Dr. Crane Is Still Working Through His Daddy Issues In The Frasier Revival
The "Frasier" revival started out in much the same way as the original series. On the beloved sitcom, which ran from 1993 to 2004, the titular doctor arrived in a new city which was actually an old city. Having lived in Boston during the years he spent as a regular on "Cheers," Frasier moved back to his native Seattle to start a new life as a newly-divorced bachelor and host of a radio call-in show. But his plans promptly changed when he was left with no choice but to take in his elderly father, Martin (John Mahoney) and the pair were forced to confront their differences.
In the revival show, Frasier once again moves to a new city which is actually an old city. Arriving back in Beantown, the doctor plans on visiting his son, Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) before departing for Paris. But once again, his plans change, and he finds himself with a new roommate, this time in the form of his own son.
In that sense, the revival show is somewhat of a mirror image of the original, wherein Frasier has become the dad and it's his son with whom he's trying to reconnect. The inaugural episode of the reboot made sure to include a touching tribute to John Mahoney before Dr. Crane and his son could begin patching things up, which made for a heartfelt episode that suggested the new show had a shot at recapturing at least some of the magic of the original. Unfortunately, as things have progressed, it hasn't quite managed to live up to that promise, even as the writers have done their best to interrogate the relationships between characters in a similar way to the original series.
Frasier's still struggling with daddy issues
The "Frasier" revival has so far explored the shortcomings of Frasier and his brother Niles' (played by David Hyde Pierce on the original show) parenting styles on their respective children, with an episode that attempted, and sadly failed, to make Niles' son David (Anders Keith) more likable. We've also seen a clash between Dr. Crane and his son over their sense of taste, with Freddy getting upset over the fact that their shared apartment is basically tailored to his dad's sensibilities.
With episode 9, however, we get more of an insight into Frasier's own daddy issues. In the original series, Freddy lived in Boston with his mother Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) — who also guest-starred in the revival and made sporadic appearances throughout the show's 11 seasons. In the revival, Frasier's main motivation for sticking around in Boston is the opportunity to make up for not being a major part of Freddy's life for all those years. Episode 9 sees that desire to atone for shaky fathering come to the forefront.
The younger Crane is frustrated that his father won't let him help around the house, prompting Frasier to let him fix a broken buzzer in order to let him feel as though he's contributing. But throughout the episode, it becomes clear just how averse the good doctor is to letting his son help. Even after badly injuring his knee and becoming effectively immobile, Frasier protests when Freddy tries to assist him. Soon, Dr. Crane's former college buddy and fellow Harvard Professor, Alan (British comedy legend Nicholas Lyndhurst), arrives to psychoanalyze his friend and get to the bottom of his daddy issues.
Not bad, but not Frasier
By the end of episode 9, Frasier admits that he won't accept help from Freddy because he feels he'll never be able to make up for not being there for his son. The doctor then goes into more detail that links his current day parenting issues with his feelings towards his own father, explaining that Martin was always there for him and Niles and that he feels he owes him "everything." He goes on to add, "Whatever I did for my father it wasn't enough, because whatever I did, I could never repay him." Of course, this being a sitcom, there's some resolution at the end, with Frasier finally learning to accept help from his son. But there's a clear attempt here to rekindle the all-important earnestness and heart that made the original show so beloved.
As it happens, this is probably one of the better episodes of the revival series. It's not classic "Frasier" by any means, but Kelsey Grammer's delivery of his character's concerns about living up to his father's example are poignant. From the very beginning, Grammer has been noticeably teary about the whole project, crying in interviews and getting choked up when he introduces the revival show to a studio audience in a behind-the-scenes featurette. His genuine love for the show is palpable — even if he does have a less than modest view about the key to its success — and it shows in the scene from episode 9 where he talks about his on-screen father, John Mahoney. Along with a couple of actually funny jokes, including one that involves Frasier referring to his own son as his wife, the writers and Grammer did a decent enough job with this installment. But something's still not quite right.
Revival or retread?
One of the biggest problems with the new "Frasier" is its lack of the original supporting cast. We've had, and will continue to have more guest appearances on the show, including an upcoming cameo from Roz actor Peri Gilpin. But so far, these appearances haven't managed to rescue the new show from mediocrity. That's essentially because Kelsey Grammer is really the only constant here. He's effortlessly slipped back into the role that he embodied some 20 years prior, but the rest of the show around him just can't keep up.
Episode 9 is a perfect example. While Grammer's own performance is great, you just don't care as much about the relationship between Frasier and Freddy as you did about Frasier and Martin. Perhaps it has to do with John Mahoney's excellent portrayal overshadowing anything the modern cast can contribute, or maybe nostalgia just taints this whole conversation. There's also the issue of this version of "Frasier" being written and overseen by self-admitted super-fans of the original, with writer and showrunner Joe Cristali speaking excitedly about his Twitter account, "Frasier for Hire," where he'd write jokes in the style of the original sitcom simply because he loved it so much and had, as he told The Hollywood Reporter, "seen every episode a million times." This often gives the revival show a fan-fiction-esque feeling that, along with the aforementioned lack of the original cast, keeps it from feeling like the true return of Frasier Crane.
Whatever the case, the relationships in the new series just somehow don't feel as real as those in the original. So, even as we delve into Frasier's psyche, we're ultimately left with this sense that we haven't really done anything except make Grammer cry again.
New episodes of "Frasier" premiere every Thursday on Paramount+.