First, here are some fun facts I just learned about this particular episode, which I find all very interesting considering I immediately felt this was a stand-out episode. Apparently, there are some good reasons for it being so good and so different than the other episodes I had already seen.
The episode is called "Moon Dance"; it's the 61st episode of the series and the 13th of Season 3 and originally aired on February 6, 1996 (hmmm...I was in sixth grade in Beloit, WI). It was the first episode to be directed by Kelsey Grammer, who also stars as Frasier, so he spent very little time in front of the camera (only in one other episode did Grammer spend less time on camera). The episode had 8 writers, more than any other episode (most have one or two writers). The episode was nominated for several Emmy awards and won in the Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series category.
{Spoiler alert... I now go into great detail about the episode...}
The episode really focuses on the relationship between Niles and Daphne, which is by far my favorite character dynamic in the whole show (no offense to the title character, but I definitely like Niles and Daphne better, so it makes sense that I like this episode best with Frasier conveniently MIA). Niles is Frasier's brother and Daphne is Frasier's live-in maid/cook/physical therapist for his dad, Martin. Niles has had an arguably innocent crush on Daphne since the moment they met, but because Niles was married, nothing but "harmless" flirting ever occurred. But we now find Niles to be just recently separated from his kooky wife (whom we never actually see on screen), is jealous of her recent romantic escapades, and decides to ask the "Fruit-on-the-Bottom" Yogurt Heiress to a fancy charity event, the Snow Ball. One of my favorite exchanges:
Niles: Oh, I just stopped by to ask you a question. Are you free Saturday night?
Martin: Sure!
Niles: [gleefully] Well, I'm not! I have a date!
When Niles realizes that it may be a problem that he cannot dance (Niles: "My first date's a miserable failure before it even begins"), Daphne offers to teach him. The lessons are adorable and really showcase their chemistry. But his date ends up cancelling, prompting Daphne to suggest that she go with him to the ball. When Niles arrives to get Daphne, Niles see her gorgeous red dress and is captivated.
Niles: "Wow!" {ahhhh the way he looks at her is just DELIGHTFUL! *swoon*}
Daphne: "Ohhh, [giggles] you!"
At the ball, Niles discovers that his entire social scenes pities him.
Niles: "Well, everyone seems to have this idea that while Maris is out living the high life, I'm sitting at home, crushed and lonely."
Daphne: "Yeah, well, never mind those gossipy twits. Tonight, you're all mine."
And so they dance. And the chemistry between them is palpable. I got chills so many times. It was so romantic, especially the way Niles looks at Daphne. {*sigh*}
Daphne: [laughing] I can't remember when I've had a better time. I'm on Cloud Nine!
Niles: I'd have to look down to see Cloud Nine! Daphne, I must tell you again, that is an exquisite gown.
Daphne: Oh, thanks! It was way out of my price range, but did you ever see something and say, "I just have to have it?"
Niles: [speechless, and cannot help but gaze longingly at her.] {ahhhh, again, the way he looks at her is just DELIGHTFUL!}
Then later...
Daphne: There's only one rule in the tango: our bodies must be in continuous contact, with not a sliver of daylight between us. [she presses her body close to his]
Niles: [overwhelmed] I can do that
And then they dance the tango. I feel like this moment is simultaneously the most exciting, exhilarating, romantic and amazing, while also the super saddest and most heartbreaking.
Daphne: That's it! You're dazzling! You're brilliant!
Niles: [passionately] Oh Daphne, I adore you!
Daphne: [eyes closed in rapture] I adore you too!
Niles: What?!?!?
Daphne: I adore you too.
Niles: [thrilled] Oh, how I've longed to hear those words!
Daphne: Oh, how I've longed to say them!
Niles: You're beautiful! You're a goddess! {omg to have Niles call ME a goddess!!}
Daphne: I don't ever want this moment to end!
Niles: This is the most glorious night of my life.
Daphne: Oh, mine too...
[They kiss, tenderly and strongly.] {fun fact: Niles and Daphne will not kiss again for another four years, at the end of Season Seven.}
[They sit, and Niles caresses her hand.] {ooooh it's so romantic. He is SO in love! *I'm* so in love! I'm also thinking, wait a minute, is this a dream sequence? This cannot be happening!!}
Niles: Oh, Daphne! I'm a new man! Do you have any idea what I'm feeling?
Daphne: Of course I do! Your friends look positively dumbstruck. From now on there'll be no more of that "oh poor Niles" attitude...
Niles: Far from it!
[He kisses her hand reverently; she looks over her shoulder then turns back to him.]
Daphne: I knew you were a good dancer, but I had no idea you were such a good actor!
Niles: [shocked] Actor? {oh no, I feel deflated! NOOOOO!}
Daphne: Yeah! "Daphne, you're a goddess, Daphne, I adore you..." We fooled everyone, didn't we?
Niles: [heartbroken] Oh...oh. We certainly did, didn't we? {MY HEART IS BROKEN TOO!}
Daphne orchestrated the whole thing as an act to impress everyone in the room. She wanted to prove to everyone there that Niles was not mourning his separation and was most certainly not pitiful. Daphne not only gorgeously shines with her stunning dress and sexy dance moves, she is also an incredible friend to Niles, essentially giving him his life back. If only she realized that Niles' feelings were real. Maybe she did? Maybe she felt them too? Maybe she was just in denial with reality, thinking it would be wrong for the two of them to get together? As heartbreaking as it was to see the chemistry and love fizzle as reality set in, just feeling it for a moment was superb.
On a delightful side note, since I am a grammar nerd, here are two fun homophone jokes from the episode {and yes I see the irony of grammar vs grammer, as in Kelsey Grammer. hahaha}
1. After discussing Niles' lack of significant girlfriends, Daphne asks: "Wine, Dr. Crane?"
Niles replies, thinking she said 'whine',: "Well, wouldn't you?"
2. Martin is telling a story to Niles about a pretty coroner he had a crush on. "So one night, I invited her down to the corner bar."
Niles: "Coroners have their own bars? "
Martin: [exasperated] "No, corner, Niles, the corner bar!"
On another delightful side note, I googled the actor who plays Niles (David Hyde Pierce) who is now 61. As a child, he frequently played organ at the local Bethesda Episcopal Church. In 1981, Pierce graduated from Yale University with a bachelor of arts degree. (he went to Yale with Jodie Foster, and super fun fact: one of the callers of Frasier's radio show at the beginning of the episode was none other than Jodie Foster!).
IMDB lists two of Pierce's trademarks as having a "Distinctive, mellow voice" and "Deadpan comic delivery." Pierce once said, "I can vividly recall telling a joke in, like, second grade and realizing it was funnier if I didn't laugh. I've been deadpan ever since." {hahahahahahaha}
I also learned that Pierce revealed that he is gay in 2007. {of course, I am in love with a gay man. Typical}. In 2007 when accepting his Tony Award for Curtains, Pierce thanked "my partner, Brian, because it's 24 years of listening to your damn notes—that's why I'm up here tonight." Awwwww! They married in California on October 24, 2008, just days before Proposition 8 was adopted as law, banning same-sex marriages in the state, which greatly angered him. He said, "We got married very quietly last October and thought that was fine, and then suddenly the state of California said, 'No, it's not.'"
Another super fun fact, Pierce's husband, Brian Hargrove, was the producer and writer for The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994), one my favorite TV shows as a kid, and one my husband and I often talk about.
Oh how I love learning. I learned so much by doing some simple googling of my favorite (so far} Frasier episode. Isn't learning delightful? Almost as delightful as that undeniable chemistry between Niles and Daphne. 💕
With delight,
♥Jamie
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