The show is starting to feel as great as the original, has been since about episode 4. Knowing that the writers strike is over now, and we got such strong writing and development even in the midst of those difficult conditions, I can only imagine season 2 will be even better.
I really appreciate them cutting Freddie's arrogance down to size a bit in this, and each character becoming their own, when they could have served the same purposes of the characters in the original. Instead, Nile's son is voluntarily resistant of a sedentary, coddled lifestyle, gleefully wanting to do grunt work for Alan.
Andy Daley was great as the plumber, see his show 'Review' if you can - absolutely one of the most slept-on hillarious comedies of the last decade, perhaps the most slept-on.
The only thing that still gets on my nerves a bit is the somewhat sweetened and fake laugh track - it feels a bit forced and overbearing compared to the original, which also had the benefit of being a bit dulled by analog recording. Infuriating if thats the new normal for sitcoms - still, I do think they're pulling back on it. I can imagine a hair-brained CBS exec trying to make them sweeten the laughter more, and the mix engineer not touching a thing, and saying 'is this better?' and them nodding in satisfaction. Its a common trick live sound mixers will do to test if its all in the musicians heads when they make a note about the sound!
Anyways, don't be jaded by nostalgia. I'm watching the original and the new one side by side, and I can say with utmost sincerity, they both have their benefits and drawbacks. Seeing Frasier be old is fascinating in a new way - I just think 10 episodes is far too short a season length for a new cast & crew to work on all cylinders. The OG Frasier had the benefit of having a lot of people in it who were either fresh from Cheers, or other sitcom projects since sitcoms were so adundant. This one had to bravely jump in with a lot of actors, crew & writers with limited sitcom experience - but regardless, I think they were all smartly chosen and the show was smart to still keep essential old blood behind the scenes too.
Don't let nostalgia fool you. Don't project pining for simpler or better times have you project your personal dissatisfactions onto a show.