Frasier and the nostalgia of sitcoms
I started watching Frasier. I didn’t expect to like it. But I loved it. It’s predictable. It’s comforting. It’s a sitcom.
When I started watching Frasier, both the 2023 reboot and the original series that aired from 1993 to 2004, I didn’t expect to like it. But I loved it. It was a very stressful time in my life, and the sitcom gave me an escape hatch from reality.
My housemate from a few years ago would watch Frasier after long days at work. I didn’t understand why he was so fond of the show. But lately, I have been wishing that life would slow down, that I could push pause on the flow of time and savor the world around me.
I understand now.
Frasier offers a world in which the characters and the settings are predictable. But the characters aren’t static either; they change bit by bit over time, just enough to keep the episodes interesting. The television series' gradual pace gives me that feeling of comfort. The story would still make sense if I missed a moment or two. There was no FOMO.
While many of the jokes in the original Frasier series haven’t aged well, they remind me of the world I grew up in. I understand the peculiarities of that time much better than the nuances in the world today. It…
