Frasier
(continued)

THE BRITISH ARE COMING
[TV Guide OnLine]
(9 pm/ET, NBC)

Many shows resort to stunt casting during a ratings-grabbing sweeps period, but leave it to classy Frasier to do it with élan.

This month, while fellow NBC sitcoms are trotting out flashy A-listers like Jason Alexander, Susan Sarandon and Ellen DeGeneres, to name a few, tonight's Frasier features veteran stage actor Derek Jacobi in an ironic turn as a has-been theater thesp whose career Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) try to resurrect.

Renowned on Broadway and in British theater, Sir Derek is best-known to TV viewers from his long-ago leading role in the 1976 miniseries I, Claudius, which co-starred John Hurt and Patrick Stewart. He has also had roles in recent films like Gladiator and Up at the Villa. He's no household name, but it's refreshing to see less obvious guest choices made during this ultracompetitive time of year.

Jacobi's plotline has the Crane sibs recalling his character, Jackson Headley, as the Shakespearean "genius" whose performance first inspired their love for the Bard. Aghast at hearing he's the star of a Babylon 5-esque space opera — naturally, they're too snobbish to have ever seen the show — they plot to produce his return to the stage. Chaos ensues as Jackson turns out to be a hopeless ham. (And who better to play one than a vet who's no doubt encountered his share!) As an added bonus, Patrick Macnee (The Avengers) briefly appears to charm us as Jackson's slightly lecherous father, Cecil.  Bravo!!