The woman on the plane next to Frasier *was* Jennifer Beals (whose was last seen on "The L Word" on Showtime).
Frasier planned to go to San Franciso to pursue the work opportunity, but in the end, he decides to follow his heart, and his heart is in Chicago in the person of Charlotte.
I don't think so. I think he gave up the SF job and moved to Chicago to "win her back." He'd have to, as he'd already "won" her in Seattle, but it wasn't enough to keep her there. She wanted to be in Chicago. So if Frasier wants to be with her, he'll have to be in Chicago too since she "doesn't want a long-distance relationship."
If you listen to Frasier quoting Tennyson, it spelled it out: to live, he had to follow his heart. Going to San Francisco was another way that Frasier was running away since all of his family were creating their own families, but going towards Chicago gave him a shot at creating his family with Charlotte.
Given there has been some pitch made by Grammer to NBC for another series with Frasier in it, here's my speculation...
He went to Chicago and won the woman of his dreams. After marriage, he decides to either open a practice there (Bob Newhart anyone?) or gets a job at a radio station working the midnight to 4 AM shift talking about UFO's and government conspiracies (The truth is out there, folks) OR, deciding he wants to try something new, he opens yet another Starbucks franchise and calls it Cheers!
I was very confused by the ending because of the plane landing in Chicago - I thought there was something wrong with my hearing. He didn't have a job in Chicago! I guess this is more of a hopeful ending - him chasing love instead of more money and fame.
I think that if Laura Linney is interested, it might get off the ground, although I wouldn't be surprised if it happened at CBS rather than NBC. If I had to guess what it was about - Frasier decides to become a writer. He's got a column in a local paper, and he's working on his first novel. He and Laura Linney's character have recently married, and everything's looking up... until Frederick (who must be, what, 15 by now) has some sort of falling-out with Lilith and moves to Chicago.
What's amazing is Eddie was still alive for the whole 11 years. Did Moose the Jack Russell Terrier manage to stay healthy for the entire series? They didn't replace him with a look alike at any time, did they?
I believe Moose is still alive, though looking old and grey. I heard it on a recent show about the finale. I think it was David Hyde Pierce who mentioned something about ending the show without him wouldn't be or didn't feel complete, or something like that.
Anyways I mostly liked the show. I think it would have been nice if they ended the show with Fraiser's final broadcast, but that's just my opinion. I didn't think the part with the plane was necessary.
I enjoyed the episode, more so than the Friends finale. I thought the tone was perfect and I appreciated the guest appearances of folks like Jennifer Beals and Jason Biggs. Now if only it were coming out DVD next week, but I guess to do so would have required 25 million more viewers