My Coffee with Niles
- Episode aired May 19, 1994
- TV-PG
- 23m
IMDb RATING
8.7/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
Frasier and Niles spend the entire episode in conversation at Cafe Nervosa.Frasier and Niles spend the entire episode in conversation at Cafe Nervosa.Frasier and Niles spend the entire episode in conversation at Cafe Nervosa.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe episode title and plot is a reference to the film My Dinner with Andre (1981), which consists almost entirely of two men conversing in a restaurant.
- GoofsDaphne uses the expression 'bumbershoot' to describe her umbrella, claiming it's a British term. In actuality, the word only is purely an American invention, and only appears in American English dictionaries. (A real example of a British colloquial term for "umbrella" would have been "brolly".)
- Crazy creditsWhen the title "Frasier" and the usual silhouette of Seattle are on screen, an animated elevator rises up inside the Space Needle.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #18.95 (2002)
- SoundtracksTossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs
(Theme)
Music by Bruce Miller
Lyrics by Darryl Phinnessee
Performed by Kelsey Grammer
Featured review
That's a wrap for a great season
Episode:
This is a perfect example of how tight and well thought out the writing of the show is. It is a bounded story that only has one location but the writers break up the action with pretty natural events, i.e. The rain, and French scenes, i.e. Roz showing up. On that level the writer(s) manage to take a simple conversation over coffee and keep it as cinematic as sit-coms are. But the episode is built around two running tensions that depend on 'happiness' meaning two distinct things. The first is a running gag where Frasier's fussiness and snobbery keeps causing his coffee to be sent back. The second is Frasier's attempts to answer and discuss Niles' question on whether he is happy.
In the first story thread happiness means 'pleasure' or 'contentment.' In the second thread happiness means 'flourishing' or 'welfare.' (If you know Greek, the second is eudaimonia.) The two ideas bounce off each other and makes us-like the characters-think about how the year went. Add in that the writers include ironic counterpoints. Martin is unhappy in the first sense because the brothers missed his birthday, Roz is unhappy in the second sense because of her failed attempt to find a partner. And the result is a very well considered 22 minutes of story.
The episode *also* manages to be funny on top of being so tightly written. It displays the hallmarks of the show.
Season:
The most remarkable thing about season 1 is that it doesn't feel like a first season. There are no bad episodes and the overall story of the season feels entirely organic to the characters. I am sure being a spinoff helps with some of this but Frasier (character) became a lead character without any notable problems and his world got filled out completely. Outside the pilot no episode feels like a introduction and various characters-Gil, Bulldog etc.-get appearances or name drops without feeling forced.
With that said, the other remarkable thing about the season-and really the show itself-is just how consistent it is through its run. Pretty much every episode is a 10 or 9. Even 8's are exceptionally rare. The season starts well and ends well with nary any missteps in-between.
This is a perfect example of how tight and well thought out the writing of the show is. It is a bounded story that only has one location but the writers break up the action with pretty natural events, i.e. The rain, and French scenes, i.e. Roz showing up. On that level the writer(s) manage to take a simple conversation over coffee and keep it as cinematic as sit-coms are. But the episode is built around two running tensions that depend on 'happiness' meaning two distinct things. The first is a running gag where Frasier's fussiness and snobbery keeps causing his coffee to be sent back. The second is Frasier's attempts to answer and discuss Niles' question on whether he is happy.
In the first story thread happiness means 'pleasure' or 'contentment.' In the second thread happiness means 'flourishing' or 'welfare.' (If you know Greek, the second is eudaimonia.) The two ideas bounce off each other and makes us-like the characters-think about how the year went. Add in that the writers include ironic counterpoints. Martin is unhappy in the first sense because the brothers missed his birthday, Roz is unhappy in the second sense because of her failed attempt to find a partner. And the result is a very well considered 22 minutes of story.
The episode *also* manages to be funny on top of being so tightly written. It displays the hallmarks of the show.
Season:
The most remarkable thing about season 1 is that it doesn't feel like a first season. There are no bad episodes and the overall story of the season feels entirely organic to the characters. I am sure being a spinoff helps with some of this but Frasier (character) became a lead character without any notable problems and his world got filled out completely. Outside the pilot no episode feels like a introduction and various characters-Gil, Bulldog etc.-get appearances or name drops without feeling forced.
With that said, the other remarkable thing about the season-and really the show itself-is just how consistent it is through its run. Pretty much every episode is a 10 or 9. Even 8's are exceptionally rare. The season starts well and ends well with nary any missteps in-between.
helpful•63
- CubsandCulture
- May 7, 2021
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