In the latest episode of the revival show, when Frasier first mentions he’s meeting with Bebe Glazer, he announces he’s attending an opera with his agent — Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca.” He then proclaims that he’s got a date with “one of history’s greatest villains. Psychopathic, power hungry, Bebe Glazer,” before lightning strikes. Deliberately campy and over-the-top though it is, this dramatic announcement isn’t entirely off the mark when it comes to describing Bebe.
Back in “Agents in America,” after Frasier realized the trick Bebe had pulled to secure his new contract, he remarked, “What kind of a woman are you? You seduced me, you lied to me, you nearly got me killed! You’ve shamelessly manipulated not only me, but this station, the news media, and the entire city of Seattle. What do you have to say for yourself?” — to which Bebe replies, “Aren’t you glad I’m on your side?” From then on, Bebe was known as a kind of benevolent manipulator who, though unscrupulous, would do whatever needed to be done for Frasier.
Things haven’t changed in “The Squash Courtship of Freddy’s Father,” where it’s revealed that Bebe intended to make Frasier believe Phoebe was his own daughter, when she was, in fact, not. It was all a ruse to allow Phoebe to convince her “father” to return to TV. Though Frasier figures out the trick before the episode ends, Bebe still comes out on top after Phoebe apologizes and convinces Frasier to let her shop his memoir around — all so that she can eventually steer him back towards TV. Once again, Bebe manages to deceive everyone around her, winning out in the end and telling her daughter “Mommy always gets her money” to wrap up the episode.
Once again, the revival series benefits greatly from the return of a classic “Frasier” character, with Harriet Sansom Harris elevating the show around her and distracting from the fact that this revival still can’t quite sustain itself without these guest spots. Meanwhile, while it may seem as though Frasier lost out this time, he should consider himself lucky to be where he is — because as Niles said of Bebe on the original series, “I would have assumed she killed after mating.”
New episodes of “Frasier” drop Thursdays on Paramount+.
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