Frasier

Dr. Frasier Winslow Crane, M.D., Ph.D., A.P.A. is a fictional character on the American television sitcoms Frasier and Cheers. He was played by Kelsey Grammer for 20 years, tying the record for the longest-running character on prime-time American television.

Crane is well-to-do, with upper class and intellectual tastes and a "lovably pompous"[1], fairly uptight demeanor. He is something of an epicure, and enjoys the finer things in life, such as wine, good food, and expensive tailoring. He is very well versed in the realm of literature, frequently alluding to literary legends such as Shakespeare, Edmund Burke, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, O Henry, and Lord Tennyson, among others. He is also an aficionado of the arts, including opera, classical music, theatre, and antiquities, and possesses some esoteric and obscure interests, such as Mongolian throat singing and African artifacts. His large ego, coupled with his Harvard and Oxford education, make him extremely confident in the advice he gives on his radio show (where he comes across as much calmer and more thoughtful than in his personal life). He is also somewhat self-absorbed and narcissistic, a consequence of his lonely childhood. He is extremely pompous and verbose, prone to making grand, melodramatic declarations regarding his intentions and making the most of every opportunity to make a speech. Frequently, his pomposity and snobbery is undercut and belittled by the other characters he encounters, and is often the cause of many of the misfortunes and crises that occur in his life. Although he shares many traits with Niles, he does not have as many allergies, is more realistic and easy going, and appears somewhat more athletic.

Frasier is passionate about psychiatry. A staunch Freudian, he strongly believes that "there are no accidents" and that every action (and dream) carries with it a meaningful and unconscious subtext. This frequently leads him to obsessively overanalyze and fret about minor details regarding his life and relationships, which frequently creates problems in his life. When obsessing so, he is frequently prone to ignore the advice given to him by his family and friends and pursue his own course of action, which more often than not leads to disaster. His habit to overanalyze is so severe, that he once spent an entire episode fretting about a dream with homo-erotic implications, only later realizing that the dream did not possess any significant implications regarding his life; it was merely a consequence of his subconscious attempting to give himself a challenging patient (himself) following a dearth of them on his show.

Whilst rarely heeding the advice given to him by others, Frasier himself is full of advice to impart, and offers the benefit of his counsel to the extent that he frequently meddles in the affairs and relationships of others, much to the chagrin of his family and friends. Although this approach can be beneficial (such as his influence in bringing together his brother Niles and Daphne Moon) and forms the basis of his successful career, his advice and plans can frequently backfire on him, and can frequently lead to complicated, tangled, embarrassing scenarios. For example, in the above situation of bringing Niles and Daphne together, he is targeted by Daphne's fiancé for a lawsuit because of his actions. Frasier's meddling - and the adverse consequences it frequently leads to - is not intended maliciously, however; he is extremely well-meaning and eager to please, and desires nothing more than to be liked and popular. On the whole, he genuinely does desire to help people and is a fundamentally good and kindhearted person. Frasier becomes much more grounded and down to earth as the series progresses and he seems to desire little more than happiness for himself and his friends and family.