I've held off reviewing this comeback / reboot of one of my all time favourite TV characters until now after the halfway point in the series. I was going to leave it until the end of the season and then rewatch the entire series in a binge to get the best out of it.
Having been incredibly disappointed with the show so far I though episode 5 showed some promise so eagerly awaited this episode hoping they were finally hitting their stride. I have just finished watching the episode for the second time and it was as poor as the first 4 unfortunately.
The cast jus doesn't gel, there is no chemistry except maybe between Frasier and Alan (Nicholas Lyndhurst) but the reimagined Freddie son o Frasier is totally implausible and really does not work especially when interacting with his father. Worse though is the son of Daphne & Niles, David who is neither one thing nor the other and is caring inducing and an embarrassment as a character. The show has only served to emphasise what I feared when I first heard Frasier was returning without any other of the original series cast.
The magic of the original series was the brilliance of each individual character and the depth they all had whilst excelling as an ensemble cast with incredible chemistry.
I really really wanted to like this show but it has become the biggest disappointment in a long time on TV. Even Kelsey Grammar is hard to watch as he is noticeably frail and unsteady on his feet, of course he's still a great comic actor but he has precious little to work with here and it's hard to see how they could make a second series without some major changes to the cast and writing.
This particular episode didn't draw a smile let alone a laugh, I will stick with it for the final 4 episodes but it's only out of a sense of loyalty to one of the greatest comic characters in US TV history not from a sense of enjoyment.
I hope the last 4 finally find their footing but I'm not holding out much hope.