Fussy, uptight, snobbish! Frasier's hardly changed

IT seems like only yesterday that Kelsey Grammer's Frasier was last on our screens.

- MIKE WARD

And, OK, technically it was. Channel 4 still shows classic episodes every weekday morning. Set your alarm.

What I mean is that the brand new ones feel reassuringly familiar, in one respect at least.

Little about the man has changed in the 19 years he's been away.

Which is good news. Former radio shrink Dr Frasier Crane is still the same pompous, pretentious yet curiously loveable soul that he was when we watched him sign off back in May 2004, with one last: "Good night, Seattle."

That's not to say he hasn't moved on. For one thing, he's back in Boston, where he first propped up the bar in Cheers a lifetime ago. So there are details on which we're swiftly brought up to speed, plus new things we learn about his past.