S02.E06: Cape Cod

[Sarah 103]

Quote

When Frasier sees that Eve is ready to date again, he enlists Roz's help to plan a romantic weekend for her and Freddy at a Cape Cod beach house.

 

[Sarah 103]

I genuinely liked this episode. It may be the best of this version of the series so far. It felt like each character had a reason for being there and a role to fill in the episode. It was the first time I could see Freddie and Eve being able to carry an episode or a plot line without Frasier. 

That being said, was it a pale imitation of "The Ski Lodge?" (which I think is one of the greatest episodes not only of the original series but also of sitcoms in general). Absolutely yes. Did I still enjoy this episode? Also yes. 

[Annber03]

I really liked this one, too. The "Ah, we'll see plenty of fireworks from the bedroom!" line felt very much like a like I could've heard in the original series, and David's reaction when Alice asked about Freddie...that was a prime "Niles losing out to Frasier again" type of reaction XD. 

Roz sympathizing with Eve about her struggles with dating was a nice touch, too, as was her reassuring Eve that she didn't need to put on the whole, "Oh, I feel so guilty about leaving my baby at home!" thing. I really like how they can connect over the stuff that comes with being single moms trying to date. 

(I also laughed at Roz just chucking the gavel for that game.)

Also fun to see Alice again, though knowing she's old enough to be taking college courses makes me feel really old in turn :p. And I liked how they addressed the idea of anything ever happening with Freddie and Alice, too. 

But yeah, it was really fun to see how Freddie and Eve handled everything with Frasier and Roz, and vice versa. I liked the parallels in the respective friendships/interactions. Also, Roz was right to call Frasier out on using Alice like he did.

Yeah. This one was fun. 

[Irlandesa]

Some of this was fun, although I think I would have preferred Alice to have a crush on Eve as a surprise rather than Freddie, which was predictable. 

That would have been a nice sapphic homage to The Ski Lodge ep.

 

[SoMuchTV]

9 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Also fun to see Alice again, though knowing she's old enough to be taking college courses makes me feel really old in turn

Alice would be several years older than David (who just started college), though, right?  Wasn't David born at the very end of the original series, while Alice was born somewhere midway through? 

Sorry, not trying to make you feel even older, just trying to make sure I remember the timeline.  I was thinking Alice was between David's and Freddy's ages (they established she was 27 here), but kind of a big gap to consider dating either one (at their current ages).

[Bumblebee84047]

I feel like the show is finally hitting its stride.

 

[Sarah 103]

13 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Some of this was fun, although I think I would have preferred Alice to have a crush on Eve as a surprise rather than Freddie, which was predictable. 

That would have been a nice sapphic homage to The Ski Lodge ep.

I love this idea. However, to up the level of crazy and make it even more complicated, what if she's bisexual and putting out vibes/signals (for lack of a better term) to see which might be more interested in her. 

@SoMuchTV to answer your question about the timeline and the younger generation:

Freddie was born in 1989

Alice was born in 1998

David was born 2004

 

[opus]

Anyone else notice Alice was played by Kelsey’s daughter?

[shapeshifter]

23 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Also fun to see Alice again, though knowing she's old enough to be taking college courses makes me feel really old in turn :p.

OTOH, Peri Gilpin looks like time has stood still for her, perhaps allowing us all to pretend for half an hour we too have not aged a day.

David, son of Niles, has found his Daphne in Alice. 
Will this be a continuing arc? Or just a one-off?

I agree, this episode was better. Hopefully it wasn't just a one-off either.

[Avabelle]

18 hours ago, Bumblebee84047 said:

I feel like the show is finally hitting its stride.

 

Agreed. This was the first episode where nearly all the characters felt authentic. 
 

I think they’re onto something with Freddie as the straight man to his father’s wackiness but they’ve also given him a few funny quirks in particular with being aware of his good looks. His vanity and perceiving himself as a catch could work as a funny foil in the same way Frasier views his intelligence as what makes him superior to regular folk. There’s a good balance though of him being a nice guy and not always the butt of the joke.
 

Where they continue to go wrong with David is having him always be the butt of the joke. It’s not funny. While Alice is technically too old for him if we go by e shows canon there could have been a good opportunity to get a Niles/Daphne dynamic going. Especially if she’s sticking around. They ruined it as usual by making him come across as a moron and her naturally being creeped out by him. The actor plays him far too broad but to be honest I think the writing is just so bad for David that he doesn’t know how else to do it. It would help though if he didn’t look like he was going to break character by laughing. Especially given how unfunny it all is.

Edited October 20 by Avabelle

[Bumblebee84047]

6 hours ago, Avabelle said:

  

Where they continue to go wrong with David is having him always be the butt of the joke. It’s not funny. While Alice is technically too old for him if we go by e shows canon there could have been a good opportunity to get a Niles/Daphne dynamic going. Especially if she’s sticking around. They ruined it as usual by making him come across as a moron and her naturally being creeped out by him. 

 

Agreed.  I think Anders Keith could do great things with the role if he was given more to do than be the bumbling buffoon.

[Sarah 103]

6 hours ago, Avabelle said:

I think they’re onto something with Freddie as the straight man to his father’s wackiness but they’ve also given him a few funny quirks in particular with being aware of his good looks. His vanity and perceiving himself as a catch could work as a funny foil in the same way Frasier views his intelligence as what makes him superior to regular folk. There’s a good balance though of him being a nice guy and not always the butt of the joke.

This is so accurate. I hadn't noticed the connection between father and son until you pointed it out. I hope they do more with this dynamic going forward. In terms of Freddie being a nice guy, he is basically his grandfather Martin. 

6 hours ago, Avabelle said:

Where they continue to go wrong with David is having him always be the butt of the joke. It’s not funny. While Alice is technically too old for him if we go by e shows canon there could have been a good opportunity to get a Niles/Daphne dynamic going. Especially if she’s sticking around. They ruined it as usual by making him come across as a moron and her naturally being creeped out by him. The actor plays him far too broad but to be honest I think the writing is just so bad for David that he doesn’t know how else to do it. 

Much as it pains me because Niles was my absolute favorite character in the original series, David is the weak link in this series. It feels like they never actually sat down for five minutes to think about what would someone raised by Niles and Daphne be like as a person. Instead they decided to go old school sitcom and make him the sweet idiot sidekick. 

With Freddie, yes he was raised by Lilith, but he spent enough time with Frasier for Martin to have an impact on him. Freddie is at least believable as a character and as a grown-up version of Frasier and Lilith's son. 

I love your version of how David and Alice should have gone. David has a crush, and he decides to play the long game, because the 6 year age difference isn't always going to matter as much as it does. And in this version, he quotes "The Impossible Dream", the lyric "to love, pure and chaste from afar," to Frasier. Frasier may or may not give an expression or say something to indicate "Here we go again." 

[Yeah No]

I think this might have been the best episode yet. I hope this is a turning point but I'm not holding my breath as we've had good episodes followed by a string of mediocre ones before.

It also seemed to be written more like OG Frasier than other episodes, which was good too. I could believe it was written by the same people.

I'm also glad that the show has turned Frasier and Freddy's relationship into a supportive one and did away with the tension of Season 1. Freddy is better in the role of "nice guy" and "straight man" to Frasier.

I also thought the opening scene with Alan was very funny and well played. If he is utilized well he is not so insufferable and a little of him goes a long way.

David continues to be a weaker character but I think they were on the right track to have him echo his father's hopeless crush on Daphne with Alice. There's a lot of potential good comedy in there if they handle it right. The problem is I don't have enough confidence that they will. But there is hope!

I want the name of Peri Gilpin's plastic surgeon, LOL. 😉

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I want the name of Peri Gilpin's plastic surgeon, LOL. 😉

🤣While she’s definitely had procedures, I think some people have the underlying bone structure and skin texture for optimal results. But, yeah, whoever made her look that way should be cloned, lol.
She looks 40-ish rather than 60.
It’s definitely not in my budget, but I’m not working in front of high definition cameras either.

 

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I think this might have been the best episode yet. I hope this is a turning point but I'm not holding my breath as we've had good episodes followed by a string of mediocre ones before.

But this is the 2nd season of the reboot.
Ugh.
This show needs a show runner who is the equivalent of Peri Gilpin's plastic surgeon.

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

🤣While she’s definitely had procedures, I think some people have the underlying bone structure and skin texture for optimal results. But, yeah, whoever made her look that way should be cloned, lol.
She looks 40-ish rather than 60.
It’s definitely not in my budget, but I’m not working in front of high definition cameras either.

I'd say she looks early 50s but that's me.

If I lost 30 lbs. I could be in that category, but aye ,there's the rub. I actually envy her metabolism more than her face.

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

But this is the 2nd season of the reboot.
Ugh.
This show needs a show runner who is the equivalent of Peri Gilpin's plastic surgeon.

LOL, can't argue with you there! 😄

[Camera One]

I wanted to find this episode funny, since the setup was relatively solid, but the jokes didn't land for me.  A few moments in the middle were mildly amusing, though.  This is the first episode where they actually used Roz well, so that was good.  

I personally don't find David that bad, no better or worse than the other new reboot characters.  I wanted more of that board game in this one.

[AstridM]

On 10/18/2024 at 11:47 PM, Annber03 said:

Also fun to see Alice again, though knowing she's old enough to be taking college courses makes me feel really old in turn :p

IKR? How is this possible? 😂

On 10/19/2024 at 12:24 PM, Bumblebee84047 said:

I feel like the show is finally hitting its stride.

 

It’s getting closer to feeling like “Frasier.”

[AstridM]

8 hours ago, Camera One said:

I wanted to find this episode funny, since the setup was relatively solid, but the jokes didn't land for me.  A few moments in the middle were mildly amusing, though.  This is the first episode where they actually used Roz well, so that was good.  

I personally don't find David that bad, no better or worse than the other new reboot characters.  I wanted more of that board game in this one.

I wanted more of the board game, too. There was potential there!

[wendyg]

I'm happy for the people who enjoyed this episode, but there's really no comparison to the expert writing of The Ski Lodge. In TSL, it's clear what every character wants, every character gets frustrated, Frasier gets a comeuppance, and even the setups at the beginning are necessary. In this episode, the things characters want don't really matter to *them* personally (Frasier would like Eve and Freddy to happen, but it's not a personal frustration if it doesn't), and some don't have any clearly defined desire (what does Freddy want?). Olivia and Alan are shoehorned in at the top and tail because otherwise the actors are being paid to do nothing, but neither has any relevance to the main action. And in the end, nothing happens, and no one really cares, let's watch some fireworks.

[Sarah 103]

3 hours ago, wendyg said:

I'm happy for the people who enjoyed this episode, but there's really no comparison to the expert writing of The Ski Lodge. In TSL, it's clear what every character wants, every character gets frustrated, Frasier gets a comeuppance, and even the setups at the beginning are necessary. In this episode, the things characters want don't really matter to *them* personally (Frasier would like Eve and Freddy to happen, but it's not a personal frustration if it doesn't), and some don't have any clearly defined desire (what does Freddy want?). 

I agree with almost everything you wrote. In "The Ski Lodge" Martin doesn't want anything. He's there to mishear things and further wind up all the relationship drama. In this episode, Freddy wants Frasier and Roz to get together because he wants his father to be happy.