"Fraiser" is a spin-off show from the popular comedy series Cheers. Set in Seattle, WA, the show revolves around the lives of five zany characters. Dr. Fraiser Crane, an eloquently pompous psychiatrist who hosts his own radio show, his outspoken radio producer Roz (Peri Gilpin), his competitive, stuck-up brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), their low-key father Martin (John Mahoney) and his quirky live-in nurse Daphne (Jane Leeves). The reaccuring plots of the show include a love plot between Niles and Daphne, where Niles is secretly in love with her. The sibling rivalry between the two arrogant brothers extends itself to every episode. The cast often has guest stars or infrequent cast members starring in an episode.

How does an audience create ‘meaning’ based on the multitude of sounds
and images seen on television? Is there a connection between these signs
and the intended messages delivered via the television? Do television
audiences develop other ‘meanings’? These are the questions Stefan
Hermann asks in “Do we learn to ’read’ television like a kind of
language?’, where he claims that television viewing is not a “passive”
activity. Contrary to common belief, Hermann believes that television audiences
do more than “stare without thinking ... leaving no space for
interpretation.” Instead, Hermann argues that audiences “have all grown
up learning to interpret the conventions of television in order to put a
meaning to the images shown...and regard the process of reading
television as ‘natural’.” *
According to Grossberg in The Interpretation of Meaning, there are
several methods useful for assessing how an audience interprets a text*.
'Interpretation,' as Grossberg notes, is our interest in "how people
arrive at an understanding and add meaning to a text." *
It is also appropriate to note that a ’text’ in this context
includes films, books, music, as well as other forms of media. However,
for the purposes of this project, the term ’text’ will be used to direct
our focus on one specific medium, NBC’s television sitcom Frasier.
The goal of this project is to investigate how audiences interpret and
create meaning for television shows. Based primarily on the work of
Grossberg, we will examine the television program Frasier in terms of
Content Analysis, Semiotics, and Genre Theory. In addition, by applying
various methods of inquiry, we will conduct an Audience Analysis of the
shows viewers.

George V Gadwah.
York University, Toronto.