The 24-episode fifth season of Frasier aired during the 1997/1998 TV season. All members of the main cast/series regulars returned for the season, as did recurring cast members such as Edward Hibbert (who plays Gil Chesterson) and Marsha Mason (who plays Sherry). Bebe Neuwirth also reprised her role as Lilith in a hilarious episode later in the season. The notable guest stars this season included Sela Ward, Lisa Edelstein, Larry King, and Leslie Stahl. There were fewer radio station segments this season, so there were fewer celebrity callers, but those who did appear included Cindy Crawford, John Waters, Rob Reiner, Halle Berry, and John McEnroe.
As of this writing, the individual seasons are available only on DVD in a four-disc set. The Blu-Rays are available in a complete series release, with each season packaged in its own keep case. The fifth season set is a three-disc set on blu-ray. The A/V quality of the blu-rays is excellent and absolutely a step-up in quality from the DVD release. There are no bonus features this season, but the episodes can be played with or without English captions.
The show remained primarily a story-of-the-week procedural, but there were some ongoing storylines throughout the season, including the ongoing saga of Niles and Maris's marriage, hints of Niles and Daphne getting together, and a pregnancy storyline for Roz. This season also included the series' 100th episode, with a storyline in which Frasier celebrated 1000 episodes of his radio show. The show continues to be very funny in season five, with many laugh-out-loud moments. The episode in which Lilith returns was hilarious, with standout performances by David Hyde Pierce and Bebe Neuwirth. The Niles-Maris storyline is finally resolved this season, and the season ends on a significant cliffhanger going into season six. While some elements of the series are very dated by today's standards, it remained well-written and well-acted, and if you liked the first four seasons, this one is worth watching.
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