Trama

The arrival of Diane Chambers in Seattle puts Frasier on an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Frasier panics at a surprise visit from his ex-fiancée, Diane Chambers (Emmy-winner Shelley Long), who once jilted him at the altar. She's come to Seattle to oversee the production of a play she wrote and is excited to catch up. Niles advises Frasier to get closure with Diane by telling her his true feelings about the way she treated him, but when Diane's play almost collapses and she appears to be on the verge of a breakdown, Frasier comes to her rescue.

Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) shows up at the studio one day, and Frasier (who still resents her for leaving him at the altar) finds out she's in town for a performance of her new play. He invites her to dinner, determined to show her how much he's moved on from her, despite Niles's suggestion that he should confront her about being left at the altar in order to get closure. When Diane arrives, she boasts of her own riches and success only to eventually break down and confess she isn't doing as well as she claimed. Feeling sorry for Diane, Frasier agrees to fund her play despite everyone warning him he may be falling for her again. However, when invited to dress rehearsal, he finds the subject matter of the play to be all too familiar: it's of their old life at Cheers, with the characters representing their old friends being literal representations of how Diane viewed them: boorish and uncivilized ruffians, and that Frasier's character is cold-hearted in his reaction to being left at the alter.

Frasier ends his show with Roz telling him that a woman ran through security to come to see him. Frasier, convinced that it's just a fan, is shocked to see that it's actually his former fiancée, Diane Chambers. Frasier rushes to over to Niles to tell him about what has happened. Niles' patient, Mr. Carr, leaves, telling Frasier to take "all the time he needs" as it's about a woman. Frasier implies to Niles that he never fully addressed the issue, Diane leaving him at the altar, with Diane. Niles wants to write this in his pad, but Frasier refuses to let Niles as he says that he is not a patient. Frasier eventually decides to invite Diane to dinner to rub his success into her face. Diane arrives later that evening, but she seems not to be fazed by Frasier's success. However, when they mention her play, she begins to twitch. Diane reveals that her play was not actually going to be produced, as her producer backed out, and her life is in shambles. Frasier decides to produce the play, and Martin and Niles are concerned that Frasier may be falling for Diane again. Frasier attends the dress rehearsal for Diane's show, "Rhapsody and Requiem", at Diane's invitation. Frasier is shocked to see that the stage resembles Cheers, his Boston bar hang-out, and the characters are all based on the regulars at Cheers, the men of whom all worship Diane's character. Frasier becomes upset when Diane begins to kiss the actor playing Sam. When the actor playing the character Franklin, based on Frasier, says that he holds no ill-will for Diane leaving him at the altar, Frasier begins to lose focus. When Franklin's actor asks how he should be feeling about the altar, Frasier interrupts and launches into a tirade about how he felt as if his heart were plucked out. After Frasier's speech, he walks away receiving applause from the actors on stage. In the end, Frasier meets with Diane, and apologizes for his speech. He and Diane say goodbye and split their separate ways. Frasier walks off through the door on stage as he would at Cheers. He then comes back out, realizing he made a mistake.

Diane Chambers visits Frasier in Seattle to promote a play she has written. Frasier decides it is time to vent his feelings about how much pain he felt when Diane left him at the altar. However, he forgets to when Diane breaks down in the middle of dinner and confesses her life is a wreck, and she needs his help again.—crouchbk

Frasier has finished his show, when Roz informs him of a woman who bypassed security, and is looking for Frasier. Frasier smiles at this turn of events, until he sees who it is: Diane Chambers!

Frasier quickly rushes over to see Niles, and the two hash out Frasier's feelings and emotions as to why he reacted as he did just now. It becomes apparent that Diane's previous treatment of Frasier by leaving him at the altar all those years ago has caused him to still be bitter towards her.

Frasier then decides on a way to make himself feel superior to what Diane did to him. He invites Diane to have dinner with his family at his apartment, and adorns the apartment with all his accolades and awards. As the family eats dinner, Diane explains that she is in town to supervise a production of a play she has written. However, after describing what she has been doing with her life, she breaks down in tears, causing Frasier to take pity on her. Diane explains that her life is in shambles, and feeling sorry for her, Frasier promises to help her with her production in any way she can. Naturally, Niles sees this as a bad sign, but Frasier refuses to listen.

Diane invites Frasier to the dress rehearsal of the production, only to be shocked when the production's characters and settings seem to be pulled right out of their previous time at the bar Cheers...complete with actors portraying Frasier and Diane. Frasier endures as much as he can, before the character's fawning over Diane's stage-counterpart causes him to lose his temper and storm out.

Later on that evening, Diane and Frasier reconcile their differences, and leave each other on good terms.