Plot
Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) is on an airplane when he is surprised by the anxiety that the woman sitting next to him suffers during the flight. The woman introduces herself as Dr. Anne Ranberg (Jennifer Beals), also a psychiatrist. After brief deliberation, Frasier decides to disclose what is on his mind, in hopes that it will help pass the time on the flight. The story is shown in flashback:
Frasier's girlfriend, Charlotte (Laura Linney), is leaving for Chicago, leaving Frasier devoid of any current love life. When Frasier and Charlotte spontaneously sleep together, Frasier misses his regularly scheduled radio show. This results in station manager Kenny Daly filling in at the last minute and quickly starting to enjoy himself. Once Frasier arrives, he makes up an excuse that he was at the doctor. Frasier's agent, Bebe (Harriet Sansom Harris), arrives to tell him about a radio station in San Francisco that has offered him a better-paying job, but Frasier quickly declines, citing his comfort with his present situation at KACL.
In the meantime, Frasier's brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Niles' wife Daphne (Jane Leeves) are anticipating the birth of their child, and three of Daphne's brothers, Simon, Stephen, and Michael, are in Seattle in anticipation of Daphne's childbirth. Frasier and Niles' father, Martin (John Mahoney), is also set to be married to Ronee (Wendie Malick). A mishap occurs when they learn that Martin accidentally booked the wedding venue for May 15 (his dog Eddie's birthday) instead of July 15. Frasier and Niles agree to plan the wedding in eight days.
As the two are frantically putting the wedding together, both Frasier and Niles encounter numerous difficulties. Frasier has arranged for a ceremonial cannon-firing when Martin and Ronee are officially declared married. However, the person responsible for firing the cannon gets heat stroke and faints from standing out in the sun too long. Michael volunteers to do the job instead and is told the cue from Frasier. Frasier and Niles also have find a replacement for the flower girl, as Daphne's brothers have accidentally intoxicated her to calm her nerves. Roz (Peri Gilpin) allows her daughter Alice to do the job; but when repeating the same cue to Roz, Michael fires off the cannon, creating havoc. Niles drops one of the wedding rings and Daphne realizes Eddie has eaten it.
Daphne and Niles take Eddie to a local veterinarian. While they are at the vet's office, Daphne goes into labor. Frasier, Martin, and Ronee all hurry to the clinic, where Daphne has given birth to the couple's first son, David. Ronee suggests that she and Martin get married in the clinic, so Daphne and Niles do not miss out, and Frasier marries them.
Later, a mover arrives to Frasier's apartment to take away Martin's chair. He finds himself with the peace and quiet he has said throughout the series that he is desperate for. However, with Martin having moved out and Niles and Daphne busy with their new son, Frasier realizes that he is lonely. He decides to accept the job offer in San Francisco, which has been has improved to include a weekly television spot. Bebe refers Frasier to a doctor for treatment to alleviate his crow's feet in anticipation. However, Frasier is unhappy with the work which leaves his eyes prone to watering.
Frasier invites his brother, father, Daphne, Ronee, and Roz, who has just been announced as the new station manager, to his apartment to announce his move to San Francisco. When they overhear a call from the Frasier's doctor on the answering machine being "sorry about the results", and Frasier begins giving away some of his sentimental possessions, they fear Frasier is dying. Frasier surprises them with the news that he is in fact moving to San Francisco, where his new show will begin the following week. During the evening, Martin sits in the chair Frasier has placed in the spot of his old recliner. He realizes the chair is comfortable and that he would have been okay with the fashionable piece, much to Frasier's chagrin. Niles comments that he was worried he would have nothing in common with his new son, and Martin commiserates and imparts the wisdom that, "it all works out".
Later, during the celebration, Frasier reveals his reasoning for taking the job, citing how Daphne and Niles, Martin and Ronee, and Roz have all started a new phrase of their lives. Frasier now desires to do the same. Frasier then recites Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Ulysses". He reads the same poem at the end of his final show at KACL, where he thanks the staff and listeners for the past eleven years before closing with his signature words, "Goodnight, Seattle."
Frasier finishes his story just as the plane lands, to reveal that Frasier is landing in Chicago, where Charlotte had moved, and not in San Francisco. He tells Anne that he knows he would always regret it if he didn't take the chance, and asks her to wish him luck as the screen fades to black. [2]
Frasier's farewell speech
The poem Frasier quotes in this episode is a shortened version of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Ulysses":
"It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And though we are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are—
[Scene shifts to Frasier's KACL booth.]
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will;
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
I've been thinking about that poem a lot lately. And I think what it says is that, while it's tempting to play it safe, the more we're willing to risk, the more alive we are. In the end, what we regret most are the chances we never took. And I hope that explains, at least a little, this journey on which I am about to embark. I have loved every minute with my KACL family, and all of you. For eleven years you've heard me say, "I'm listening." Well, you were listening, too. And for that I am eternally grateful. Goodnight, Seattle.
