Trivial Pursuits – The episode opens with Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) saying New York City Knickerbockers are rivalries with Boston Keltics. Olivia (Toks Olagundoye) says it would be best for her to take over the sports trivia. Alan Cornwall (Nicholas Lyndhurst) orders a Louis Treize Cognac. Eve (Jess Salgueiro) warns that the price is $1.50 each. He offers her a 2-cent tip to eliminate the small talk. He reminds her that the winning trivia team gets free drinks. When she responds with a sarcastic remark, he deduces 1-cent from his tip. Frasier boasts of his Oxford days pub quiz record. Olivia expresses her desire to dominate when Freddy Crane (Jack Cutmore-Scott), Tiny (Kevin Daniels), Smokey (Renne Pezzotta), and Moose (Jimmy Dunn) enter the pub. Frasier asks Freddy if he came to watch him win. After claiming he and his mates are there to lift him up on their shoulders after his win, Freddy says they are a trivia team. The firefighters and Harvard psychology department are neck-and-neck. To determine the winner, Eve asks what is a 15-liter wine bottle called. Smokey shouts out “a good time”. Frazier prepares to answer but Freddy beats him to it by blurting out “Nebuchadnezzar”. Eve announces the firefighter’s win.

Freddy claims to have spent his summers cataloging Frasier’s wine cellar. Moose tells him that he spent his summers on Cape Cod concealing his father’s affairs. Alan refuses to keep quiet when his trivia team is robbed of victory. He warns Eve that she will regret fighting him over Middleton and Shakespeare before announcing his refusal to pay his tab. Eve suggests he is through drinking. He walks over to congratulate the firefighters for their trivia win. Olivia says since the firefighters enjoyed beating them at their own game, she might visit the fire station and extinguish a fire. Frasier assures Freddy that a well-educated man like himself would never be pegged as just a fireman. Freddy says he is going to finish the Celtics game, repeating Celtics several times to get back at Frasier.

Freddy pretends to be having difficulty doubling a chili recipe for the fire station. When Eve sets the chili pot on the counter, Freddy points out that it smells like baby lotion. She admits to utilizing it to pose John as a lobster before showing him the photos. Freddy describes John as “insanely cute”. Frasier suggests upping the chili recipe to the “Cassoulet”. Freddy questions if it is too much for just a firefighter. Once alone, Freddy complains about Frasier being dismissive of his job. Eve suggests Frasier may change his mind if he saw him in action. Freddy invites Frasier to the fire station to help with the Cassoulet but he declines. It takes a bit of coaxing to convince him to change his mind.

100 Dalmatians To Go – Upon entering the Boston Fire Department, Frasier encounters a muscular firefighter. He claims to feel the need to give the firefighter his lunch money. Freddy warns that an emergency can change everything when Moose says he is needed STAT. Later, Annie does Freddy’s makeup for the firefighter calendar. He boasts of the important elements of a firefighter’s job. Annie urges him to remove his shirt but he refuses. Tiny tells him to do it for the kids. An exhausted David Crane (Anders Keith) arrives with Frasier’s groceries. Frasier comments on his frazzled appearance. David admits to getting locked in the library basement where he stayed all weekend without the essentials. He tells the firefighters that Freddy is like his “big brother” since his parents aren’t around. Smokey asks if anyone knew an orphan was coming. Watching David cram food in his mouth, Tiny says each orphan is more disadvantaged than the last one. Smokey suggests giving him the best day of his life. Tiny invites David to the firefighter’s sleeping quarters. David tells him about sleeping on the library floor with only a newspaper as a blanket.

Is “Moose” With One “S” Or Two?

Frasier prepares his Cassoulet recipe when a Dalmatian takes a seat across from him. He denies being a dog person before assuring the dog that he will not wear down. Elsewhere, Freddy tells Tiny that he had hopes of a fire, so Frasier could have seen them in action. Back in the kitchen, Moose explains how he earned his nickname by preparing “mousse”. Sliding down the fireman’s pole, David expresses surprise about the firefighters sleeping in bunk beds and having a dog. A medical alert gets the firefighters moving. After reducing his Cassoulet to a simmer, Frasier gets into the emergency vehicle. Tiny tells David to watch over the fire station until they return.

Firefighters burst into the apartment to find a man stuck in a doggy door. The man explains how he forgot his keys. Freddy orders Moose to retrieve the power saw. The man complains of anxiety when Frasier identifies himself as a Harvard psychologist. Recognizing him, the man admits to being a fan. Frasier makes a joke to calm the man down. The man suggests Freddy is enjoying watching his father in action. Freddy revs the power saw.

A Man’s Home Is His Cassoulet – The firefighters name David a “Junior Firefighter”. David describes it as the best day of his life, which he can’t wait to share with his mom. Tiny asks if his mother is around. David says no, she is an “angel”. Smokey breaks down. Frasier explains the origin of the Cassoulet. He thanks Freddy for bringing him into his “fraternity”. Tiny suggests Frasier means “fraternite,” a brotherhood. Freddy assures him that being a firefighter is not all about fun. He rants about Frasier’s not accepting his job when a fire alert screams across the intercom. Frasier is left alone with his Cassoulet and the Dalmatian.

Mahoney’s Taproom – Alan and Olivia try to prove to Eve that Middleton created the quote. Eve offers to give them a coupon if they take their stuff and go which they readily accept. Frasier watches a news broadcast about a fire. She tells him about Adam. She admits to worrying about Adam who was a firefighter. Frasier recalls him and his brother worrying about his police officer father. He says Freddy chose a job more dangerous than a police officer. Eve tells him that Freddy believes he doesn’t respect his job. Frasier assures her that it was easier when he lived in Chicago. She urges him to tell Freddy how he feels. He suggests it wouldn’t be fair to burden Freddy with his own fear.

Freddy arrives home at 5am to find Frasier wearing the same outfit. Frasier asks him about the fire. Freddy starts to explain when he realizes Frasier is weeping. Frasier attributes his tears to the spicy chili. Freddy hands him a carton of milk before resuming his story. At the fire station, Smokey and Tiny gift David with a blue bike and a helmet. David crashes as the episode ends.

 

Frasier Review

The firefighters best the Harvard psychologists in a Mahoney’s Taproom trivia. Freddy struggles to come to grips with Frasier’s refusal to respect his job. Eve suggests Frasier may see things differently if he sees the firefighter Freddy in action. After some convincing, Frasier agrees to cook Cassoulet for the firefighters. Freddy spends a portion of his shift posing for a calendar that supports underprivileged kids. The firefighters are dispatched to an apartment where a man is stuck in a doggy door. Frasier comforts the man until they free him. The firefighters set down to enjoy Frasier’s Cassoulet when they receive a fire alert. Frasier doesn’t disrespect Freddy’s job, he fears for his life.

Smokey and Tiny take a liking to David who they believe is an orphan. They give him a tour of the fire station and later gift him with a bike of his favorite color.

While the series pokes fun at serious issues, it does it tastefully and nearly always follows up with a bit of seriousness. Frasier is great for a laugh and should not be taken literally.

The episode deserves a 6.2. Get more Frasier recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Our onsite advertising builds brand awareness, click the link to learn more. Join our forum to discuss the latest TV shows, movies, and celebrity happenings.