Something big is about to happen with the Niles-Daphne relationship on "Frasier." Just what, exactly, that means is a closely guarded secret at this point.
"My sort of standard phrase that I'm throwing out is that I think people will probably be seeing some things that they've been hoping for as well as some things that they weren't expecting," said David Hyde Pierce, who has won a pair of Emmys (and should have won more) for his portrayal of Niles.Leeves has been quoted as saying that the season will end with Niles and Daphne together in some way, which makes Pierce laugh.
"Well, here's the thing," he said. "We're in the same sitcom.
"I think she's absolutely right. She's not talking about getting together as in, you know, the characters getting together, but they are already in a relationship. It's a very complicated thing, and how it resolves itself remains to be seen."
As anyone who has ever seen "Frasier" over the course of its seven-year run knows, Niles has had a huge crush on Daphne (Jane Leeves) from Day 1. The fact that he was married for the first five years was one impediment; the fact that Daphne was oblivious to feelings that Niles was afraid to express was another.
"I think, ultimately, the thing that has held him back is that it means so much to him," Pierce said. "He so adores her that I think he feels like if she said no it would kill him. Literally. I think it's that strong a feeling."
But earlier this season Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) finally let it slip to Daphne. And, despite the fact that she's about to marry Donny (Saul Rubinek), Daphne has been showing signs of some inner conflict in her feelings toward both her fiance and Niles.
And, having accepted that Daphne was spoken for, Niles has gotten involved in a relationship with Mel (Jane Adams), his ex-wife's plastic surgeon.
If it all sounds a bit complicated, it has been one of the driving storylines in "Frasier" over the years. And fans of the show have gotten more than a bit involved in the ongoing storyline. Pierce said he recently went to a restaurant only to have the maitre d' say, "When are you going to get Daphne?"
"People have all kinds of advice," he said. "It's funny, some people are just saying, 'Please get together with her.' Other people are saying, 'Don't get together with her -- you'll ruin it.' The great thing is that people are that involved. That they actually care."
Pierce, Leeves and the show's writers and producers sat down at the beginning of last season and discussed what the future might be for Niles and Daphne.
"I think the writers realized that we were getting to a point where there would be diminishing returns on playing the relationship as it was. As funny and as wonderful as many of the episodes were that they came up with based on that sort of tension of Niles not revealing his feelings and Daphne not knowing, to have gone on much longer, they would have had to just repeat themselves as writers."
Not that change isn't without some degree of risk. The strange Niles-Daphne relationship has worked for seven years; changing it could ruin it.
It's a fear both the characters and the actors have, but the chemistry between Pierce and Leeves also plays into the equation.
"We have a great working relationship," Pierce said. "We have a lot of fun. A lot of Niles and Daphne's relationship, especially when they're together just sort of having fun, comes out of what Jane and I just do spontaneously when we're together. And we've talked about that -- that when Niles and Daphne are together in a scene, that we don't just want it to be sort of moony and whatever. That they have fun together. And that's certainly true with me and Jane working together. She's extremely creative and has great insight into little behavioral things that tell a great deal."
While being far from specific, Pierce did confirm that something big will happen in the hourlong season finale scheduled to air Thursday, May 18. And events will be building this week and next week as well.
"The season finale's always kind of a big deal. This is probably the biggest deal we've had in seven years," Pierce said cryptically.
And, while refusing to give anything away, Pierce did sound completely satisfied with how the Big Event will play out.
"What they did in writing this episode is so beyond what I expected," he said. "In some ways, because we had discussed some of the details, I kind of knew what was going to happen. I can still remember when Jane and I walked in to Chris Lloyd and Joe Keenen's office -- they're the guys who wrote the final episode -- and they sort of gave us a brief blow-by-blow of what was going to happen. We were floored and thrilled.
"To me, it's almost like the writers are Olympic athletes or something. The pressure on that episode, on how it is worked out, on what happens and how it happens, is extraordinary in the context of this show. There's a lot riding on it. There's a lot of expectation and a lot of everything. And I think they so came through with flying colors. I didn't think my respect for the writers could go higher, but it has."