Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Frasier reboot pilot.
Summary
- Frasier’s reaction to Martin’s death in the Frasier reboot can be explained by a previous episode where Martin plans his own funeral, allowing his sons to prepare for his inevitable death.
- The primary focus of the original Frasier series was always Frasier’s relationship with his father, despite the radio show being a significant aspect. Their bond gradually improved over the years, leading to a well-adjusted response to Martin’s death in the reboot.
- Some details about Martin’s funeral in the reboot are revealed, including the inclusion of full memorial rites by the Seattle PD and Daphne delivering a speech. It’s likely that Martin’s wishes for roast beef and bagpipes were also fulfilled.
An original Frasier episode from 24 years ago explains Frasier’s reaction to Martin’s death in the reboot. Kelsey Grammer’s return on the small screen is on the heels of a Crane family tragedy. As revealed in the Frasier reboot pilot, “The Good Father,” John Mahoney’s Martin has already passed away. Attending his father’s funeral was the reason why Frasier had to fly back to Seattle from Chicago, where he had been living for the past two decades. While Frasier’s relationship with his dad was complicated for the most part of his life, they were able to fix their dynamic in the 11 years that he was in Seattle.
Unlike Cheers, Frasier was pitched as a family comedy. Granted that Frasier’s radio show at KACL was a big part of his Seattle arc, the primary focus of the series was always his relationship with his father. It was no secret that Frasier had a difficult relationship with Martin; the fact that he claimed that he was dead in Cheers was a big indication of this. This was the jumping point of their dynamic in Seattle, but over the years, and through spending more time with each other, they were able to gradually mend their bond. So it’s surprising that he doesn’t appear to be bothered by Martin’s death.
Martin Started Planning His Funeral In Frasier Season 7
The Frasier reboot draws parallels between Frasier’s relationship with Freddy and the one he had with Martin. It’s too early to tell how the new show will tackle Frasier and Freddy’s dynamic moving forward, however, they are given something to bond over in the pilot as they talk about Martin’s recent demise. Frasier seems to be already well-adjusted to his father’s death, which is intriguing. While he isn’t devoid of any kind of emotion, as someone who wears his heart on his sleeves, his reaction seems lacking. Frasier’s response to Martin’s death in the reboot can be explained by an outing from the Seattle-based series from 24 years ago.
In Frasier season 7, episode 5, “The Dog That Rocks The Cradle,” which was released in 1999. While the outing’s primary narrative tackled Bulldog’s return to Roz’s life, its B-plot followed Martin’s complaints about how horrible his friend’s funeral was. This resulted in Frasier and Niles suggesting that he planned his own funeral, not because they were expecting it to happen anytime soon, but because it was the smart thing to do. Considering how different Martin was from his kids, this made sense, as it would mean that he would have everything that he wanted for his funeral, his sons would just have to finish it.
Despite his skepticism, Martin eventually relented. Unbeknownst to his sons, he checked possible arrangements and even bought a burial plot for himself and for his boys. This helped Frasier (and Niles) to come to terms with the inevitable death of their father. In any case, as psychiatrists, Frasier and Niles were trained to confront difficult conversations and concepts. They had been openly talking about death years before Frasier season 7, with the brothers even asking Martin to make a video for the family archives. However, had Martin not been more proactive about planning for his death, then his sons still wouldn’t have been able to prepare themselves for the eventuality.
Everything We Know About Martin’s Funeral
By the time the Frasier reboot starts, Martin’s funeral has already happened. It’s unlikely that the new series will actually show what the ceremony was like. Because of David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves’ decision to not join the revival, Paramount+ had to find a way to do it without him, hence Frasier’s move to Boston. However, the Frasier reboot reveals several details about how Martin’s final service panned out. For starters, the flag that Freddy gets from his father means that Martin was given full memorial rites by the Seattle PD. Secondly, Daphne delivered the speech at the service.
Assuming that the Crane brothers followed their father’s wishes from the original Frasier show to a T, it’s also safe to assume that Martin got his wish about having roast beef in his memorial, which was something that he mentioned while he, his sons, and Daphne were on their way to check out the burial plot that he bought. Unless he eventually changed his mind about the matter, Martin’s funeral would have also had bagpipes playing. He got some pushback about it from Daphne, but he insisted on having them.