A Billionaire Tech Mogul Helped Frasier Celebrate A Key Milestone With A Cameo

Television Comedy Shows

There was so much to love about "Frasier." Leaving aside the fact that star Kelsey Grammer seemed born to play the fussy titular doctor, or that he was surrounded by one of the finest ensembles in TV history, "Frasier" also attracted a dazzling array of guest stars, many of whom we never actually got to see. That's because dozens of guests merely provided their voices to Frasier's call-in talk radio show. These were big name stars, too, with everyone from Helen Mirren to Billy Crystal contacting Frasier for life advice. It wasn't just actors, either. "Frasier" played host to Art Garfunkel, Stephen King, and tennis legend John McEnroe, making for what is surely one of the most impressive lists of guest stars for any TV show (and even rivaling "The Simpsons" for the sheer amount of celebrities that agreed to appear).

Another example of how the show managed to transcend Hollywood with its guest stars was when a tech mogul showed up to help Frasier celebrate his 2,000th radio show, in what was actually the 200th episode of "Frasier." This particular guest appearance also had some suspicious synergy with a specific tech product that was launched around that same time, too, suggesting the guest appearance wasn't entirely motivated by an interest in the show itself.

Frasier is out-egoed by a tech mogul

Season 9, episode 8 of "Frasier," titled simply "The Two Hundredth," was, believe it or not, the 200th installment of the sitcom. The episode begins with the titular doctor hosting the 2,000th episode of his KACL talk show, with Dan Butler's Bulldog Brisco interrupting the proceedings by promoting his return to the radio station. After Bulldog is swiftly turned away by Frasier, station manager Kenny Daly (Tom McGowan) ushers in a special guest for Dr. Crane: Bill Gates.

Yes, the Microsoft founder and icon of the tech world visited Seattle's KACL to sit with Frasier for what is ostensibly an interview, but which quickly turns into Gates fielding questions from callers about his software and essentially running a tech support hotline while Frasier watches aghast from the control room. At one point, producer Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin) announces that the phone board is "lighting up," adding, "Wow, who knew we had a line seven." After Frasier leaves his guest to his own devices, Gates even utters the doctor's famous catchphrase, "I'm listening," much to his host's chagrin.

It's a funny little cameo from Gates, mostly due to Frasier's shock at being ousted from his own hosting duties by what he calls an "ego-maniacal gasbag." The irony of someone like Dr. Crane throwing around such insults is, of course, completely lost on the man himself. But while this particular cameo was undeniably amusing due to Kelsey Grammer's typically brilliant performance, there is a slightly cynical element at play here, too.

BIll Gates guest starred on Frasier to plug his own product

"The Two Hundredth" saw Bill Gates fielding specific questions from callers about his own operating system, Windows. Specifically, one caller asks the Microsoft founder, who had stepped down as CEO of the company the year prior but remained on the board of directors, whether he needed to make a "boot disk" to install Windows XP. This particular episode aired on November 13, 2001, less than a month after that particular operating system had launched on October 25, 2001. After telling the caller that he doesn't need to make a boot disk, Gates says, "It's a feature of XP — very quick, very smooth."

The whole thing is an obvious promotional stunt, with Gates clearly doing his fellow Microsoft directors a favor by visiting the "Frasier" set and talking up Windows' ease of use. Thankfully, writer Rob Hanning managed to insert the promo in as organic a way as possible, and Kelsey Grammer's reaction to Gates' hijacking his show makes the whole thing funny enough to distract from the shameless plug.

Later in the episode, Frasier discovers a tape of one of his shows is missing from his vast collection and becomes consumed by the idea of somehow replacing it, falling to pieces in front of friends and family as his obsessiveness takes control. That all makes for an amusing episode that cleverly demonstrates how Frasier is the real self-obsessed one here, and not the "ego-maniacal gasbag" Bill Gates.

Whether the new "Frasier" revival will ever get to celebrate its own 200th episode remains to be seen, but Kelsey Grammer has ambitious plans for the series' future. If the new show does make it to 200 episodes, perhaps we'll see Elon Musk or some other "ego-maniacal gasbag" appear to flog the latest product that brings us closer to the AI-driven garbage future envisioned by the likes of Joe Russo. For now, we can perhaps console ourselves by reliving the quaintness of a time when Bill Gates talking up Windows XP on "Frasier" was about the only time we heard from our tech overlords in person.