Frasier Online Episode Guide -> Season 6 -> Episode 6.08

The Seal Who Came To Dinner

Niles has to throw a dinner for his gourmet club to try and secure their prestigious Golden Apron award, but has nowhere to hold it. Frasier offers his apartment after he hears one of the guest is someone in charge of a number of radio stations, but when Niles sees a crack in one of Frasier's windows, he insists on finding somewhere else - they are very picky, apparently. He suddenly remembers that Maris is in Antwerp at the moment, and has a delightful beach house, perfect for viewing the meteor shower planned for that night.

On arrival at the beach house, Niles and Frasier discover a dead seal has been washed up outside so they try and dispose of it by taking it out to sea, but the tide washes it back in. As the guests begin to arrive, Niles and Frasier struggle to keep the guests unaware of the seal. However, when a neighbour sees Niles stabbing the seal, covered in her peach peignoir and perfume, she thinks foul play is at work and calls the police......

- Niles enters Cafe Nervosa:
Niles: If my life gets any worse, I'm phoning hell to ask about their exchange programme.

Niles: After the year I've had, I need something to restore my pride, my dignity, my manhood. The Golden Apron could do that.

- After Daphne castigates Martin for flirting with her friend Pam:
Martin: I saw her giving me the once over too, you know.
Daphne: Yes, she looked once and it was all over!

- After Niles suggests using the beach house as the venue:
Martin: Isn't that breaking and entering?
Niles: It's not a crime if it's catered!

- After Niles goes to look for a shovel, and brings back buckets and spades:
Frasier: You couldn't find any demitasse spoons (?!)

- After Niles brings perfume and the peignoir to cover the seal:
Frasier: We're giving it a burial Niles, not a day of beauty!

- The knat-clapping lamp scene.

- The final five minutes of calamity, where all the evidence points to Frasier and Niles having murdered Maris.

- The police take Frasier and Niles away:
Niles: You can't arrest me - my wife is in Antwerp having her elbows done!

Sometimes referred to as "The Smelly Seal Episode", this is perhaps Joe Keenan's least successful farce based episode but still manages to pack in some great ideas and situations nevertheless. The lamp turned on and off by clapping was just terrific as was the attempts by Frasier and Niles to get rid of the seal themselves, what with Niles arming himself with a bucket and spade and a peach peignoir! So while the set-up seemed quite promising, something was missing that prevented the farce from really getting going, and hence prevented a good episode becoming a great one

Rating

80 %

Avg. Viewer Review: 82.6%
Total Number of Reviews: 19