OUTSIDE LINKS   MM's Frasier Page FRASIER One of the great things about living in Hollywood is being able to go to a taping of one of my favorite shows whenever I like. I had a desire to see "Frasier" one day in January so I called Paramount Studios to reserve my name on a list of guests. Athough this does not guarantee entrance, it certainly beats the odds of those who hold general admission tickets. But ahead of me in priority were VIP guests: friends of the cast, crew, producers, and all other Paramount employees. A studio seats about 200 in 6 rows of bleachers, so every seat puts audience members relatively close to the set. On this Tuesday afternoon, pages began admitting the first group around 5 P.M. Once all the VIPs found seats, the pages led the first 30 people from my line onto the lot and into the huge studio. All the seats filled up and those few people remaining in line were turned away. While we waited a rock band played in a loft to our left. Then a warm-up announcer/stand-up comic came into the bleachers and talked with us for 20 more minutes to liven us up. Just before showtime, Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) came into the audience and welcomed us to the taping and thanked us for coming, saying that without us there'd be no show. He ran down to the set and in a few minutes the director yelled "Action." Film cameras started to roll and the show began, much like a Broadway play with a sprawling set across some 150 feet of stage and hundreds of powerful lights beaming down overhead. The Episode Unfolds Frasier's wife, Lilith, finds herself in Seattle in Frasier's arms after her husband leaves her for someone more feminine: another man. She's vulnerable and dressing very sexily. Frasier "wants" her badly. But Niles, Frasier's brother, who is in divorce proceedings, also finds Lilith attractive. Before you know it, we find Niles and Lilith in bed together. YIKES! Then there's a knock at the door. It's Frasier! Niles runs to hide in the bathroom. Frasier enters and tells her how much he "wants" her. There's a loud clang off-screen. Frasier dashes to the bathroom, and finds his brother in a bathrobe. He flips out and dashes out of the hotel room. In a moment Frasier returns to confront the two of them. Witty banter ensues as they figure out how it happened and where it leaves them now. As the show nears an end Lilith goes to the bathroom and Niles and Frasier sit at the end of the bed confused. Then Niles proclaims, "Odd family we are." The audience breaks out laughing and the announcer informs us that that is the last scene. As with a play, the actors run out on stage in a curtain call one at a time as the announcer yells out their names. They all stand before us and take a joint bow. They wave, then every one of them hugs every other cast member, in what appears to be a very happy "family." This was a hilarious episode, which you can catch on Tuesday, March 3, 1998 on NBC. Must see TV. Behind the Scenes The taping took 3 hours. Every scene was filmed twice before the crew moved on to the next scene and set. There were occasional delays for clothing changes, and occasional rewrites if the audience didn't react as the writers had expected. Kelsey Grammer's mother and 28-year-old, blonde, Playboy model wife sat in the audience, center stage, front row. Grammer twice came to the bleachers and leaned in to kiss his wife as she knelt to her feet. The dog Eddie performed many impressive tricks during one long delay. His trainer, a petite French woman, said the dog lives with her, as does the dog's 2-year-old son, who'll eventually replace the current Eddie, now 8 years old. The trainer stands just off camera when Eddie performs and is constantly giving him hand signals to tell him what to do. Although the shooting stopped frequently for the actors' fluffed lines, they never had to back up for Eddie. He performed perfectly. The overhead lights came on, the band resumed playing, and everyone rose to leave. I'll never watch "Frasier" in the same way again. Attending the taping brought the characters to life and made them seem real. It was quite enjoyable, but unlike a New York play which can run from $50-100, this L.A. equivalent didn't cost anyone a cent. One of the few pleasures left in life that doesn't drain your wallet dry.

--Steve Rice