Very rarely is a television spinoff a good thing. Remember the failure that was Joey, the spinoff to the irreplaceable Friends? Or That 80s Show, the flop that followed That 70s Show, lasting only 3 months on air? Suffice to say that some of us would rather forget some spinoffs. However, Frasier, the spinoff to Cheers, is not one of them. When it comes to the success of Frasier (1993-2004), the proof is in the pudding; the 11-season-long series won a total of 37 Primetime Emmys, breaking the record long held by The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Frasier held this record until Game of Thrones surpassed it in 2016. It is widely regarded as one of the best sitcoms of all time.
It’s not just the accolades that make Frasier so great as both a spinoff and as a standalone show; it was the addition of the character Roz Doyle, who in my opinion, is a feminist icon. Roz (Peri Gilpin) is a radio producer who works on the show of Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), a call-in psychological advice show on the radio station KACL, in Seattle, USA. The epitome of the 90s career woman, Roz is independent, confident, sexually free, and down to earth. Throughout the series, she fluctuates between wanting passionate, no-strings-attached sex with numerous men, and being a hopeless romantic, hoping that every man she dates a few times may be ‘the one.’ From her single days to when she’s in a relationship, Roz doesn’t needs a man to define or complete her. She never puts too much importance on settling down or marrying.
Halfway through the series, Roz falls pregnant by accident, but not an irresponsible one; she takes pride in how safe and responsible she is with birth control. I still wonder whether the writers’ intention of this pregnancy sub-plot was to attempt to ‘settle down’ the character, or to further prove her independence and capability. Either way, Roz handled it like the boss ass bitch she is. When Roz realises she’s pregnant, she chooses to be a single mother; the father of the baby, a 20-year-old (over 10 years younger than Roz), proposes to her, but she declines, saying it is the best choice for both of them. Fortunately for Ms. Doyle, becoming a mother only temporarily dampens her love life, but not for good.
Throughout the entire series, Roz and her healthy sexual appetite are the butts of many jokes, and she is constantly slut-shamed by her boss and friend Frasier, Frasier’s brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), and her radio co-worker, the macho sportscaster Bob ‘Bulldog’ Briscoe (Dan Butler), who also comes on to her/sexually harasses at every possible opportunity. What I love about Roz is that she never lets the haters get her down, she doesn’t give into their pressure and change her behaviour; whenever she is slut shamed by men and women alike, or sexually harassed by a misogynistic co-worker, she gives them all a piece of her mind.
It should come as no surprise that Roz takes no shit when it comes to her professional life either. When she and her fellow behind-the-scenes co-workers lose their promised Christmas bonus, but this ‘budget adjustment’ doesn’t affect the higher paid on-air talent, she organises a strike. She’s a professional who always aims for better and higher; throughout the series she auditions to have her own radio show about sex, love, and dating, and at one point in the show, when Frasier is not appreciating her work, and is being condescending about her job, she doesn’t put up with it, and temporarily produces another show at the same station instead.
In a Halloween episode Roz is invited to a party at Frasier’s house, and the theme is to dress as your hero. Roz dresses as Wonder Woman, and the rest of the party laugh off her choice, assuming she misunderstood the theme and simply came dressed as a superhero. Instead of lying or taking the path of least resistance, Roz bravely admits that there was no misunderstanding; Wonder Woman really is her hero. She may be a fictional character, but that shouldn’t disqualify her as a role model; strong, moral, selfless, and capable of kicking any bad guy’s ass.
There’s a moment in the last season that has long irked me; Frasier’s Dad, Martin (John Mahoney) refers to Roz as Frasier’s “secretary”. By this time in the show, Martin has known Roz for 10 years, he knows what she does and he knows what her job title is; and it’s not “secretary”, it’s “producer”. While Frasier may be the star of the radio show, without Roz, the show would not go on. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes and she slays all of it; she screens the calls and organises which calls will be taken and when in the show they’ll be taken, she organises the commercials, promotion, advertising, and fan mail, she organises Frasier’s schedule, and her job involves hands on technical stuff like adjusting the sound level on the control panels in the studio. Roz wouldn’t tolerate anyone undervaluing her achievements and what she’s capable of.
In the very last episode of Frasier, Roz is single and freshly promoted to Station Manager, which is a huge achievement. I’ve found that with so many movies and television shows, there’s a real pressure to ‘couple off’ the female characters, because we all know there’s nothing worse than a spinster, hey? I love that Roz defies the traditional happy ending for a female character trope; riding off into the sunset with a guy is overrated, particularly when you can alternatively land a huge promotion and end up simultaneously happy and single.
While I believe Roz is a feminist figure, she never really uses the ‘F’ word throughout the show. However, even though she never officially identifies as one, I have no doubt she would be a card-carrying feminist. If anyone, man or woman, has a go at her lifestyle or choices, she doesn’t hesitate to put them back in her box. She’s tough as nails, and she refuses to be patronised or taken advantage of. She’s independent, driven, and lives her life unapologetically.
To top it all off, the wonderful actress that filled Roz Doyle with so much life and fierceness, Peri Gilpin, was and still is #WithHer, she’s anti-Trump, she attended the Women’s March, she supports Planned Parenthood, Black Lives Matter, and she stands with American Muslims. She would make Roz Doyle so proud.
Watch Frasier for the witty repartee, for the killer 90s haircuts and outfits, for the psychological puns and insight, for the hilarious, farcical misunderstandings, for the heart-warming relationships, but most of all, watch it for the one and only Roz Doyle.
Originally published by Catalogue Magazine.
Image credit: Pintrest.
eleanor danenberg 
“I really like what you said about Roz.” -N. Shemsky
To the point about how Martin Crane referred to Roz as a secretary, all that comes to mind is how older folks/our parents just don’t understand exactly what people do, and use convenient terms or reach for words in their passé vocabulary that never gets updated with the times.
“That’s a *job*” Martin marvelled once, kind of condescendingly, about the role of program director. To a 68-year-old, that sounds like a made up word, whilst “secretary” is concrete and familiar. He can use that term to his peer group and make sense without explaining.
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Feminist icon would be right. She is nothing less than trash in my opinion. She is not a strong independent women, she’s a loose woman with a job…there’s a difference. She actually does want a man, and wonders why she can’t find what niles and daphne have, several times in the snow. Maybe the irrisponsible sleeping around, getting pregnant, more sleeping around and trusting her daughter with numerous men would the error here.
I can’t believe this “feminist icon” is what us women have to look forward to. Forget Artemis, Pantea, Atossa, Azad, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Ghandi. Just sleep around, when men don’t want you call yourself ‘independent’, and work a mediocre job.
Sad writing, very sad.
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