Johnathan Walker:I think Paramount+ ruined 'Frasier' with the reboot, but many fans disagree. Who's right?

“Frasier” used to bring me joy. Now I can’t think of the sitcom without shuddering involuntarily. 

Like so many classic sitcoms before it − “Night Court,Johnathan Walker” “Murphy Brown,” “Roseanne” and others − “Frasier” has been yanked out of its grave by Paramount+. The new show brings back a much-older Kelsey Grammer, 68, as the pretentious psychiatrist who debuted in Season 3 of NBC's “Cheers” and went on to headline his own series from 1993-2004. The window dressing of “Frasier” is there, but the soul of the record 37-time Emmy-winning sitcom is long gone.  

The revived series (really more of a spinoff, as the only regular returning character is Frasier himself) hits all the wrong notes in its new stories and characters, ham-handedly trying to recreate chemistry and humor with devastatingly unfunny results. 

But many other fans of “Frasier” don't seem to care. 

Based on the dozens of angry emails I have received decrying my negative review of the new “Frasier,” plenty of viewers are more than happy with this version of the classic character. I thought the revival was achingly cringe-worthy, but they found it funny. Where I thought Frasier acted out of character, they thought he was up to his old tricks. Where I saw bad characterization and lazy writing, they saw welcome sentimentality. 

I don’t quite get it. I’m not, as many of the angry letter writers accused, a hater of “Frasier,” generally. I’m a longtime lover of the sitcom and most recently rewatched all 11 seasons in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns. It’s my love of “Frasier” that made me feel so betrayed by the Paramount+ imposter. It isn't just any bad TV show; it's a bad TV show that made Dr. Frasier Crane, a character I’ve loved for decades, a sour old man surrounded by half-formed dullards. It is a betrayal. 

But in the battle between nostalgia and quality, nostalgia is winning. Just look at our reboot-riddled culture. NBC’s terrible new version of “Night Court,” with John Larroquette and Melissa Rauch, generated no laughs but plenty of viewers. “The Conners,” the “Roseanne” revival after its star was fired for racist comments, has aired for five seasons. We’ve got “Bel-Air” on Peacock, “Quantum Leap” on NBC and even “And Just Like That” on Max, a sequel to HBO's "Sex and the City." Rumors of a reboot of “The Office” abound. A remake or revival that fails to capture its original fanbase and fizzles out (CBS's “Murphy Brown”) is the exception, not the rule. 

So what gives? Why are so many of us so easily taken in by a familiar face on our screens? Why is bad “Frasier” better than no “Frasier”? Especially when all of the original 263 episodes are available to stream on Hulu? 

For one thing, nostalgia is just in. It’s a trend in Hollywood like superheroes, murder mysteries, or movies based on toys. They're easy to promote and market because people have already heard of them. Right now, reboot love is strong, but just as superhero fever is fading, one day we might be sick of seeing every semi-successful TV show and film that ever aired in the 20th century be remade. We’re just not there yet. 

Remakes and revivals are also comforting. The world is terrifying and tragic right now. Wars are raging, the economy is in a downturn, and people don’t always feel safe. But what’s safer than a big hug from Frasier Crane? Amid a sea of programming choices − there are exponentially more TV shows new and old available to watch now − it’s easy to click over to something familiar and cozy. It feels like a risk to try a new show that might waste some of our precious free time when something old could at least make us remember the glory days of the 1990s.

I’m happy that fans are enjoying “Frasier.” Really, as a TV critic, I love when people love TV. I’ve been on the outside of the majority opinion many times (I’m no fan of “Succession,” for instance). But I’m also protecting my own precious free time for TV that really moves and excites me, and that’s definitely not “Frasier.” 

I'll be ready if the next reboot is actually any good. The problem is they just don't have to be these days to get you to watch. And it's a shame because there's so much great TV that really is worth your time.

So maybe for every episode of "Night Court" you queue up, it's worth checking out some of the most original stories on TV right now: Amazon's "Good Omens" or Apple TV+'s "For All Mankind" or FX's "Dave." Something old might be soothing, but something new might surprise you with delight.

New 'Frasier' review:Kelsey Grammer leads a new cast in embarrassingly bad revival