Fagel Attraction - Reception

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "Fagel Attraction" was watched by 14.3 million households, according to Nielsen ratings. It received a 10.3 rating/15 share among viewers in the 18–49 demographic, and was the seventh highest-rated show on the NBC network that week. "Fagel Attraction" has received mostly positive reviews from television critics since airing, and several reviewers praised Douglas for his appearance. Debra Messing, who plays Grace, commented that it was "hilarious how easily" Douglas played his character in the episode. In 2002, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series" category for this episode, but lost to Anthony LaPaglia of Frasier. In March 2006, Entertainment Weekly named Douglas' guest spot the fourth most memorable guest appearance on Will & Grace.

Kevin McDonough of Charleston Daily Mail called Douglas' appearance an "unforgettable performance", and Adam Buckman of the New York Post commented that Douglas is "such a commanding presence on screen" that he "steals every scene". Renée Peck of The Times-Picayune reported that she enjoyed watching Douglas have fun with an "off-the-wall" role combining an alternate lifestyle with altered consciousness. TV Guide contributor Matt Roush, in review of season four, said that without guest appearances from actors such as Douglas, the season "would be an awfully sad misfire." Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald wrote that the "biggest laughs" in the episode come when Douglas holds hands with Will and then dances with him. Alan Pergament of The Buffalo News also praised this sequence, calling it "priceless".

The episode received less positive reviews as well. Allan Johnson of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the episode is good, but not great: "It proves stunt-casting doesn't necessarily work unless the actor is up to the script and lead performers. And Douglas, an otherwise fine actor, basically does a caricature of a macho gay man." Ted Cox of the Daily Herald wrote that the idea of Douglas being cast as a neurotic gay man "isn't a whole lot to this episode." A television reviewer from Deseret News thought that because of his role on Will & Grace, Douglas should give the Oscar he won earlier in his career back. The reviewer concluded: "He's embarrassingly bad, as is this episode."

Johnson was complimentary towards Molly Shannon: "Far funnier is a subplot with Molly Shannon of Saturday Night Live back as Will and Grace's (Messing) whacked-out neighbor Val Shannon, always funny and fun to watch, isn't a mere stunt ... Shannon shows a guest actor can shine when paired with the right character." The Palm Beach Post's Kevin D. Thompson wrote that Shannon's performance "displays why she should have her own sitcom", while Cox wrote that she has a "quality in which a tightly bound surface normalcy seems to barely contain a bundle of tics and impulses, and the writers make excellent use of it by having Val try to first steal Grace's flair for design, then cop one of her clients." Perigard noted that Grace and Val's storyline made it "clear that the producers just like the sight of the two women flailing their arms in a mock catfight."