2023 Frasier Season 1 Episode 10 Recap
Reindeer Games – The episode opens with Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) going through some of his father’s old Christmas decorations. A hip-swinging cowboy Santa that sings, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” immediately attracts his attention. When Freddy Crane (Jack Cutmore-Scott) joins him he also instantly recognizes the dancing Santa as one of his grandfathers (Martin). They reminisce about their Seattle Christmases before agreeing on a party. Although it would be completely last minute, neither is worried about their “loser” friends being tied up with other obligations. Further discussion reveals that they also have very differing opinions about the type of party they want to host.
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – While unloading supplies for the party, Freddy encounters Eve (Jess Salgueiro), who is clearly struggling with her first Christmas without Adam. She mentions not even attending the party for fear that her depressed state will affect the festive mood. She turns down his offer to check on her and claims she has her entire night planned. Frasier arrives with wine and champagne once she’s gone. After a quick check of her phone, Freddy informs Frasier that his gift won’t be arriving as expected. Frasier says, with the fine champagne, wine, eggnog, a Christmas goose, and the Brandenburg String Quartet; he practically has everything he could want. Despite his delayed flight, David Crane (Anders Keith) joins them in a festive mood. As it turns out, his festive mood is inspired by the anticipation of Frasier’s reaction to the botched delivery. Instead of 1 Christmas tree and 24 chairs, it appears that the last-minute preparations led to Frasiher’s ordering 24 trees and 1 chair. Freddy’s offers to deal with the problem don’t appear to ease Frasier’s frustration.
When What To My Wondering Eyes Should Appear – Now dressed in his dinner attire, Frasier praises Freddy’s quick work with the trees, but fears he might have made additional oversights in his rushed planning. Freddy promises to stay by his side throughout the evening. Olivia (Toks Olagundoye) and Alan Cornwall (Nicholas Lyndhurst) are the first to arrive and Alan doesn’t waste any time making jokes about the abundance of trees. Olivia’s mind is clearly on her mobile. Even as she finishes and sends her text, she attempts to explain the complicated hierarchy of college evaluations and why she’ll be cutting the evening short. Moose (Jimmy Dunn) and Nathan (Jack Noble) arrive next, as Alan and David conspire to spice up the tediousness of “small talk” with a game. Alan warms to David’s suggestion to slip the names of all 12 reindeer into conversations without anyone noticing. Alan successfully crosses Vixen off the list an instant later by greeting Professor Roupel and his date.
Freddy sneaks across the hall with a plate tray of cookies to find Eve snuggled into a blanket and enjoying her Hallmark movie. He soon leaves intending to return with company when he notices that she’s been crying. David uses the Patriots and a football conversation to cross Blitzen off the list before Freddy steals away their attendance. After apologizing for her lack of decorations, Eve gets them caught up on the movie’s plot. Freddy finds that he’s returned just in time as Frasier has worked himself into a fit from worrying about his ill-prepared eggnog. Freddy calms him easily enough by pointing out what a great time the guests are having. Across the room, Alan and David use Olivia and a discussion about dating to mark Cupid off the list.
Freddy is pleased to see that the mood has completely transformed at Eves when he returns with a tree. Tiny (Kevin Daniels) has not only joined but they are playing drinking games. The dwindling supply of alcohol leads Freddy back to Frasier’s party, where there is now a problem with the off-key quartet. It seems Frasier has accidentally booked the Brandenburg Elementary Stringed Quarter and the group’s lack of experience shows. Freddy’s assurance that he’ll handle the issue and the late arrival of Provost Sharma (Parvesh Cheen and Louise provide the perfect distraction. This is until Louise blames their late arrival on a “Save The Trees “charity event.
On his return trip to Eve’s apartment with the newly acquired champagne, Freddy unexpectedly encounters Smokey (Renee Pezzotta). Their conversation doesn’t get much further than the greetings thanks to an urgent phone call with news regarding Frasier’s present. Before stepping away to handle the call, Smokey agrees to deliver the champagne. Frasier shows up before she makes it to Eves and doesn’t have the heart to correct his assumption that she’s there for his party. With another name crossed off their list, Alan suggests increasing the difficulty of their game by trying to trick the other person into saying the reindeer’s name. Just as soon as David says that would be impossible, a conversation with Provost proves him wrong. What little luck Frasier had left runs out when he learns that he’s ordered a living Christmas goose.
There Arose Such A Clatter – Frasier appears to have a newfound sense of hope as prepares to cook the goose. When the time comes for Olivia to cut her evening short, she encounters Moose in the hallway on his way to poach more alcohol from Frasier’s party. The two appear to click right from the beginning as he gets her to agree to a drink at Eves. Frasier’s party has gotten so bad that guests are no longer socializing. Smokey is the first to leave and her mention of another party draws the attention of the entire room. One by one they make their way to Eve’s apartment while Frasier brags about the success of his party to Niles over the phone. When Frasier returns to the living room, the only people left are the members of the stringed quartet.
Freddy notices the noise coming from Eve’s apartment on his way back to Frasiers. After a few seconds of consideration, he goes in to discover Frasier’s guests. Frasier soon discovers the same scene and publically voices his feelings of betrayal before storming home. Freddy attempts to comfort him but doesn’t get passed the front door. Sometime later, Frasier receives a text from Freddy, announcing the arrival of his present. Fraser is surprised by Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin) at the front door. A happy reunion and the absence of alcohol lead to him inviting her to the bar.
Although the party rages on, Freddy helps Eve tidy up in the kitchen. While doing so, she thanks him for all his efforts but suggests that his insistence to make others happy might be him masking his hurt. She finishes by pointing out that she lost Adam and Frasier lost Martin, but Freddy lost both of them. Moose and Olivia continue to vibe and he proves to have a way with words. The two eventually share a kiss once he leads her back to Frasier’s apartment to look for her planner. David and Alan have successfully finished their game and after some hesitation start another.
Frasier and Roz continue to catch up over a beer at the local pub. After some back-and-forth, she helps him realize that Freddy didn’t abandon him and was only trying to comfort his best friend’s girlfriend just as he was doing with him.
And To All A Good Night – Once he realizes how petty he was being, Frasier returns with Roz to Eve’s apartment to apologize, only to discover that the party has moved back to his place. The episode wraps with him and Freddy making up.
Frasier Review
I’d give the episode a 5.6 out of 10 for the mere fact that it felt complete. Although there weren’t any cliffhangers or unresolved storylines throughout the season, the finale felt succinct. I actually found myself enjoying Freddy’s scrambling back and forth from apartment to apartment, and Alan and David’s antics were funnier than ever. I honestly find myself surprised at how much I’m enjoying their budding relationship.
Perhaps it’s because they are such total opposites. Since I am not familiar with the older series, I know nothing of Roz or her character. That said, her appearance almost felt disappointing after there was such a big build-up. Not because it wasn’t an enjoyable interaction, but because it felt rushed and extremely short.
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