Reviews

Extended Family has a good cast, especially Jon Cryer and Donald Faison, but it definitely has some issues to work out. There were a few times I laughed out loud (a reverse wedding to announce a divorce was a fun idea).

Cryer and Faison didn't get to interact much, but they seem to good chemistry, as do cryer and Spencer.

The overall talent and likability of the cast tells me this show has potential, but they definitely have not figured everything out. My main complaints were that it was very exposition heavy and the plot felt very disorganized. Some of this is necessarily with a pilot, but it could be a bit difficult to follow.

Despite these issues, I do give them credit for for trying something. The show uses Office-style mockumentary narration, and this has not been tried in the multicam set up as far as I know. I hope they can get it together and make this series live up to its potential.

Speaking of the camera set-up, there is always a lot of hate online for "laugh-track" sitcoms. As a big fan of multi-camera sitcoms when done well, I've learned that first thing you'll read online about them will probably be people complaining about the sound of laughter, whether it is real or fake. Hopefully I have provided a fair review on the show itself.

The first season of Frasier 2023 comes to an end with with an enjoyable Christmas episode and Peri Gilpin's return as Roz. The episode centers around a Christmas party that Frasier throws to cheer himself up when he is feeling sad about Martin's death. The Christmas party plot manages to incorporate of the regular characters and to keep up the Frasier tradition of everything going wrong at his fancy parties.

I felt that the first episode had some trouble switching between serious and comedic material, but this type of transition was much smoother in this episode.

My one complaint is that Peri Gilpin didn't have a very big role as Roz in the episode. She is brought into the episodes in a sweet way and she was very good in the scenes she was in, but it was too bad she wasn't able to do more.

Overall, Frasier 2023 was very enjoyable despite getting off to a somewhat shakey start. It doesn't recapture every aspect of Frasier 1993, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the feel they were able to recapture. I hope this series is renewed for more seasons and that we can see more of these characters interacting and hopefully more characters from Cheers and Frasier 1993 in these future seasons.

I have long believed Anders Keith is the weakest link in the cast of Frasier 2023. His performance as David Crane has mostly felt like an impression of David Hyde Pierce as Niles, albeit a fairly good one. They've grown in a bit of Daphne too and that has been more effective due to it being more subtle. A few episodes have attempted to give him a little more development with mixed results. This episode finally developed David in a significant way, but in a way that makes me a bit uncomfortable.

Frasier gives David the first B of his life and it leads David to have a serious breakdown. David becomes desperate to get an A and it leads him to do somethings that may end up causing significant harm to his uncle.

David's actions are explained by the fact that his whole identity has been based on being the good student. When he receives a less than perfect grade, the unreasonable expectations he placed on himself, led him to his actions to try to get the grade changed. This is a relatable experience for people who view their grades as part of their identity, but most won't go to David's extremes!

Having said this, Anders Keith's portrayal of this version of the character was mostly enjoyable. Keith seems more comfortable than before, so maybe he will continue to improve.

The rest of the cast does well. Frasier's plot involves him wanting to become a full professor and the antics he goes through to impress the provost. Some may find this plot line a little too similar to the season 1 episode "Frasier Crane's Day Off," but I still found it very enjoyable. Freddy Crane's intellectual side coming out when he drinks was a unique idea, albeit one I found a bit meh. Still, David Crane's possible sociopathy aside, this episode has a very Frasier feel. I'm glad the series has developed in this way and I hope it continues like this.

Bebe Neuwirth played herself on an episode of Will and Grace right after Frasier ended. She said regarding Lilith Sternin, "I wanted to play that frosty bi*ch forever." 37 years after she first played the character, Neuwirth shows she can do it.

Frasier runs into Lilith having lunch with Freddy and their rekindled rivalry heats up immediately, as they try to outdo each other for Freddy's birthday party. The bulk of the episode takes place at the birthday party which takes place at a bowling alley. Here, not only are Frasier and Lilith hilarious, but the rest of the cast shines as well, most notably Nicholas Lyndhurst with his obsession with getting Lilith to remember him from their wedding.

In a well-timed bit of continuity, this episode was released two weeks after the 34th anniversary of the the airing of the Cheers episode that featured Freddy's birth, and in continuity with his appearance in final season of Frasier (1993), Freddy's Goth phase is mentioned.

I have been impressed with how well the cast and crew of Frasier (2023) have recaptured the feel of the original series. From the signature misunderstanding-based humor to the witty intertitles to characters' vitriolic chemistry, they have recreated the feel so much better than most other reboot/revivals. Neuwirth's performance does not disappoint. We are lucky that she got to play that "frosty bi*ch" again after all.

This episode takes a fairly well-worn sitcom premise and makes it thoroughly enjoyable through clever, somewhat self-aware writing and great performances by Jack Cutmore-Scott, the guest cast, and especially Kelsey Grammer. Freddy and Frasier are set up on blind dates by Eve, but they don't know whose date the first arrival is. After they both hit it off with her, the father-son rivalry heats up and is made more complicated by two other women who knock on their door.

The B-plot is short, featuring Alan and Olivia viewing a horrible play that Eve is in. It is a short and simple plot that is made more enjoyable by Nicholas Lyndhurst's reactions. Fortunately, the main plot carries the day here.

Freddy and Frasier show a bit of a genre-savvy self-awareness when referring back to Frasier's previous antics. Frasier's remark as the dates end is also a subtle call back to his punch line at the end of The Ski Lodge, which is widely considered one of the best episodes of the original series. This show took a few episodes to get into the groove, but now I am genuinely looking forward to each new episode every week! I hope they can keep it up!

The Frasier revival seems to fall more into place each episode. This episode manages to recreate the hijinks Frasier and Niles used to get into in a high society setting and does so by finally using Nicholas Lyndhurst in an effective way. Frasier, Alan, and Olivia compete for limited spots in an exclusive Harvard club. Events unfold hilariously as alliances and backstabbing ensue. Grammer and Lyndhurst are finally beginning to develop a chemistry as we learn more about Frasier's and Alan's backstory as college students together.

The B-story featuring Freddy and Eve trying to teach David to be more confident when speaking to women is much more generic, but it is still enjoyable. Anders Keith's performance as David Crane has mostly felt like an impression of David Hyde Pierce as Niles, but they appear to be giving him a bit more of an identity of his own.

I thought the first three episodes of Frasier (2023) felt a little uncomfortable, but things seem to be getting back on track. I hope the series continues in this vein!

This episode involves Gene trying to remember a song that he wrote in a dream to use in a songwriting contest. When he Gene realizes he forgot the song the next day, he learns to lucid dream in order to have the same dream again so he can figure out the song. This is a unique sitcom premise for a sitcom episode, and it is carried out in a suspenseful manner--Gene gradually replays more and more of his dream--and I found myself surprisingly close to the edge of my seat!

The B-plot of Tina and Louise trying to catch a cricket for Linda was fine, but I wished they could have tied it to Gene's story better.

As a side note, this episode also contains a subtle Beatles Easter egg. Gene tries to remember the song while eating breakfast. Tina suggests he use a different song he wrote titled "Tater tots with legs."

Paul McCartney wrote the melody for "Yesterday" in a dream. The next morning he gave the melody the title "scrambled eggs, I love your legs" in part to help remember it. When Gene finds himself in a similar situation to McCartney, not only do we learn that he wrote a song about food with legs, but what was Gene eating? Scrambled eggs!

Frasier (2023) had a nearly impossible task. It had to continue the legacies of its parent and grandparent series with a mostly new cast and situation. The first few episodes of this reboot/revival had clear potential, but it was easy to tell that it hadn't found its footing. I could tell that ingredients were there, with Kelsey Grammer as good as ever the rest of the cast ranging from passable (Anders Keith) to great (Jess Salguero) as well a recreation of Frasier's signature misunderstanding-based humor by the writers, so I gave the show another chance. The show seemed to fall into place with this episode, with a genuine chemistry emerging in the cast and a plot that echoes the white collar/blue collar culture clash of the original Frasier without feeling like a rip-off. Anders Keith as David Crane was finally put to good use and was used as something other than an impression of David Hyde Pierce as Niles. But the breakout characters were Freddy Crane's firefighter coworkers, and especially Moose, portrayed by Jimmy Dunn. I liked his implied hidden depths. To those Frasier (1993) fans who were put off by the first episode feeling uncomfortable, I recommend giving the series another chance, starting with this episode. If the remaining episodes can maintain this level of quality, Frasier 2023 has potential to be a worthy successor to Frasier (1993) and Cheers, if not quite a match.

The doll was said to be from Lynda Bird Johnson, who was Luci Baines Johnson's sister. Lynda was dating actor George Hamilton (George the movie star) at that time. As for crying "mama," I'm not sure, but it could be a reference to a song from a few years earlier by country singer George Hamilton IV. The two were often confused with each other. The country song was called "Come On Home Boy," and it was about a man who received a letter asking him to come home because his "mama" misses him. When he finally comes home, his mother is dead.