Reviewer Rating: 3/5.0
3
I’ve always thought that Olivia, Fraser’s relationship-obsessed boss at Harvard, was destined to be the Boston stand-in for his former Seattle radio show producer Roz Doyle.
That is, at least I did until Roz actually showed up in Family Season 2 Episode 3 .
I was almost as surprised as Fraser was when the “student” waiting in Fraser’s office turned out to be Rhodes.
Back so soon?
I think we will only Roz was seen in the Season 1 finale, but there wasn’t enough time for another visit from her to make sense. But I’m not complaining!
It’s hard to believe that Rhodes’ daughter Alice is now a graduate student at Rhode Island State. Where has the time gone? Why can’t we see it? she More often in Boston?
No matter how lame the excuses are (Alice lets her mother go on a date, blah blah blah), I’m still happy to see Roz back in Boston and in the same room as Frasier.
Unfortunately, one thing her old boss hasn’t changed is his stodgy taste in evening events.
Rhodes was ready to bail all the way back to Seattle, but he jumped at the chance to play mother hen to single mom Eve and take her to a girls’ night.
Rhodes apparently overestimated Fraser, Alan and Freddie’s ability to care for Eve’s baby John.
It’s also a little weird that Roz didn’t invite Olivia to a girls’ night right away, but maybe she just wanted to kick Eve out before the guys got the kids back.
Men’s inability to care for children is strange. I mean, I know this episode was going for the “Three Men and a Baby” vibe. But Fraser is a father, and Freddy spent last season helping Eve with her kids.
So why are they looking at John now like he’s radioactive?
It’s understandable not to be ready to take your kids to an art gallery event, but even so, the clueless attitude of the men is strange.
They also use babies to meet women in bars, which is even weirder. This storyline might have worked if these guys were much older or younger, but as it stands, it doesn’t make much sense.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how many hours they were out with their baby and not having to change his diaper. I actually expected it That become the next part when It didn’t happen.
Yes, it’s ladies night
The women fared better in the pub, although Eve became frustrated as some of her favorite bars and theaters closed after her night out.
She ultimately refuses Roz’s insistence that she get a phone number from a man – any man! — and rightfully accused her of transferring her feelings of being needed by her daughter onto Eve.
In between, the funniest moment of the episode comes from Terry, an affable, flannel-clad purveyor of above-ground pool heaters.
His relaxed demeanor and dimpled smile were in stark contrast to the squabbles between the three women who alternately asked for and declined his phone number.
Later, in a wonderful reminiscence of Roz’s OG Frasier days, she is the person Terry is dating at the end of the series. It’s a great reminder of her broad, nonjudgmental dating tastes and history.
One of the most striking things about the Girls Night Out scene was how nervous Olivia looked next to other single women.
I can’t decide if the show wants Olivia’s singleness to be her entire personality, or if the joke is that the Harvard psychology department chair could use some therapy of his own.
Regardless, she seems out of place in the trio, which doesn’t entirely explain her habit of hanging out with stuffy old guys like Frasier and Allen.
Olivia is an underutilized asset and the show would be wise to pay more attention to characterization. “Frasier” has become a disaster for the dating world.
Olivia’s university position rightfully prevents her from discussing the kind of delightfully promiscuous adventures Roz did back then.
Instead of falling back on the tired (and not very creative) tired, date-obsessed one-girl trope, why not explore some different narrative avenues through Olivia’s character?
The two groups eventually met at the opening of the gallery, where the men were busy pretending to various women that they were relatives of the baby.
Eve deserves her anger at them, but I’m not sure it will have a huge impact on how men treat her going forward.
But that doesn’t seem to be the real point of the scene.
Instead, it’s a continuation of a rare “serious” moment, with Fraser playing bartender, slash, psychiatrist, and learning that Allen is estranged from his pregnant adult daughter.
While it would be nice to learn more about Ellen’s pathology, this reveal seems like a shoehorned attempt to emulate the more fluid balance between pathos and slapstick that the OG series displayed.
The scene in the girls’ night bar where Eve calls out Roz’s motivations is kind of like this, too.
The good news is that the show is moving away from pure slapstick, perhaps recognizing that it could use a little more depth.
The execution of this was a little off in this episode, but at least it gives some hope for the rest of the season.
It’s thought that Roz returned to Seattle after dating Terry, so this could be the end of her Boston trip for a while – unless Terry becomes a recurring character, which I kind of hope he does!
Again, it’s a red flag for the show when guest stars appear on the show – in Terry’s case, random bit players! — more engaging than the main cast.
If I’ve been hoping for guest stars to get their own shows, that doesn’t bode well for any series.
The past should probably stay there
One thing that may be left over from the revival’s past is the insulting dating game, such as Freddie chatting up an art gallery bartender just for her baseball box seat.
These monotonous, sexist storylines didn’t work well in the ’90s, and they feel even more out of place in the new series.
There must It’s a way to portray Fraser as a hapless bachelor looking for love in a way that’s not entirely scary for everyone involved.
Freddie really needs to figure out what century he lives in.
Where is David?
Q: Will David Crane be removed from the show?
We don’t see much of him anymore, it’s like the show doesn’t know what to do with him.
Like Olivia’s character, David needed a complete makeover. It looks like the show gave up on having him as Niles’ stand-in, but there’s no backup plan.
Well, I predict that in the future it will be David who will be the nanny, not Fraser, Alan and Freddie.
TV fans, what did you think of this episode? Will “Family” Season 2 become the center of attention or go off the rails?
Hit the comments and let us know!
