Frasier hires a temporary replacement for a vacationing Roz, but the woman soon begins to take over his radio show.
Tropes:
- Don't Go in the Woods: Implied; at one point, Frasier tries suggesting that Mary get her own show and leave his, as there's been an open timeslot ever since the hosts of the camping segment went missing.
- Invisible Subtle Difference: Played for laughs when Roz is complaining that she can't tell the difference between the paint samples for her apartment.Frasier: Oh, Roz, perhaps my discerning decorative eye can be of some assistance, let me see here. (he lays out three samples and taps them) This one's ecru, that's eggshell and this of course is white.
Roz: Very good, Frasier. Now let's see you how do with the color side. (she flips the samples over to reveal three very different colors) - Mistaken for Racist: Discussed, as the main reason Frasier hesitates so long before confronting Mary is because she's black, and he doesn't want his attempt to do things "his" way to be seen as racist (especially since other white people, like Kenny, think Mary's absolutely wonderful). Thankfully, when he works up the nerve and even explains why he hesitated, Mary isn't bothered at all (though she does call him a "guilty-ass white man" in jest).
- Not So Above It All: Roz scolds Frasier for being unable to keep a straight face around Chuck Ranberg's speech impediment. Then Chuck comes in, starts talking, and Roz instantly loses it.
- Out of Focus: In-universe, Frasier gets pushed out of his own show by Mary (as well as a new, also black assistant once Kenny promotes Mary to co-host), as reflected by an advertisement with their faces and Roz stating that she tried listening to the show for 20 minutes and didn't hear Frasier's voice once.
- Pretender Diss: Niles claims to be more racially sensitive than his brother. Frasier has none of it.Niles: Oh, come now, Frasier. You can't deny a certain measure of guilt living as you do in your exclusive, lily-white world.
Frasier: Niles, owning the CD of "Ella Sings Gershwin" does not qualify you as a soul brother.
...
Niles: My first roommate at Yale was black.
Frasier: Huntingdon Treadwell III? Hardly representative of the African-American experience, Niles.
Niles: His father was a pioneer in Selma and Montgomery.
Frasier: Yes, I believe he built golf courses all over the South! - Proverbial Wisdom: Often, Mary quotes her "Uncle Willy" in this manner. She eventually reveals that she made him up so her expressions would seem more meaningful.
- Sassy Black Woman: Mary's advice has quite a bit of sass.
- Unwanted Assistance: Mary was meant to be just an assistant, but her repeated cutting in with her own advice for his callers quickly gets on Frasier's nerves.
