Admittedly the final years of Frasier weren't overall as stellar as its first seasons, but "Frasier: The Doctor is Out" in season 11 is an example of the brilliant writing the show was still capable of. Patrick Stewart is hilarious as a gay, egomaniacal opera director who assumes Frasier is gay after he is outed by a fan on the radio. Frasier, on the trail of Roz's new boyfriend, walks into "Bad Billy's" bar wearing shorts too small for him because his own shorts split while he was playing squash. The bartender is someone he knows - "I guess you're surprised to see me in here," Frasier says, which is followed by a moment of silence before the bartender says, "Okay." Frasier then finds himself one-half of one of Seattle's "power couples" in a side - or should I say shorts - splitting episode. Borrowing from "Some Like It Hot," this is one not to be missed.
8 Reviews
Best episode ever!
ltieri7 June 2012
So much happens in this episode it so hard to believe that it is only one episode. Patrick Stewart plays the role of Alastair to delightful perfection.
I have watched it over and over and laugh just as hard each time. It is far and away my favorite episode, of any show ever aired! The writing is excellent, the timing is flawless, the laughs are non-stop from beginning to end.
It's hard to pick a favorite line, because there are too many candidates, but if push came to shove I'd have to say my personal favorite has to be when Gill says "I see Kitty has claws!" I will say this line to my husband every now and then, and it cracks him up completely each time!
I have watched it over and over and laugh just as hard each time. It is far and away my favorite episode, of any show ever aired! The writing is excellent, the timing is flawless, the laughs are non-stop from beginning to end.
It's hard to pick a favorite line, because there are too many candidates, but if push came to shove I'd have to say my personal favorite has to be when Gill says "I see Kitty has claws!" I will say this line to my husband every now and then, and it cracks him up completely each time!
The gayest Frasier episode...by far!
planktonrules6 June 2018
This episode of "Frasier" is one of the funniest of the series--which says a lot considering that the show was on many years and had many wonderful episodes. The story begins with Roz dating yet another man. But when Frasier meets him, he assumes the guy is gay...which seems pretty funny considering how stereotypically gay many of Frasier's actions are on the show. When he later sees this boyfriend and thinks he's gone into a gay bar, Frasier follows....and soon folks about Seattle think Frasier is gay and that's why he went into the establishment. One of the folks who now assumes Frasier is gay is Alistair Burke (Patrick Stewart) and instead of correcting Alistair's assumption, Frasier pretends to be gay. Why? Because Alistair is well connected in society and with the opera...and Frasier leads on the poor guy in order to advance himself with Alistair's friends!
The writing was extremely clever in this one. However, if worked especially well because Patrick Stewart's acting was exceptional and it was nice to see how well he could do comedy. Well worth seeing and quite interesting to see Frasier being a wicked tease!
The writing was extremely clever in this one. However, if worked especially well because Patrick Stewart's acting was exceptional and it was nice to see how well he could do comedy. Well worth seeing and quite interesting to see Frasier being a wicked tease!
This may be one of sitcom's best half-hour, of any show, EVER
steve-938613 April 2021
"The Doctor is Out" is perhaps the best Frasier episode of the entire series, and one of the funniest half-hours in television sitcom history. I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say that every joke is absolutely hysterical. The casting of Patrick Stewart is spot on, and the writing is IMPECCABLE.
This is a must-see episode. If you have to pick one Frasier episode to watch out of all of them, this would be it.
BRAVO!!!
This is a must-see episode. If you have to pick one Frasier episode to watch out of all of them, this would be it.
BRAVO!!!
Perfect 30 minutes of comedy
paul-hannam17 September 2021
I was bought up on Monty Python and Fawlty Towers which were my favourite comedies until Frasier
This is the funniest episode and a perfect 30 minutes of superb acting, humour and plot. There is so much brilliance in this half hour that no review can do it justice
Simply the finest comedy episode ever.
This is the funniest episode and a perfect 30 minutes of superb acting, humour and plot. There is so much brilliance in this half hour that no review can do it justice
Simply the finest comedy episode ever.
One of the bests
coflaky24 July 2022
Frasier, almost always is above a certain line. Which means you can always have a couple of hard laughs in %99 of the episodes. But for me, 4 of them are marvelous.. I could just say that you mustn't watch them drinking something fizzy since it'll come out of your nose definitely.
These 4 episodes are The Matchmaker (2.03), The Candidate (2.07), Daphne's Room (2.17) and this episode, The Doctor is Out.
It's probably a twist of fate that while everyone believes Niles steals most of the episodes he's in, these 4 episodes are mainly Frasier Crane episodes and show us how funny he can be. The moment he cried "There it is!" nobody could hold a laughter back. Personally, I don't remember laughing this much on any show and I've watched tons of comedy shows.
I think you can't take a bath at the same river twice and nothing could be experienced twice. This is the golden age of TV comedy. Never to repeat or return... just enjoy it if have the opportunity.
These 4 episodes are The Matchmaker (2.03), The Candidate (2.07), Daphne's Room (2.17) and this episode, The Doctor is Out.
It's probably a twist of fate that while everyone believes Niles steals most of the episodes he's in, these 4 episodes are mainly Frasier Crane episodes and show us how funny he can be. The moment he cried "There it is!" nobody could hold a laughter back. Personally, I don't remember laughing this much on any show and I've watched tons of comedy shows.
I think you can't take a bath at the same river twice and nothing could be experienced twice. This is the golden age of TV comedy. Never to repeat or return... just enjoy it if have the opportunity.
The Doctor Is Out
studioAT1 February 2023
'Frasier' had nobody on their writing staff from Series eight to ten who could produce episodes as good as this.
Joe Keenan returns with a knockout episode, that reminds us how good 'Frasier' could still be, even in its final year.
There had been some good episodes in the period mentioned above, but this one was consistently laugh-out-loud funny throughout, with so many memorable lines and moments along the way. The humour was a bit more edgy too.
Overall, this is a glorious episode of 'Frasier', and I can see why others have ranked it up there with the best from across the eleven year run in general.
Joe Keenan returns with a knockout episode, that reminds us how good 'Frasier' could still be, even in its final year.
There had been some good episodes in the period mentioned above, but this one was consistently laugh-out-loud funny throughout, with so many memorable lines and moments along the way. The humour was a bit more edgy too.
Overall, this is a glorious episode of 'Frasier', and I can see why others have ranked it up there with the best from across the eleven year run in general.
It Certainly Could Be!
Hitchcoc5 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The great Patrick Stewart plays a gay opera director. Frasier is attracted to his celebrity and his kindness. For several reasons, it is assumed that Dr. Crane is also gay. He hesitates telling the truth because of some amazing opportunities to go places and meet some of his heroes. This is a seamless episode with some startlingly funny scenes. The best are when Frasier goes into a gay bar, wearing shorts three sizes too small, as he looks for a man who is dating Roz. What happens in there shows the talent of the writing team.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
