IQ (Frasier)
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| “IQ” | |||||||
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| Frasier episode | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 19 |
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| Written by | Rob Hanning Jay Kogen |
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| Directed by | David Lee | ||||||
| Guest stars | Patrick Kerr (Noel Shempsky) | ||||||
| Original airdate | 8 April 1999 | ||||||
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| List of Frasier episodes (Season 6) | |||||||
"IQ" is episode 19 from the sixth season of the sitcom Frasier. It originally aired in April 1999.
[edit] Plot
The episode begins with Niles, Frasier, Martin and Roz attending a silent auction for the Kelly Anne Grunther Foundation. Whilst Martin puts into place a scheme to allow him to acquire a gas barbecue for the lowest bid possible (by implying to other potential bidders that it was taken off the market for dangerous design flaws) and whilst Roz attempts to prevent Noel Shempsky from winning the 'day behind the scenes' of the Dr. Frasier Crane Show that Frasier has donated (by flirting with a young woman who is bidding because she's attracted to Roz), Niles stumbles upon an auction for a luncheon with three of the greatest scientific thinkers of their generation. After making a bid and leaving, Niles returns to observe the bidding sheet, and learns that Frasier has doubled his bid under an assumed name. Although Frasier claims that he did so to prevent a bidding war between the two of them, it isn't long before the two brothers, slaves to their habitual childish competitiveness, are foolishly doubling each other's bids until the auction closes with Niles having bid $4,050. And as the bidding was so intense between the two of them, a second seat at the table is opened up as long as Frasier can match the bid, which he is pressed into doing. Coming down from their rivalry, the two brothers are aghast to realize that they have paid over $8,000 for a lunch.
Later that night, over sherry in Frasier's apartment, Niles and Frasier ask themselves where their harsh sibling rivalry originated, concluding that it started with the battles for attention from their mother that the two used to find themselves in. Realizing that each considered the other their mother's favourite (when it seems that neither was), Frasier and Niles reminisce about how they once took IQ Tests while they were younger but were never told the answers to prevent any jealousy between them, their mother telling them only that they were 2 points apart. In an effort to bring closure to their rivalry once and for all, Martin reluctantly agrees to show them the results, and it soon transpires that whilst Frasier has an IQ level of 129, Niles has the larger IQ - and there is a greater difference than two points; Niles in fact possesses an IQ of 156. Frasier, seemingly okay with the news, bids Niles goodnight - and then dashes down to the library of a nearby University to research everything he can for the luncheon tomorrow, having no intention of being upstaged by Niles.
The next day, at the luncheon, before the geniuses arrive Niles reveals that he knows that Frasier had spent all night at the library, and berates his brother for allowing his competitiveness to get the better of him. Frasier is apologetic, until he realizes Niles' hypocrisy; suffering from an itch and a sneeze that is triggered only by his 'parchment mite allergy', Niles spent all night at the library as well to get the better of Frasier. Unfortunately, to combat his allergy, Niles has been taking strong allergy medication, and he is becoming increasingly drowsy, his speech patterns increasingly incoherent and he is even hallucinating. Niles eventually falls off his chair, pulling down the tablecloth and smashing the plates and glasses - and at that point, the three scientific geniuses walk in to discover to their horror their two luncheon-mates. Later that day, after Niles has slept it off at Frasier's apartment, the two brothers help Martin prepare for a barbecue with his friends and discuss their rivalry. Frasier claims that they are probably locked in a permanent pattern of competitiveness, but urges Niles to look at the bright side - as well as the many embarrassments it has caused them, their rivalry has also pushed each brother to succeed and excel in a way they might not have had they not had each other to bounce off.
