Head Game is the 5th episode of Season 4 of Frasier.
Synopsis[]
THE LUCK OF THE CRANES – With Frasier attending a convention of radio psychiatrists in Aspen, Niles fills in for him at the radio station. While Niles is there, Bulldog introduces him to a star player for the Seattle SuperSonics basketball team, Reggie Macklemore (guest star Lorenzo Newton), who's suffering through a slump. Niles surprisingly helps put the bounce back in Reggie's dribble.
Starring[]
- Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane
- Jane Leeves as Daphne Moon
- David Hyde Pierce as Niles Crane
- Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle
- Dan Butler as Bulldog
- and John Mahoney as Martin Crane
- Guest starring
- Lorenzo Newton as Reggie Macklemore
- Co-Starring
- Ken Magee as Guard
- Stu Lantz as Sportscaster
- Loren Lazerine as Fan
- Lisa Dergan as Cheerleader
- Christopher M. Brown as Lenny
- Geoff Callan as Hank
- Jim Graci as Game Announcer
- Guest caller
- Wendy Wasserstein as Linda
Trivia[]
- The celebrity caller in this episode is Wendy Wasserstein, playing the role of Linda. While Niles is sitting in for Frasier, Linda calls in to have Niles talk with her cat to get it to eat.
- This is the second time Niles fills in for Frasier on his radio show. He previously did so in Frasier Crane's Day Off.
- Kelsey Grammer only appears in the opening of the episode, which was shot weeks after the rest of the scenes, because he had to take some time off from acting to go to rehab and get treatment for addiction issues.
CONTINUITY
- Ma Nature was one of the shows vying to replace Frasier's show in the episode Agents In America: Part 3. She apparently is the replacement for Father Mike, who was fired by Kate Costas in She's The Boss.
ALLUSIONS
- At the beginning, Niles tells Frasier that he "couldn't presume to fill those big floppy red shoes of yours." This is, aside from the obvious, a nod to Kelsey Grammer's character Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons.