And for the record, the minute I saw him in Little Man Tate I said (to actual people, I just KNOW I said this aloud) “He looks like he could be Frasier’s little brother!”
Here’s A Valentine for Niles (aka “Niles Ironing”, as Annie X-mas so succinctly stated ).
What about the one where he’s got a bag of flour that’s supposed to be a baby?
Or - the kitchen scene from Les Freres Heureux (butchered that French), where they buy that restaurant? He and Daphne are flinging eels around the room. Hysterical - I bought that season’s DVD for that scene alone.
I absolutely love David Hyde Pierce. He is one of my favorite actors. He was fantastic on Frasier and I thought he was hilarious in Down With Love. I saw him in Curtians recently and I got the chance to meet him after the show. He was very nice and cracked jokes the whole time. If he were 20 years younger, 20 lbs heavier, and straight I would marry him.
I love Niles. He is easily one of my favorite fictional characters. Especially because I don’t think there is/was anybody on television who can get quite as catty and mean as Niles.
“You haven’t been this absorbed with a topic since Frasier Crane Day.”
There are so many episodes I really love, too. The first time he dances the tango with Daphne, the episode when he sleeps with Lilith, the one where he throws a dinner party and his new pet bird attaches itself to his head and won’t let go…
One of the most memorable Simpsons eps is “Brother from Another Series,” the one featuring recently paroled Sideshow Bob (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) and his brother Cecil (yes, Cecil) (voiced by David Hyde Pierce).
In my market, San Diego CA, they play two episodes of Frasier back to back in the evening. The first is a newer episode and the next is an older one. The contrast of their age and looks is fun.
I believe it was the episode where Frasier and Niles are going to write a book together and they get to bickering on the wording of a sentence and they get all huffy and one of them, I forget who says, “You’re an incomplete thought.”
I try to use that line as much as possible but the opportunities are rare.
EDIT: That Simpsons episode is one of my favorites. They bicker with each other just like in Frasier.
This is, by far, my favorite episode. I always lose it when Frasier tackles Niles to the bed. “YOU STOLE MY MOMMY!”
And a classic line from the sack of flour episode:
Niles: I was practicing my Tai Chi this morning, and I accidentally kicked him into the reflecting pool. That’s when I brought him inside and left him by the hearth to dry.
Frasier: He caught fire?
Niles: I was not as careless as it seems. A real child would have cried before it burst into flames!
Oh, and an example of Niles being catty, from the ep where he wants to buy Maris a car.
Frasier: I happen to think that bribery is the wrong way for couples to resolve their conflicts.
Niles: And during which of your failed marriages did you hone that theory?
Agreed all around. What a great character. Just when you thought Frasier Crane was the biggest prig around, wait till you meet his brother. And to think Frasier wasn’t even supposed to HAVE a brother, until a casting director saw DHP’s headshot and brought it to a meeting, saying, “This is Frasier’s younger brother.”
To me, Niles and Frasier are like Lennon and McCartney… their individual talents, though undeniably great, are completely eclipsed by the quality of their collaboration.
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