Frasier coming back

I'm caught up on the available episodes so far (five). I binged them while doing light computer work on the other monitor.


Not sure how I feel about it, though. Kelsey Grammer is indeed the best thing about the show. The nephew isn't bad, once he got past that first appearance at the airport, which was over the top silly. Still, it impressed upon me that he's good at physical comedy and timing, and he's had some fun moments since. He has just a hint of Niles's personality around the edges, which seems to be on purpose.

The British professor has good timing and is droll but predictable. Then again, they're all predictable. The woman dean is cringe-worthy--I'm still not sure how they're presenting her, really. Is she smart but enamored of Frasier's persona? Is she NOT smart (she's already done some dumb things)? I dunno. She's hard to read, partly because the actress is playing her from every possible angle.

Frasier's son feels stereotypical and very bleh. There's nothing that makes him stand out to me. He's clearly there only as a foil to Frasier but I don't care about his character at all.

And if Frasier is back in Boston, why is he now frequenting a bar that KINDA seems like Cheers but obviously isn't? There have been oblique references to that bar he used to hang out in too much... but he's usually mentioning it while he's IN THIS NEW BAR.

Five episodes in and I'm pretty sure everybody is quickly becoming a one-trick pony: professor who hates his work and drinks expensive scotch. Son who's a sort of blue-collar worker constantly feeling as if he has to defend his choices. Son's female friend who is clearly the possible future love interest, depending on how the show wants to play it. It just won't be as good as the Sam-and-Diane tension from Cheers, though. Nephew is the goofy virginal clueless one who's too enamored of his uncle's notoriety (which comes up a few times an episode at this point). Woman dean of the psych department who fawns over Frasier and doesn't seem at all like she knows anything about psychology or being a dean.

I think at this point I'll keep watching the new episodes, but only in the background as I'm doing other light work so the time doesn't feel completely wasted.

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You can put it in spoilers if need be but have they said what happened to Frasier's relationship with the dating agency woman that he ended the series with? She was played by Laura Linney.

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@AKA23 Thanks!

Finally got around to watching the pilot for this reboot and, to be kind, it was terrible. I expected a lot more from Glen and Les Charles, who created the character and the show that was his birthplace, Cheers. They've kind of kept the character on a pedestal, having spent 25 years as a talk show host and is now returning to, believe it or not, Boston to teach at Harvard. They even had Frasier mention that he spent a lot of time in a bar in Boston in his previous life and purposely not mention Cheers. Seemed like a slap in the face to me. As expected, the relationship between Frasier and son Freddy is all screwed up. It initially looked like they were going to do something bold and make Freddy gay, but they pulled it out and did something much more conventional. Grammer's supporting cast is nothing to write home about...Jack Cutmore-Scott is kind of one note as Freddy and Anders Keith is beyond annoying as Niles and Daphne's son, David. I might check out one more episode, but don't hold your breath on that.

I've watched several of these and thought the 6th episode, "Blind Date", was the best one and closest to the feel of the original show, so if you're trying to figure out which episode to watch, I'd try that one. It had a similar kind of absurdist humor and also a lack of clarity on who the woman was there to date that reminded me of earlier episodes and interactions between Niles and Frasier. I agree with you completely that this reboot as a whole is nowhere near the quality of the "Frasier" of old. "Frasier" had smart, sophisticated humor that was a cut above other shows of the era, in my opinion, and I'm not seeing much of that in this reboot. I think the biggest problem is the casting, followed by the writing. Kelsey Grammar is still great in the role.

OK, just finished watching ep 2 and I'm still not impressed. And is it me, or all of the sets really ugly? Frasier's apartment in particular is kind of gaudy. It looks like a dorm room. Even without the hockey table. Kelsey Grammer deserves better than this.

Gideon, why didn't you watch Episode 6, like I suggested? I'm curious. Do you not have Paramount Plus? It was the best episode, by far.

The sets are all ugly. I agree with you, but I think that might be due to two reasons, one they didn't want to spend the money to have nice sets. Secondly, this might be due to personal decor preference. I don't have a contemporary or modern style, so Frasier's apartment, for example, just looks garish to me. What I think is less arguable and not due to personal preference is that the style is very different than he had in the original show. You see the same thing with the clothing that he wears. It's still expensive, but a lot more casual. I'm not really sure why they made this decision, to have him wear jeans, casual shoes, zip ups and the like. I can't see the character doing that. He always wore a suit and tie. His style as depicted is that of a much younger person as well, which doesn't make a lot of sense as he's close to 70 in the show. Perhaps they meant to signify that he is less up tight than before with these choices, and not as concerned about things that are more trivial as he might have been when he was seeking to prove himself during the original run of the show. He is definitely more self-assured now.

It just didn't feel right skipping five episodes. But maybe I will watch it.

OK, watching ep 6 six right now. First of all, June Diane Raphael is good enough an actress that she could have been given a character name other than her real life first name. Was June not supposed to know who she was there to date? Why was June acting like a victim? OK, it was better than the first two eps but still not good enough to keep me watching. I'm out.

Every time I consider checking out an episode, I remember that John Mahoney won't be there and I get sad.

Glad you thought that it was better than the first two episodes, but yeah, the only reason to really watch this show is to see how the "Frasier" character develops and how they may portray him differently than they did before, and to see whether when this show ends he reaches a contentment or a happiness that he may not have had before. Or, to see whatever characters from "Cheers" or the original "Frasier" show up and hear about how they are doing. Lilith and Roz are supposed to be guest starring this season. It's not worth watching in and of itself. If it were a stand alone show not connected to a character that I loved, I definitely wouldn't watch it. If you didn't like Episode 6, I think that's the best this series may have to offer, so you not watching any more makes sense to me!

For me, I realized what it comes down to is Frasier and Niles. For me, Frasier and Niles were the heart of the original show and I can't think of two actors who were more convincing television brothers than Grammer and David Hyde Pierce, and without Pierce, I'm just not feeling this.

Well, this is a mistake!

https://tvline.com/news/frasier-rene...er-1235172057/