Frasier had finally figured out how to work out its structure.
Starting this season, most of Frasier's episodes are farcical, meaning that they start with a simple misunderstanding or premise that slowly spirals out of control and builds to a bombastic and usually hilarious finale. These farce episodes usually the funniest in the series, and the best of the bunch feel like intricately-crafted Rube Goldberg machines where every line and set-up ends up being paid off near the end of the episode. Despite this new emphasis on farce, the characters never feel like they're being used as plot devices, most of the comedy during these episodes feels genuine because the show lets the characters just bounce off each other as they are. As for the moment to moment jokes, Frasier is well-known for its intelligent and highbrow humor that can sometimes take a bit of time to get, lots of wordplay and tricky references. I've always liked that this show settled for witty wordplay rather than mean-spirited snark, simplistic meta humor, or raunch, there's definitely a part of me thinks Frasier is why I like puns so much.
At its best, Frasier's second season has some of the most iconic episodes of the series:
The Matchmaker: The first two episodes of Season 2 were pretty bland, so imagine my shock when Episode 3 was the best one yet, by a longshot! The Matchmaker is probably the first true farcical episode of the series, mostly being about Frasier being mistaken by his station manager. What makes this one so great is how oblivious Frasier is. Throughout the episode, he makes all of these subtle statements that can be interpreted in completely the wrong way, it's a perfect showcase of just how witty Frasier's comedy can be.
Adventures In Paradise: While I'm not sure it needed to be a two-parter, this episode signals Lilith's return, and a great one at that. I like that the development between the two has continued from the last Lilith appearance, with this episode's storyline being about Lilith accidentally ruining one of Frasier's dates. The ending is excellent too, with Frasier forced to accept Lilith's getting married before him, and a surprise cameo from Diane from Cheers (in a dream sequence, though).
Roz In The Doghouse: I've always loved the side characters who work at KACL, so it's nice to get an episode that focuses on one of them. This episode has a fun concept of Roz leaving to be Bulldog's producer, and I enjoyed the sequence where Frasier shuffles through a bunch of bad producers. But the best scene is easily the mini farce near the end where Bulldog misinterprets Roz and thinks she wants to sleep with him.
An Affair To Forget: Niles has always been my favorite character in Frasier and this has always been one of his best episodes. It takes a fairly rote concept of Niles thinking his wife Maris is cheating on him and turning it into a hilarious mess of a final act with sword fights, mistranslated languages, and a wrecked chandelier. It's easily one of the funniest sequences in any Frasier episode ever.
The Innkeepers: Once you get past the initial surprise that Frasier and Niles actually bought a restaurant, you get another one of the show's funniest farces where their plan slowly and painfully spirals out of control. There are a ton of funny moments here like Frasier shoving Bulldog to the corner of the restaurant, Daphne killing an eel, and of course, that chaotic ending where absolutely everything goes wrong. An absolute classic.
Overall, while Season 2 of Frasier is still painfully episodic compared to the show's later seasons, it solidified the show's main structure and produced some of Frasier's most iconic episodes.
3/5 Stars
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