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With just four words, Peri Gilpin barged back into the world ofFrasier: You look like crap.
Frasier, of course, was the one who looked like crap.
Roz Doyle was radiant.
(Only Gilpin and Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith have thus far reprised their roles from the original series.)
Despite the passage of time and geographic distance,Frasierimplies the KACL alums have remained as chummy as ever.
Frasier, in particular, is taking the Christmas holiday hard without him.
Oh, did we mention Frasier threw a disastrous holiday dinner party?
Tradition calls for it.
What compelled you to revisit Roz after all this time away?I love the character and always have.
Theres a lot of unexplored parts of her life.
Theres a lot of stories there.
I know Kelsey wanted to tell them.
The way I came into the story was exciting to me, and I felt really good about it.
It would be fun to learn more about her ups and downs, especially diving into single parenthood.
Thats what I was talking about with Roz!
Those kinds of great dating stories.
But I also respected that they were off-camera.
Sometimes leaving things to the imagination of the audience is the best thing you’re able to do.
TheFrasierwriters were wizards at that.
Rozs romantic life was so epic that you didnt want to spoil it by actually showing it.
Also, the show was calledFrasier,notRoz.
Its funny you mention30 Rock theres this pithy Roz joke from the show that I often think about.
I was on a fucking plane when I saw that!
Its a hilarious show, and they didnt make a wrong step.
I wasnt surprised to hear that joke.
The term became so popular over the past ten years.
It wasnt being used back then.
It was just the way Roz was.
Shes everything I wouldve dreamed of playing.
I grew up in Texas, and I was raised to behave one way.
I didnt go out of the house without a full face of makeup until I was 21 years old.
I came from a whole different background.
That was the most freeing experience ever.
Rozs balance of a career and an unabashed personal life is so contemporary.
They found challenges for Roz.
A little bit went a long way, and thats because they gave the character so many wonderful attributes.
How did you and the writers land on this particular return for Roz?
We had lots of conversations.
I loved that Roz has a friendship with Freddy because it makes me think of my own daughter.
My favorite part of playing Roz was this incredible friendship that developed between her and Frasier.
The episode really spoke to that.
It was immediately established that Roz and Frasiers friendship never wavered despite the passage of time.
Mind you, Roz was a single parent in a city where she probably needed to stay put.
I think they kept missing each other: Hey, can you come do this?
No, I cant, Ive got this going on.Its always a timing issue.
I have a feeling she loved watching Frasiers show and giving him some grief for it.
Calling him up and going, What in the name of God is going on over there now?
How did you envision Rozs life progressing between the two shows?
I would imagine it got pretty boring after a while.
I have a feeling people in those jobs bounce around a bit.
Over the years, Im sure Gil Chesterton and Bulldog wanted bigger shows and she helped develop them.
Maybe she went into one of her own.
I know she had that dream.
She ultimately left the station manager job at some point.
There was a real slump in radio for a while.
Roz spent the last 20 years having to grow and change and mutate herself.
The businesswoman of today is very different from the businesswoman we last saw.
Also, Roz was always happy for her daughter to take up a lot of her time.
Everything worked out really well for her, and Im very happy about it.
The stories he told about that show and those actors were something else.
