Last month I waxed lyrically about The Wonder Years after watching the series finale for the umpteen time.
I also said I wished that among the many reboots/remakes of shows which have hit the screen recently that was one series I hope never gets remade as I loved it too much.
The reason I bring it up is that on Thursday, after two years of speculation, it was confirmed that Frasier will be revived.
For those who do not know, Frasier was one of the best comedies on television. It was a spin-off of Cheers and continued the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane, played by Kelsey Grammer, who returned to his hometown of Seattle. The show was on for 11 years (1993-2004).
In total, Frasier won 37 Emmy Awards including ‘Outstanding Comedy Series’ for five consecutive seasons (1994-1998).
At the start of the first Movement Control Order (MCO) nearly a year ago, the home minister and I rewatched many episodes. I mentioned it twice before.
It helped us de-stress during the uncertainty of what the lockdown meant not just to us but everyone.
It also brought back memories of the time we had a friend, Roy, who would occasionally come over for dinner and we would spend the evenings watching DVDs of the show, including the commentaries and bloopers.
Sometimes, when I am stuck in a particularly horrible traffic jam, I play clips of the show on YouTube (eyes on the road but ears on the dialogue via the car speakers).
There were times I received weird stares from other drivers as I would be laughing so hard, banging my hands on the steering wheel.
So to be honest, while I would love to watch new episodes of the show, it would be 18 years (the new series is only slated to be released next year) since the last episode, I am undecided if it would be a good move.
The magic of the original series would unlikely be the same particularly as the actor who played Frasier’s father – John Mahoney – died in 2018.
The fact the other original cast members – David Hyde Pierce (Niles) Jane Leeves (Daphne) and Peri Gilpin (Roz) – have yet to agree to return, makes it even iffier.
The series finale ended with Frasier’s plane landing in Chicago instead of San Francisco where he was supposed to start a new life.
We are left to assume it meant he was going after Charlotte and that they would live happily ever after.
Looks like I have to rewatch the series again this weekend to help me decide.
Anyway, today is the 347th day since the start of the original MCO and this is the 37th weekly edition of ‘The MCO Diaries’.
RECOVERIES CONTINUE TO OUTPACE NEW CASES
We had another relatively good week with only 18,140 new infections in the past week. This is 1,818 fewer than last week’s seven-day total. This includes 1,924 cases on Thursday, which was the first time since Jan 4 (1,741) that we had fewer than 2,000 cases in a single day.
The lowest number of cases in a single day for the year was on Jan 3 (1,704).
Recoveries continue to outpace new cases with 26,875 patients cleared of Covid-19, taking the total cured to 266,846.
There were 68 deaths, taking fatalities to 1,111.
Separately, the United States reached 500,000 deaths on Monday. It now over 520,000 deaths and slightly more than 29 million cases.
The worldwide figure is more than 113.6 million cases and 2.52 million deaths.
WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE
GENDER EQUALITY IS GOOD BUT …
In a now-deleted Tweet, Petra Rees, founding CEO of Why Toyz, took Volvo to task for still using the ‘male symbol’ as its logo. You can read what she said in the screenshot taken from another of her social media account.
Volvo has clarified that the ‘offending’ symbol is the same one for iron and that it was chosen to represent Swedish steel.
Separately, Mr Potato Head is no longer a mister. Hasbro, the company that makes the potato-shaped plastic toy, is giving the spud a gender-neutral new name: Potato Head.
Hasbro announced it would drop the “Mr.” from the brand’s name to be more inclusive and let kids create their own type of potato families, including two moms or two dads.
As expected, many took offence to the name change but as Rees rightly pointed out the world has changed.
Women have been oppressed and we need to ensure there is gender equality. But symbols should not define who or what we are.
MANDARIN-GINGER SMOOTHIE
If you are like me, you probably have lots of Mandarin oranges left. Here is a recipe to try.
TOSSED SALAD AND SCRAMBLED EGGS
We end this week with the theme song from Frasier. Do read how they came up with the lyrics. The television version of the theme song is in the article.
There were several alternate endings to the song which usually lasted 30-40 seconds.
Below, however, is an extended version of the theme song.
Goodnight everybody, we love you.
