Genuine question as a person who’s watched Frasier at least a dozen times, what’s making people hopeful that it’ll be any good?
I ask because the sequels to fan loved shows and movies over the past decade have all fallen short, seemed like cash grabs, don’t capture what made the original good or fun, etc. I really can’t think of any that worked out for me (viewership numbers aside). Am I being pessimistic unnecessarily? Are people being too hopeful? Idk. I’ve been burned before and am going in with that expectation.
It may be even better than the original, it may be worse than the original, it may have some good moments and be overall mid, but the point is we get more Frasier, and even if it is terrible, it doesn’t sully the previous 11 seasons of glory.
Fraiser was a spinoff of a great sitcom that ended up being one of the greatest American sitcoms. As they have pulled it off before we hope they can again
In regards to this it worries me they’re trying the live audience sitcom format again. The last one I tried was that 90s show and I realized either live audience sitcoms should stay a thing of the 20th century, or I guess I aged out of it. On the other hand watching a non live audience format of Frasier might be too weird in a different way.
Back in Frasier’s day it made sense to spinoff a sitcom with another similarly filmed sitcom, I’m just feeling it’s a thing of the past and won’t hold up to modern comedy.
These are great points I didn’t think of until now. Frasier’s best episodes revolved around the strong cast. Coming in 20 years later with a 99% new cast seems destined to not hold up well. The Crane Boy just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
I get that time marches on, but at a certain point, will the story actually reflect that, or will the disappearance of everyone simply be waved away with a line of dialogue? You’re right, the writers have an uphill battle on their hands.
On top of all the negatives you mentioned, too much time has passed. Frasier was a spinoff from Cheers. A lot of the characters from Cheers made at least one appearance on Frasier over the years. But, Frasier has been off the air for nearly 20 years. Cheers for 30. The continuity is broken and basically means having to either A.) Introduce the character to a new audience who are not familiar with either Frasier and/or Cheers, or B.) Reintroduce the character to an audience who is and has high expectations given the quality of the old show. Kind of like you said, I do not envy the writers and I expect the reboot to be a flop. Hopefully I’m wrong.
My wife and I watched the first episode so far and we did get a few chuckles from banter between Nicholas Lyndhurst and Kelsey Grammer. It honestly wasn’t as horrible as we were thinking it might be. Especially once the Freddy and Frasier heart to heart happened. Kitchen scenes of someone walking in and out to comedic timing was a great call back, and “I’m no stranger to an underperforming dinner party”.
We’re still on the fence because the lack of David Hyde Pierce is felt sorely. Niles’ son is not doing any favors for the show. The quick gloss over of Charlotte was annoying. The forced “how do we get Frasier to live with Freddy” plot was missing a lot. The original set-up to Niles pawning off his dad to Frasier before he met Daphne was amazing, this was just kinda feeling tacked on.
Most of our favorite Frasier moments come from the “MASH effect” or the quick switch from hilarious to somber stories. The digging in to the psyche of why a character is acting the way they are and analyzing it so everyone can come out better at the end is what we loved. I hope they keep that aspect going. There is a glimpse of that with the Freddy story I just hope it doesn’t end there.
Quite an amusing episode. Episode 4 was okay and I like this last episode a lot more. Seems like the actors and the writers are getting acquainted with the roles. I’m curious where it is going to lead. Only David is not my cup of tea.
I’m with you about David. I don’t love him either. It’s like he’s trying to be Niles but can’t pull it off. And I can’t figure out his purpose in the show.
It’s not as good as the original Frasier, in my opinion. But it is entertaining. What the reboot needed was a willingness to dive into complex emotions. The first episode of the original series deals with anger and sadness. Frasier and his father end up fighting and they end the scene with a dramatic fade to black. The new series doesn’t take risks like that. It follows most modern sitcom conventions: too afraid to allow some drama to contrast the humor.
But it’s still very good. And they do have some dramatic moments as people navigate their relationships. But they just pull back the punch a little too easily in most cases.
I’ve enjoyed it. It’s certainly not the original but Kelcey Grammer is still wonderful in his character and the writers have started to explore the relationship between him and Freddy’s character more.
If you’re a true fan of Frasier it is totally worth it. I have had such a fantastic time revisiting this character. The season finale brought tears to my eyes honestly. But I have very sentimental reasons for being invested in this series. I thought it was fantastic and if you’re going into it expecting old Frasier you’re going to be let down but if you go into it expecting the next chapter of his life you will be delightfully surprised with all the humorous callbacks.
I think Roz will be there, with Alice. Romance ignites between Freddy and Alice. Freddy says something like “You’re, you’re Alice?” as a throwback to Niles meeting Daphne.
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