Frasier writer finally addresses one of the 90s sitcom’s biggest mysteries

There has been a huge debate surrounding one of the most iconic episodes of Frasier (Picture: NBC)

There is a huge mystery that has plagued Frasier fans for decades, and a writer has just had his say on the matter.

The original series, which served as a spin-off of Cheers, premiered in September, 1993 and ran for 11 seasons, with Kelsey Grammer starring as the titular radio psychiatrist beside John Mahoney, David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves and Peri Gilpin.

Thanks to repeats on Channel 4, we’ve been able to rewatch most of the episodes daily, following Frasier and Niles’ (David) countless attempts to impress Seattle’s elite by throwing elaborate celebrations, which would very quickly descend into chaos.

One particular event in season six sparked a huge debate with fans as the brothers spent much of the instalment deciding on their guestlist, and bickering while ‘blackballing’ potential visitors.

However, things took a turn when they received a voicemail from one invitee, who could be overheard appearing to mock the brothers’ bond to their partner, telling them: ‘You get the one, you get that other one.’

Of course, this sent them spiraling as they debated who exactly ‘that other one’ was – a dispute that still lives on today.

Kelsey Grammer starred as the titular character, alongside David Hyde Pierce (Picture: CBS) The on-screen siblings threw countless dinner parties (Picture: CBS)

Speaking to Metro to celebrate the show’s 30-year anniversary, writer and executive producer Joe Keenan touched on what made the episode so special, sharing that the plot stemmed from something that actually happened to co-creator David Lee.

‘That’s one of my favorite episodes, one of the few real time episodes we did,’ he told us. ‘It’s stuff like that that makes a show last. It is so character based, it’s so simple, it’s so funny, it’s such a relatable mishap.

‘I remember David Lee came in saying that he and his partner at the time, they were having a dinner party and trying to decide who to invite, and it just got to be this elaborate back and forth about black balls and things like that.

‘We said, “Well, that that could be an episode!”’

Joe refused to wade into the debate surrounding which sibling the message was referring to, laughing: ‘Who is the other one? You’re asking me? Ask the friend, we don’t know!’

We’ll just have to make our own minds up…

That isn’t the only real-life moment that the writers drew from while making the show – as one unforgettable evening where Frasier and Niles were upstaged by a dead seal stemmed from reality.

While we couldn’t imagine our fancy dinner being interrupted by an animal washing up on the shore, Joe – who joined the fold in season two – explained that the plot wasn’t actually that farfetched…

Frasier really should’ve left the party planning to someone else… (Picture: NBC)

‘Believe it or not, The Seal Who Came To Dinner – the one with a dead seal – that was based on an actual story,’ he said.

‘Chris Lloyd [writer and executive producer] had a house on the beach in Carpinteria, and a dead seal washed up.

‘It smelled so bad that nobody wanted to be on the beach, and they dragged it out and it washed right back up.

‘That idea of having to deal with a dead seal, and Niles giving this elegant dinner party and he can’t step outside without rotting seal flesh assaulting his nostrils.’

Even with a dead seal crashing the night, it still wasn’t their worst dinner party…

This article was first published on May 20, 2024.

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