Frasier Online Episode Guide -> Season 4 -> Episode 4.18

Ham Radio

It's KACL's 50th anniversary and to celebrate Frasier decides to recreate the station's first mystery theatre broadcast - 'Nightmare Inn'. Frasier gives everyone a part in the radio play, with himself as the lead, with a number of the smaller roles being played by a professional actor, Mel White. As rehearsals begin, however, Frasier's Orson Welles complex takes over and he criticizes everyone's performance, managing in the process to alienate his only professional actor, who promptly quits! Niles is brought in at the last minute to play six different parts including a maid and a dwarf. During the live broadcast all goes awry when Frasier decides to try and improve Niles performance.

- Frasier says the name of the play is 'Nightmare Inn':
Martin: Oh, don't tell me, a bunch of people get caught in a storm and everyone's wondering who's going to be the first one to be murdered.
Frasier: Exactly - and I'm going to direct it.
Niles: So we can stop wondering!

- In the radio studio:
Gil: Frasier, I've had a peek at your script and I think I'd be perfect as Bull Cragan, the brutish gamekeeper.
Frasier: You know, that's a little too on the nose, Gil.

- Daphne's lovely reaction to Frasier condescending her.

- After Frasier criticizes Mel's German accent:
Mel: I've done that accent both on Broadway and the London stage.
Frasier: Well, maybe they have different standards than I have.

- After Frasier queries why Bulldog told his girlfriend Maxine to work on her one line:
Bulldog: She's got that condition...dys, dys...
Niles: Dystemper (?)

The disintegration of the play, highlights:
- Niles playing the dwarf with helium.
- Gil refusing to die.
- Niles 'shooting' everyone due to Frasier's constant attempts to direct him.

One of 'Frasier's manic farce based episodes, and a superb one at that. It does have a problem in that the good lines seem to happen to quickly so that it you feel you've missed something, but there are some terrific moments both when they are rehearsing in Frasier's apartment (Daphne's interjections of sound effect 'comments' was brilliant), and when the play is being performed, most notably when Gil is determined to get his 'boyhood in Surrey' speech aired by whatever means necessary. Overall, then, a hugely entertaining episode but just misses classic status by a fraction.

Rating

89 %

Avg. Viewer Review: 96.6%
Total Number of Reviews: 63