The Frasier Revival Just Put The Entire Crane Family On The Therapist's Couch
This post contains spoilers for the eighth episode of the "Frasier" revival.
When the original "Frasier" series was first coming together, Niles actor David Hyde Pierce thought the pilot script was terrible. Thankfully, the show would run for 11 seasons between 1993 and 2004, during which time it would pick up 37 Emmys and become one of the most beloved sitcoms and most successful spin-offs of all time. So what was Hyde Pierce's problem with the pilot? Well, he thought the writers had basically written two of the exact same characters with Niles and Frasier. This, however, turned out to be an inspired choice. As writer and producer Christopher Lloyd told Vanity Fair in 2018:
"Conventional wisdom would have you pair Frasier with a brother who's a welder, watches football, and sticks his hand in the top of his underpants. The genius was pairing him with a fussier, more erudite version of Frasier, which pushed Frasier more to the center. And their rarified language became the language of the show."
It's true that Niles was just like his brother but even more neurotic and concerned with maintaining people's perception of him as a man of letters and refined taste. But you can still see what Hyde Pierce was worried about. Frasier and his brother were extremely similar, which luckily made for an effective dynamic that propelled much of the show's comedy.
Now, with the neither disappointing nor remarkable "Frasier" revival hitting Paramount+, we've been introduced to the next generation of the Crane family with Frasier's son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) and Niles' son David (Anders Keith). But this isn't Niles and Frasier v2 by any means. In fact, the writers have wisely used the younger Crane boys to explore the impact of Frasier and Niles' shared preoccupation with high intellectual standards.
The Frasier revival is the same but different
Thanks to Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce's performances, Frasier and Niles came off as lovably pretentious rather than insufferable snobs. While that made for great comedic moments, the show was also never afraid to demonstrate the often negative consequences of their personalities, especially when it came to their relationship with their father. The season 1 episode "Dinner at Eight," for example, saw the pair planning to take their father out for a fancy dinner only to change plans at the last second and accompany Martin to his favorite steakhouse. Once there, the brothers spend the whole time making fun of the restaurant's lack of class, which upsets Martin and forces Niles and Frasier to reflect on how their behavior affected their dad.
The revival show has thus far tried hard to emulate the style of the original, even making sly references to old "Frasier" episodes while simultaneously attempting to break new ground. Similar to the original series, episode 8 tries to explore the real-world results of the Crane brothers' personalities, this time from the perspective of their sons. The episode focuses on Anders Keith's David, who is heartbroken to have received a B grade on his latest paper from none other than his own uncle, Frasier. The development sends David into a spiral as he tries everything he can to retake the paper and up his grade to an A. Meanwhile, Freddy, who dropped out of Harvard to become a firefighter, reveals his hidden intellectual talents, which evidently only come to light when he drinks. As the episode goes on, Freddy demonstrates that he still has a passion for academia, getting excited at the prospect of helping David with his paper and clearly enjoying the process.
It's just not the same
With these storylines, the writers are seemingly trying to interrogate how Frasier and Niles' own neuroses and shortcomings impacted their children's development, much like Martin's did theirs. While Freddy renounced his intellect altogether, David begins to crack under the pressure of having to constantly achieve at the highest level. In that sense, the "Frasier" revival has put the Crane brothers on the therapist's couch in a whole new way. Rather than showcasing how their snobbishness affected their relationship with their father, we're now seeing how it affected their own sons.
Without David Hyde Pierce, who turned down the chance to return as Niles, however, none of this hits with quite the same impact as it used to. In "Dinner at Eight," Martin's disappointment in his sons' behavior is palpable, and you can really feel his hurt. In episode 8 of the revival show, however, there's not as much of an emotional impact, especially since Niles isn't there to witness the result of his parenting style and David just comes across as even more unlikable than he was. Meanwhile, Frasier doesn't seem to have any personal epiphany about his own preoccupation with academic achievement.
Much like the rest of the revival series, then, this episode just serves to remind us all that without the original supporting cast, "Frasier" just isn't quite "Frasier." While it's interesting to see the show try to put the Crane brothers on the therapist's couch in a new way, one of them isn't even there to witness the result. At this point, even guest appearances from former "Frasier" cast members can't really save the revival from being the kind of okay, but not great series it is.