David Crane Isn't Frasier's Only Family Member To Fail Horribly At [SPOILER]
Contains spoilers for "Frasier" Season 1, Episode 4 — "Trivial Pursuits"
For its first three episodes, the "Frasier" revival has juggled a combination of familiar elements — such as Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) himself and the many call-backs to his earlier shows — and introductions for all the new players. After all, from Frasier's now-adult son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) to multiple completely new characters, many people are taking their very first steps in the grand Crane saga.
Episode 4, "Trivial Pursuits," has already established the new cast well enough to indulge in some truly classic "Frasier" antics, not unlike the ones that the titular character and his brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) get up to in the original show. The episode derives its name from its two central premises: Frasier, Alan (Nicholas Cornwall), and Olivia (Toks Olagundoye) trying and failing to dominate a pub quiz, and Freddy attempting to show Frasier how important his firefighter job is on what turns out to be the quietest night possible.
The latter arc gives us one of the most delightful jokes of the episode, as Freddy's coworkers repeatedly misread Niles' son David Crane (Anders Keith) and treat him as an impoverished orphan. Because of this, they get David a cool new bike as a gift, which he's extremely excited about — and utterly incapable of riding, crashing the second they let him go.
As it turns out, David isn't alone with his subpar bike-riding skills. This seems to be something of a family trait among the fussier Cranes, as in Season 10, Episode 16 of the original "Frasier," Niles and Frasier prove to be just as bad at it.
Bicycles may not be Frasier's forte, but sneaky references very much are
The episode that features the Crane siblings' bike antics is called "Fraternal Schwinns," and revolves around Frasier and Niles doing their underwhelming best to prepare for a charity bike ride arranged by Frasier's radio station — much to the frustration of Daphne (Jane Leeves), who's stuck with teaching them. The brothers are utterly unfamiliar with the concept of bicycles, and in true "Frasier" style, everything from their visit to the bike shop to their attempts to learn the skill is exactly the kind of comedy gold you get when you force the Cranes away from their narrow comfort zone.
Since "Fraternal Schwinns" does plenty of heavy lifting to establish the Cranes as hopeless bicyclists and the "Frasier" revival obviously targets an audience that's familiar with the original, David's bike sequence on "Trivial Pursuits" pulls double duty. As David has already been around for a few episodes and the viewers are familiar with his Niles-like character traits, his clumsiness in athletic matters works as a joke in itself. However, if you remember "Fraternal Schwinns," the scene is also a fun call-back to the original episode.
Hilarious "Frasier" references for hardcore fans seem to be a part of the show's modus operandi since Freddy's rant in Episode 3 contains a similar, even more well-concealed nod at "The Innkeepers" — a classic episode from the original show's maiden season. Who knows what fun references future episodes of "Frasier" have in store?