Here’s John Mahoney’s favorite episode of sitcom Frasier. When Kelsey Grammer’s Dr. Frasier Crane earned his own spinoff following the end of Cheers, the showrunners had to flesh out his story somewhat. In Cheers, it had already been established that his parents were dead and he had no siblings, but that was swiftly reworked when Frasier began. The show saw the good doctor moving to Seattle for a fresh start and a new job as a radio psychiatrist, and he also moved into an apartment with his father Martin, a former police officer.

Since Frasier previously claimed Marty was dead in Cheers, the spinoff revealed Frasier had been lying, as the two were estranged when he made this claim. The sitcom also introduced his younger brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), a fellow psychiatrist who may be even more uptight and neurotic. While many spinoffs fail to gel with viewers, Frasier is arguably even more beloved than Cheers, due to its perfect casting, witty writing and heartfelt drama.

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A major part of Frasier is the title character’s complicated, though loving, relationship with Marty. The two have drastically different tastes and views, but even though this often leads to strain, they both make the effort to bond. The late John Mahoney was the secret weapon of Frasier and added both humor and emotional layers to the show. In 1999 special My Favorite ‘Frasier,‘ John Mahoney’s favorite episode was revealed to be season 1’s “Travels With Martin.”

This episode sees Frasier – who has a different accent from Martin – deciding it would be a good bonding exercise to go on a trip with Marty. Of course, instead of wanting to fly to Europe or some classy resort as Frasier would prefer, Marty decides he wants to drive around in a Winnebago. Niles and Daphne (Jane Leeves) are roped into coming along, and naturally, family tension and issues with crossing the border into Canada only add to their collective stress.

John Mahoney’s favorite Frasier episode is filled with great lines and character moments (though Niles’ creeping on Daphne is a subplot that hasn’t aged well), while also exploring the bond between the family. The border crossing scene is also a classic Frasier (which is currently being rebooted) moment of comic farce. While most sitcoms take a season or two to find their feet, Frasier’s first season already had a solid handle on its characters and formula, with John Mahoney’s favorite episode being a firm example of that. It’s funny, sweet and packed with great character beats.

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Padraig Cotter
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It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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