TEXT: Act 1 Scene 1 - Frasier's Apartment Daphne opens the door, Niles is there. Daphne: Dr. Crane. Niles: Hello, Daphne. [He enters.] Is Dad around? I have that videotape he wanted to see. Daphne: Actually, he's gone off with Donny. They went to a tractor pull. Niles: Ohhh... [He looks questioningly at her.] Daphne: As I understand it, they attach a large weight to a tractor and see how far they can pull it through the mud. Niles: Ohhh... [His brow furrows.] Daphne: The answer to your next question is "Beats the hell out of me." Frasier enters. He is unshaven. Frasier: Oh, hello, Daphne, Niles. Niles: Hello, Frasier. Daphne: Oh, Dr. Crane. I see you've grown yourself a crumb-catcher. Frasier: Oh, please. Spare me your jocular euphemisms. I've heard them all from Freddie: my chin-sweater, my face-fuzz, my hickey-hider. Niles: [laughing] Well, I think it suits you. Frasier: Well, thank you, Niles. I just wanted to shake things up a bit, you know. Niles: How was Boston? Frasier: Oh, it was fine. It was great seeing Freddie again. Of course, Lilith was insufferable. She's got a new boyfriend, some twenty-eight year old named Marcel, he's a contortionist with the Cirque de Soleil. Niles: She's dating French circus folk? Frasier: Yes. Well, he's actually perfect for Lilith: he has no apparent spine and she can wrap him around her finger. Of course, Lilith's smug satisfaction was a little hard to bear, though. Especially considering how long it's been since the circus came to my town. Martin and Donny enter. Donny: I know
SUMMARY:
Donny asks for Martin's help in obtaining surveillance photos for one of his court cases. Martin is thrilled at the idea of a stakeout , remembering his days with the police force; Niles is worried about the potential risks of the neighborhood, and decides to go along and keep his father company. Frasier and Roz are attending a broadcast conference out of town, and when Frasier discovers that he has no room at the hotel, he asks to sleep on Roz's couch. She reluctantly agrees, conceding that neither of them is likely to need the room if the cocktail party is the usual Bacchanalian revel. Unfortunately, they both suffer similar lack of success, and end up together in Roz's room sharing champagne and stories.