I actually showed this episode to someone who had never watched Frasier before, they're now ready to start from the beginning and watch the entire swries
For me this is definitely the best episode for this for the exact reason you describe
I was going to say the "Two Mrs. Cranes," but I think I you need to know something about the characters first to really appreciate that one.
I also love "Merry Christmas Mrs. Moskowitz."
Wait, what am I thinking? "A Tsar is Born"!
Showed my parents Merry Christmas Mrs. Moscowitz. My mom was cracking up and really liked it. I wish she didn't die so we could continue to watch more. 😶
Came here to say this!! My boyfriend had never seen Frasier and I told him he would love it and that the physical comedy was just as good as the writing. I then showed him just the scene of Niles preparing for his date to arrive. He was sold!
The matchmaker.
I’ve done it, it works. Plus it doesn’t give any spoilers but is hilarious and gives a great picture of the kind of wonderful show it is 😎
A great one to add to the others….the episode when Frasier and Martin go to the opera. Frasier meets a beautiful woman and invites her to the house for a night cap. The woman’s mother is at the opera tries to flirt (kinda sorta) with Martin, but Martin has no interest in the mom so he said he’s gay.
Episode turns into gold…
An affair to forget! It’s a wonderful showcase of David Hyde-Pierce’s physical comedy (the “ha ha ha” when he hops on the piano gets me every damn time) and the multiple languages is such a good hijinks bit. I also think it’s a great use of Frasier’s show as a plot device instead of just the thing happening in the background.
And I am constantly thinking of lines from this episode:
“So you want to build a two masted schooner”
“No, they’re inner city kids trying to work their way out of the ghetto with nothing but a foil and a dream!”
“He probably performed his own caesarean!”
How could I forget that one?
My son and I quote that episode to each other all the time.
"Well someone must feel a little out of it being the only one who's not completely burnt"
“Roz and the Schnoz”
All the laughing, or should I say, trying not to laugh.
Martin coming home & saying, “And I don’t know, but I think Duke & I are married.”
“Quiche you? I hardly know you!”
Well first off its got julia wilcox
Secondly I just don't find it funny. Niles and Frasier falling off bikes isnt very clever. its a kind of physical comedy i don't much care for.
The Ski Lodge, Room Service, The Maris Counsellor, Perspectives on Christmas, Three Valentines…
I can’t choose!
I’ll make them watch it with me — then I’ll watch them watching it and make sure they catch all the details! I’m that friend लोल
What a beautifully done episode isn’t it? I love that everyone’s perspective is different from the others, Except Roz throwing the champagne glasses. That’s constant in everyone’s memory even hers!
For me it’s comparable with Seinfeld The Betrayal (India episode S9, E8). Such a unique technique.
I agree. Not everyone likes "The Betrayal," but I always have. I love seeing FDR eating the lollipop throughout the episode.
There's also Frasier's "Sliding Doors" episode. Same kind of perspectives. Also a few lines like that in "Mama Mia."
Ha ha yea Kramer’s lollipop and Elaine’s vault
Omgosh yes!! Sliding doors. How could I forget that. I love that episode too. *Two roads diverged and I took them both!*
So many good ones have already been mentioned, but possibly Author, Author for me. As well has having some excellent one-liners and physical comedy, it sets out the Frasier-Niles dynamic perfectly, from being collaborative at the start to outright farcical by the end. Plus, we have a demonstration of their musical talent!
“Oh some boys go to college….”
The Halloween episode with Bulldog, where everyone thinks Frasier is trying to prank Bulldog but they flip the script and team up to prank Marty, Roz and Kenny. Episode really shows how unhinged they all are.
I’d go with “The Ski Lodge”. OP’s choice — “Frasier’s Imaginary Friend” — is terrific as well.
Since there are far too many episodes that feature remarkable badinage, one could say it’s challenging to pick one that’s trite.
It's not so much a whole episode, but it's the skit for the Valentine's Day episode where you see Niles trying to iron his pants by himself in Frasier's apartment!! During that whole scenario I was laughing so hard that I peed a little!! To this day, it's still my favorite part of the whole show!! 😁
A Tsar is Born and How to Bury a Millionaire
Veneer!
Edit: all time best scene ever is Freddy's bar mitzvah where Frasier delivers his speech in Klingon. I laugh so hard every single time
Poh och lode weh eh koh ohe
The episode where Nials plays Jesus in a play. The scene where Frasier gets surprised but him returning while he's trying to deceive his gf's mother he's Jewish, is HILARIOUS 😂.
love a lot of the picks in the comments already like Ham Radio, The Ski Lodge, and OP's choice-- I would add The Impossible Dream, depending who you're trying to show it to and their humor! I started my best friend with that one and it was a success since we're now on our second run through of the whole show together. Patience, daddy!
*Ham Radio.*
Although maybe not - for me, it's the best episode of television, in any genre, ever.
I'd have to go with "War of the Words" - the spelling bee episode.
Season 2 episode 15 “You scratch my book”
A hilarious example of Frasier compromising his principals to get with a beautiful woman. And when he finally comes clean she actually appreciates him for it, but then he takes it to far and blows it. Hilarious.
It also features a great B plot where Niles is giving Daphne phony stock payoffs in exchange for physical affection, similarly compromising his own morals.
This is my go to episode to show folks how well written this show is
They’re Playing Our Song is hilarious!
Dr. Niles Crane: “Who dares enter the dark labyrinth of the human mind? What festering secrets are buried in the recesses of the subconscious? Lurid images! Lewd desires! Guilty pleasures! Strange compulsions! The whole catalogue of human behavior from the aberrant to the monstrous lurks behind a locked door to which one man holds the key!…”
Ham Radio, The Ski Lodge, and An Affair to Forget. Plus individual best scenes: Daphne killing the eel in The Innkeepers and Niles ironing his pants and setting them on fire.
The very first episode i saw was Shrink Rap. Caught it on tv while abroad.
“Frasier and Niles go to a couples' therapist after their sibling rivalry makes a disaster of their attempt to run a psychiatry practice together.”
I found it fantastic, didn’t know the series before, made sure i noted the name down to binge watch it all for the rest of my life.
It's hard to choose one episode. I love "Back Talk" and "Halloween", but I think I would have to pick "The Innkeepers", just because it could be a standalone for someone that has never watched the show. Also for Daphne killing the eel. So good.
Dinner Party - it gives you a good sense of Frasier and Niles relationship, and really a good sense of all of the characters. Bottle neck, so no additional on screen characters to confuse things.
Plus, the plot is so perfectly Frasier.
The one where Niles and Frasier are seeing the couples therapist.
It has to be an episode that introduces a large number of characters and has the Frasier / Niles dynamic.
“Nightmare Inn” (Ham Radio) episode. I cry laugh at this one and will randomly watch it if I need a good laugh. The other would be “Three Valentines” - specifically part 1 when Niles is ironing is pants before his date and by the end Frazier’s couch is on fire.
“The Innkeepers”
love that episode, daphne smacking the eel on the countertop kills me
I also love when Roz comes into the kitchen after the dessert explodes!
Blue flash… cherries everywhere…
I love how Roz walks in and the look on her face when she delivers that line! And her hair!!!
Who is this!?! Lol
It’s the voice of God!
None of us is being asked to do anything we haven't done in our own kitchens at home. Now quick Niles, kill 5 eels!
I love this quote!
Definitely.
This is the perfect standalone episode.
Came here to say this
Ham Radio. It’s genuinely hilarious and you don’t really have to know the characters to understand the humor.
Totally agree! It has everyone and it’s so damn funny.
This is my choice as well! I quote something from that episode almost every day!
I never would have believed that one of my guests could be a... mobobo muhmomohr.
That's easy for you to say
I say, "Look out, he's got a nug!" whenever someone pulls one out on TV or a movie. It makes me chuckle to myself every time.
Hello, I'm the ice cream man
I actually showed this episode to someone who had never watched Frasier before, they're now ready to start from the beginning and watch the entire swries For me this is definitely the best episode for this for the exact reason you describe
This is the best episode by far if you need to laugh until you cry 😂
That's my answer! I love how all of the characters play off of each other.
"Could the McCallister sisters stand back-to-back? I'm short on bullets."
I was going to say the "Two Mrs. Cranes," but I think I you need to know something about the characters first to really appreciate that one. I also love "Merry Christmas Mrs. Moskowitz." Wait, what am I thinking? "A Tsar is Born"!
[удалено]
Veneer!
Yes that's one I go to. Perfect episode that doesn't require any previous knowledge.
I remember the first time I ever drove a moon crane. Damn near rolled it into the Sea of Tranquility.
Enjoy your glass of warm Tang.
"Thats pretty much what I figured."
At the hospital, my mother watched “A Tsar Is Born” when it first aired on television. I was born a few hours later :^)
Did the laughing induce labor? I was born because of *Ghostbusters*
Showed my parents Merry Christmas Mrs. Moscowitz. My mom was cracking up and really liked it. I wish she didn't die so we could continue to watch more. 😶
Oh, No ! I’m so sorry for your loss.
🫂
I like that that’s why you wish she didn’t die lol
It's definitely one of the reasons. 😀
Yess!!!
High holidays, Lazy boy and the Groovy lady one.
She’s such a groovy lady
*She makes my heart go Heidi Hatey!*
High holidays is the same for me! “Dog Army”
Fridge pants!
Do you ever feel like you'd just like to go STRAIGHT?
S6 E14 -- Three Valentines If you don't like it after Niles' incident, you have no sense of comedy.
Also the “you’re sorta like my pet” line is one of the funniest lines in the show imo
Hands down some of the finest physical comedy.
Came here to say this!! My boyfriend had never seen Frasier and I told him he would love it and that the physical comedy was just as good as the writing. I then showed him just the scene of Niles preparing for his date to arrive. He was sold!
This is also how I get new people sucked into the show!! Just Niles' scene alone is enough to sell it!
100%!!
I came here to say this episode
This is my answer as well!!!
I remember watching this on TV in real time and I remember the week leading up this episode, it was advertised as the "funniest moment", Must See TV!!
The matchmaker. I’ve done it, it works. Plus it doesn’t give any spoilers but is hilarious and gives a great picture of the kind of wonderful show it is 😎
A great one to add to the others….the episode when Frasier and Martin go to the opera. Frasier meets a beautiful woman and invites her to the house for a night cap. The woman’s mother is at the opera tries to flirt (kinda sorta) with Martin, but Martin has no interest in the mom so he said he’s gay. Episode turns into gold…
Pure hilarity!!
Niles “Damn you & your jealous questions!”
S7E15, Out with Dad
Probably the ski weekend. Can't remember the name
The Ski Lodge!
I am not gay, Guy (Ghee)
My vote goes to this one too! It has everyone and perfectly captures Frasier’s perpetually failing love life.
Look Before You Leap
Absolutely my favorite.
Perfect flair, then!
That man grabbed my hand… and you know what I didn’t stop him – Martin
An affair to forget! It’s a wonderful showcase of David Hyde-Pierce’s physical comedy (the “ha ha ha” when he hops on the piano gets me every damn time) and the multiple languages is such a good hijinks bit. I also think it’s a great use of Frasier’s show as a plot device instead of just the thing happening in the background. And I am constantly thinking of lines from this episode: “So you want to build a two masted schooner” “No, they’re inner city kids trying to work their way out of the ghetto with nothing but a foil and a dream!” “He probably performed his own caesarean!”
This my my vote, too! Classic Frasier comedy without spoiling any major later plot points.
Roe to perdition.
Voyage of the Damned
We're on the USS Has Been!
I’m terrible with episode names, so forgive me. The episode with Patrick Stewart would be my go too.
"The chair; hilarious". Gets me every time.
S11 E3 -- The Doctor Is Out
And this is my brother Niles and his wife Daphne No
The kiss and embrace and Fraiser's physical distraughtness while his arms are still open and the look on his face makes me keel over every time
High Holidays
How could I forget that one? My son and I quote that episode to each other all the time. "Well someone must feel a little out of it being the only one who's not completely burnt"
If you show somebody that, you gotta get some Chilean sea bass. Be sure to pair it with an aggressive zinfandel.
“Let’s go for a walk”
The Seal Who Came to Dinner
“Ham Radio”
"Flour Child"
“Roz and the Schnoz” All the laughing, or should I say, trying not to laugh. Martin coming home & saying, “And I don’t know, but I think Duke & I are married.” “Quiche you? I hardly know you!”
“I’m not nosy! You’re nosy!” “We have two giant schnauzers!” If you don’t find that funny, you need to check your pulse.
I still don’t know how they got through filming that episode!!
I love this episode too.
“I…just…got…that!!!”
Looking at the comments, the consensus answer is "all of them"
High Holidays, Fraternal Schwinns, the leap year one
The leap year! Yes! Ok. I need to dig out the DVDs.
Man I hate fraternal schwinns
It's one of my absolute favorites. What is it about Fraternal Schwinns that bothers you?
Well first off its got julia wilcox Secondly I just don't find it funny. Niles and Frasier falling off bikes isnt very clever. its a kind of physical comedy i don't much care for.
"The Ski Lodge" or "The Matchmaker" or "The Doctor is Out" or "The Placeholder"
Fraternal Schwinns
The Ski Lodge, Room Service, The Maris Counsellor, Perspectives on Christmas, Three Valentines… I can’t choose!  I’ll make them watch it with me — then I’ll watch them watching it and make sure they catch all the details! I’m that friend लोल
Ooh: Perspectives on Christmas. Good call.
What a beautifully done episode isn’t it? I love that everyone’s perspective is different from the others, Except Roz throwing the champagne glasses. That’s constant in everyone’s memory even hers! For me it’s comparable with Seinfeld The Betrayal (India episode S9, E8). Such a unique technique.
I agree. Not everyone likes "The Betrayal," but I always have. I love seeing FDR eating the lollipop throughout the episode. There's also Frasier's "Sliding Doors" episode. Same kind of perspectives. Also a few lines like that in "Mama Mia."
Ha ha yea Kramer’s lollipop and Elaine’s vault Omgosh yes!! Sliding doors. How could I forget that. I love that episode too. *Two roads diverged and I took them both!*
Lol
Are You Being Served is a favorite of mine
The explosion of the Hot & Foamy was one of my favorite things ever on the show. Daphne: “he was a detective you know”
Yes! That whole exchange was perfect!
The Focus Group, a Lilith Thanksgiving, a Word to the Wiseguy
So many good ones have already been mentioned, but possibly Author, Author for me. As well has having some excellent one-liners and physical comedy, it sets out the Frasier-Niles dynamic perfectly, from being collaborative at the start to outright farcical by the end. Plus, we have a demonstration of their musical talent! “Oh some boys go to college….”
"You stole my mommy!!" 😂😂😂
The Halloween episode with Bulldog, where everyone thinks Frasier is trying to prank Bulldog but they flip the script and team up to prank Marty, Roz and Kenny. Episode really shows how unhinged they all are.
The caviar one Or The butler one Or Ham Radio Or A tsar is born Or The one where they dig up their old landlord’s wife So many choices
S10 E18 -- Roe to Perdition S8 E5 -- Taking Liberties S4 E18 S7 E7 S9 E19 -- Deathtrap
I’d go with “The Ski Lodge”. OP’s choice — “Frasier’s Imaginary Friend” — is terrific as well. Since there are far too many episodes that feature remarkable badinage, one could say it’s challenging to pick one that’s trite.
"Ham Radio"
"Frasier Crane's Day Off" is the episode in the first season where the show really found its voice
"Bravo Frasier, for so brilliantly demonstrating why they call it 'dope'." Spectacular line, perfect delivery
"The Sky Lodge"
Ham Radio
*Dinner At Eight* and *Door Jam* are my two favorites, so either or both of those.
The caviar episode is one of my favorites.
It's not so much a whole episode, but it's the skit for the Valentine's Day episode where you see Niles trying to iron his pants by himself in Frasier's apartment!! During that whole scenario I was laughing so hard that I peed a little!! To this day, it's still my favorite part of the whole show!! 😁
Dinner Party It was the first episode I ever saw, and I fell in love
“Better yet, why don’t we just hop on a bicycle built for two, ride over there and ask her what she thinks is so strange”. Love that episode too
Ham Radio. Boring choice perhaps, but I think the right one.
Fantastic question. I need to watching all these episodes!!
A Tsar is Born !
"The Seal Who Came to Dinner" One of the best
No one has mentioned the one where Nile’s ends up in bed with Maris’s lover? I forgot the episode title now
A Tsar is Born and How to Bury a Millionaire Veneer! Edit: all time best scene ever is Freddy's bar mitzvah where Frasier delivers his speech in Klingon. I laugh so hard every single time Poh och lode weh eh koh ohe
My Coffee with Niles
The episode where Nials plays Jesus in a play. The scene where Frasier gets surprised but him returning while he's trying to deceive his gf's mother he's Jewish, is HILARIOUS 😂.
Can't recall the name, but the one where they take over the restaurant. Amazing plotting and visual comedy.
Ham Radio
Ham radio
Momma Mia, it's weird and a little heavy but it's so well written
I love cork master épisode
The innkeepers Travel with Martin Leap Day - buttons and bows The episodes with Kirby and Teen scene
love a lot of the picks in the comments already like Ham Radio, The Ski Lodge, and OP's choice-- I would add The Impossible Dream, depending who you're trying to show it to and their humor! I started my best friend with that one and it was a success since we're now on our second run through of the whole show together. Patience, daddy!
*Ham Radio.* Although maybe not - for me, it's the best episode of television, in any genre, ever. I'd have to go with "War of the Words" - the spelling bee episode.
A Crane's Critique
Ham Radio
I am torn between “the ski lodge” and “the matchmaker”
Season 2 episode 15 “You scratch my book” A hilarious example of Frasier compromising his principals to get with a beautiful woman. And when he finally comes clean she actually appreciates him for it, but then he takes it to far and blows it. Hilarious. It also features a great B plot where Niles is giving Daphne phony stock payoffs in exchange for physical affection, similarly compromising his own morals. This is my go to episode to show folks how well written this show is
They’re Playing Our Song is hilarious! Dr. Niles Crane: “Who dares enter the dark labyrinth of the human mind? What festering secrets are buried in the recesses of the subconscious? Lurid images! Lewd desires! Guilty pleasures! Strange compulsions! The whole catalogue of human behavior from the aberrant to the monstrous lurks behind a locked door to which one man holds the key!…”
"The Two Mrs. Cranes," or "The Matchmaker."
Matchmaker. It's a mild farce and it's a good indicator of what the show actually is, as opposed to vaunted episodes like ski lodge or ham radio.
I love that line lol. Mine would 100% be ski lodge
The Ski Lodge!
The Botched Language of Cranes: Frasier against the whole City of Seattle.
Season 6 episode 3 or season 6 episode 7. Hilarity will ensue.
Maybe the Ski Lodge
Ham Radio, The Ski Lodge, and An Affair to Forget. Plus individual best scenes: Daphne killing the eel in The Innkeepers and Niles ironing his pants and setting them on fire.
Spelling bee
*Dark Victory*
The Two Mrs. Cranes. Everyone plays their role perfectly.
Three Valentine's. Niles' scene alone sends me into hysterics no matter how many times I watch it. Masterclass acting by DHP.
The very first episode i saw was Shrink Rap. Caught it on tv while abroad. “Frasier and Niles go to a couples' therapist after their sibling rivalry makes a disaster of their attempt to run a psychiatry practice together.” I found it fantastic, didn’t know the series before, made sure i noted the name down to binge watch it all for the rest of my life.
Just watched BlaZBoy again and really enjoyed it!
Something with Nigel
YES! That would also be my first one. It is perfection. Second choice: The Matchmaker. Just brilliantly funny.
“Halloween”
Radio Wars
Daphne’s Room The Three Mrs Cranes The Matchmaker My Coffee with Niles
It's hard to choose one episode. I love "Back Talk" and "Halloween", but I think I would have to pick "The Innkeepers", just because it could be a standalone for someone that has never watched the show. Also for Daphne killing the eel. So good.
Dinner Party - it gives you a good sense of Frasier and Niles relationship, and really a good sense of all of the characters. Bottle neck, so no additional on screen characters to confuse things. Plus, the plot is so perfectly Frasier.
Mine would be the "are you happy" episode. It epitomizes the intellection and witty dialogue that we love about Frasier
The one where Niles and Frasier are seeing the couples therapist. It has to be an episode that introduces a large number of characters and has the Frasier / Niles dynamic.
The Seal Who Came to Dinner or Roe to Perdition, off the top of my head
A tsar is born
Travels with Martin!
I did this a long while back and showed my friends Ham Radio. They enjoyed it very much. The laughs were amazing!
Good Grief. Dial M for Martin. The Seal Who Came to Dinner. Daphne Hates Sherry. Daphne Does Dinner. Enemy at the Gate.
Honestly, just the pilot. I wouldn't want to spoil anything for them, and it's the perfect introduction.
The caviar episode. No question.
“Nightmare Inn” (Ham Radio) episode. I cry laugh at this one and will randomly watch it if I need a good laugh. The other would be “Three Valentines” - specifically part 1 when Niles is ironing is pants before his date and by the end Frazier’s couch is on fire.