For many fans Frasier’s eighth season is considered it’s worst (for me these last few seasons are pretty much a tie) with many citing the pairing of Niles and Daphne as the core reason. Personally I don’t see any reason why the relationship couldn’t have worked for the show, but the way in watch it was handled left a lot to be desired. Things were not helped by Jane Leeves real life pregnancy, which greatly reduced her screen time and lead to the awful ‘fat Daphne’ storyline, but the whole entanglement with their ex-partners (Mel and Donny) is just plain irritating. The rest of the characters don’t fare a whole lot better with far too many gimmicky episodes that sacrificed character in an attempt to get laughs. There are still a few bright sparks, the episode where the brothers attend a car repair course being a particular highlight, but overall this is a sharp decline from the shows previous high standards.