Frasier (season 4)

Frasier Season 4
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	24
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 17, 1996 – May 20, 1997

The fourth season of Frasier originally aired from September 17, 1996 to May 20, 1997 on NBC.

List of episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (million)
73	1	"The Two Mrs. Cranes"	David Lee	Joe Keenan	September 17, 1996	21.8[1]
Daphne receives a phone call from Clive, an old fiancé whom she ditched due to his lack of ambition and drive. Wanting to let him down gently, Daphne had told him that they would try again in five years if both were still single, so Clive is in Seattle to pick up where they left off. Daphne agrees to see him that night, and Frasier urges her to be honest with Clive if she's still not interested. Clive arrives, and just as he is making his declaration of undying adoration, Niles, infatuated with Daphne, purposely interrupts. Daphne quickly introduces Niles as her husband, much to Niles' joy, and he starts playing the role immediately. When Frasier enters the room, Daphne explains that he is staying at the apartment owing to his marital difficulties with his wife (Maris), and whilst Daphne is explaining the situation to him, Niles (in no hurry to drop the pretence) invites Clive to stay for dinner. Martin appears and joins in the improvised deception, claiming to be a retired astronaut, who walked on the moon in the Apollo missions. Adding to the confusion, Roz stops by to return Frasier's opera glasses, and Martin, happy to escalate the charade, introduces her as Maris, there to reconcile with Frasier. The situation continues to become more and more complicated, particularly when Daphne realises that Clive is now far from the unmotivated slacker she dumped several years ago. Daphne's departure from his life motivated him to become a successful businessman. Further complicating the matter, the ever promiscuous Roz catches a fancy for Clive as well, and she and Daphne compete for his attention. This all disgusts Clive, who storm out after calling them all "unfortunate human beings." He departs saying he is shocked they are related to Martin, who he calls that "sweet courageous old astronaut," as he exits the apartment.
74	2	"Love Bites Dog"	Jeff Melman	Suzanne Martin	September 24, 1996	19.8[1]
Noting that Frasier has not been with a woman for many months, Roz arranges a blind date with her friend Sharon, a former professional golfer. Although reluctant, Frasier agrees. When he meets her, they are immediately attracted and start getting on well, until Bulldog enters and starts talking sports in his bullish arrogant way. He claims that golf is not a real sport (“no cheerleaders, no blood, and the only cups are in the ground”), so Sharon challenges him to a game. They leave together and quickly become an item, much to Roz's anger. Unusually for him, Bulldog is genuinely in love, but is heartbroken when Sharon dumps him over the phone shortly before his show. He goes on air but quickly breaks down in tears when a caller alludes to a rumour about the Seahawks leaving Seattle. Frasier is forced to fill in, and feeling completely out of place and humiliated, he has to try to restore Bulldog to his normal self, and quickly. Meanwhile, Niles attempts to boost his psychiatry practice by placing an advertisement, which is supposed to read: Dr. Niles Crane, Jung specialist, but one mistyped letter causes a lot of trouble. Daphne accidentally destroys Martin's favourite shoes. Guest voice: Bob Costas
75	3	"The Impossible Dream"	David Lee	Rob Greenberg	October 15, 1996	14.5[1]
Frasier has a recurring erotic dream in which he wakes up in bed, hears the shower running and is shocked when the person who emerges is KACL's food critic, Gil Chesterton. Frasier is slightly appalled and becomes obsessed with the meaning of this dream, and so turns to his brother for help and advice. At first he believes it has some connection with food, then some connection with his mother, before even considering that his subconscious is trying to tell him something about his sexuality. Discussing this very notion with his father leaves Martin very uncomfortable, so Frasier is grateful when he eventually works out what the dream means: his subconscious was giving him a difficult problem to figure out. The slump on his show didn't provide him with the challenge he needed, so his subconscious needed to give him a problem to work out. Once he realizes that it what has been happening, he dreams that Sigmund Freud came into his hotel room, and climbed into bed with him. The episode ends with waking up after this nightmare.
76	4	"A Cranes' Critique"	Jeff Melman	Dan Cohen & F. J. Pratt	October 22, 1996	15.5[1]
From an outdoor table at the Cafe Nervosa, Frasier and Niles spy someone they recognise across the street. The man is T.H. Houghton (Robert Prosky), an author they idolised from childhood, whose one and only work was a landmark novel called Time Flies Tomorrow. They try to seize the opportunity to speak to him, depositing their father at a nearby sports bar, where he begins to watch the Mariners game. They return later to find him conversing with T. H. Houghton himself. It transpires that he is visiting Seattle and knows few people, but has much in common with Martin. He also hates talking about his work. These two truths prove a source of great frustration for Frasier and Niles, with increasing frequency as Martin and Houghton spend more time together. Then one day, Martin has plans to go to a Mariners game with Houghton, but when he calls round to Frasier's apartment first, he accidentally leaves his satchel behind. It contains a manuscript of his new book, The Chameleon's Song. When they discover this, Frasier and Niles cannot resist the temptation to read it, but are unable to cover their tracks before Martin and Houghton return. Martin is furious and embarrassed, but Houghton's reaction is ultimately not what any of them expect.
77	5	"Head Game"	David Lee	Rob Greenberg	November 12, 1996	20.4[2]
Frasier is about to spend a week in Aspen at a psychiatrists' convention, and he asks Niles to stand in for him at KACL. Niles has always had a scornful attitude towards radio psychiatry, and initially refuses, but Frasier calls in a favour, reminding him of a previous occasion when he endured a gruesome evening at the opera with Maris' sister, Brie. The first show Niles does is an embarrassing experience for him, though Roz finds it very entertaining. While making way for Bulldog in the studio, Niles meets a basketball player called Reggie, who is having trouble maintaining his focus during the game. Niles gives him two minutes' worth of advice in the corridor, and later that day Martin sees Reggie win a game for the Sonics on television. Niles is hailed as a hero in Seattle, and given VIP tickets to the next game, but he soon discovers that it was not his psychiatric expertise that Reggie believes helped him; it was his hair.
78	6	"Mixed Doubles"	Jeff Melman	Christopher Lloyd	November 19, 1996	18.4[2]
Daphne comes home after a date with her boyfriend Joe, reveals calmly that they have broken up, then bursts into tears. Niles is extremely eager to comfort her, but is prevented from doing so by Frasier, Martin and, when she enters the apartment, Roz. As Roz takes Daphne out to comfort her, Niles decides to tell Daphne how he feels about her. Frasier, over a brandy, persuades Niles to wait for a day in order to consider it. The next day, Niles arrives at the apartment with a large bouquet of flowers and some high hopes, which are unfortunately dashed; the previous night Daphne met a man called Rodney at a singles bar, whom she intends to go out with. Niles is despondent, but determined not to let it get him down, and asks Roz to take him to the same singles bar, where he meets a woman called Adelle. When the family meet Rodney, it soon becomes apparent (and a source of hilarity to Frasier and Martin) that he is in almost every way a doppelgänger of Niles, and neither Daphne nor Niles seem to realise it. However, as Frasier and Niles discover later when they see him in Café Nervosa with Adelle, he is not quite the perfect gentleman that Daphne assumes.
79	7	"A Lilith Thanksgiving"	Jeff Melman	Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano	November 26, 1996	19.6[2]
Niles' plans for a 'rustic' thanksgiving retreat for the family (complete with mints on the pillows) are scuppered when Lilith arranges a meeting for Thanksgiving morning, with the headmaster of the Marbury Academy, a very exclusive school, with the aim of getting Frederick in. As a result, the family goes to Boston. Daphne visits her transvestite uncle Jackie (who is a minister of some sort) while Roz is housesitting for Frasier. Lilith leaves Niles in charge of preparing the Thanksgiving meal, and Martin in charge of entertaining Frederick, while she and Frasier go to meet Dr. Campbell. Things start to go wrong at both ends: once at Dr. Campbell's house, Frasier damages a valuable chair; meanwhile, Frederick sustains some injuries while playing with Martin. Frasier and Lilith return home, but then become over-anxious to ingratiate themselves, and go back to Dr. Campbell on the pretext of looking for a missing earring. Dr. Campbell finds their persistence increasingly irritating, but this just makes them more determined, even to the point of bribery. All the while, they never notice the numerous ailments that Frederick has acquired in their absence.
80	8	"Our Father Whose Art Ain't Heaven"	Jeff Melman	Michael B. Kaplan	December 10, 1996	16.9[3]
Martin, Frasier and Niles return from watching a Jean-Claude Van Damme film. An argument from the cinema starts up again, when Martin complains that Frasier paid for the tickets when, in fact, they had an agreement that if they went to see a film that Martin picked, he should pay. The two of them decide that the next time they go out, Martin will pay. So when Daphne says she is cooking sheep's head soup for dinner, the three of them head off to Le Cigare Volante instead. The maître d', François, points out the artwork displayed by one of his discoveries, Cordoba, which Frasier and Niles compliment to get a table. However, when Martin goes to the toilet, Frasier and Niles tell each other they can't believe how dreadful the paintings are. Niles then sees a potential guest for a party he is throwing and goes to talk to her, while Martin returns and reminds Frasier that he will be paying, which leaves Frasier distinctly uncomfortable and the ensuing argument leads to Martin refusing to pay. The next day, however, he tries to make it up to his son by buying something that he knows Frasier will like: a painting by Cordoba. Of course, Frasier cannot tell his Dad how he really feels about it and instead puts it above his fireplace, but tries to spend as little time as possible at home so he doesn't have to look at it. He tries to find the right moment to tell his father what he really thinks of the painting. Then Niles tells his father he doesn't like the gift he received from him (a wine rack), and Martin takes the news well. Consequently, Frasier decides to bite the bullet and tells his father that he only said he liked the paintings to get a good table, and in fact does not like it at all. This causes Martin to cry, which starts off Frasier and eventually Niles (who is trying to get people to come to his party but they are all being stolen by Maris who is having one at the same time).
81	9	"Dad Loves Sherry, the Boys Just Whine"	James Burrows	Joe Keenan	January 7, 1997	19.1[4]
Niles meets Frasier at Café Nervosa to hear bad news: Maureen (Jane Kaczmarek), Martin's girlfriend, intends to break up with Martin as she feels they have nothing in common. Niles himself has better news to share: he has won an award for an article he has written about a narcissistic opera singer, but is nervous about bringing Martin to the awards dinner, as he fears Martin will embarrass him in front of his friends and colleagues with tales from his childhood. Martin, as it turns out, reacts to the break-up extremely well: having come to the same conclusion as Maureen, he has in fact found another woman, Sherry (Marsha Mason), whom he has been seeing. Later, at his birthday celebrations, Daphne, Niles and Frasier meet Sherry. It soon transpires that, whilst incredibly friendly and sociable, she is loud, boisterous and brash, and to make matters worse, plays the banjo. Frasier and Niles soon take a disliking to her, but nevertheless pretend to like her for the sake of Martin's feelings; however, as spending time in her company gradually becomes more straining for both of them, they realize that they will have to confront Martin about her. Niles, initially, is quick to back out of the responsibility and leave Frasier to shoulder the burden (and Martin's anger) all by himself. However, he soon learns that Martin intends to bring Sherry as his date to Niles' awards ceremony.
82	10	"Liar! Liar!"	James Burrows	Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano	January 14, 1997	18.1[4]
A discussion of the moral balance of polite lying leads to the recollection of a transgression the boys perpetrated against a bully in high school. They pulled a fire alarm to avoid P.E. class and blamed the other student, who was summarily expelled. Frasier feels guilt over the damage he caused, although Niles insists that the man would have been expelled sooner or later. The brothers' attempts to contact and reconcile with the man, only to discover that he is a convict. While visiting him, Frasier convinces both himself and the man that his expulsion led directly to his current situation. Frasier also learns that the man possesses a violent temper, and so doesn't tell him the full story of his expulsion. However, his guilt persists, and he decides to assuage it by smoothing over the bully's troubled marriage. Frasier meets with the man's wife, who says that their marital problems are caused by her sexual interest in danger, and then molests Frasier just before her husband arrives. Frasier hides from the violent ex-con in his apartment, then uses his lighter to activate the room's smoke alarm so that he might escape.
83	11	"Three Days of the Condo"	David Lee	Michael B. Kaplan	January 21, 1997	19.1[4]
Frasier has a new antique Japanese door knocker, which he claims “is said to bring peace and tranquility to any home it adorns”. Unfortunately, minutes after he fixes it to his front door, he receives an angry note from Ms. Langer, the woman who chairs the condo board, claiming that the knocker violates rules of hallway decoration. He decides to raise the issue in a rhetorical manner at the next condo board meeting, but Ms. Langer dismisses the request so abruptly that Frasier loses his temper, calls her a tyrant and storms out, to the applause of the other residents. Soon afterwards, Frasier is approached in the unlit car park of Elliot Bay Towers by a secretive figure, who wants him to stand as presidential candidate against Ms. Langer, for the good of the other residents. He is initially reluctant, but then Martin and Daphne start receiving angry notes as well, and Frasier decides it is time to take action.
84	12	"Death and the Dog"	James Burrows	Suzanne Martin	February 11, 1997	15.3[5]
During a slow day on his show at KACL, Frasier decides to tell a story about the aftermath of Eddie's recent trip to the vet. The episode then continues in flashback... Eddie is not himself: he has lost his appetite, he is not sleeping, and seems generally listless. The vet says he is physically fine, so Martin worries that he may be depressed, and Daphne suggests taking him to a dog psychiatrist. Naturally, Frasier and Niles think the idea is not only absurd but dishonest; Frasier calls them “the very definition of charlatanism”. Despite this, they agree to be in attendance for the session, although they find it difficult to take the procedure seriously. The diagnosis is that Eddie senses depression elsewhere in the family, so they are encouraged to act positively when around him. After the session, they all start to wonder who could be the source of Eddie's depression. The story is interspersed with a parallel narrative about Roz dating a new tenant in Elliot Bay Towers, who happens to be a gynaecologist with an impressive collection of professional equipment. Roz, unsurprisingly, does not appreciate Frasier telling this parallel narrative.
85	13	"Four For the Seesaw"	Jeff Melman	David Lloyd	February 18, 1997	15.4[5]
Frasier is having his flu shot live on his show, and despite his fear of needles, is determined to go through with it. Martin and Daphne are also there to get theirs, but Martin is late for meeting Duke and so they leave without getting their shot. Roz, meanwhile, has designs on the doctor administering the injections. Later, on a particularly busy day at Café Nervosa, Frasier and Niles struggle to get a table and so decide to share a table with two attractive young women. Niles is a little apprehensive, still worrying about his separation from Maris, but Frasier convinces him that he needs to be spontaneous once in a while. The two women, Beth and Laura, turn out to be kitchen designers, much to Frasier and Niles' delight. The four of them seem to be getting on very well, with Beth taking a particular fancy to Niles, and Laura seemingly interested in Frasier. The two Crane boys, however, are unsure how to read their signals. When Martin can't go to a mountain cabin with Sherry, he offers it to Frasier and Niles, and in the spirit of spontaneity that had got them this far, they decide to invite Laura and Beth to the cabin with them. Once there, they are still worrying about misreading the signals the women are giving them, but when Laura and Beth invite Frasier and Niles to bed, they finally get the signal they have been hoping for. It is at this very moment Niles starts feeling guilty about his separation from Maris, and decides to phone her to clarify the exact nature of their separation.
86	14	"To Kill a Talking Bird"	David Lee	Jeffrey Richman	February 25, 1997	17.2[5]
Niles is moving into an exclusive new apartment building: The Montana. Anxious to make a good impression, he plans to throw a dinner party for his new neighbours, one of whom is a young woman (Stephanie) who has taken a shine to Frasier. After being forced to part with his whippet, who he finally realises was essentially a canine substitute for his ex-wife Maris, Niles acquires a cockatoo called Baby, who is capable of some speech. She manages to say "I love you" a few times (although on one occasion she offers "I love you Grandma", seemingly pining for her former owner), and also memorises Martin's description of her as "cute but stupid". She is also easily startled by sharp noises, such as the doorbell. This starts to cause problems on the evening of the dinner party, when she is traumatised by Frasier lighting the fire, and digs her claws into Niles' scalp. She subsequently refuses to let go, and grips tighter every time the doorbell sounds as the guests arrive. Frasier is compelled to play host, leaving little time to talk to Stephanie, but Niles cannot hide in the kitchen all night.
87	15	"Roz's Krantz and Gouldenstein Are Dead"	Jeff Melman	William Lucas Walker	March 11, 1997	17.4[6]
While out driving, Frasier and Niles discover Roz collecting litter from the side of the road with a group of other people. She explains that this is community service for a speeding offence, and she chose this option rather than visiting a retirement home. Frasier suggests she reconsider, as a way of tackling her fear of ageing, so after using him to escape from the scene, she agrees. Unfortunately, while playing checkers with an elderly gentleman (Mr Krantz), she receives a terrible shock when he dies mid-game. Frasier insists she persevere, but then another man (Mr Gouldenstein) dies while she reads to him. The residents at the home then start to call Roz the “Angel of Death”, and she is so upset that Frasier actually has to return there with her to make sure she has one more try.
88	16	"The Unnatural"	Pamela Fryman	Michael B. Kaplan	April 1, 1997	16.9[7]
Frasier's son, Frederick, is visiting him in Seattle for the week. He has requested a tour of Microsoft, which Frasier is having difficulty organising. He remembers that Roz used to date a Microsoft executive, and hopes she can help, but it turns out that he resigned soon after Roz dumped him. While on a tour of KACL, Frederick meets Bulldog, who is in need of another player to join the KACL softball team. Not wanting to disillusion the boy, Bulldog claims that Frasier is an expert softball player, but that he is unavailable for the next game because of the Microsoft tour. Frederick promptly informs his father that he no longer wants to visit Microsoft; rather, he wants to see Frasier play in the softball game. This leaves Frasier with, as he sees it, only one option: he must learn to play. Meanwhile, Niles is having some trouble dealing with the fact that Frederick has a crush on Daphne, and she enjoys spending time with him.
89	17	"Roz's Turn"	Joyce Gittlin	Joe Keenan	April 15, 1997	16.0[7]
An on-air spot opens at KACL, and Roz decides to go forward for it with Frasier's blessing. When the interview goes well, Frasier is happy for Roz but notes to Bebe that he will be very sorry to lose her if she does get the position. As a result, Bebe pulls strings to ensure Roz is taken out of the running. When Frasier finds out, he is furious and decides to fire Bebe, but finds it harder than expected when he calls round her office to do the deed.
90	18	"Ham Radio"	David Lee	David Lloyd	April 22, 1997	15.4[7]
To help celebrate KACL's 50th anniversary, Frasier decides to stage a radio murder mystery and enlists several of his coworkers to act in it. However, his constant criticism and over-directing cause one cast member to storm out, forcing him to bring in Niles – who has to read several parts, all in different accents, without benefit of rehearsal. The actual performance degenerates into chaos due to a string of mishaps, bizarre ad-libbing, and the script changes that Frasier makes on the fly to save time. Niles finally gets fed up and kills off the remaining characters out of spite, causing the performance to end nine minutes early.
91/92	19/20	"Three Dates and a Break Up"	Jeff Melman	Rob Greenberg	April 29, 1997	15.8[8]
Frasier is hosting a benefit evening for the Seattle Theatre Ensemble, and he has managed to secure tickets for an ice skating event so that he can get Martin and Sherry out of the way. Niles is reluctant to attend unless he has an assurance that there will be available women there. Once at the benefit, he makes several unsuccessful attempts to flirt with the women, using an expression that makes him look more like he has eaten something unpleasant. Meanwhile, Frasier is approached by three attractive women in the course of the evening, and each one gives him her number. He therefore finds himself with a three-day weekend coming up and a date on each day, and spends some time gloating to Niles and Roz. However when the first date comes on the Friday night, everything is going well with Frasier claiming to be a dog-lover and an vegetarian only for Martin and Sherry to come back and Sherry to reveal that Frasier loves veal and he locked Eddie in a back-room, bringing the date to an abrupt end. The next morning, Martin picks a fight with Sherry and breaks-up with her. This combined with Martin's reaction (acting like it doesn't matter and that it was a long-time coming) leave Frasier worried. As Frasier and Niles celebrate the break-up, Martin seems happy enough as well despite Daphne's insistence he is upset. That evening, Frasier has his second date however Sherry comes by to pick up her banjo and ends up accidentally ruining two dates in a row by revealing that Frasier had another date the previous night and the second date leaves. Sherry is confused, and ends up confiding in Frasier that the night before the break-up the two declared their love for each other. Despite his own relief that she will not be around his apartment all the time any more, Frasier cannot work out why the break-up happened, nor how his father can take it so well. Despite Niles's encouraging Frasier to keep out of it, Frasier cannot let it lie and tries to talk to Martin about the break-up. Sherry calls by to drop something off, just before Frasier's third date arrives. Despite his worry that Sherry will wreck this date, Frasier continues trying to get to the bottom of Martin's feelings and finds out that the break-up was due to Martin's guilt over falling in love with someone else other than his late wife. Frasier tells him of a time when Hester assured Frasier it was possible to fall in love with more than one person, and helps Martin through his issues. As a result, Martin and Sherry get back together and Frasier and his date leave for the restaurant only to be followed by the two. As Sherry talks to Frasier's date, Frasier leaves the apartment with feelings of dread.
93	21	"Daphne Hates Sherry"	Kelsey Grammer	Chuck Ranberg & Anne Flett-Giordano	May 6, 1997	14.7[8]
A heat wave is sweeping Seattle, Frasier is battling the flu and in no mood to help anyone, Sherry is staying over with Martin more frequently, and she and Daphne are finding themselves embroiled in minor clashes over Martin's breakfast. Over the day, the tension between Daphne and Sherry continues to rise: irritated by Sherry's constant undermining of her attempts to get Martin to do his exercises and eat healthier food, Daphne is in a sour enough mood when she receives a phone call from a complete stranger, asking her out on a date. When she finds that Sherry has been giving her phone number to strangers to try to set her up, Daphne is furious at this unwelcome intrusion into her life, and the two women are soon engaged in a heated argument. In the end, Daphne storms out of the apartment, and unable to stay with friends, she is forced to try Niles' apartment, and Niles is thunderstruck when she asks to stay the night. He is more than willing to accommodate Daphne, but his apartment is scorching hot, and following the argument, Daphne reflects that she has been without sex for some time.
94	22	"Are You Being Served?"	Gordon Hunt	William Lucas Walker	May 13, 1997	16.3[8]
Niles is in good spirits; his separation from Maris could soon be over, as he is suggesting marriage guidance counselling. Unfortunately, a courier arrives with ill tidings: Maris has served Niles with divorce papers. Niles appears to take this bombshell with remarkable calm, but his façade of cool disintegrates rapidly as he attempts to call Maris and beg her to take him back. Frasier reminds him not to allow her to push him around any more, which was the reason for the separation in the first place. While Daphne unsuccessfully attempts to throw out a box of old rubbish belonging to Martin, Frasier and Niles discover an old journal belonging to their late mother, which details with remarkable accuracy what appears to be the relationship between the brothers. Niles is shaken by his mother's assertion that he "constantly allows himself to be cowed and dominated, especially by females", and at this point reveals that he has not signed the divorce papers, but instead sent them back with a grovelling letter. Fortunately, Maris is out of town until later that day, so the brothers break into her house, only to be trapped by Maris' new Dobermans. They retrieve the letter before she reads it, but Niles discovers that Maris is already removing him from her life, even having a painting they'd posed for together edited to replace him with a tree. Before escaping, determined not to be pushed around any more, Niles signs the divorce papers. However, another glance through their mother's notes reveals something very significant about the case study: the Frasier and Niles described are laboratory rats.
95	23	"Ask Me No Questions"	Jeff Melman	Dan Cohen & F. J. Pratt	May 20, 1997	19.2[8]
It all begins at Café Nervosa with a simple question: Niles asks Frasier's opinion on whether he and Maris are meant to be together. Frasier evades the question, and while Niles continues to wait for an answer after the meeting, Frasier is plagued by indecision. He talks to Roz, who encourages him to support his brother; he talks to Martin, who says he should not underestimate how much Niles values his opinion; he talks to Marta the maid, who claims that Maris has changed; and he talks to Daphne, who warns him that Marta may just want Niles back. Frasier even lets the problem interfere with a date that he has, with disastrous consequences. After mulling over the problem with an attentive Eddie and a cognac, and then wandering the streets of Seattle late into the night, he finally reaches a decision.
96	24	"Odd Man Out"	Jeff Melman	Suzanne Martin	May 20, 1997	20.0[8]
Frasier has reservations at an Italian restaurant for dinner, to celebrate Roz's birthday. She tells him she has a date, so he offers the opportunity to Niles (who has plans with Maris), then Martin (who has plans with Sherry), then finally Daphne (who has a date). In the end, he turns up to the restaurant alone, and can hardly help feeling self-conscious when surrounded by couples, especially when one couple stand up and announce their engagement. The biggest disaster is when a startled waiter spills his Cabernet over his shirt. He returns home after dinner feeling depressed about being forty-three and single. However, he finds a possible solution in a very unlikely place: his answering machine contains two messages from a woman called Laura, who is flying to Seattle that evening to meet her sister, and has called his number by mistake. He also learns from the messages that she speaks French, plays the cello, and has been on her own too much recently. Encouraged by Daphne, he makes a snap decision and heads, exhilarated, to the airport, only to find that Laura is happily married. Guest star: Linda Hamilton

References

1. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). Anythingkiss.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
2. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). Anythingkiss.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
3. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). Anythingkiss.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
4. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). Anythingkiss.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
5. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). Anythingkiss.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
6. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). Anythingkiss.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
7. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). Anythingkiss.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
8. "Nielsen Ratings" (PDF). Anythingkiss.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.