Frasier Online Episode Guide -> Season 6 -> Episode 6.19

IQ

Frasier, Niles, Martin and Roz all attend a silent auction in aid of the Kelly Ann Grunther Foundation where Niles and Frasier let their childish competiveness take over again when they both vying to win a meal in a restaurant with 3 Nobel Prize winners. Niles wins with a bid of $4000, but the auctioneer then says that Frasier can join him if also pays $4000 - to which he reluctantly agrees. Later, when trying to work out what causes their competitiveness, they remember the IQ tests they took when they were children which their mother refused to tell them the results of - just that they were 2 points apart. Frasier rationalises that the best way to show they have put their competiveness behind them is to see the results of the tests now. So out of a box of stuff from Niles and Frasier's childhood, the results of the IQ tests come out - Frasier obtained an excellent 129, but it seems their mother was being tactful as Niles scored a genius like score of 156.

Aghast at being left behind at the meal the following day, Frasier spends the night at the library brushing up on subjects so he won't feel behind and joins Niles at the restaurant with a nervous twitch after a night of coffee, where it becomes apparent that Niles also spent the night at the library after following Frasier there. This has kicked off his parchment-mite allergy but after overdosing on his medication, and Frasier and Niles make a fool of themselves in front of their 3 guests. Back at Frasier's, they both realise that their competitiveness will probably never go away but it has done them some good by getting them where they are today.

- Niles notices a day of beauty with Raphael:
Frasier: I see Missy Kramer put down for that.
Niles: Can you blame her - her last day of beauty was during the Johnson administration!

- Noel has come to bid for the day behind the scenes with Frasier's show:
Roz [takes the pen]: Oh, there's no pen.
Noel: No problemo - I always wear one around my neck.

- As Frasier and Niles try to comprehend how much they have spent:
Frasier: We've just spent $8000 on a lunch.
Niles: Just remember it's going to a good cause.
Auctioneer: Thanks to the Crane's generosity, there will be a lot fewer homeless cats on the streets of Seattle.

Niles: Dad, do you know what our IQ's are?
Martin: No, but I got a pretty good idea at that auction tonight (!).

- Worrying that he won't be able to join in with the geniuses conversations:
Frasier: They'll be sitting there talking about black holes, matter, anti-matter and I won't matter at all!

- The whole scene in the restaurant, with highlight of:
Frasier: Why am I talking to a man who has his elbow in the butter ?!

A great little episode this, with plenty of comedy being derived from the competitive streak between Frasier and Niles. The auction scene itself has lots of brilliant little moments - Martin warding off potential bidders from a barbecue, Roz going out with a woman in an attempt to get her to out-bid Noel plus a brilliant pan shot that sees Frasier and Niles fighting over the genius dinner. The dinner itself is also very funny what with Frasier's nervous twitch and Niles over-medicating, culminating with Frasier dragging the table cloth off the table along with Niles, all of which helps to make this a very entertaining episode.

Rating

80 %

Avg. Viewer Review: 78.8%
Total Number of Reviews: 6