Freddy's Birthday

I was put off by episode 1 - is that canned laughter? - but wanted to see the talented Bebe Neuwirth resurrect her character, Lilith.

Unfortunately, the series has not improved. Where is the love between the characters that was abundant in the original series? Why have the producers regressed from the smart, character driven, witty comedy of the original to the 70s style comedy where characters just throw one-liners at each other?

But worst of all is Nicholas Lyndhurst. He has one demeanour in all of the characters he plays and his acting is appalling. Who ever thought he would be a good foil for Kelsey Grammer?

I'll go back to reruns of the original series.

Bebe Neuwirth played herself on an episode of Will and Grace right after Frasier ended. She said regarding Lilith Sternin, "I wanted to play that frosty bi*ch forever." 37 years after she first played the character, Neuwirth shows she can do it.

Frasier runs into Lilith having lunch with Freddy and their rekindled rivalry heats up immediately, as they try to outdo each other for Freddy's birthday party. The bulk of the episode takes place at the birthday party which takes place at a bowling alley. Here, not only are Frasier and Lilith hilarious, but the rest of the cast shines as well, most notably Nicholas Lyndhurst with his obsession with getting Lilith to remember him from their wedding.

In a well-timed bit of continuity, this episode was released two weeks after the 34th anniversary of the the airing of the Cheers episode that featured Freddy's birth, and in continuity with his appearance in final season of Frasier (1993), Freddy's Goth phase is mentioned.

I have been impressed with how well the cast and crew of Frasier (2023) have recaptured the feel of the original series. From the signature misunderstanding-based humor to the witty intertitles to characters' vitriolic chemistry, they have recreated the feel so much better than most other reboot/revivals. Neuwirth's performance does not disappoint. We are lucky that she got to play that "frosty bi*ch" again after all.

I have to say that whilst loving the original Lilith from 'Frasier' but particularly 'Cheers' I didn't really enjoy her return here. As someone has pointed out, the usual enmity towards each other seemed very forced and didn't spill easily out of either actors' mouths. Until the final scene which I thought was rather amusing. All of that said, I'd certainly like to see her return in more episodes because I feel she does add a caustic style of humour. The rest of the episode confirmed to me that the relatively mean character of Freddy isn't working especially well and I think they'll need to lighten him up just as little.

First of all, whoever that lovely young lady was, please bring her back. Freddy could use a long-standing love interest. Anyway, it's the first episode of the new series with Lilith. The good news was that there was some laugh out loud moments. That first part where Frasier says, "serpent" I think got the biggest laugh out of me of the entire series so far. I though the bit with Alan was also pretty funny, especially as we're supposed to believe that he and Frasier had been close friends for 40+ years and we're only now just hearing about him.

The challenge of the show is the relationship between Frasier and Lilith. It just seemed off. The two of them always had banter. I would expect that. But they always got it together for Frederick. Throughout the original Frasier series, you always got the impression that Frasier did his best to stay invested in Frederick's life. And Lilith didn't seem to have a problem with Frasier living in Seattle. Granted, we're 20 years removed from "Guns N' Neuroses", that night the two of them were set up on the blind date, but things ended there are pretty amiable terms. It actually resolved the relationship quite well. Now I realize that they needed to stir up something to create tension for a new plot line, but I would have though they'd have been a bit more clever. And of course, I would have liked at least one Cheers reference.

But seriously, bring back that girl.

This is a good episode. I think Frasier and Lilith are brilliant together. And yes, we all missed her. But the best one here weren't them but Alan. Alan has been a nice addition so far but I really liked him in this episode. I wish the title of the episode was "The Man in White Suit". Because Lilith and Frasier are not expert on the life of Freddy but they have a detailed list of the men with white suit. I really enjoyed that trivia game better than the other trivia game.

One other thing.. Jess Salgueiro is not funny. She's a wrong fit so far, I'm sorry. Jack Cutmore-Scott is great, Anders Keith is underused but still good. Toks Olagundoye has great lines and jokes but Ms. Salgueiro is still untouched. I mean, in the show Frasier, it's like entering a brotherhood. You must be humiliated and humbled.. only then you gain the right to be pompous and obnoxious. She was protected so far and it's not good. We have to see her weak moments... Writers, please stop giving her guarded lines and parts, and throw her into the deep end.