The "Frasier" Revival Gives Me A Tossed Salad & Scrambled Eggs of Emotions

 (Mild spoilers for the premiere of the Frasier reboot. If you've made it this far and that concerns you.)

I don't think it's a hot take when I say one of the most successful television series of all time was Cheers, and one of the most successful spinoffs of all time was its own spinoff, Frasier. 

I grew up loving both series, and I don't mean like somehow I've lied to you all and Im secretly twenty years older than I really am. No, I just did like any normal high-school male did, and binged the hell out of the reruns that were syndicated across various networks. I collected the Cheers DVD boxsets and received a few as gifts (I'm really dating myself here...) and made regular pilgrimages to the original pub and its sister location in Boston, which the series based its primary setting off of.

I really grew to love the world of Cheers and its characters, and that love spilled over into Frasier. At times I might say I enjoy the latter more than the former. Alas, like any beloved piece of media from the past, the money hungry powers of Hollywood finally came for it, and like Full House, Will & Grace, and Night Court before it,  Frasier became the next series to get revived.

A continuation of Frasier had been discussed for many years, particularly by its star Kelsey Grammer. Many like myself suspected those talks were going to cease when John Mahoney, who played Frasier's father Martin Crane, passed away in 2018. That was not the case however, obviously, or we wouldn't be here right now. But not only would Mahoney be absent, but none of the main cast was going to return either. 

(Full disclosure, I do not have Paramount Plus, and I was only able to watch the series premiere via the streaming service's Youtube.)

Seven into this ten-episode season, and so far Bebe Neuwirth has made one guest appearance as Frasier's ex-wife Lilith, and it has been announced that Peri Gilpin will make an appearance as Roz, but there's very little hope for an appearance of David Hyde Pierece's Niles, or Jane Leeves's Daphne. So the mainncast is 99% new faces, and then Grammer. Which on the surface level doesn't make this look any different than other (failed) attempts to repeat the sitcom success of his career (Harsh, but true).

But what's the premise of this new Frasier? Well set twenty years after the finale, Frasier (Grammer) has returned to Boston to check in on his now-grown son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott). Martin (Mahoney) has passed prior to the start of the series, and Freddy missed the funeral. Now here's where I start feeling conflicted. I'm never quite sure where to side in this issue. If an actor dies, should their character die too? On one hand, Mahoney is Martin Crane. You could not recast him. You could make him a character that is mentioned but never seen, like Niles's ex-wife Maris, or Norm's wife Vera on Cheers. But then his prolonged absence starts to become a problem, which is probably at least partially why this series was set in Boston and not Seattle. In the end, I support the decision to kill off Martin Crane, but at the same time this is all feels very unnecessary, and if this series didn't exist, they wouldn't have to write him off in the first place. I digress.

Anyway, Martin's death is the catalyst for the pilot. Frasier wants to check-in on Freddy, but Freddy wants very little to do with his father. They're estranged because...we need conflict? I'm not saying Frasier was the best father in the world. Hell the whole spinoff happened because he moved halfway across the country from his son, but even in that spinoff Frasier always did his best to be a good father.

This is a cardinal sin of any sequel or follow-up, and that is to undo or undermine the good work and storytelling of its predecessor. See Mark Whalberg and Mila Kunis's characters getting a divorce in Ted 2. See Ralph Breaks The Internet opening with the 'Sugar Rush' video game getting shut down. See Frasier 2.0 opening with Frasier being estranged from his son...and also his relationship with Laura Linney's Charlotte also destroyed, which sucks, but Frasier having bad luck in love, I guess that's par for the course BUT HE WAS SO CLOS-alright...

Why are father and son estranged? Well turns out Freddy dropped out of Harvard to become a firefighter, much to Frasier's dismay...and for me, this is where it gets interesting. Father and son struggling to find a common ground due to their different vocations and views on life. Frasier's relationship with his son now mirrors his own with his father (Martin was a policeman, Frasier a psychiatrist). I really appreciate this parallel, and this definitely could make for a compelling premise. Unfortunately, it will never see its full potential because we don't have John Mahoney or Martin Crane in the story. That said this all comes to a boil in a very touching scene in tribute to the lost patriarch, and as someone who recently lost his father, it managed to strike a chord.

I won't give you a complete play-by-play of the first episode of Frasier 2.0, but it ends with Frasier taking a job in Boston to stay closer to Freddy. Which is nice, but opens up an even bigger can of worms. Again, it all goes back to Cheers. Frasier is going to live in Boston again, and we are just supposed to accept that he will never resist his old watering hole? He will never run into Woody Harrelson's Woody (Heh), George Wendt's Norm Peterson, or National Treasure Ted Danson's Sam Malone?? I know we shouldn't expect (or maybe we should...) them to sneak a backdoor pilot to a Cheers revival into this. (That would be trippy, Cheers leads to Frasier, and Frasier leads to Cheers), rebuild the old soundstage and throw buckets of money at all the sitcom alumni but...why tease us like this?? 

There is a line where Frasier says "[He] probably wasn't the best version of himself in Boston" which could make for an interesting storyline. I mean, he's not totally wrong. He had two failed marriages, hung out in a bar a lot, and almost threw himself off a building. Will the creatives behind the series tap into this? Who's to say?

In the end, I want to hate the Frasier revival, but I can't. There's a lot of promise in its premise. There are times I genuinely laughed out loud in the premiere. Kelsey Grammer is still great as this character, and the supporting cast definitely have their moments. Although most of them seem to just be trying to fill the void of the original cast. Nicholas Lyndhurst's Alan is filling the Niles role. Jess Salguerio's Eve has similarities to Roz. Anders Keith's David Crane, Frasier's nephew/Niles and Daphne's son...is somehow trying to fill the void of both his mother and father and failing? 

This all feels totally unnecessary, but in the Hollywood of 2023, I suppose it was inevitable. There is potential in this revival of Frasier, but since I don't have Paramount Plus, I personally might not be able to see it. If you have, should I add yet another streaming service to my library so I can watch Frasier? What else is good on Paramount Plus?

Anyway, as the doctor would say, thanks for listening.

Understanding Ted in The "Lasso" Finale

*Spoilers if you haven't finished Ted Lasso. Turn around and come back later*

Aside from some pieces on How I Met Your Mother and Community from almost a decade ago, I don't often talk about television on here. But I wanted to take a moment to discuss one of my favorite new shows in recent years, Ted Lasso.

Ted Lasso was an adrenaline shot of positivity that came into my life at just at the right time. Arguably I think it did the same thing for a lot of people. The series dropped on Apple TV+ in the middle of 2020, a time when we collectively were all at our low point. Saying Ted Lasso is a feel-good show is an understatement. This show taught its viewers so much about self-love, mental health, our obligation to our fellow man. Ted Lasso's (Jason Sudeikis) wisdom and teachings had just as much effect on its viewers as it did the other characters in the show. I would go so far as to say Ted changed lives on and off the screen.

Which is probably why it hit so hard on May 31, 2023 when Ted resigned as Head Coach from AFC Richmond and returned home to the states to be closer to his son in the series(?) finale. Full disclosure I ugly cried. Overall I really enjoyed the series (?) finale, although I took some issues with it, which I won't get into here. Like many television finales, Ted Lasso's seems to have divided its fanbase. Some liked it. Others didn't. One particular criticism of the finale I want to address is the notion that Ted himself was very cold and emotionless, and seemed rather unfazed by his leaving.

Now what I'm about to share with you is in no means a definitive explanation for it. This is just my own personal opinion and analysis of it. First of all, I want to take a look at Ted's final note to Trent Crimm (James Lance). For perspective, Trent was writing a book on AFC Richmond's season, and he gave a copy of the manuscript to Ted to look over before it went to the publishers. Ted's note to Trent reads "One small suggestion. I'd change the title. It's not about me. It never was."

It's not about me. It never was.

While Trent's book (and the series) may have been named after Coach Lasso, this story was never his. It was about the people whose lives he touched and changed forever. I've seen many comparisons of Ted Lasso to The Wizard of Oz online. Ted is essentially Dorothy, he's from Kansas, so naturally he returns to Kansas at the end of the series. Jamie (Phil Dunster) is The Scarecrow, no brain, Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) is The Tin Man, no heart, a few characters could be The Cowardly Lion or a Witch, I digress. Feel free to look this up and come back here later. But I would like to draw comparison to a different film, and that is Mary Poppins.

For those of you that don't know (LOL), Mary Poppins is the story of a magical nanny who arrives in London to help take care of the two children of The Banks Family. Through her teachings, she not only helps the children, but she helps their father understand what's really important in life, and that's his family. By the end of the film the bond of The Banks Family is stronger than ever, and Mary Poppins takes her leave, rather unceremoniously, and without a big, heartfelt goodbye...maybe you see where I'm going with this.

At the start of the series, a bitter and cynical Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) has taken over the club from her ex-husband Rupert (Anthony Head) with the intention of destroying the one thing he loved the most. To do that, she hires the worst possible person as head coach, Ted. Naturally it backfires on her, and not only does Ted improve the team, and eventually lead them to victory, he helps improves her own life. Ted also brings the team closer together, and makes them a found family. Jamie and Roy go from enemies to friends, as do Jamie and Sam (Toheeb Jimoh), and everyone comes to value Nate (Nick Mohammed). Plus let's talk about how they all celebrate Christmas together in one of the best holiday episodes in recent years. Ted very much is like AFC Richmond's own Mary Poppins. He flies in from God knows where, and helps them all to become better, and when they all do become better, it's time for him to leave.

Now I think in most finales, or episodes where a main character is leaving, it becomes like an "emotional road-trip" if you will, where they have a poignant final moment with every other major character. (See Frasier, see Michael Scott's last episode of The Office, etc.) Is this a nice thing to do? Yes. Is it a bit cliche'? Yes. Here's why I don't think Ted Lasso did it...because they were doing it every other episode. Ted was having important, emotional moments with the other characters from the very beginning. That was his deal. Helping everyone see the best version of themselves. He once told Dr. Sharon (Sarah Niles) that after his father's suicide, he would never let anyone get by him without understanding their worth and what they meant to him. So I think to do that all again with every character in the finale just would've been a bit redundant. To me Ted's final locker room speech to the team hit all the right notes.

But that still begs the question, why did he seem so cold in the finale? Well simply because his goal was to get back to his son. But let's get back to that Mary Poppins connection. As Mary (Julie Andrews) packs up her things, the Banks children, Jane and Micheal (Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber) plead with her to stay, and ask her "don't you love us?" to which Mary replies "And what would happen to me, may I ask, if I loved all the children I said goodbye to?"

Ted's goal was to never make AFC Richmond his new home. Like he told Trent Crimm long ago when they first went out to dinner, he loves coaching, and it was never about winning or losing but "helping these young fellas be the best version of themselves on and off the field." That's just what Ted did, and when the mission was complete, it was time for Teddy Loppins (Ugh...) to fly away, off to next people that needed him.

Mary Poppins may be the titular character, but it's not her story. The story is about a family learning to grow and be better together. Just like Ted Lasso may be the titular character, but as he told Trent in his note "It's not about me. It never was." Ted Lasso and Mary Poppins both focus on a person that comes into the lives of a group of troubled people, and by simply being themselves, make their world a better place.

Again, this is all just my own interpretation and couldn't amount to anything more than a crumbly box of biscuits....HOWEVER, I do think it's interesting that in the third episode of season 3, when the guys are sharing their favorite Julie Andrews performances, Ted agrees with Higgins (Jeremy Swift) and selects Mary Poppins. And maybe, just maybe this is why he wasn't totally breaking down at the team's performance of "So Long, Farewell" from The Sound of Music, because it's not his favorite Julie Andrews film (It is Roy's though).

Ted Lasso definitely left an impact on anyone who watched it. I haven't met anyone that hasn't resonated with the series. It's definitely something you can rewatch over and over and still get that feel-good feeling from...just like Mary Poppins.