Yes. Frasier was among the most popular American television shows of the late 20th century.

It was as fresh as an autumn apple, carved from marble by some of the great comedy writers of the 20th century.

It was so popular that everyone who ran into Kelsey Grammer on the street, at the dry cleaners, airports and awards, addressed him as “Mr.  Crane” or “Frasier.”

Kelsey will be stopped on the street in Berlin and be met with a chorus of greeters with “Herr Frasier, Herr Frasier,” and in Tokyo with “Frasiersan.”

That hasn’t changed. Just as James Arness will always be Marshall Dillon, and Jerry Seinfeld and gang are just down the street.

Let’s get to the all new, improved “Frasier.”

You can’t improve Herr Frasier. It’s Dresden china, Polo, Kelsey is forevermore.

Hang his picture in the kitchen with your favorite saint, and Obama’s first poster.

Niles (David Hyde Pierce), sister-in-law Daphne (Jane Leeves), producer Roz (Peri Gilpin) and father Martin (John Mahoney, who died in 2018), wisely took the off ramp and will try to shake those made up names. It won’t work. They’re tattooed.

We have his grown-up son, Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), not a bad actor, who dropped out of Harvard and is now a grown-up firefighter hanging out with American heroes who drink Bud Light from the bottle and no sherry, please.

I’ll be brief, because by the time you read his, you’ll either have fallen in love with the new situation or moved on to someone new.

I’ve noticed that. Frasier bought his son’s entire apartment building in Boston, that’s building, and has set up a fragile arrangement.

Freddy has “Eve,” a girlfriend (the annoying Jess Salgueiro), the widow of a deceased firefighter, with a newborn baby who only falls asleep when Frasier speaks. Not a good sign.

Frasier has a new “old” friend he went to Oxford with when they were young students.

That will be Alan (Nicholas Lyndhurst) who is a funny alcoholic. People still think it’s funny to be an alcoholic?

Niles and Daphne’s son David (Anders Keith) is the new Niles. No, he’s not.

Even the cafe Nervosa with its tables and interesting back players where the cast worked out their plots, has been replaced by the firefighter’s saloon.

Allow me to get to the point. The jokes are flat, the furniture from a second-hand store, and even Frasier’s expensive chairs and African idols look like they were carried across town and rushed onto the boring set and wiped down.

I know you’ve seen the first two segments and have made up your mind. Well, we encourage giving it at last a season’s try.

At our house, we’ll keep the original gang on the screen for old times sake.

The new “Frasier” is now streaming on Paramount+.

J.P. Devine of Waterville is a former stage and screen actor.

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