"Erm... if any UK producers messed with Frazier (the first half a dozen series at least), or Will and Grace or Seinfeld or (especially) Curb Your Enthusiasm they would assuredly NOT have my support... "

Who is Erm????

Ya gotta lighten up. Let producers mess with anything they want, the original is still intact. You don't have to like the new version, but sometimes it works very well - as in the case of All in the Family, Sanford & Son, and The Office to name a few.   

Even Shakespeare copped a few stories for his plays.   Bernstein created a great work of art out of one of them as well.