Frasier (season 3)
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| Frasier Season 3 | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | September 19, 1995 – May 21, 1996 |
| Home video release | |
| DVD release date | May 25, 2005 |
| Season chronology | |
The third season of Frasier originally aired from September 19, 1995 to May 21, 1996 on NBC.
Reception
The season ranked 12th in the season ratings with an average viewership of 13 million making it the 7th highest ranking show on the network.[1]
List of episodes
See also: List of Frasier episodes
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 1 | "She's the Boss" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano | September 19, 1995 |
| There is a new station manager at KACL, and it's a woman called Kate Costas (Mercedes Ruehl). She has a reputation for being a fearsome perfectionist, and everyone at her last radio station was afraid of her. She quickly instils a similar atmosphere at KACL (even Bulldog is scared), although Frasier is not prepared to be intimidated. Therefore, when she instructs him to change his show in various sensationalist ways (such as themed shows and giving priority to “juicier calls”), he flatly refuses to co-operate, reasoning that she cannot fire one of the station's highest-rated hosts. His show is promptly moved to the graveyard shift, spoiling his sleep patterns and making Roz bitterly resentful, but Frasier still refuses to back down. Eventually, the two of them devise a plan whereby they believe they can both obey and humiliate the boss at the same time. Meanwhile, Eddie has started a feud with a Doberman in the condo above Frasier's, and Niles wants a gun for personal security. There is a debate between Frasier and Kate about the Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra and which key it is in; in fact, both of them are wrong. | |||||
| 50 | 2 | "Shrink Rap" | David Lee | Christopher Lloyd | September 26, 1995 |
| Niles, dejected, is on the couch of couples therapist Dr. Schachter. His relationship with Frasier (also present) is clearly quite tense and falling apart. Each explains the situation from his own perspective, with corresponding flashbacks: Frasier tells how a young woman called his show with an intriguing recurring dream, but unfortunately they were almost out of time; Niles is having problems with a tenant in his office, a practitioner of scream therapy. When Frasier revealed his discontent with radio psychiatry, and his wish to return to private practice, Niles proposed that the solution to his difficult psychiatrist co-tenant is to replace him with Frasier. The prospect of working together and consulting each other excited the two brothers initially, but the first day brought one argument after another, culminating in the dissipation of Niles' therapy group, and the defenestration of Frasier's schefflera plant. It is at this point that Dr. Schachter intervened from across the corridor and offered to help, having no clue as to what he was letting himself in for. | |||||
| 51 | 3 | "Martin Does It His Way" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | David Lloyd | October 10, 1995 |
| Frasier's Aunt Louise, who was not popular in the family for her tendency to criticise everyone, has died. Frasier has been left in charge of organising her memorial and delivering a eulogy, and Niles is responsible for disposing of her ashes. Neither appreciates their task. Meanwhile, Daphne lets slip a little secret that Martin has: he has a collection of songs in a shoebox which he wrote years ago for Frank Sinatra, always dreaming that one day he may open a concert with them. The problem is that only the words are written down; the tunes are all in his head. This, of course, is no obstacle for his sons, who are instantly keen to help out. | |||||
| 52 | 4 | "Leapin' Lizards" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano | October 31, 1995 |
| When Bulldog targets a series of pranks at Frasier (which culminates in Frasier singing “Three Little Maids” from The Mikado in a falsetto voice live on air), Frasier decides to play a prank of his own on Bulldog–only to watch in helpless horror as Kate becomes his unintended victim. | |||||
| 53 | 5 | "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Anne Flett-Giordano | November 7, 1995 |
| Frasier is angling to become the maître de chez of his wine club, so is holding a special wine tasting session in his apartment to try to win them over. Naturally, this means that Martin's chair will have to be moved, but as Niles and Frasier attempt to move it into Martin's room, Niles drops his end which scratches a small dent in Frasier's wooden floor. Frasier is aghast as the wine club members will pick up on any little detail, even though Martin can't even see it, but Niles tells him he will bring along his miracle-working handyman Joe DeCarlo tomorrow to fix it. When Joe arrives, Frasier is anxious that the work be done by 5 pm, as that's when his guests arrive, and so is relieved when Joe tells him he'll be done by midday. Daphne, on the other hand, develops an instant attraction to Joe and him to her. This concerns Niles, who tells Daphne that he is known as “love-'em-and-leave-'em Joe” with a string of affairs behind him. When Frasier returns home a few hours later, he finds his apartment in a state of disarray with holes in his walls and workmen everywhere. Joe tells him that when he plugged in the sander, a circuit blew and this has led to faulty wiring being discovered. However, he assures Frasier, he'll be finished by 4 pm. The news is not so good for Joe when he asks out Daphne, who turns him down flat. Martin wants to know why, and guesses it's something Niles has said as his nose his bleeding; this only happens when he lies. Frasier takes issue with his brother's actions and forces him to tell Daphne the truth, as well as get Joe to ask Daphne out again. Frasier, though, is more concerned about his apartment, especially as he arrives home at 4:30 pm to find his apartment still unfinished. Frasier panics again: the water is cut off, the gas pipes are damaged, and his guests will arrive soon. But Martin tells his sons to give him all the cash they have, which he then offers to the workers to finish the job quickly. | |||||
| 54 | 6 | "Sleeping With the Enemy" | Jeff Melman | Linda Morris & Vic Rauseo | November 14, 1995 |
| The support staff at KACL are very indignant because Kate refuses to pay their annual 5% raise. However, they are also too frightened to confront her about it. The decision does not affect the on-air talent, but Roz persuades Frasier to rally his colleagues round in support of those who are affected (and also to act as spokesman in place of Noel). They all march determinedly to Kate's office, but when she comes out everyone else dissipates, leaving Frasier to argue their case alone. The discussion grows to a fierce argument, which in turn suddenly transforms into an intense mutual lust, whereupon Kate kisses Frasier passionately before throwing him out. This presents him with two problems: the guilt of having betrayed the support staff; and the question of whether Kate's kiss was meaningful, or just a deliberate manipulative technique. | |||||
| 55 | 7 | "The Adventures of Bad Boy and Dirty Girl" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Joe Keenan | November 21, 1995 |
| Frasier is beginning to think that things are moving too quickly with Kate, and that he should tell her this. However, while filling in for “The Happy Chef” on KACL, Kate arrives in the studio just after Frasier has sent Roz home early to tell him that she thinks they should slow down. Frasier is relieved, but the ensuing conversation involves them describing themselves as a “bad boy” and a “dirty girl”. This leads to their passion engulfing them again and they are soon at it on the studio desk where they manage to flick the “on-air” button and their every word is then broadcast to Seattle. Martin and Daphne are shocked to hear the on air romance while Niles crashes his car after hearing the broadcast. The next morning, everyone is dying to know just who “dirty girl” is, but Kate has some bad news: Frasier is being suspended for a week after the broadcast. She comes round to his apartment later to apologize, but they both end up being trapped in a service lift with a bed, a music box and some musk oil. Their passion reignites but stops when the elevator restarts and the removal man gets into the service elevator. | |||||
| 56 | 8 | "The Last Time I Saw Maris" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Ian Gurvitz | November 28, 1995 |
| Maris has been missing without trace for three days. Frantic, Niles is convinced that she's been kidnapped; plans to sweep the koi pond, however, are put on hold when Maris' recent credit card transactions are checked, indicating that she is merely indulging in a shopping expedition in New York, and Niles is relieved. Frasier, on the other hand, is subdued and annoyed, and he points out Maris' lack of concern in going on a shopping spree without leaving word. He persuades Niles to stand up to his wife for a change and confront her about her selfishness, which he does. However, rather than apologising, Maris demands a divorce and throws Niles out. Frasier feels responsible, and gives Niles sanctuary at his place, but is unable to talk Maris round. Eventually Maris agrees to take Niles back on the condition that he apologize to her, however he finds himself uncertain on if he should just that or refuse to be pushed around anymore. | |||||
| 57 | 9 | "Frasier Grinch" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | David Lloyd | December 19, 1995 |
| It is Christmas Eve and Frasier is excited as his son Frederick is coming to stay with him for the first time since his parents' divorce. Niles believes he and Maris may be reconciled soon, but then he discovers that she has cancelled his credit cards, not to mention his mobile phone service. Back at KACL, Frasier is giving his Christmas broadcast which includes an inspiring Christmas story, but Gil and Bulldog try to distract him by wrapping him in tinsel and bringing in the Christmas party stripper, Candy Cane. Frasier arrives home later to find that Martin has decorated his apartment just as it was when he was a child, much to Frasier's annoyance. Then he discovers that, instead of the educational toys he ordered for his son, he has instead received one Franklin Crane's presents, which included a Barbie doll and kitchen set. This means the pressure is on for Frasier and Niles to ensure, in very little time, that Frederick still has a happy Christmas, and although to Frasier this means educational gifts, Martin is less convinced. | |||||
| 58 | 10 | "It's Hard to Say Goodbye if You Won't Leave" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Steven Levitan | January 9, 1996 |
| Roz finally manages to get Frasier to reveal the identity of “Dirty Girl”, with whom he had an affair that was accidentally broadcast live on KACL. Frasier finds himself thinking about Kate constantly, and wondering if they made the right decision not to pursue any relationship. Daphne encourages him not to let fear of rejection get in his way, but just as Frasier is on the point of breaching the subject with Kate at work, she announces that she is moving to Chicago that night to start a new job. They say goodbye and that seems to be the end, but Niles decides to call around later that day with a video of Casablanca, and the ensuing conversation starts Frasier thinking again... | |||||
| 59 | 11 | "The Friend" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Jack Burditt | January 16, 1996 |
| Niles has tickets for the race track at the weekend, and offers them to Frasier; he prefers not to go, as something about the jockeys reminds him of Maris. When Martin declines the invitation to join him, Frasier suddenly realizes that he has a shortage of friends in Seattle, as most of his old ones are back in Boston. He talks on the theme of making friends on his radio show later, saying how he hopes he comes across as approachable, and receives several messages from people touched by his words, who ask if they can meet him on a friendly basis. Most of them range from eccentric to seriously disturbed, but there is one fax which seems to come from a fairly normal man, name of Bob Reynolds. Frasier arranges to meet him at Café Nervosa, and once there, when Bob quotes Mark Twain during the conversation, Frasier instantly thinks this is a great opportunity and suggests they have dinner together. However, it does not take long for Bob to show his true colors: he is a photographer at a local supermarket, who likes wearing a tam o'shanter and has an obsessive interest in barbecue food. He is also in a wheelchair… | |||||
| 60 | 12 | "Come Lie With Me" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Steven Levitan | January 30, 1996 |
| After spending the night together at Frasier's place, Daphne and Joe try without success to conceal the fact from Frasier and Martin at breakfast. The situation does not bother Martin, but Frasier feels uncomfortable at the idea of them sleeping together under his roof, and he expresses his concern to Daphne. She explains that Joe's house is under construction, so given Frasier's feelings she decides to look for her own place. At first this seems like an ideal solution, but after Frasier and Martin spend a whole weekend together without her in the flat, they begin to realize just what a calming influence she was between them. Meanwhile, Niles is finding that his separation from Maris is cutting him off from several high-profile social events. | |||||
| 61 | 13 | "Moon Dance" | Kelsey Grammer | Joe Keenan & Christopher Lloyd & Rob Greenberg & Jack Burditt and Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano & Linda Morris & Vic Rauseo | February 6, 1996 |
|
Niles is scanning the society page when he sees a picture of Maris with another man. Although Niles is annoyed at first, Martin tries to convince him that he should try to get out a bit as well. This he does by arranging to take Marjorie Nash, the Fruit-At-The-Bottom yogurt heiress to one of Niles' society events, the Snow Ball. He then realizes that he cannot dance but Daphne then offers to teach Niles everything he needs to know. Just as soon as Niles is getting into the swing of things, Marjorie calls to say that she cannot make it. Niles prefers not to tell Daphne, but having already seen the way he looks at her, Martin says that he might end up saying something he would regret and tells him to inform Daphne of the truth, which Niles does. Daphne then suggests she go with Niles to the Ball instead, an invitation that Niles accepts. At the ball, Niles and Daphne do a series of dancing that he learned to try to show everyone at the ball that he is not mourning his divorce. When a tango starts playing and Daphne starts teaching Niles how to dance a tango, he accidentally bursts out that he "adores" her. Daphne says that she adores him too, which shocks and pleases Niles as they continue to dance. When the dance is over, Niles realizes that Daphne thought that he was just acting to try to impress everyone in the room, which hurts Niles. Out of the blue, an attractive former associate of Niles' walks up to him, giving him a card and telling him that if he would ever like to take her dancing, all he need do is call. At first, Niles decides not to accept her proposal, but as he leaves with Daphne, he turns around and takes the card with him. Note: This is the first episode of the series directed by Kelsey Grammer. Frasier's diminished role and screen time were to give Grammer more room to focus on directing. He would go on to direct dozens more episodes in the later seasons. | |||||
| 62 | 14 | "The Show Where Diane Comes Back" | James Burrows | Christopher Lloyd | February 13, 1996 |
| Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) shows up at the studio one day, and Frasier finds out she's in town for a performance of her new play. He invites her to dinner, determined to show her how much he's moved on from her, despite Niles's suggestion that he should confront her about being left at the altar in order to get closure. When Diane arrives, she boasts of her own riches and success only to eventually break down and confess she isn't doing as well as she claimed. Feeling sorry for Diane, Frasier agrees to fund her play despite everyone warning him he may be falling for her again. However, when invited to dress rehearsal, he finds the subject matter of the play to be all too familiar. | |||||
| 63 | 15 | "A Word to the Wiseguy" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Joe Keenan | February 20, 1996 |
| Niles brings news of Maris' legal troubles: she has had a minor road accident, but while the police were filing the report, they came across a heap of unpaid parking tickets. Niles initially asks Martin to exert his influence, but his father refuses on principle. Roz, however, informs Niles of a man named Jerome Belasco, who “makes wishes come true”. When Niles and Frasier meet this man, he quickly dispels the issue, and Niles is so overwhelmed with joy that he promises to help Jerome “any time”. Very soon, they get a return visit at Frasier's apartment (without having told him the address). Jerome explains that his fiancée, Brandy, keeps refusing to set a wedding date, and he wants Frasier to persuade her, in his capacity as a therapist. This seems like a relatively easy return favor, although Frasier hates the idea of compromising his professional ethics. Then Brandy calls into the show at KACL and complains about Jerome's unpleasant work hours, his poor performance in bed, her suspicions of his infidelity and, above all, his forbidding her from getting a job. In all conscience, Frasier is unable to advise the marriage, and subsequently has little time to wait before finding out Jerome's reaction. | |||||
| 64 | 16 | "Look Before You Leap" | James Burrows | Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano | February 27, 1996 |
| It is February 29, Leap Year Day, and Frasier is encouraging everyone to shake up their routine and do something different: he commends a trip to a friend's birthday party in Montana to his father, and a new haircut to Daphne. Also, when Roz tells how she met a man on a bus and subsequently lost him again, Frasier encourages her to use the radio show to find him. He himself decides to sing a challenging aria ("Ella mi fu rapita; Parmi veder le lagrime") from Verdi's Rigoletto at the PBS Pledge Drive that evening, instead of the traditional Buttons and Bows. Niles, meanwhile, is in a very good mood, and announces to Frasier that Maris has offered him a half-hour window in her schedule, but rather than discussion, her plan is sex. In this matter, Frasier advises caution, and although Niles concedes that his brother is right, exercising self-control proves a real challenge, and the challenge only gets greater as everyone else's leaps start to turn into falls. | |||||
| 65 | 17 | "High Crane Drifter" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Jack Burditt | March 12, 1996 |
| The world around Frasier seems to be losing its manners. People are using his parking space, queue-jumping in shops, talking during films at the cinema, smoking in elevators; shop assistants are ignoring him or being rude; even his own neighbors make unnecessary noise. He feels that he stands alone in upholding common courtesy, and eventually loses his patience in a crowded Café Nervosa, forcibly ejecting a man who claimed a table just before him. He is not proud of his behavior afterwards, but Martin is, having read the story in the People of Seattle column. Suddenly, everyone around is hailing Frasier as a hero, and Niles is jealous. However, his actions must have repercussions: firstly, a wave of phone calls to KACL report how people have started emulating him; secondly, the man he targeted threatens to sue. Luckily, Niles helps out with the latter by provoking the man to ensure a counter-suit, which works. | |||||
| 66 | 18 | "Chess Pains" | Gordon Hunt | Rob Greenberg | March 26, 1996 |
| Frasier has acquired a 19th-century Parisian chess set, designed by a student of l'École des Beaux-Arts. Niles is in complete awe, but Frasier cannot persuade him to play, so he asks his father. Martin professes not to know much about the game (he prefers checkers), but agrees nonetheless, and proceeds to win conclusively. Frasier is astonished, believing himself to be the superior player, and the following day requests a re-match, but Martin defeats him again, several times. Unfortunately, each defeat makes Frasier crosser, and even more determined to win the next time. Meanwhile, Daphne suggests to Niles that if he needs companionship, he should get a dog. The animal he brings back from the pet shop is remarkably thin, highly strung, and refuses to heed a single command. Niles says he felt mysteriously drawn to her, but cannot work out why. | |||||
| 67 | 19 | "Crane vs. Crane" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | David Lloyd | April 9, 1996 |
| Niles announces that he has been retained to testify in a high-profile legal action to be broadcast on Court TV; local millionaire Harlow Safford (Donald O'Connor) is, at age 78, apparently showing signs of senility, so his son is trying to get him committed. Niles has agreed to speak as an expert witness to Safford's mental instability. Frasier is initially happy to accept Niles' diagnosis, but the next day, a member of Safford's legal team visits Frasier at work, and asks him to meet Safford in an attempt to try to get his brother to change his mind. Arriving at Safford's mansion, Frasier discovers that the old man's house has a fireman's pole, a giant model railway and lollipops on demand. Safford himself, a charming man who appears quite coherent and stable, explains that his eccentricities are merely his effort to embrace life and make the most of his health while he still can, and give something back to the world that has been kind to him. Charmed by Safford, Frasier feels his brother has made a misdiagnosis, and attempts to convince him to change his testimony; Niles becomes outraged and intensely defensive, convinced that Frasier is merely trying to overshadow his rare moment of glory. The two argue, and Frasier, convinced that Niles is letting his desire for fame and publicity cloud his judgement and blind him to the truth of the matter, decides to testify in favor of Safford. | |||||
| 68 | 20 | "Police Story" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Sy Rosen | April 23, 1996 |
| Whilst rushing to deliver Roz to a date, Frasier is stopped for speeding by an attractive police officer (Jane Kaczmarek). He explains that he is a radio personality, and the officer, noticing from his driving license that it is his birthday, eventually agrees not to issue a ticket. Once home, Frasier persuades his father to phone the police station, whereby he find out that the officer's name is Maureen and she is a regular at McGinty's. Seizing the opportunity, Frasier goes there with Martin to see if they can find her, but when they do, it is Martin that she asks to meet again (while Frasier is buying the drinks). Anxious not to hurt his son's feelings, Martin asks Niles for advice, and Niles, having tried several times to be allowed to tell Frasier the news himself, suggests one date with Maureen to see if they get on well. Unfortunately, this date ends up happening on the evening that Daphne and her English friends call round to the flat, and persuade Frasier to go and find Maureen at McGinty's again. | |||||
| 69 | 21 | "Where There's Smoke, There's Fired" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Joe Keenan | April 30, 1996 |
| KACL has a new owner: an eighty-five year old Texas millionaire Wilford S. Boone, who likes to be called Big Willy. Frasier learns that he owns 30 stations across the US, and could put Frasier's show into national syndication so begins a charm offensive with Big Willy. The millionaire, however, offers Frasier a chance to get into his good books early: he is about to marry his younger mistress, but she has a filthy habit: she smokes. Big Willy is going away for a long weekend, and says that if Frasier can cure her of her habit, the marriage can go ahead. Frasier agrees to try but doesn't realize how hard it is going to be until he meets Big Willy's bride-to-be: his agent Bebe Glazer. Frasier forces Bebe to spend the weekend at his apartment to make sure she is not tempted, during which we learn that both Martin and Daphne used to smoke. They both try to convince her that she can quit her habit, but Bebe launches into a long speech on the pleasures of smoking which begins to weaken Martin and Daphne's resolve. She then catches Daphne having a quick cigarette on the balcony, and tries to blackmail her into giving her one, but Frasier catches her and then discovers Martin having one in the powder room and manages to persuade her that she should give up unless she wants to lose out on Big Willy's inheritance. Three weeks later is the wedding, but Big Willy has a fatal heart attack at the altar and despite Bebe's efforts to animatedly make him move, the wedding is cancelled. Frasier later consoles her at his house by saying she may yet find another Big Willy. | |||||
| 70 | 22 | "Frasier Loves Roz" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Suzanne Martin | May 7, 1996 |
| Roz is going to a wedding as a bridesmaid, and has to wear a revolting lime-green dress to make sure the bride is radiant by comparison. The occasion starts her thinking about settling down, instead of moving from one brief relationship to another, and Frasier suggests she look for a man with more substance than superficial flash. Soon afterwards, he and Niles see her in Café Nervosa with someone, whom Niles recognizes as his least favorite patient: a compulsive womanizer called Ben Collins. He shares this detail with Frasier, but in the strictest confidence as one therapist to another, and as a result Frasier cannot tell Roz why she is dating the wrong man without contravening his professional ethics. He still tries to convince her, without giving a reason, and after a conversation with Daphne, Roz begins to wonder if he is doing this out of more than just friendship. | |||||
| 71 | 23 | "The Focus Group" | Philip Charles MacKenzie | Rob Greenberg | May 14, 1996 |
| Frasier's show on KACL is presented to a focus group of twelve people, and unbeknownst to them, Frasier and Roz watch from behind a two-way mirror as they give their feedback. The reactions are almost all positive, except for one man, Manu (Tony Shalhoub), who keeps quiet. When asked directly, he says he does not like the host, giving no reason. Roz is delighted with the overall response, but Frasier starts to obsess over why this one man does not like him. Meanwhile, Niles is being overcharged for an art restoration job, after he slightly damaged a Jackson Pollock at a gallery opening. He has a spontaneous argument with Daphne, which he finds very exciting although he regrets every word spoken in anger, and later on tries baiting her to recreate the experience. | |||||
| 72 | 24 | "You Can Go Home Again" | David Lee | Linda Morris & Vic Rauseo | May 21, 1996 |
| Frasier and Roz celebrate the third anniversary of Frasier's show, and their time spent together making it, with presents: Roz gives Frasier a taped copy of the first ever episode of The Dr. Frasier Crane Show. Later that day, Frasier returns home to find Daphne on the phone, calling him a dictatorial tyrant who won't let her go home to Britain. It turns out she's on the phone to her mother, trying to wrangle her way out of another boring-but-obligatory return visit home, as she only gets one week of vacation a year and she wants to spend it somewhere like Acapulco. Frasier puts on the tape of his first ever show, and as his awkward voice starts, prepares himself for a bumpy ride… | |||||
References
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