Frasier: Why The Sequel Is Dividing Viewers (Is it Any Good?)

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A chess match with his father revealed a connection between the two that was easily missed. His dad beat Frasier time after time. When he expressed his frustration to his dad, Martin pointed out that chess was similar to detective work in its demand for anticipation, strategy, and cunning. In other words, Frasier and Niles inherited a good deal of their intelligence from their dad, who was a very sharp man. The two sons made the mistake of confusing culture with intelligence. Always thought that was one of the best scenes in the whole series with a lesson that is worth incorporating into real life.

The problem with this reboot is not that it's bad, it's not. The problem is that it is not great. 'Great' was the bar set by Frasier, which means anything less than this falls short.

No one can replace the old cast, Niles, Daphne, Roz and Martin, who were and always will be simply the best.

I'll flat out say, today's generation of writers seem to create based off imitating, and that is a fundamental problem right there. Imitation is why so many of these nostalgia products feel fake.

In the original Martin brought a tatty chair into Frasier's apartment because it was comfortable and brought him joy. It was something human and relatable that created realistic conflict.
In the reboot, Freddie brings in a giant light up air hockey table that plays obnoxious music specifically to antagonise his father.
There's potential in the new one, but it's currently desperately lacking subtlety or depth.

It's really missing David Hyde-Pierce, the supporting cast is a bit flat, the guy who plays his son especially so.

I am so tired of reboots can't Hollywood come up with anything original anymore? And they're rebooting things that don't need to be rebooted because they were so great to begin with.

I watched the first episode…..it wasn’t horrible but I was left feeling sad. I missed the other members in the group. I’ve watched the original series about 5 times on top of seeing it on TV when it first aired. It was funny. It was original, it was heartwarming. It just lacks so much from the original. I’ll continue to watch it and maybe it will grow on me. I miss all the other characters though.

I agree. The real problem with this new show is how it undoes the accomplishments of the original. Frasier finding love made him appear to have overcome his past mistakes with women. Half the comedy, and story, was about Frasier developing his understanding of what made a relationship work. Him taking that chance, and leaving his ending open for inspiration, was brilliant. The beginning “what happened” of Frasier just decided to show him to have made another mistake in love. I hear Frasier say his life feel apart again and I’m left with “so, what was the point of the original Frasier show?” I mean, everyone else in the original show developed for the better. Roz couldn’t find love until she grew to love her daughter. Niles was in an unhappy marriage until he was with Daphne. Daphne was odd and emotionally immature until Niles calms her. Martin was a stick in the mud until he grew in his relationship with Frasier. And it did an amazing job of making the audience believe that a father and son relationship could truly be healthy after years of having nothing in common. Not to mention that the jokes around a psychiatrist, having understood the psyche, doesn’t seem to have grasp on how the world works. All of that made the show work. There was laughter, heart, character development, and like-able characters. This new show? It undoes it all.

I’m just annoyed that it’s not on a network that everyone can watch. How can it get the viewers if many people can’t afford it? 😭

Seeing clips of the original Frasier and the new Frasier side by side really amplifies how mediocre the reboot is. So sad, I was so looking forward to a Frasier reboot, but to me it falls flat. I'd rather watch re-runs of the original, which I do all the time. Truly one of the best shows of all time.

I don't think that Frasier and Charlotte splitting up undoes the ending of the old show.
They had around 20 years together before the relationship ran out of steam. It happens. That doesn't make those relationship meaningless. If they had said he got to Chicago and she told him to F off right away, that would have undone it.

I hope they give it time to find it's feet. I've seen the first 3 episodes and thought the first two were very funny. The show have promise.

Saying that the reboot has no chance because of the missing cast is pretty ironic because the whole premise of the OG run was a single character of a series with a memorable cast missing. The problem is that you can't do a good revival if you are only interested in following the same exact beats. There are good ingredients in this show, I hope they can find the right balance.

I love this show so far, I just wish they would incorporate more of the Cheers people being as he is back in Boston. They don't have to be in every episode but they are a big piece of a time in his life.

It's telling that every single literal laugh out loud moment I got from the clips shown in this video are the ones from the original show. Also really hammers home how important the supporting cast was to the show named Frasier.

I enjoy the reboot. Still keeping my fingers crossed for Niles.

The missing original cast and characters is the problem for me

The problem is that we got attached to the characters in the original. Niles and Fraser's interactions are priceless. The writers did a great job in the one line insults toward each other.

I like the Old Professor and the University President team. A nice mix of Roz and Niles and Martin and Niles in each character.