The Sitcom Crush in Seattle

Television in the ‘80s and ‘90s set a new standard when it came to the sitcom. It’s like studios took everything that worked with the classics and just amped it up a bit. The comedy was more irreverent, the characters a bit more sassier, and networks like Fox were pushing every boundary and button, which is likely my my family gravitated towards the crude humor of the Bundys and the rebellious nature of Bart Simpson. Alas, shows like ‘Frasier‘ passed me by as a child. So it wasn’t until I started a series over at Fandomania that I even gave it a chance – and within a matter of months, I went from not even knowing what Frasier was about to being absolutely obsessed. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I soon developed a sitcom crush by the name of Niles Crane. 

Unlike Barry Carter’s sitcom crush, who he’s on this week to talk about, Niles was a cast member for all 11 seasons, while Barry’s crush came in swinging as a regular on its third. They actually never crossed paths though with his crush leaving the air the year before Niles would debut and deliver some of the, well – let’s just start with why this crush came to be because more often than not people mistake loving the show as being all-in with Frasier – which, he’s fine but Niles is where my heart resides. 

First off, Niles Crane is a handsome man for the time. Now? I would be shocked to see a 30-something dressed in the move oversized suits all the time. However, it worked for a man of his profession back in the early ‘90s. I only wish they’d updated his wardrobe as the show continued to roll on into the 21st century. Alas, he is still someone I consider good-looking. However, his looks aren’t even the best part of him. 

Niles Crane falls in line with why I champion the likes of Lucy Ricardo and Martin Payne; the physical comedy. It’s one thing to be able to deliver a line with your good ol’ mouth, it’s another to be able to put every inch of your body into the joke. Not many people have mastered this craft quite like Ricardo and Payne, and to that list, I add Niles. If you’ve never seen the “Valentine’s Day” episode, that’s the one I’m going to point at as proof of this sentiment. He says nothing, but it’s still as comical as can be. 

Then there’s, of course, Niles’ devotion to Daphne. Yes, a bit strange when you peel back every layer and think too hard about it but this relationship lives inside of a sitcom, and if you can’t be outlandish in one of those, where can you be? Being a TV traditionalist, I love a will-they-won’t-they and I don’t care how long it’s dragged out so long as it makes sense with the story and for me, Niles and Daphne found one another when they were supposed to. Could the writers have not changed Daphne’s personality after that? Yeah, but that’s another story for another day. For right now, lemme just relish in the thought of one of my favorite TV couples…

Niles’ being adorable, the comedy and his devotion to Daphne were all reasons I fell for him, but I think the most important aspect of Niles for me is his uppity yet skittish personality. He was all sorts of confident when it came to his knowledge of this and that, but at the same time, he was like a scared chihuahua in a lot of day-to-day situations that involved speaking up for himself and to Daphne. It really grounded the character and made him more relatable to me, and I’m sure to many others around the world who watch on repeat like myself when they aren’t watching ‘The Office.’ 

This is one crush category I could likely write a book about, but until someone greenlights a book about all the various crushes we go through in life and what that means – I’ll be waiting on standby to be the one to write it.