An Experimental Frasier Episode Was Inspired By An Underrated '90s Rom-Com

When one thinks of "experimental, groundbreaking television," they're probably not going to jump straight to the sitcom "Frasier," itself a spin-off of the Boston bar-based workplace sitcom "Cheers." They would be wrong, however, as "Frasier" was significantly more subversive than modern audiences give it credit for, with the writers aiming to create an "anti-'Seinfeld.'" The show turned sitcom tropes on their head with every opportunity, eschewing musical cues and establishing shots that have become a part of the sitcom audiovisual language, and, in one particularly adventurous episode, even played with the idea of multiple timelines.

Though it wouldn't go as far as introducing the concept of the multiverse à la the "Community" episode "Remedial Chaos Theory," the season 8 "Frasier" episode "Sliding Frasiers" showed audiences how the smallest of changes could completely change the course of an evening. Mental health specialist and radio host Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) tries to decide whether to wear a suit or a sweater to a speed-dating event, noting that the decision could have a huge impact, and we get to see how his different decisions could play out. There's a sweater timeline and a suit timeline, each with their own implications for his love life, and it's honestly pretty fun. It's also inspired by an underrated 1990s rom-com starring Gwyneth Paltrow called "Sliding Doors."

In the episode, Frasier's night goes completely differently based on whether he wears the sweater or the suit and we see the outcomes of both, much like the conceit at the center of Peter Howitt's 1998 indie romantic comedy "Sliding Doors." In "Sliding Doors," the determining factor is whether or not the freshly-fired Helen (Paltrow) catches her train home or not instead of a fashion decision that changes everything, but it also follows a dual-storyline format. "Sliding Doors" is one of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s and turns rom-com tropes on their head just like "Frasier" subverts those of the sitcom format. It's basically a match made in subversive comedy heaven, and in both cases the unusual narrative framework is held together by pitch-perfect lead performances.

What's interesting about both "Sliding Doors" and "Sliding Frasiers" is that there really aren't any "happy" endings and both put their protagonists through some pretty awful situations no matter which timeline is being followed. The idea that such wildly different lives from small decisions could still end up in a similar place is more than a little nihilistic, but it was the 90s. Since then, a handful of other shows have done their own riffs on "Sliding Doors," from "Doctor Who" to "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," each with their own spin on the split story formula.

In the hilarious fourth season of the Comedy Central sitcom "Broad City," New York City besties Abbi (Abbi Jacobson) and Ilana (Ilana Glazer) have their own version of "Sliding Doors" with the episode named, well, "Sliding Doors." The episode shows when the two met while waiting for the subway and how their lives would have changed depending on how the day had progressed. Like both the film and the "Frasier" episode, it plays around with sitcom stereotypes and is a real blast of a story that helps show essential truths about life, but it's less of a downer because we know Abbi and Ilana go on to be nigh-inseparable.

Other shows to riff on "Sliding Doors" include, once again, "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," in which we see a version of Kimmy's life where she didn't get kidnapped because she didn't want to miss a screening of "Sliding Doors," an episode of "Doctor Who" where companion Donna (Catherine Tate) must decide whether to continue working with the Doctor or not, and even an episode of the incredible "Malcolm in the Middle" where the strengths and failures of each of Malcolm's parents are shown in detail when their boys go bowling and only one of them can take them. It seems like no matter how writers choose to adapt the idea, there are always different and compelling ways to dig into characters and storytelling by simply showing the audience what might have been. "Sliding Doors" rules, and so do all of these wildly varied homages.