TEXT: ACT ONE Scene One - Frasier's Apartment It's evening. Niles is sitting at the dinner table, eyes shut. Frasier: Are your eyes closed? Niles: What is it? Frasier places a huge, gorgeously elaborate antique chess set on the table. Frasier: It's something my antiques scout found for me. Voila! [Niles opens his eyes and gapes] Paris, 1882! Designed by Jean- Francois Blon, while attending L'Ecole des Beaux Arts! Niles: Mon Dieu! It's absolutely breathtaking! I'm breathless! [gasps] I need to take a breath. Daphne comes into the living room. Daphne: Evening, Dr. Crane. Frasier and Niles ad-lib hellos. Frasier: Would you like to try a game, Niles? Niles: Oh, I think not. It'll make me too melancholy. Frasier: Well, all right. Niles: Maris and I used to play chess every Thursday night. Oh, how she loved the game. Frasier: No wonder - the king is stationary while the queen has all the power. Daphne: How are you getting along, Dr. Crane? Niles: Oh, all right, I guess. Daphne: Feeling a bit lonely, are we? Niles: Only some times when I'm by myself, or other times when I'm with other people. Daphne: It may not be my place to suggest this, but perhaps all you need is a little company at the apartment - something warm and friendly to come home? Niles: Well, I'm sure Dad would miss you. Daphne: [laughs and bats his arm] Oh, Dr. Crane! Niles: [laughs and bats himself] Oh, me! Frasier bats his arm, signaling him to knock it off. Daphne: I'm talking about a dog. They're wonderful companions. Just look at how much Eddie's brought to your father's life. Frasier scowls, thinking exactly how much Eddie
SUMMARY:
Frasier has acquired a 19th-century Parisian chess set, designed by a student of l'École des Beaux-Arts . Niles is in awe, but Frasier cannot persuade him to play, so he asks his father. Martin professes not to know much about the game but wins conclusively. Frasier demands rematches, but cannot win until Martin deliberately loses a match. Meanwhile, Daphne suggests to Niles that if he needs companionship, he should get a dog. The animal he brings back from the pet shop is extremely thin, highly strung, and refuses to heed a single command, resembling descriptions of his unseen wife Maris.