Frasier Online Episode Guide -> Season 8 -> Episode 8.10

Motor Skills

As Frasier drives his date Chelsea, Niles and Daphne to the opera, his car suddenly breaks down. Despite putting a brave face on it, Frasier and Niles feel a little embarrassed about their lack of knowledge about car engines, so resolve to take an evening class to help them grasp the basics. Sitting right at the front of the class, Frasier and Niles feel right at home until the class starts and Frasier and Niles' discussions between themselves puts them behind. They don't catch up by the end of the class - and so rationalise they would be better off quitting. However, both Daphne and Martin are so proud of Frasier and Niles that they have second thoughts.

Despairing that they will never catch up with the first class's work, Roz suggests that instead of having to be top of the class, they should coast. Frasier and Niles have never done that their whole lives - but decide to do it. However, their slacker antics get them thrown out of the class.......Meanwhile, Martin drives Roz to distraction as he tries to train Roz's new dog the 'right' way.

- Frasier is driving Niles, Daphne and his date Chelsea to the opera:
Chelsea: This is going to be a whole new experience for me.
Daphne: Why? You've never been bored before (!)

- Frasier apparently cried at the opera:
Niles: You'd have to be stone not to weep at his tragic end.
Martin: Hey, hey! Haven't seen it yet (!)

- Frasier is thrilled to be sitting at the desk of someone who learns during the day:
Niles: Judging by the carving on his desk, it appears his name is Aussie.
Frasier: Yes - and apparently he rules.

- The class tutor, Randy, arrives:
Randy: If you'd like to take your seats, we'll get started.
Niles: We're already seated, Randy (!)

- Frasier and Niles almost fall behind because of their discussion about the orchestra:
Frasier: We can't let that happen again.
Niles: Agreed.
Randy:..... and if you only take one thing away from this class, that should be it.

- Shirley comes up with the right answer to one of Randy's questions:
Randy: Did everyone hear that?
Frasier: Her voice was kind of muffled - what with her lips being pressed up against Randy's butt (!!)

The best 'Frasier' episodes are like a well-oiled engine: smooth and run like a dream - this episode, however, struggled to get fired up and ended up being rather disappointing. It was certainly fun to see Frasier and Niles back in a learning environment givng you a good idea of what they would have been like at school - right at the front, trying to stay top of the class. Equally as amusing was the Crane boy's antics as slackers, especially their funny note - which was written in French. However, the writers struggled to make any of this any more than amusing. I also hated the subplot of Martin helping Roz train her new dog - it just felt so contrived, as if the writers couln't really be bothered to think of something interesting for Roz and Martin to do. I found Martin really irritating in this episode and his know-it-all dog expert act really got on my nerves, leaving us with a rather flat and fitfully amusing episode sadly.

Rating

68 %

Avg. Viewer Review: 82.3%
Total Number of Reviews: 6