So, new
Frasier.
I was going to stay away until the series was complete then watch the lot if the reviews were ok, but eventually curiosity and idleness got the better of me and I subscribed to yet another streaming service to watch.
Four episodes in and here's my general impression:
It's .... ok. Just don't see it as a continuation of the original but rather a show in its own right. New
Frasier is to
Frasier what old
Frasier was to
Cheers: one character carried over but now in a different stage of life, with a different style and more intrusive callbacks (I like them but do they appeal to casual viewers?*)
The opening scene is utterly painful with way too much exposition (and I'm not sure what happens to the old logo was entirely appropriate given the show's history) but get through that and the setting is slowly established just without the panache of the original.
Frasier is noticeably older (albeit slowing turning into Youtube's Tom Scott) and his Chicago years have clearly changed him. We see a brief bit of his unseen life but not much else other than the info-dump at the start. Obviously showbusiness was very financially successful for him, and whilst he still has the pretensions we know and love, without his brother there he doesn't appear to be using them competitively. Kelsey Grammer still dominates the screen after all these years.
I don't care for his apartment. The old place, despite it's odd shape, looked like somewhere Frasier would live and we'd like to visit. His Boston flat just feels like a set.
I was worried that they were just going to make Freddy into a straight copy of Martin. The similarities are there from the start, and the relationship between him and his dad is just as fraught and he has his grandfather's way of pushing Frasier to the edge. Yet the age difference between them means the dynamic is different - Freddy is still a young man and clearly wants to get out his father's shadow. He does have his father's intelligence and clearly picked up some of his pretensions and is trying to live them down. Given the central tension in the show is now Father-Son rather than Son-Father, I think that in order to differentiate this show from its predecessor, I'm going to refer to it as
Freddy from now on.
Nicolas Lyndhurst's Dr Cornwall is an absolute delight, stealing every scene he's in. His lazy alcoholic academic is a great contrast to Frasier who wants to succeed in his new field. He simply doesn't care and I love it.
I don't think David (Niles and Daphne's son) is fully established yet. He just appears in scenes and is a bit annoying without much substance. It's also not clear what the previous relationship with his cousin was like, and he doesn't really add much to the ensemble. But then, I guess I too was awkward and irritating at 19.
The others in the cast are perfectly fine, and I'm interested in how the Eve storyline develops.
I wouldn't say
Freddy is the best thing I've watched in the year I met
The Bear, but neither was I switching off in anger. Every time I've sat down to watch an episode I've laughed and been moderately entertained for half an hour or so, then got on with stuff and forgot most of what happened. I'll definitely watch it to the end but unless things change I don't think I'll treasure it as much as the original. Wish they'd dump the laughtrack however.
The rest is spoilered as it relates to various elements of the first four episodes.
ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!
So much emotional weight is put on the Fenway dirt in episode 2, to have it carelessly thrown away as a tag at the end is deeply unsatisfying and undermines everything that was placed on it. It should have stayed as a symbol of the reconcilation between the two.
I don't find the whole idea of "look, firefighters can be clever too" to be either funny or original, just patronising. You can get laughs without relying on this insulting trope. If Freddy's crew are playing the KACL role of the crazy workmates I hope they get treated with more respect then just simple blue-collar/white-collar snobbery.
David's behaviour in the classroom in episode 3 is felt utterly out of place, even for someone as undeveloped as him.
Also, I never thought I'd say this but bloody hell Frederick Crane is hot! Would totally buy that calendar for the orphans.
As an aside, since
Paramount+ includes the whole of
Freddy's precursor shows, I have been dabbling with
Cheers. I've tried to watch it several times but it all feels dated now. In particular, Sam's behaviour towards women really gets uncomfortable. But episodes with Frasier in, especially with regards to his relationship to Diane and Lilith, are always a highlight and worth catching for back story (enjoy reconciling what we see of Frasier's mum to how she is remembered!). Indeed, what we now have is the story of a character in three major stages of life (young adulthood; middle age; old age) mapping out, in some quirky way, our own journeys. People change, friends come and go, everything changes, often without us noticing. But the good doctor is there for us, still listening.
* they were there in the original, but often you'd have to look for them. Speaking of which, the best Cheers/Frasier reunion episode is the one where Woody comes back; a funny and touching look at adult friendships and moving on.
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