by Patrice Downing, Contributing Writer
When Seattle’s most loquacious and lovelorn dispenser of therapeutic discourse decided to depart the air waves and follow his heart to Chicago, it seemed his chaotic journey to find happiness in a romantic partner (and his career) had finally paid off. Fortunately for Frasier fanatics such as myself, the always pompous yet often preposterous psychiatrist is ready for another change in situation. Following the end of both his relationship with Charlotte (Laura Linney) and a successful national talk show run, Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) has decided on a fresh start in his former stomping ground of Boston.
While last year’s inaugural season had a lot of leg work to do in setting the stage for the new dynamics at play, it felt a little more corny than cerebral with the humor, and lacked a bit of the quick witted quirk lovers of the original had come to adore. While I found it okay for a first season, I’m happy to report that a lot of the weaker aspects seemed to have worked themselves out, and the show is starting to have an enjoyable mix of snarky quips, pretentious snobbery, and ill-conceived buffoonery, while dialing down the cheesiness a notch or two more in keeping with the original series’ vibe.
So let’s dive right in by addressing one of the most obvious improvements over last seasons: the characters themselves. I had a huge issue last season with Frasier’s nephew David (Anders Keith) being portrayed more like The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper than Frasier’s Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce). The characters clearly share a lot of commonalities, but exacerbating the situation was the decision to make another of the newly introduced characters, Eve (Jess Salgueiro) similar to Bing Bang’s Penny. Both have been reined in to feel but more like their unique individuals this season. Eve is given an episode that focuses on her continuing to grow in her role as a new mother and learning to ask for help and making time to relax with the help of Roz (Peri Gilpin) and Olivia (Toks Olagundoye), and in the following episode explores her feelings regarding Adam’s (her boyfriend) death a year later following his Boston FD dedication ceremony. Her acting aspirations have taken a back seat this season (at least on screen), with the only real mention of it being that Eve plays on a softball team called “A Midsummer Night’s Team” with a hottie from her acting class that serves as a source of jealousy for Frederick (Jack Cutmore-Scott). Meanwhile, David is often paired up with Frasier’s surrogate brother substitute for Niles, Professor Alan Cornwall (Nicholas Lyndhurst) as his teaching assistant, but lends his knack for organization and strict adherence to rules and protocol to other characters throughout the season for additional hijinx. Keith has a scene in particular in the first episode that is reminiscent of the opening scene from an original series episode (“Three Valentines”). In the original show, his TV dad is engaged in a silly series of ridiculously escalating events gone wrong as he prepares for a date. However, in this iteration, David is single handedly destroying a highly coveted imported Spanish ham. This is easily Keith’s strongest performance of the series, and hopefully a side we see more of for his character in the future.
Another high point of Season Two is the eclectic mix of guest stars composed of some familiar faces from the past and the addition of a few new to the series. After last season’s finale repeatedly mentioning Olivia’s personal and professional rivalry with her equally high-performing sister, it seemed a given we would be introduced to her at some point. What is pleasantly surprising is to see her competitive and condescending sister being played by Community alum Yvette Nicole Brown. Olagundoye and Brown play off one another as squabbling siblings vying to one up each other in a similar way to that of Niles and Frasier in the original series. We also were teased with being introduced to Roz’s daughter Alice (Greer Grammer) last season, and again in Episode Three this season, leading me to think Alice was the new Maris, and that the running gag would become how many ways they can explain away her absence appearing on screen. That was short-lived as just three episodes later, Alice arrives for a Cape Cod weekend of misunderstanding in classic Frasier fashion.
The last of the noteworthy newer faces worth mentioning is a recurring character from last season, Provost Sharma (Parvesh Cheena), who continues to serve as both a Harvard colleague to Frasier and Alan, and a foil for the overambitious Olivia. One of the highlights of the season is easily Cheena’s performance during Olivia’s murder mystery party, which feels very much like they are setting him up to be a regular rival much in the way Frasier has Cam Winston back in Seattle. Speaking of Seattle… we get to see quite a few familiar faces pop up from Emerald City over the course of the season as well. For those of you, like myself, that like to go in fresh without so much as reading the episode description next to the thumbnail image before watching (I’ve been burned by them before), I won’t spoil who drops by for the episode “The Squash Courtship of Freddy’s Father,” but it was not even on my radar to expect that character until their arrival, and I was thrilled when it happened and hope for a reprisal in future seasons, because I love seeing Frasier think he’s in control even as he’s clearly being played.
Finally we get to the man himself, Frasier Crane. New career, old friends, pretentious new apartment, same pontifical psychiatrist. How very Frasier Crane it is to start off the season with an entire episode about ham and how he and Alan devote a day once a year to celebrating their 40-year friendship by indulging in the finest of imported porcine delicacies? But not just any ham, an exotic jamón imbérico, a smoked shank of pork so exquisite it requires both a wooden travel crate and an entire day to celebrate its arrival and consumption. This felt like the Frasier of old, the man who has to have the proper mood lighting and aperitif to read a forbidden manuscript. A man who must “debut” a blazer, or who commissions an antique scout to help complete his coffee set featuring the hand painted likenesses of Henry VIII’s wives. After all these years, it’s so much fun to hear Frasier setting a mood with music he describes as “the loin-stirring arpeggios of one Felix Mendelssohn” or tell of his planned Christmas dinner as “a traditional Nordic feast of lutefisk and glögg.” I think the most enjoyable aspect though is how easily Frederick and the new crew fall into line going along with not only the pomp but the occasional ruse or steakout.
Trying to attain the heights of its predecessor is an incredibly tall order to fill with the original series being one of the most quotable, rewatchable, and well-acted and -written shows of all time. While it’s not there yet, given time to continue developing the new relationships and characters, this series may be able to recapture some of the same erudite delights of the past. A huge improvement over last season, I actually found myself laughing out loud several times by the end of the season and am looking forward to more in the future.
Rating: Liked It
Frasier is currently streaming on Paramount+
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