Dr. Frasier Crane, formerly of Boston, has recently arrived back in his birthplace of Seattle to restart his life following his painful divorce. Unfortunately, his independence is soon threatened by the fact that his father Martin is incapable of living by himself, and must move into Frasier's apartment.
After Martin and his physical therapist Daphne move in to his apartment, Frasier struggles with the loss of his personal space and his tensions with Martin.
Frasier and his brother Niles decide to treat Martin to a fancy restaurant called Le Cigare Volant in an attempt to improve his sense of style, but soon learn some unpleasant truths about themselves. This is the first episode in which the characters of Niles Crane and Daphne Moon meet.
After being insulted on Frasier's show following a bad review, newspaper columnist Derek Mann (Joe Mantegna) challenges Frasier to a fist fight, but Frasier has no intention of going through with the fight.
Frasier gives advice to a caller, Marco, to break off his relationship with his girlfriend, Catherine, because of his inability to commit. However when Catherine and Frasier end up going on a date, Niles questions his brother's ethics.
After accidentally seeing Martin with an old family friend at a restaurant, Frasier and Niles begin to wonder whether Martin had an affair while married.
After the premature death of Martin's physician, who was similar to Frasier in physique, behavior and temperament, Frasier begins to obsess about his own mortality.
After a bitter argument with Martin in the days before Christmas, Frasier agrees to do the Christmas Day shift at the radio station. It seems a depressing day until a demonstration of human kindness from an unexpected quarter.
Frasier indicates in his radio show that Martin has been sleeping with a woman from his building. Roz is going out with Noel Shempsky, a Star Trek addict.
Frasier takes part in a bachelor auction, where he is bought by a model, Kristina. A meal is arranged for them together at his apartment, but first he has to look after her daughter Renata.
After Roz is scammed out of $10, Frasier claims to always be able to spot a criminal, so Martin challenges him to do a test. Daphne agrees to go on a date with an ex-con.
After Niles has a fight with Maris, Niles and Daphne have a moment of mutual attraction during an attempt to make a reconciliation dinner. Stranded at Niles' mansion during a storm, Frasier must reach them before they do something Niles will regret.
Frasier discovers that he has been nominated for a local broadcasting award, and obsesses about winning it - until he meets a unlucky competitor for the same award.
Frasier loses Martin's favorite chair and replaces it with a new one. Martin demands his old chair back. The old chair is easily located on the set of a school production, but the recovery proves more difficult.
Attempting to collaborate on a book, Niles and Frasier lock themselves in a hotel room to get the book both started and finished, resulting in much tension on both sides.
During a bout of illness, Frasier asks Niles to take over his show. When Niles unexpectedly becomes quite a success, a feverish Frasier begins to imagine plots against him.
