I used to love this show. It was witty, funny, and the Valentine’s Day episode where Niles is ironing his pants while waiting for a date still leaves me in stitches.
Frasier’s elitism that continually gets a comeuppance was funny for awhile, but now it’s just annoying and grating.
Martin is still funny as the down to earth, but shouldn’t his hip be better by now?
The Niles and Daphne love affair from afar was sweet and poignant, but now that it’s been resolved, the tension and double entendres are done. I thought their teasing of Roz about the menage a trois was funny, but I had to agree with Roz when she said, “It’s been two weeks, get over it.”
I believe I shall have to cross Frasier off my viewing list. I shall give them one more chance next week, after that it’s farewell to another show that lived past its prime.
I know what you mean. I’ve been thinking of crossing Frasier off my must-see list for a few seasons now. First, there was his tedious unemployment phase. Then the drawn out situation with Niles’ wife making him jump through hoops for a divorce–also not funny. But I stayed with it for the eventual returns to brilliance. This season, though… I think it’s just run its course. Why is it that so many good shows don’t know how to go out when they’re still good? It’s sad.
If the last two episodes of Grounded for Life were any indication, I’m crossing that show of my watch list. The first two episodes of the season mostly dropped the flashback style that was its trademark, dropped the one camera film style for “live in front of an annoying studio audience on video” style, and dropped Sean’s father (Richard Riehle (He’s from Wisconsin)) and replaced him with Stephen Root as Claudia’s father. Root’s a fine comedic actor, but his character is completely out of the character for what you’d expect for the father of a Staten Island born and raised girl. To point, he lives in North Carolina and thinks the bagels are better there.
And as if that wasn’t enough…Sean quit is subway repair crew job and bought a neighborhood bar. It’s as if they intentionally menat to jump the shark!
I’m not sure who or what got to the writers, but its a real disappointment!
Just wait for the “Very Special Episode” about some serious social issue where at the end your entreated by the star to learn more about it at your local library.
Comedies we adored at one time, but now don’t watch anymore:
Friends
Frasier
70’s Show
Just Shoot Me
Will and Grace
It seems they all have the same problem: they can’t add anything new to the show without turning it into a soap opera. Sooner or later, the main characters jump into bed, or get married, or have a baby.
How did Seinfeld do it so successfully for so long?
The “parking garage” episode of Fraiser did it for me. I always hated the “Fraiser stands alone for his principles while Niles whines and later gives him advice” episodes, I didn’t need one more time of Fraiser being done in by his own pomposity at the end.
I stuck with the show through the unemployment phase and the “Fraiser can’t get a woman no matter what” phase and the “producers are off making that bad Nathan Lane sitcom instead” phase; but this is it. I’ll just find another way to kill 30 minutes until Hidden Hills AKA “Let’s lust after Paula Marshall time.”
I haven’t seen Friends or Frasier much lately, due to other things going on at night. However, I had been starting to get tired of the ongoing Ross/Rachel saga even before last seasons Friends ender. I still think the general comedy in the show was good last year but enough already.
Friends might be okay this year if they keep the baby storyline in the background.
The new plotline of Chandler and Monica maybe/maybe not moving to Tulsa could be good for a few laughs. Last week’s episode seemed pretty funny, except for the constantly crying baby.
Note to the writers: A crying baby all through the episode isn’t that funny.
I’d like to see Phoebe get a good plotline this season. She never has much to do, and Lisa Kudrow is a much better actress than either Courteney Cox or Jennifer Anniston, IMHO.
I watched Frasier off and on last year, and watched the season opener to see Niles and Daphne get married and realized that I didn’t really care that much. I haven’t watched it since.
I do like Scrubs. That one’s pretty funny, but it’s still new.
Drew Carey, on the other hand, seems to have gotten better this year. I will miss the presense of Christa Miller (but will watch her on Scrubs instead) but I think that their revamp this year has made for a better show. Last year I fastforwarded through most of the episodes, this year I’m actually watching.
I agree with the poster about lusting after Paula Marshall, I think that she is hot too. However, not quite hot enough to watch hidden hills.
I agree with Bibliocat about crying babies. There was a Bruce Willis film in which the child spent most of his time screaming. It was possibly an accurate portrayal of someone with his affliction (sorry, I don’t remember what the child was supposed to have. Autism?) but it was annoying as hell. I turned it off 20 minutes in.
I’m not a huge fan of Will and Grace, and rarely catch it, but I thought that the episode with Kevin Bacon was hilarious.