Everyone on this side of the Atlantic doing a double take at the description of Nicholas Lyndhurst, a veteran mainstay of U.K. tv for over 40 years as “a stage actor.”
Can't deny my excitement for this, Frasier is probably my favourite US comedy ever and the fact Only Fools and Goodnight Sweetheart are 2 of my favourite UK comedies.
I'm cautiously excited about this. It'll be weird without Niles and Martin in particular, but Lilith and Roz having guest appearances gives me hope. Fraiser and Lilith's double act has always been one of my highlights anytime I rewatch Cheers and Frasier. The presence of Nicholas Lyndhurst fills me with glee, too. Maybe just because he said no for now hopefully won't rule out a future DHP appearance if the series is good.
Recasting Martin would have been Horrific. Although David Ogden Stiers played Leland Barton, who could have been Frasier and Niles' biological father, but he deflected that responsibility with gayness... Which is not an absolute, since he could have fathered the kids as a donation in a turkey baster, he could have figured-out/only-admitted that he was gay later in life, alcohol, or Hester could have cleverly stolen or bought his sperms. David Ogden Stiers died in 2018.
EW has more details here https://ew.com/tv/frasier-preview-k...drfSbpdK1VhoSU92tbschgELNn5p9YZxCB126L3Ar2xy4
These parts are encouraging: "There's a lot of Martin in Freddy," famed director James Burrows, who co-created and directed the majority of Cheers and was also behind the camera for a few dozen episodes of Frasier (and the first two episodes of this revival), explains to EW. "Joe and Chris specifically wanted Frasier to deal with his son... because the relationship with Kelsey and Mahoney was wonderful. So they tried to tap into that, and I think they succeeded." That relationship will be at the heart of the show, where the two are surrounded by friends, family, and colleagues... . . . "We want to present someone who is familiar to the audience, but also has had a life for 20 years in the time since we've seen him," explains [showrunner Chris] Harris in an interview conducted prior to the start of the WGA strike. "Talking with Kelsey about it, this is a man who is a little looser than he used to be, a little more comfortable. He's done well, he's had some success, and the pilot is about realizing that one part of his life where he might not have been as successful as he thought he was and what that means to him going forward." Part of that realization comes from the death of Martin, who was played on Frasier by John Mahoney, who died in 2018. But his memory is alive and well on the series, which honors the character in the pilot. "It's a wonderful scene at the end of the show," says Burrows. "It's about two-and-a-half, three minutes without any laughs. You've got to be brave to do that."
I like it. I still reckon he might show up at Cheers at some point if it lasts a few seasons. Either that or I'm thinking it could be shut and they will cover that off early on.
The big question is can the show work without Niles. Fraser show would not be what it was without Niles.
Cheers should still be there, and of course Norm. He was there around 20 years by the time the show started.
Funny enough, George Wendt was only 34 when Cheers began. He’s a year younger than Danson and a few months younger than Rhea Perlman. Ratzenberger is a few months older than Danson. Shelley Long was younger than most of the original cast by a year or two (born in 1949). Even Coach was younger than he looked - Nicholas Colasanto was born in 1924, making him 58 when it began and sadly dying at only 61. Somehow, they nearly all looked a lot older than their real ages, IMHO.