Miracle on Third or Fourth Street

I have watched this episode a dozen or so times. I watch it ever Christmas. It is a such a tightly written story in that not a single gag or story beat doesn't do at least like 2 narrative functions. Add in that the sentimentality is not cloying nor wears thin and this is a one finely balanced episode. Grammer is just so charming and likeable in this story of a man relearning the meaning of Christmas. This is one of the few holiday specials I have seen that are built around the Christmas blues; that makes it standout.

The final scene in the diner-especially the line of "Christmas belongs to guys like us"-is one of the few times the show does overt populism-it really lands in 2021.

Frasier is disappointed when his son can't come to stay with him at Christmas. He gets into it with Niles and his father and decides he wants nothing to do with the holiday. So he goes in and works in place of Bulldog. Some rather touching things transpire, but it seems sort of sad and empty instead of uplifting..

This is a fun and festive episode of the show, full of heart and humour.

The final few scenes are just effortlessly funny and wonderfully played.

It is as I said early in the shows run, so we are still at the 'Frasier and Martin have an argument once per episode' stage, but other than that this is great.

A Christmas season hasn't come and gone in many years without me sitting down to enjoy this episode of Frasier. To be honest, I've always been a fan of Christmas episodes of TV shows, even more so than straight-up Christmas films themselves because they come off as more relatable. And I think we can all relate with Frasier in this episode. Sometimes it's hard to be happy during the holidays when it isn't going swimmingly, but all in all, it's important to remember to be thankful for another day. Things could always be worse.

Frasier plans on celebrating Christmas with his son Fredrick. Joyfully looking forward to this, he gets a call from Lilith, saying she's taking Freddy to Europe instead. Frasier then agrees to fill in for Bulldog at the station. He shows up wearing a torn sweater with blue jeans (never explained), and listens to many depressing callers. Nice ending, and definitely a classic episode.