Frasier Fest for Fans

Fans of ’90s sitcom Frasier can look forward to the Paramount+ revival streaming on TVNZ+ in October while Sky Open re-runs the original seven o’clock weeknights from September 4.

It’s not been confirmed if the Sky Open episodes will be in HD, like the nightly Comedy Central repeats, which have been reformatted in widescreen, or the same SD masters that air on Jones!.

I would imagine it would be the latter, even though this would be a prime opportunity to rejuvenate the classic series for a free-to-air audience.

Earlier this year, Paramount released all 11 seasons on Blu-ray (along with parent show Cheers) in the US, where reviewers were amazed by the HD clarity.

Blu-ray.com called it “a gorgeous 1080p transfer … all but the most jaded nitpicker should find it well above satisfactory” while Home Theatre Forum said the first nine seasons are “huge improvements from the original standard definition broadcast masters and subsequent DVD releases.

“In particular, the improvement on season one cannot be overstated, though all of these seasons benefit from improved clarity, shadow detail (there is some now!), black levels and fine detail.”

Surprisingly, Sky Open is repeating Frasier not from the first season but S5.

The same week it will reschedule another sitcom revival to late-night, presumably because of poor ratings.

From September 4, Night Court will shift from 9.30 Mondays to 10.00, and stablemate American Auto from 10.00 to 10.30.

Replacing Night Court will be The Crowd Goes Wild.