Why The Frasier Writers Vetoed A Joke On The Simpsons

In 1997, both "The Simpsons" and "Frasier" were at the height of their powers. The former had already been on the air for seven seasons but was arguably at the apex of what is now recognized as the golden age of "The Simpsons." (Even the show's current writers know they can't compete with classic "Simpsons.") Meanwhile, "Frasier" was in its fifth season and had similarly proven to be remarkably consistent. Both shows were two of the smartest and funniest on TV, and with "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer having already guest-starred on "The Simpsons" a full five times, it was only right that the animated series pay full tribute to one of the only shows on TV that could claim to be on an equal level.

This tribute came with season 8, episode 16, "Brother from Another Series." Debuting in February 1997, the episode saw Sideshow Bob (Grammer) released from prison after having been arrested in "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming," the season 7 episode in which he threatened Springfield with a nuclear weapon. In "Brother from Another Series," however, we get a much smaller-scale story that sees a supposedly reformed Bob taken in by his brother Cecil, who's played by David Hyde Pierce (the actor who portrayed Dr. Crane's brother, Niles, on "Frasier").

As such, the episode begins with a "Frasier"-esque premise that mirrors the way in which Dr. Crane took in his father, Martin (John Mahoney), in the pilot episode (which, coincidentally, Hyde Pierce initially thought was terrible). As the episode plays out, we discover that Cecil, Springfield's chief hydrological and hydrodynamical engineer, planned to frame Bob for embezzlement. But we also get a lot more nods to "Frasier," with the Crane brothers' trademark witty banter recreated by their animated counterparts, who also have Frasier and Niles' hifalutin tastes. This was all intentional on the part of the "Simpsons" writers, who had a clear respect for "Frasier." That said, one joke relating to Grammer's sitcom had to be cut from the script due to the fact it would break a longstanding "Frasier" tradition.

If there's one thing any fan of "Frasier" will know, it's that we never, ever see Maris Crane. For the first five seasons of the sitcom, Niles' wife was never once shown on-screen, though there were initially plans to cast an actor in the role of Maris. After the show's writers included a few jokes about Maris' whereabouts, however, they decided to keep her absence as a running gag. Hence, throughout all 11 seasons of "Frasier," we never got a glimpse at Niles' wife/ex-wife, with the explanations for her absence becoming more and more outlandish to the point that she became an almost mythical figure.

As such, "Frasier" quickly developed a rule against ever showing the character on-screen. However, it seems "The Simpsons" came close to transgressing that rule ... sort of. In "Brother from Another Series," Bart is shown jumping on Cecil to prevent him from blowing up the Springfield Dam. While covering Cecil's eyes, Bart says, "Guess who," only for Cecil to reply "Maris?" This is as close as the episode gets to a straight reference to the "Frasier" universe, although it seems the series' writers initially wanted to go further.

In the DVD commentary for the episode, writer Ken Keeler revealed that he'd been "watching a lot of 'Frasier' at the time," adding, "It was the time of year when we write the Sideshow Bob episode. The germ of the idea was, 'What if we have Sideshow Bob's brother?' It was no more and no less than that." ​​After writing the script, which contained multiple references to "Frasier," Keeler sent it to the "Frasier" writers to peruse before putting the episode into production. "There was only one thing, they took exception to," Keeler claimed, "which is, we had a scene — very briefly, without her saying anything — showing a character named 'Maris.' And there was a tremendous objection [from the 'Frasier' writers], which I still don't fully understand."

Showing Maris on-screen was a line that "Frasier" simply didn't cross, and it seems the series' writers expected other shows to follow suit. But as Keeler went on to explain, it wasn't quite as simple as it seems.

While explaining the Maris debacle in "Brother from Another Series," Ken Keeler recalled how the "Frasier" writers outright vetoed the appearance of a character named Maris. "Their argument then," he explained, "and when I asked them about later they repeated it, (was) that, 'We don't show Maris.'" Kelsey Grammer, who also sat in on the DVD commentary, agreed, adding, "You can never show Maris." But as Keeler recounted, the character being shown in the episode wasn't actually supposed to be Niles' ex-wife. The writer remembered arguing as much to "Frasier" producer Christopher Lloyd, only to be met with the objection, "Of course it's Maris, It's Kelsey and David, it's clearly Maris." Grammar summed things up with a terse, "It's a caveat."

Just what form Maris was going to take in "Brother from Another Series" remains unclear, but it sounds as if the whole idea was to show a character named Maris who clearly wasn't Niles' wife. As the "Frasier" writers knew all too well, actually depicting Maris would be an impossible task due to the absurd descriptions of the woman peppered throughout "Frasier" history. The ice queen with a "fetching little underbite" who bears a striking resemblance to Niles' dog, Lady, and has to sit in a car "practicing her vivacious giggle" before a social event just can't be done justice, and the "Frasier" crew knew it.

Interestingly enough, the show did actually depict Maris at two points: Once in season 5, where her outline is seen through a shower curtain, and once in season 10, where she's shown completely covered in bandages. It would have been interesting to see what "The Simpsons" did with its visual representation of this elusive character (though, again, their version wasn't actually supposed to be Maris). As it stands, both "The Simpsons" and "Frasier" did the right thing by keeping the myth of Maris alive.