Fraiser hires Dr. Nora Fairchild as a secondary radio psychologist for KACL, only to regret it after learning she's old-fashioned and abusive to her callers.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: The first thing that Dr. Nora's mother says to her when they finally reunite is to call her a whore. She then quickly tears apart Dr. Nora's image while she's still on-air.
- Appeal to Flattery: Frasier picks Dr. Nora over other, more experienced applicants for secondary psychologist because she appealed to his ego during their interview.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Nora acted sweet and kind during her interview with Frasier but once she gets on the air she reveals her harsh and conservative views. Her mother pulls the same trick, acting like a sweet old lady that just wants to see her daughter only to start screaming abuse when she sees Nora.
- Dead Air: When Nora runs screaming from the booth after seeing her mother Roz yells at Frasier to get in and cover the dead air.
- Freudian Excuse: It's very likely that Nora slut-shames women because of the way her mother treated her—explicitly calling her "whore" as if it's her name and throwing her tawdry past in her face.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: Realizing that Dr. Nora has issues with her family, Frasier decides that the best way to deal with her bad attitude is a reconciliation with her mother. It turns out there's a good reason they're estranged, though it does get Dr. Nora and her abusive advice off the air.
- Hypocrite: Nora relentlessly slut-shames women despite her sordid past.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- Nora's advice to most of her callers is horrifically cruel and judgemental, but she's not wrong when she advises one woman that sometimes it's best to just cut an abusive person out of your life. Frasier's attempt to prove otherwise by bringing in Nora's mother backfires horribly.
- Nora's mother might be an Abusive Parent, but she does correctly point out that, for all of Nora's self-righteousness and judgemental behavior, she hasn't practiced what she preaches, apparently having a rather tawdry past herself.
- Nora also bluntly tells Frasier that he hired her in the hopes of sleeping with her. His stunned, flustered reaction indicates that she's absolutely right.
- Like Mother, Like Daughter: Both Nora and her mother are vicious, domineering, and deeply judgemental of others. Not to mention they both pull the Bitch in Sheep's Clothing act on Frasier. Possibly also qualifies as Evil vs. Evil, given their mutual animosity.
- My God, What Have I Done?: To his credit, despite what Nora thinks Frasier clearly takes no joy in Nora's mother revealing her true colours and is genuinely horrified by what he's inadvertently done, having been taken in by her Bitch in Sheep's Clothing act.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Although Frasier technically meant well, he had no right to interfere in Nora's personal life by going behind her back to track down her mother. The end result is him bringing an abusive woman back into the life of a daughter who wants nothing to do with her and has repeatedly tried to cut her off, only for her to always manage to find her.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Nora advising a woman to cut her abusive mother off makes Frasier realize that she's in a similar situation, inspiring him to find the woman so that they can reconcile. Only for her to immediately begin verbally abusing her. Thanks to this being broadcast over the air, it's safe to say Nora's career at KACL has ended as quickly as it started, despite her being a ratings hit.
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: In-Universe. Kenny says half of KACL's audience loves Dr. Nora, the other half hates her, but either way, they're listening.
- Not That Kind of Doctor: After prying into Dr. Nora's past, it's revealed that her doctorate isn't a medical or psychology degree, she studied physical education meaning, as Frasier points out with glee, she's a gym teacher.
- Oblivious to His Own Description: When Niles sees one of the other candidates for KACL's second radio psychiatrist:Niles: I just finished his book on the victims of obsessive-compulsive disorder. [wiping down his chair] Poor, tic-ridden devils!
- Oh, Crap!: Frasier has this reaction when he realizes that Nora's mother is much crueler than she lets on and begins berating Nora. Roz, on the other hand...Roz: (jumping for joy) I was wrong, Frasier! Your way is better!
- Screaming Woman: Nora devolves into this after her mother shows up, with her screaming and running down the hallway being the last we see and hear of her.
- Slut-Shaming: Nora's true nature is revealed when she calls her first caller a "whore" for sleeping with a man she isn't married to.Caller: I-I'm not a whore! I'm a flight attendant!
Nora: Oh, you think there's no overlap?- Nora herself gets this from her mother, who outright greets her by calling her "whore" as if it's her name.
- Take That!: An uncharacteristically pointed one to Dr. Laura, a real-life radio personality who isn't too far off from Nora.
- The Tag: Daphne pounds on a steak while conversing with her domineering mother over the phone. She hangs up on her and pounds harder on the steak.
- What the Hell, Hero?: In-universe, after her mother shows up and starts berating her, Nora tearfully tells Frasier "I knew you hated me, but I never thought you would be this cruel!", oblivious to his babbling an apology and insisting that he didn't know her mother was so awful.
