Frasier Continues To Be Awfully Bad At One Thing

Contains spoilers for "Frasier" Season 1, Episode 10 — "Reindeer Games"

Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) is nothing if not a talented fellow. He's a fairly brilliant psychiatrist and charismatic enough to entertain radio listeners and television viewers alike. But everyone's got their faults — even a man as brilliant as Fras. In "Reindeer Games," his love of classical music throws him for a loop when he hires a child-filled chamber orchestra to play at his Christmas party. The kids don't have the expertise that he desires, which drives Frasier to distraction. During the episode's end credit sequence, he can be seen desperately taking matters into his own hands and trying to get the kids to stay on beat by wielding a conductor's baton himself. It doesn't work, and once again, he's left frustrated.

Of course, this isn't the first time Frasier has tried to conduct an orchestra. During Season 7 of "Frasier," in the episode "They're Playing Our Song," the titular psychiatrist is tasked with writing his own jingle for his radio program. Naturally, Frasier takes the entire experience to extremes, insisting on conducting his own orchestra and producing a grandiose tune. It turns into a disaster, of course — but despite that, it wasn't the last time he'd attempt to wield a baton.

Frasier Crane's second attempt to "conduct" an orchestra also took place during the first "Frasier" run. During the opening scene of the Season 11 episode "Boo!" Frasier can be seen vigorously conducting along to classical music playing on his stereo. He's so involved in the emotion of the moment that he doesn't notice his father Martin (John Mahoney) bringing his fiancée Ronee (Wendie Malick) into the apartment — until Martin sneaks up behind his son in the living room and shouts 'Boo!' to dispel his trance.

In real life, Kelsey Grammer has indulged in his character's favorite pastime by gesturing along to classical music at home. "I connected to their music in a way that it moved me and so it became important to me," he told Classic FM in 2016. Grammer also plays piano, just as Frasier does on TV, and at fourteen, he was a member of his school's choir but didn't quite have the right amount of vocal oomph to make it as an opera singer. It definitely all turned out just fine for the sitcom star, though, as his own vocal stylings have become inimitable, both with "The Simpsons," where he's sung multiple numbers as Sideshow Bob, and in lending his skills to the iconic "Frasier" theme song, "Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs."