“I hope you’re hungry because this irony is delicious.”
When I was a kid I sort of hated Frasier. It was one of those shows you’d find in the 6pm slot on terrestrial TV, back when you had to show up for TV episodes on time or miss them forever, and as far as 10-year-old me was concerned, 6pm was Simpsons hour. Who was this strutting Seattle intellectual, with his glass of sherry and his call-in psychiatry show and his passion for silverware?
I couldn’t abide Frasier and developed a pathological aversion to headliner (and surprisingly convincing X-Man) Kelsey Grammer – but that was before The SimpsonsspoofedFrasier and showed me the error of my ways. I still wouldn’t say I’m an outright Frasier fan - or Frasien, as they prefer to be known. Some of the humour iskind of eeesh, in hindsight. But I’ve experienced and enjoyed enough to find Edward La Barbera’sFraiser Fantasypretty funny.
Frasier Fantasy is, as you may guess, a pisstake of Frasier andFinal Fantasythat’s designed to resemble a Game Boy Color game (update: scratch that, itisa Game Boy Color game, which also runs on the retro handheld Analogue Pocket). You canplay it for free in a browser on Itch.io. The game is styled like a Frasier episode with the overall objective of shooing everybody out of Fraiser’s flat so you can enjoy an evening with your new pearl-handled dinner set, including the all-important grape scissors.
Along the way, you’ll have a staring contest with Eddie the dog (“Eddie’s gaze follows like Courbert’s The Desperate Man”), and use Freudian slaps and unkind assessments ofStar Trekto get the better of your radio show’s delusional TA.
It’s very much one reference per line, scene or interaction. I won’t spoil anymore – if you’re big on Frasier, you’ll likely love it. You might also get a giggle out ofthis Cyberpunk mash-up. Twin Peaks fans, meanwhile,should head over this way.
