Frasier - Season 3 Part 2 [VHS] [1994]

The second part of Frasier's third series, collected in this box set, contains the episode once voted the all-time fan favourite in a television poll: "Moon Dance". This episode, in which Niles' still-unrequited love for the as-yet-oblivious Daphne is pushed to the verge of an explosive revelation, is well worth owning, but it is by no means the only highlight of the collection. At its peak Frasier is as good as sitcom writing and acting gets, and the third series contained many such pinnacles.

The two best things here are the agonisingly titled "Chess Pains", and the series closer "You Can Never Go Home Again". In the former, the irresistible force of Frasier's ego collides with the immovable object of his father's common sense (Martin Crane, here as ever, gets all the best lines). In the latter, a series of flashbacks recreate Frasier's return to Seattle and the awkward re-establishment of his relationships with his father and brother. These scenes are perfectly judged: funny without being crass, warm without being mawkish and the very essence of this consistently fine comedy.--Andrew Mueller