But when David Hyde Pierce said no, the reboot creators had to evolve.
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Kelsey Grammer had been wanting to rebootFrasierfor a while.
And that brings us to the Niles of it all.
Hes not the bad guy in this, and he was so lovely about it, Cristalli says.
I did it for a couple of years to zero acclaim.
I had 2,000 followers.
It was a fun way to spend time.
I also had aFrasierspec script I wrote in 2014.
They responded, Oh yeah, we can meet with this guy.
He obviously knows the DNA ofFrasier.
I was around 30 years old and a staff writer.
Its like, Were not giving you the reins toFrasieroff this.
So Chris, who had been a showrunner for a long time, came in.
I met him onHow I Met Your Mother.
We wrote the pitch and the pilot together.
He gets no credit for that Twitter feed.
Chris Harris:Let the record show that it was just Joe.
Youre serving shark for dinner?
Its like, why is Frasier saying that?
Hes saying that so I can get to some shitty punchline.
Chris Harris:I dont know if there are specific rules for writing jokes for Frasier.
We were writing every single line as if it was Shakespearean dialogue every sentence contained twists and turns.
Youve got to pick your moments.
You dont want to eat all the desserts.
If you’ve got the option to say it in three words, say it in three words.
With your help, we could turn the Harvard psych department into the Harvard of psych departments.
Olivia approaches him after class, which is usually taught by Frasiers old Oxford classmate Alan.
Chris Harris:The idea that Frasier actually had a relatively successful couple of decades was Kelseys idea.
As opposed to him being down on his luck and needing to start over.
He feels like he can and should do better.
Professionally, hes had wealth and fame.
Joe Cristalli:Its amazing I was able to get all of that into one joke.
I did a really good job.
Im not gonna stand here and let you insult me.
Ill insist you do it over drinks.
And speaking of foils, thats the Olivia character.
We began writing Olivia as more of an adversary to Frasier and Alan the boss theyre going up against.
But shes so funny being chummy and poking fun at those guys that she pivoted her character.
We dont want her on the outside looking in at these guys.
We want her right in the trenches with them.
We wanted that with the university.
We wanted to give Freddy someone to play off who lived with him, and Jess was so good.
She evolved Eves character to being a confidant for both Frasier and Freddy.
Jesss part in the pilot was not as big as it became.
She kept being great at everything, so we gave her more and more and more.
You cant tell me its not Sahara dry in here.
Now you remind me of your father.
Joe Cristalli:We talked to David Hyde Pierce a couple of times.
He was in a tough position.
Everybody wants to see him as Niles, but he doesnt want to step back into those shoes.
Hefelt like he didnt have anything newto bring to the character.
It just wasnt for him.
Once that happened, it freed us up a little bit.
This can live in the same universe asFrasierandCheerswithout beingFrasierorCheers.
Chris Harris:We went through many incarnations.
It felt like, whats giving meaning in this next stage of life?
Chris Harris:It would be weird to make Niles the new Maris.
Joe Cristalli:Which we did talk about.
You missed your grandfathers funeral.
He had everything planned to the last detail and you missed it.
Joe Cristalli:We saw the funeral in one version of this show.
We were still in Seattle and had the whole cast.
One of the jokes was Bulldog walking up to the coffin and being very sad and saying,Thisstinks.
This is total BS.I remember being furious that that wasnt my joke.
It was Chriss joke.
Chris Harris:Joes the expert.
Hes seen every episode multiple times.
Ill occasionally joke, Yeah, whos Gil Chesterton again?
I think everyone felt a little sad that we didnt give a moment to John Mahoney.
Joe Cristalli:It wouldve been too hard to have that funeral scene and not see Niles or Daphne.
If youre going to do the funeral scene, you have to see those people.
It never wouldve worked in the way we envisioned it.
When Kelsey is playing Frasier talking about his dad, you see a lot of that real emotion.
Well see reverberations of that through the season.
Joe Cristalli:You look at the original series, and you saw Freddy 11 times.
But to be fair, its always presented as a good relationship.
Frasiers on the phone, hes just coming back from Boston, hes doing the holidays.
I dont think it’s possible for you to call him a deadbeat dad.
Chris Harris:He went out for cigarettes.
Joe Cristalli:Its not like Freddy was being raised by wolves.
He was with Lilith well, its kind of like being raised by wolves.
Frasiers trying to rectify a lot of things that happened in the past.
On the originalFrasier,nobody fromCheersshowed up until at least season three.
They moved him to Seattle to get away from Boston, so you wouldnt have that crutch.
We do see Roz and Lilith again this season.
I want to see Daphne and Niles again.
If they want to do it, theyll be welcome with open arms.
Sherry saw me, and I cant say no to her.
Frasiers tastes have changed since 2004.
Here, he encounters disappointment in the selection at the professors local dive.
Joe Cristalli:That should have been my joke.
Somehow Chris swooped in and took it.
Just like onCheers, he drank a lot of beer.
OnFrasier, he drank a lot of wine and sherry.
Now hes back to wine and beer.
Frasier is always two steps ahead of everybody.
Hes the most evolved person in the room; hes the smartest guy in the room.
Hes on the cutting edge.
Its the same with the clothes.
Frasier knows what fashion is now.
This is what hell be wearing.
Hes more comfortable in his clothes now, literally, and more comfortable in his skin.
He doesnt have to prove anything.
Thats who the guy is.
He can still get very uppity about something very minor.
Whats the word you used, Chris?
Chris Harris:More contemplative.
Joe Cristalli:Weve talked about this with Kelsey: What do you bring from that old apartment?
Frasier would buy all new stuff except for the grand piano.
The grand piano goes with him wherever he goes.
Im no stranger to an underperforming dinner party.
Another Frasier banger, as he watches his plan to bond with Freddy go south.
This line was a nod to the audience.
Joe Cristalli:This is my favorite joke in the pilot.
I dont think anybody thought it was going to get a big laugh.
You cant do a farce dinner party that goes awry without acknowledging it.
The way Kelsey performs, staring off into the distance, is pitch-perfect for the character.
No matter how hard he tries, Frasier is going to step in it.
Acknowledging the past in a very succinct way is fun for any fan.
James Burrows gave a big laugh on that one, and he rarely laughs.
Chris Harris:The whole audience erupted.
They were waiting for that.
It felt like a collective moment of,We understand, and were happy.
Every glancing reference to the past does very well.
We try not to overuse it, but the audience wants to feel like this is a continuation.
They want to be in all of the past traumas hes referencing.
You have to earn them.
Chris Harris:Its a nice way to wrap up the season too, isnt it?
Joe Cristalli:Thats just a soupcon of another dinner party.
