Frasier Online Episode Guide -> Season 11 -> Episode 11.20

And Frasier Makes Three

Niles joins Frasier at Cafe Nervosa, but Frasier doesn't want to hear about Niles' day - he is meeting Charlotte for lunch where he intends to fight for her by presenting himself as the opposite of her current boyfriend Frank, or the "anti-Frank" as Frasier describes it. Charlotte arrives and goes to call Frank, telling Frasier that everything's fine between them now, prompting to Frasier to take direct action. He has a hunt through Charlotte's bag, despite Niles protestations, to see if he can find anything that might give him the edge over Frank and thinks he's found the answer in a book of Irish literature. He hurridly rearranges his date with Charlotte to dinner, and goes off to brush up on his Irish literature. Charlotte is suitably impressed with the effort Frasier has gone to for what she thinks is a business dinner, including fresh flowers, but then Frank shows up at the restaurant to get the keys to their apartment from Charlotte. He then notices the great wine Frasier has selected, so Charlotte invites him to stay for a glass - to Frasier's (well-hiden) annoyance. Frasier then tries to impress Charlotte with his new found knowledge of Irish literature - only to discover that it was Frank who gave Charlotte the book, and she hasn't made much of a dent in it - before Frank decides to stay for dinner as he thinks all three of them are having fun.

This situation continues the following week as Frasier, Charlotte and Frank go wine-tasting, beach-combing and a for a horse drawn carraige ride, with Frank not finding Frasier a potential rival for Charlotte's affections, before Frasier finally gets Charlotte to himself after Frank injurew himself during one of their hikes, and he decides to take the opportunity to cook her a fabulous meal and tell her how he feels. All is going well - Frasier is even giving Charlotte a massage - when Frank comes home, and just sees Frasier as a good friend making Charlotte dinner, and asks Frasier to give him a massage too! This sparks off an argument between Charlotte and Frank with Frasier sitting uncomfortably in the middle, but just at the point that Frank storms out, he drags Frasier out with him as he says he needs his buddy! Frasier returns some time later after Frank decides to climb a tree, and after Charlotte says it's over between her and Frank, Frasier finally admits to Charlotte his feelings for her - to which Charlotte responds she's been thinking about him a little too, which leads to them spending the night together. The next morning, as Frasier is bringing Charlotte breakfast in bed, Frank arrives and thinks nothing of seeing Frasier in his robe. As Frasier gets dressed, Charlotte tells Frank that she thinks the relationship isn't working and also that she has bought the old business back from her ex, and is moving back to Chicago - but she doesn't have the time or the heart to tell Frasier that she's moving just yet..... Meanwhile, Martin gets Ronee her engagement ring (which turns out to be a toe ring confiscated from the obese rapper Lil' Cupid), and Roz dates a convict.

- Steve is telling Roz the guys on his floor all liked Roz's voice, which she presumes means the guys in college:
Steve: It wan't exactly college, more like prison.
Roz: So was mine - so where'd you go?
Steve: Prison.

- Frasier thinks learning about Irish literature will help him win over Charlotte:
Frasier: There's one are where no one has ever bested me - homework!

- Charlotte and Frank can't decide which DVD to watch so they let Frasier choose:
Frasier: 'Perfect Storm' or 'When Harry Met Sally'? I guess I'm gonna have to go with 'When Harry Met Sally'.
Frank: Yes!!

- Frasier is letting Niles and Daphne have his pair of opera tickets:
Niles: If you'd gotten a third, you could have taken that couple you've been dating. (!)

- After seeing Martin's engagement ring for Ronee, Daphne remarks that Lil' Cupid is the obese rapper who was recently arrested:
Niles: Where did you get this ring?
Martin: At an auction........ a police auction.

- Frasier is stuck in the middle of Charlotte and Frank's fight:
Charlotte: I think you should leave.
Frank: Fine - come on Frasier, let's go!

Frasier attempts to appeal to Charlotte by offering himself as the opposite of Frank, but Frank's inability to see him as a threat and instead treat him as just a buddy is the source of much of the laughs in this entertaining episode. I particularly liked the scene in the restaurant when Frasier starts talking French to the waiter as a way of saying something without Frank understanding - only for Frank to chime in in fluent French too! The subplot about Martin's engagement ring for Ronee was rather amusing too - good to hear another namecheck for Sherry, and I liked the fact we saw Lil' Cupid in the tag scene over the credits too. Good script and good performances all round make this yet another above average episode.

Rating

81 %

Avg. Viewer Review: 77.0%
Total Number of Reviews: 1