Cheers is an American television sitcom television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles. The show is set in the Cheers bar (named for the toast "Cheers") in Boston, Massachusetts, where a group of locals meet to drink, relax, chat and have fun. The show's theme song, written and performed by Gary Portnoy, and co-written with Judy Hart Angelo, lent its famous refrain, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", as the show's tagline.^[1]

After premiering on September 30, 1982, it was nearly canceled during its first season when it ranked last in ratings for its premiere (77th out of 77 shows).^[2] Cheers, however, eventually became a highly rated television show in the United States, earning a top-ten rating during 8 of its 11 seasons, including one season at #1. The show spent most of its run on NBC's Thursday night "Must See TV" lineup. Its widely watched series finale was broadcast on May 20, 1993. The show's 275 episodes have been successfully syndicated worldwide, and have earned 28 Emmy Awards from a then-record 117 nominations. The character Frasier Crane, played by Kelsey Grammer, was featured in his own successful spin-off, Frasier, which also ran for 11 seasons and included guest appearances by virtually all of the major, and some minor, Cheers characters. The only exceptions to this were Kirstie Alley and the deceased Nicholas Colasanto.

In 1997, the episodes "Thanksgiving Orphans" and "Home Is the Sailor" were respectively ranked No. 7 and No. 45 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.^[3] In 2002, Cheers was ranked No. 18 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.^[4]

Characters

Main characters

Before the Cheers pilot, "Give Me a Ring Sometime", was finalized and then aired in 1982, the series originally consisted of four employees of Cheers, the bar, in the original script.^[5] There was neither Norm Peterson nor Cliff Clavin, regular customers of Cheers; later revisions added them as part of the series.^[6]

In later years, Woody Boyd replaces Coach, who dies off-screen in 1985. Frasier Crane starts as a recurring character but then becomes a permanent character. Rebecca Howe replaces Diane Chambers, who leaves Boston for a writing career in 1987. Lilith Sternin starts as a one-time character in the Season 4 episode, "Second Time Around" (1985), but then she becomes a recurring character since Season 5 (1986-87), although she is a permanent character for Seasons 10 and 11(1991-93).

Original characters

• Ted Danson portrays Sam Malone, a bartender and owner of Cheers. Sam is also a ladies' man. Before the series began, he was a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox when he became (and still is) a friend of Coach, but then he became an alcoholic, which took a toll on his baseball career. He has had on-again, off-again relationships with Diane Chambers, his class opposite, in the first five seasons (1982–1987). At their off-relationships, Sam flings with many other not-so-bright "sexy women",^[10] yet he fails to pursue a meaningful relationship^[10] and fails to seduce some intellectual women. After Diane leaves Boston, he attempts to pursue Rebecca Howe, but at times he either fails to achieve or becomes unflattered whenever passion is attempted. At the end, he is still unmarried and recovering from sexual addiction with a help of Dr. Robert Sutton's (Gilbert Lewis) group meetings, advised by Frasier.
• Shelley Long portrays Diane Chambers, an academic, sophisticated college student,^[5] in the first five seasons and the 1993 series finale. In the pilot, Diane is abandoned by Sumner Sloan (Michael McGuire), who goes back to his ex-wife and with whom she worked as his assistant. Without a job, money, and man, she reluctantly becomes a cocktail waitress. Over time, she becomes a close friend of Coach.^[11] Also, she has had on-and-off relationships with bartender Sam Malone, her class opposite. At their off-relationships, Diane dates men who fit her upper-class ideals, such as Frasier Crane. In 1987, she leaves Boston behind for a writing career and to live in Los Angeles.
• Nicholas Colasanto portrayed Coach Ernie Pantusso, a "senile"^[10] co-bartender, widow, and retired coach. Coach was also a friend of Sam and a close friend of Diane. He had a daughter, Lisa. Coach was often tricked into situations, especially ones that put the bar at stake. Nevertheless, Coach listened to people's problems and then solved them with advices and analyses. In 1985, Coach died without explicit explanation while the actor Colasanto himself died by a heart attack.^[9]
• Rhea Perlman portrays Carla Tortelli, a "wisecracking, cynical"^[5] cocktail waitress, who treats customers badly. Before the series premiered, she was a mother of four children and divorcée of Nick Tortelli (Dan Hedaya). Over the series's run, she has conceived more children from various men, including her dead husband, Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas), at a resulting total of eight children. Perlman's real-life pregnancies played part of Carla's pregnancies.^[12] Moreover, she flirts with men, including ones who are not flattered by her ways, and a believer of superstitions.
• George Wendt portrays Norm Peterson, a bar regular and semi-unemployed accountant. Whenever he enters the bar, everyone yells out his name, "NORM!" Outside the bar, he has but loses each accounting job, and he has a troubled marriage with (but is still in love with and married to) Vera, an unseen character. Later in the series, he becomes a house painter and an interior decorator, especially for Rebecca's bar office. Originally, there was no Norm Peterson.^[6] Wendt auditioned for a minor role George for the pilot episode, who was Diane Chamber's first customer and had only one word in one line: "Beer!"^[13] After he was cast as George, Wendt's role was rewritten into Norm.^[14]
• John Ratzenberger portrays Cliff Clavin, a know-it-all bar regular and a postal worker. He always lives with his mother in both the old house and then the apartment. In the bar, Cliff says anything that may either annoy people, motivate people into mocking him, drive people away, confuse people, be inaccurate, or be unnecessary to people. Ratzenberger auditioned for the minor role George, as well, but it was already given to Wendt before it evolved into Norm Peterson. Then he wanted a know-it-all,^[15] so the security guard Cliff Clavin was added for the pilot. However, the producers changed his occupation into the postal worker because they perceived a postal worker as more knowledgeable than the guard.^[16]

Later characters

• Kelsey Grammer portrays Frasier Crane, a psychiatrist and bar regular. He starts out as Diane Chambers's love interest in the third season (1984–85) and as Sam's psychiatrist. However, in the fourth season (1985–86) when Diane jilts him at the wedding altar in Europe, Frasier ends up frequently going to Cheers pub for drinks and becomes a regular barfly, much to the dismay of his later wife Lilith Sternin. After his marriage with Lilith ended, he becomes depressed. After the series ended, in the spin-off Frasier, he gives child custody of his son Frederick to Lilith and then moves to Seattle, where his father Martin and brother Niles reside.
• Woody Harrelson portrays Woody Boyd, a not-so-bright^[10] bartender. When he arrived from his Midwest hometown to Boston, Woody wants to meet his pen pal Coach. However, he finds out that Coach already passed away, so Woody is hired anyway. Later, he dates Kelly Gaines (Jackie Swanson) and then marries her. At the end, they have a son and daughter as discovered in Frasier.
• Bebe Neuwirth portrays Lilith Sternin, a psychiatrist and bar regular, who disdains the Cheers bar itself, Frasier's favorite place to visit. Lilith's appearances are mocked by bar patrons, such as her hair that is always up in a bun and pale face. In "Second Time Around" (1986), her very first episode and only episode of the fourth season, her date with Frasier does not go well because they constantly argue. In the fifth season, with help from Diane, Lilith and Frasier become attracted to each other, especially when Lilith's hair goes down, and then begin a relationship. Subsequently, she moves in with Frasier, gives birth to her son Frederick Crane in the eighth season, and then becomes married in the tenth season. However, in the eleventh and final season, she admits her affair with another man to Frasier, and the two then divorce and she has child custody of Frederick. She appears recurringly on the spin-off Frasier.
• Kirstie Alley portrays "voluptuously beautiful"^[17] Rebecca Howe, a manager and waitress, who debuted at the sixth season (1987–1988). Initially, she starts out as a strong independent woman, but then she repeatedly has romantic failures with mainly rich men. Moreover, she has become "more neurotic, insecure, and sexually frustrated".^[18] At the start, Sam frequently attempts to seduce Rebecca without success,^[17] but, when her persona changes,^[18] he loses interest in her. In the eleventh and final season, Rebecca marries the plumber Don Santry and quits working for the bar. However, according to Sam, in Frasier, she divorces and ends up visiting the bar instead of working there again.

Recurring characters

Although Cheers operated largely around that main ensemble cast, guest stars and recurring characters did occasionally supplement them. Notable repeat guests included Dan Hedaya as Nick Tortelli, Jean Kasem as Loretta Tortelli who were the main character in the first spin-off The Tortellis, Jay Thomas as Eddie LeBec, Roger Rees as Robin Colcord, Tom Skerritt as Evan Drake, and Harry Anderson as Harry 'The Hat' Gittes.

Paul Willson, who played the recurring barfly character of "Paul", made early appearances in the first season as "Glen", was credited as "Gregg", and also appeared in the show as a character named "Tom". Thomas Babson played "Tom", a law student often mocked by Cliff Clavin, for continually failing to pass the Massachusetts bar exam. "Al", played by Al Rosen, appeared in 38 episodes, and was known for his surly quips. Rhea Perlman's father Philip Perlman played the role of "Phil".^[19] Jackie Swanson, who played the recurring role of Woody's girlfriend and eventual wife "Kelly Gaines-Boyd", appeared in 24 episodes from 1989-1993. The character is as equally dim and naive as Woody. Only, she comes from great wealth and he comes from a farm.

Celebrities

Other celebrities guest-starred in single episodes as themselves throughout the series. Some sports figures appeared on the show with a connection to Boston or Sam's former team, the Red Sox, such as Luis Tiant, Wade Boggs, and Kevin McHale (star player of the Boston Celtics).^[20] Some television stars also made guest appearances as themselves such as Alex Trebek, Arsenio Hall, Dick Cavett, Robert Urich, and Johnny Carson. Various political figures even made appearances on Cheers such as then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William J. Crowe, former Colorado Senator Gary Hart, then-Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, Senator John Kerry, then-Governor Michael Dukakis, and then-Mayor of Boston Raymond Flynn, the last four of whom all represented Cheers' home state and city. In a guest appearance in 1983, Glynis Johns played Diane's mother Mrs. Helen Chambers. In an episode that aired in 1985, Nancy Marchand played Frasier's mother, Hester Crane. Michael Richards portrays one of Sam's old drinking buddies, Eddie Gordon, who attempts to gain ownership of Cheers in the episode "Bar Bet".^{[original research?]}

Musician Harry Connick, Jr. appeared in an episode as Woody's cousin and plays a song from his Grammy winning album We Are in Love (c. 1991). John Cleese won an Emmy for his guest appearance as "Dr. Simon Finch-Royce" in the fifth season episode, "Simon Says". Emma Thompson guest starred as Nanny G/Nannette Guzman, a famous singing nanny and Frasier's ex-wife. Christopher Lloyd guest starred as a tortured artist who wanted to paint Diane. Marcia Cross portrayed Rebecca's sister Susan in the season 7 episode Sisterly Love. John Mahoney once appeared as an inept jingle writer, which included a brief conversation with Frasier Crane, whose father he later portrayed on the spin-off Frasier. Peri Gilpin who later played Roz Doyle on Frasier also appeared in one episode of Cheers, in its 11th season, as Holly Matheson, a reporter who interviews Woody. The Righteous Brothers, Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley, also guest starred in different episodes, and Kate Mulgrew appeared in the 3-episode finale of season four. In the final episode of Kirstie Alley's run as Rebecca, she was wooed away from Cheers by the guy who came to fix one of the beer keg taps – surprising for a "high-class" lady – who happened to be Tom Berenger. Leah Remini played one of Carla's daughters; Serafina Tortelli.^{[original research?]} Lisa Kudrow appeared in an episode as an actress appearing in a play with Woody.

Series overview

Nearly all of Cheers took place in the front room of the bar, but they often went into the rear pool room or the bar's office.^[21] Cheers did not show any action outside the bar until the first episode of the second season, which took place in Diane's apartment.

Cheers had several running gags, such as Norm arriving in the bar greeted by a loud "Norm!" Early episodes generally followed Sam's antics with his various women, following a variety of romantic comedy clichés to get out of whatever relationship troubles he was in during each episode. As the show progressed and Sam got into more serious relationships, the general tone switched to a comedic take on Sam settling into a monogamous lifestyle. Throughout the series, larger story arcs began to develop that spanned multiple episodes or seasons, interspersed with smaller themes and one-off episodes.^{[citation needed]}

Romance

The show's main theme in its early seasons was the romance between the intellectual waitress Diane Chambers and bar owner Sam Malone, a former major league baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and a recovering alcoholic.^[22] After Shelley Long (Diane) left the show, the focus shifted to Sam's new relationship with neurotic corporate ladder climber Rebecca. Both relationships featured sexual tension that spanned many episodes.^{[citation needed]}

Social issues

Many Cheers scripts centered or touched upon a variety of social issues, albeit humorously. As Toasting Cheers puts it, "The script was further strengthened by the writers' boldness in successfully tackling controversial issues such as alcoholism, homosexuality, and adultery."^[23]

Social class was a subtext of the show. The "upper class" – represented by characters like Diane Chambers, Frasier Crane, Lilith Sternin and (initially) Rebecca Howe – rubbed shoulders with middle and working class characters — Sam Malone, Carla Tortelli, Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin. An extreme example of this was the relationship between Woody Boyd and a millionaire's daughter Kelly Gaines. Many viewers enjoyed Cheers in part because of this focus on character development in addition to plot development.^[24]

Feminism and the role of women were also recurring themes throughout the show, with some seeing each of the major female characters as a flawed feminist in her own way.^[25] Diane was a vocal feminist, and Sam was the epitome of everything she hated: a womanizer and a male chauvinist. Their relationship led Diane to several diatribes on Sam's promiscuity. Carla insulted people, but was respected because of her tough attitude, wit, and power, while Diane was often ignored as she commanded little respect in any successful way. Rebecca was a stereotypical ambitious businesswoman and gold-digger, seeking relationships with her superiors at the Lillian Corporation, most notably Evan Drake, to gain promotions or raises. She encountered a glass ceiling, however, and ended the show by marrying a plumber rather than a rich businessman. It was later revealed on Frasier that her husband struck it rich and left her, after which Rebecca returned to Cheers as a patron. Lilith was a high profile psychiatrist with many degrees and awards, and commanded respect with her strong and rather stern demeanor. Like Rebecca, she was an executive woman of the 1980s who put much emphasis on her professional life. She was often shown to have the upper hand in her and Frasier's relationship, and was portrayed as an ice queen, but proved to have a fiery libido and a maternal nature.^{[original research?]}

Homosexuality was dealt with from the very first season, a rare move for American network television in the early 1980s.^[26] In the first season episode "The Boys In The Bar", a friend and former teammate of Sam's comes out in his autobiography. Some of the male regulars pressure Sam to take action to ensure that Cheers does not become a gay bar. The episode won a GLAAD Media Award, and the script's writers, Ken Levine and David Isaacs, were nominated for an Emmy Award for their writing. Harvey Fierstein later appeared in the 1990s as "Mark Newberger", Rebecca's old high school sweetheart who is gay. Finally, the final episode included a gay man who gets into trouble with his boyfriend, played by Anthony Heald, after agreeing to pose as Diane's husband.^{[original research?]}

Addiction also plays a role in Cheers, almost exclusively through Sam. Sam was a recovering alcoholic who had bought a bar during his drinking days. After he achieved sobriety, he decided to continue to own and operate the bar for "sentimental reasons." Frasier also has a notable bout of drinking in the fourth season episode "The Triangle", while Woody develops a gambling problem in the seventh season's "Call Me Irresponsible". Some critics believe Sam was a generally addictive personality who had largely conquered his alcoholism but was still a sexual addict, shown through his womanizing, for which he eventually got help.^{[original research?]}

Death

Cheers also dealt with the death of one of their main characters, Coach Ernie Pantusso. During the third season, Nicholas Colasanto's heart condition (which had been diagnosed in the mid-1970s) had worsened. He had lost weight and was having trouble breathing during filming. Shortly before third season filming wrapped, Colasanto was hospitalized due to water on his lungs. Though he recovered, he was not cleared to return to work. While visiting the set in January 1985 to watch the filming of several episodes, co-star Shelley Long commented "I think we were all in denial. We were all glad he was there, but he lost a lot of weight." Co-star Rhea Perlman added "he wanted to be there so badly. He didn't want to be sick. He couldn't breathe well, it was hard; he was laboring all the time." Colasanto died of heart attack in his home on February 12, 1985. While the cast was saddened, it was not a shock.^[27]

The Cheers writing staff assembled in June 1985 to discuss how to deal with the absence of Coach. They quickly disregarded the idea that Coach had moved away, as they felt he would never abandon his friends. In addition, most viewers were aware of Colasanto's death, and the decision was made to handle the situation in a more honest way. The season four opener, "Birth, Death, Love and Rice", dealt with Coach's death as well as introducing Colasanto's replacement, Woody Harrelson.^[27][28]

Cheers owners

Cheers obviously had several owners before Sam, as the bar was opened in 1889. The "Est. 1895" on the bar's sign is a made-up date chosen by Carla for numerological purposes, revealed in the 8th season episode "The Stork Brings a Crane". In the second episode, "Sam's Women", Coach tells a customer looking for Gus, the owner of Cheers, that Gus was dead and Sam now owned the bar. In a later episode, Gus O'Mally, however, comes back from Arizona for one night and helps run the bar.

The biggest storyline surrounding the ownership of Cheers begins in the fifth season finale, "I Do, Adieu", when Sam and Diane part ways, due to Shelley Long leaving the regular cast. In addition, Sam leaves in an attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. Before he leaves, however, Sam sells Cheers to the Lillian Corporation. He then returns in the sixth season premiere, "Home is the Sailor", having sunk his boat, to find the bar under the new management of Rebecca Howe. He begs for his job back and is hired by Rebecca as a bartender. In the seventh season premiere, "How to Recede in Business", Rebecca is fired and Sam is promoted to manager. Rebecca is allowed to keep a job at Lillian vaguely similar to what she had before, but only after Sam had Rebecca (in absentia) "agree" to a long list of demands that the corporation had for her.

From there Sam occasionally attempted to buy the bar back with schemes that usually involved wealthy executive Robin Colcord. Cheers did eventually end up back in Sam's hands in the eighth season finale, when it was sold back to him for eighty-five cents (it was offered to him for one US dollar, but eighty-five cents was all Sam could come up with on the spot) by the Lillian Corporation after he alerted the company to Colcord's insider trading. Fired by the corporation because of her silence on the issue, Rebecca earns back a hostess/office manager job from Sam.

Other recurring themes

In addition to extended story lines, Cheers had recurring themes. There was a heated rivalry between Cheers and a rival bar, Gary's Olde Towne Tavern, starting with the fourth season episode "From Beer to Eternity". Beginning in the sixth season, one episode of each season depicted some wager between Sam and Gary, which resulted in either a sports competition or a battle of wits that devolved into complex practical jokes. Aside from the very first and very last "Bar Wars" episodes, the Cheers gang almost always lost to Gary's superior ingenuity, though they managed to trick him into missing the annual Bloody Mary contest in one episode. One episode had Sam collaborating with Gary's to get revenge on his co-workers on a prior practical joke. Another episode involved a pickup basketball game, in which Gary tricked the people of Cheers that a minor injury sustained by basketball great Kevin McHale was actually a season-ending injury.

Sam also had a long-running feud with the upscale restaurant above the bar, Melville's Fine Sea Food. The restaurant's management disliked the bar's patrons, while Sam regarded the restaurant as snobbish (though customers often moved between the two businesses via a prominent staircase). This conflict escalated after Melville's came under the ownership of John Allen Hill (Keene Curtis), as Sam did not technically own the bar's poolroom and bathrooms. Sam was subsequently forced to pay rent for them and often found himself at the mercy of Hill's tyranny. Rebecca eventually helped Sam buy the back section from Hill.^[29]

In another recurring theme, Norm Peterson continually searched for gainful employment as an accountant, but spent most of the series unemployed, thereby explaining his constant presence in Cheers at the same stool, though he was not above leaving work early when he was employed. Norm does not actually pay for his beer, using any excuse to get a free refill. In one episode Rebecca reveals his tab as being nearly $300. The face of his wife, Vera, was never fully seen onscreen, despite a few fleeting appearances and vocal cameos. She first appeared briefly in the fifth season episode "Thanksgiving Orphans" with her face covered in pumpkin-pie filling, portrayed by Bernadette Birkett, the wife of George Wendt.

Cliff Clavin seemed unable to shake the constant presence of his mother, Esther Clavin (Frances Sternhagen). He often referred to her, usually as an emotional burden and/or a smothering parent. Her first onscreen appearance was in the fifth season.

Finally, Carla Tortelli carried a reputation of being both highly fertile and matrimonially inept. Her last husband, Eddie LeBec, was a washed-up ice hockey goaltender who eventually died in an ice show accident involving a zamboni. Carla later discovered that Eddie had cheated on her, marrying another woman whom he had gotten pregnant. Carla's sleazy first husband, Nick Tortelli (Dan Hedaya), also made appearances, mostly to torment Carla with a new custody battle or legal scam that grew out of their divorce. Carla's eight children, four of whom were born during the show's run, were notoriously ill-behaved, except for Ludlow, who was sired by a prominent academician.

Production

Conception

The concept for Cheers was the result of a long process. The original idea was a group of workers who interacted like a family, the goal being a similar concept to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The creators considered making an American version of the British Fawlty Towers centered on a hotel or an inn. When the creators settled on a bar as their setting, the show began to resemble the radio show Duffy's Tavern. They liked the idea of a tavern, as it provided a continuous stream of new people arriving, giving them a constant supply of characters.^[30]

After choosing a setting, the creators needed to choose a location. Early discussions centered on Barstow, California, then Kansas City, Missouri. They eventually turned to the East Coast and finally Boston. The Bull & Finch Pub in Boston that Cheers was styled after was originally chosen from a phone book.^[31] When Glen Charles asked the bar's owner, Tom Kershaw, to shoot exterior and interior photos, he agreed, charging US$1. Kershaw has since gone on to make millions, licensing the pub's image and selling a variety of Cheers memorabilia, making the Bull & Finch the 42nd busiest outlet in the American food and beverage industry in 1997.^[30] During initial casting, Shelley Long, who was in Boston at the time filming A Small Circle of Friends, remarked that the bar in the script resembled a bar she had come upon in the city, which turned out to be the Bull & Finch.^[32]

Production team

The crew of Cheers numbered in the hundreds. The three creators, James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles, kept offices on Paramount's lot for the duration of the Cheers run. In the final seasons, however, they handed over much of the show to Burrows. Burrows is regarded as being a factor in the show's longevity, directing 243 of the episodes and supervising the show's production.^[33] Among the show's other directors were Andy Ackerman, Thomas Lofaro, Tim Berry, Tom Moore, Rick Beren, as well as John Ratzenberger. David Angell was also a part of the crew from the start, writing many Cheers episodes. The show was often noted for its writing, which is credited alongside its ensemble cast and other production factors for the show's success.^[24]

Craig Safan provided the series' original music for its entire run. His extensive compositions for the show led to him winning numerous ASCAP Top TV Series awards for his music.

Casting

The character of Sam Malone was originally intended to be a retired football player and was slated to be played by Fred Dryer, but, after casting Ted Danson, it was decided that a former baseball player (Sam "Mayday" Malone) would be more believable.^[34][35] Dryer, however, would go on to play sportscaster Dave Richards, an old friend of Sam's, in 3 episodes. The character of Cliff Clavin was created for John Ratzenberger after he auditioned for the role of Norm Peterson, which eventually went to George Wendt. While chatting with producers afterward, he asked if they were going to include a "bar know-it-all", the part which he eventually played.^[36] Kirstie Alley joined the cast when Shelley Long left (representing the only departure of a primary character throughout the series), and Woody Harrelson joined when Nicholas Colasanto died. Danson, Perlman and Wendt were the only actors to appear in every episode of the series.

Filming styles and locations

Most Cheers episodes were, as a voiceover stated at the start of each, "filmed before a live studio audience" on Paramount Stage 25 in Hollywood, generally on Tuesday nights. Scripts for a new episode were issued the Wednesday before for a read-through, Friday was rehearsal day, and final scripts were issued on Monday. Burrows, who directed most episodes, insisted on using film stock rather than videotape. He was also noted for using motion in his directorial style, trying to constantly keep characters moving rather than standing still.^[38] During the first season when ratings were poor Paramount and NBC asked that the show use videotape to save money, but a poor test taping ended the experiment and Cheers continued to use film.^[39]

Due to a decision by Glen and Les Charles, the cold open was often not connected to the rest of the episode, with the lowest-ranked writers assigned to create the jokes for them. Some cold opens were taken from episodes that ran too long.^[40]

The first year of the show took place entirely within the confines of the bar, the first location outside the bar being Diane's apartment. When the series became a hit, the characters started venturing further afield, first to other sets and eventually to an occasional exterior location. The exterior location shots of the bar were of the Bull & Finch Pub, located directly north of the Boston Public Garden, which has become a tourist attraction because of its association with the series, and draws in nearly one million visitors annually.^[30][41] It has since been renamed Cheers Beacon Hill, though its interior is different from the TV bar.

Reception

Critical reception

Cheers was critically acclaimed in its first season, though it landed a disappointing 74th out of 77 shows in that year's ratings.^[42] This critical support, the early success at the Emmys, and the support of the president of NBC's entertainment division Brandon Tartikoff, are thought to be the main reasons for the show's survival and eventual success.^[43] Writer Levine believes that the most important reason was that the network recognized that it did not have other hit shows to help promote Cheers; as he later wrote, "[NBC] had nothing else better to replace it with."^[44]

The cast themselves went across the country on various talk shows to try to further promote the series after its first season. With the growing popularity of Family Ties, which ran in the slot ahead of Cheers from January 1984 until Family Ties was moved to Sundays in 1987, and the placement of The Cosby Show in front of both at the start of their third season (1984), the line-up became a runaway ratings success that NBC eventually dubbed "Must See Thursday". The next season, Cheers ratings increased dramatically after Woody Boyd became a regular character as well. By the end of its final season, Cheers had a run of eight consecutive seasons in the Top Ten of the Nielsen ratings; seven of them were in the Top Five.^[45]

Cheers began with a limited five-character ensemble consisting of Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto and George Wendt. By the time season 10 began, Cheers held 8 front characters in its roster. Cheers was also able to gradually phase in characters such as Cliff, Frasier, Lilith, Rebecca, and Woody. During season 1, only one set, the bar, housed all of the episodes. Later seasons introduced other sets, but the show's ability to center the action in the bar and avoid straying was notable.

NBC dedicated a whole night to the final episode of Cheers, following the one-hour season finale of Seinfeld (which was its lead-in). The show began with a "pregame" show hosted by Bob Costas, followed by the final 98-minute episode itself. NBC affiliates then aired tributes to Cheers during their local newscasts, and the night concluded with a special Tonight Show broadcast live from the Bull & Finch Pub. Although the episode fell short of its hyped ratings predictions to become the most watched television episode, it was the most watched show that year, bringing in 93 million viewers (64 percent of all viewers that night), and ranked 11th all time in entertainment programming.^{[46][47][48][N 1]}

The episode originally aired in the usual Cheers spot of Thursday night, and was then rebroadcast on Sunday. While the original broadcast did not outperform the M*A*S*H finale, the combined non-repeating audiences for the Thursday and Sunday showings did. It should also be noted that television had greatly changed between the two finales, leaving Cheers with a broader array of competition for ratings.^[49]

U.S. television ratings

As a Top 30 series, Cheers had an average rating of 22.2.

Awards and honors

Over its 11-season run, the Cheers cast and crew earned many awards. The show garnered a record 111 Emmy Award nominations, with a total of 28 wins. In addition, Cheers earned 31 Golden Globe nominations, with a total of six wins. Danson, Long, Alley, Perlman, Wendt, Ratzenberger, Harrelson, Grammer, Neuwirth, and Colosanto all received Emmy nominations for their roles. Cheers won the Golden Globe for "Best TV-Series – Comedy/Musical" in 1991 and the Emmy for "Outstanding Comedy Series" in 1983, 1984, 1989, and 1991. The series was presented with the "Legend Award" at the 2006 TV Land Awards, with many of the surviving cast members attending the event.^[51]

The following are awards that have been earned by the Cheers cast and crew over its 11–season run:

Distribution

Syndication

Cheers grew in popularity as it aired on American television and entered into off-network syndication in 1986, initially distributed by Paramount Domestic Television. When the show went off the air in 1993, Cheers was syndicated in 38 countries with 179 American television markets and 83 million viewers.^[52] After going off the air, Cheers entered a long and successful continuing syndication run^[24] on Nick at Nite, later moving to TV Land in 2004, lasting until 2008 on their line-up.^[41]

The series began airing on Hallmark Channel in the United States in 2008, and WGN America in 2009, where it continues to air on both channels. In January 2011, Reelz Channel began airing the series in hour blocks. MeTV, a free premium network which airs on the digital sub-channels of many broadcast television stations, began airing Cheers weeknights in 2010. When the quality of some earlier footage of Cheers began to deteriorate, it underwent a careful restoration in 2001 due to its continued success.^[53] And more recently, USA Network also reran the series, but only on Sunday early mornings and weekday mornings (if there is a movie running in 2 1/2 hours).

As of April 2011, Netflix began including Cheers as one of the titles on its "watch instantly" streaming service.

A Cheers rerun replaced Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos on Australia's Nine Network. The latter was canceled mid-episode on its only broadcast by Kerry Packer, who pulled the plug after a phone call. It was repeated several years later on the Nine Network shortly after Packer's death in 2005. Cheers currently airs on Eleven on January 11, 2011 in Australia. Cheers was aired by NCRV in the Netherlands. After the last episode, NCRV simply began re-airing the series, and then again, thus airing the show three times in a row, showing an episode nightly.

High definition

A high-definition transfer of Cheers began running on HDNet in the United States in August 2010. Originally shot on film (but transferred to and edited on videotape) the program was broadcast in a 4:3 aspect ratio, the newly transferred versions are in 16:9.^{[original research?]}

DVD releases

Paramount Home Entertainment and (from 2006 onward) CBS DVD have released all 11 seasons of Cheers on DVD in Region 1 and Region 4.

In Region 2, only the first 9 seasons have been released on DVD. Season 10 & 11 are to be released on September 3, 2012 with a complete collection being released on October 8, 2012^[54]

• Region 2 release dates refer to the United Kingdom market only.

Digital Media Distribution

The complete 11 seasons of Cheers are available through the United States Netflix streaming service. The complete 11 seasons are also available through the iTunes Store. The complete 11 seasons are also available through Amazon Prime Video.

Licensing

The series lent itself naturally to the development of "Cheers" bar-related merchandise, culminating in the development of a chain of "Cheers" themed pubs. Paramount's licensing group, led by Tom McGrath, developed the "Cheers" pub concept initially in partnership with Host Marriott, which placed "Cheers" themed pubs in over 15 airports around the world.^[61] Boston boasts the original Cheers bar, historically known to Boston insiders as the Bull and Finch, as well as a Cheers restaurant in the Faneuil Hall marketplace, and Sam's Place, a spin-off sports bar concept also located at Faneuil Hall. In 1997 Europe's first officially licensed Cheers bar opened in London's Regent's Street W1. Like Cheers Faneuil Hall, Cheers London is a replica of the set. The gala opening was attended by James Burrows and cast members George Wendt and John Ratzenberger.^[62] The actual bar set had been on display at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum until the museum’s closing in early 2006.^[63]

The theme song to the show was eventually licensed to a Canadian restaurant, Kelsey's Neighbourhood Bar & Grill.^[64]

Spin-offs, crossovers, and cultural references

Some of the actors and actresses from Cheers brought their characters into other television shows, either in a guest appearance or in a new spin-off series. The most successful Cheers spin-off was the show Frasier, which directly followed Frasier Crane after he moved back to Seattle, Washington. Sam, Diane, and Woody all had individual crossover appearances on Frasier where they came to visit Frasier, and his ex-wife Lilith was a constant supporting character throughout the show. Cliff, Norm, Carla, and two of Cheers' regular background barflies Paul and Phil, had a crossover together in the Frasier episode "Cheerful Goodbyes". In that episode, Frasier, on a trip to Boston, meets the Cheers gang (though not at Cheers itself) and Cliff thinks Frasier has flown out specifically for his (Cliff's) retirement party, which Frasier ends up attending.

Although Frasier was the most successful spin-off, The Tortellis was the first series to spin-off from Cheers, premiering in 1987. The show featured Carla's ex-husband Nick Tortelli and his wife Loretta, but was canceled after 13 episodes and drew protests for its stereotypical depictions of Italian-Americans.

In addition to direct spin-offs, several Cheers characters had guest appearance crossovers with other shows.

• In The Simpsons episode "Fear of Flying", Homer stumbles into a Cheers-like bar after being kicked out of Moe's. Most of the Cheers central cast appears in the episode, including Frasier, though Frasier does not speak, as Kelsey Grammer already had a recurring role on The Simpsons as Sideshow Bob. The tag line for Moe's Tavern, "Where nobody knows your name", is also a reference to the theme song of Cheers.
  • Sideshow Bob's voice sounding like Kelsey Grammer would later be used as a plot point of the episode "The Bob Next Door", where Marge tries to reassure Bart that the new neighbor isn't Sideshow Bob. She and Homer list "Frasier on Cheers", "Frasier on Frasier" and "Lt. Commander Dodge in Down Periscope" as examples of people who sound like Sideshow Bob, all of which were played by Kelsey Grammer.
• Characters also had crossovers with Wings – which was created by the Cheers producer–writers – and Boston-set St. Elsewhere in a somewhat rare comedy–drama crossover.
• The Scrubs episode "My Life in Four Cameras" makes numerous jokes about Cheers and multiple-camera setup laugh track sitcoms. In addition, the main patient treated was fictional Cheers writer "Charles James", a mixture of Cheers creators James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles. The episode makes repeated comments about these "traditional" sitcoms and ends with the opening notes of the Cheers theme playing while J.D. says "Unfortunately, around here things don't always end as neat and tidy as they do in sitcoms."^[65]

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Bjorklund, Dennis A. (1997). Toasting Cheers: An Episode Guide to the 1982–1993 Comedy Series, with cast biographies and character profiles. McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina. ISBN 978-0-89950-962-4.
• Jones, Gerald (1992). Honey, I'm Home! Sitcoms: Selling the American Dream. New York: Grove Weidenfeld—Grove Press. ISBN 9-780802-113085.
• Wendt, George (2009). Drinking with George. New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 978-1-4391-4958-4.

Further reading

• Andrews, Bart; Blythe, Cheryl (1987). Cheers : the official scrapbook. New York, N.Y.: New American Library. p. 209. ISBN 9780451821607. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
• Carter, Bill (April 29, 1990). "The Tonic That Keeps 'Cheers' Bubbling Along". The New York Times. p. 6.
• Carter, Bill (May 09, 1993). "Why 'Cheers' Proved So Intoxicating". The New York Times. p. 6. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• Fallows, Randall (September 1, 2000). "The Enneagram of Cheers: Where Everybody Knows Your Number". The Journal of Popular Culture. 34 (2): 169–179. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.2000.3402_169.x.
• Hundley, Heather L. (June 1, 1995). "The naturalization of beer in Cheers". Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 39 (3): 350–359. doi:10.1080/08838159509364311.
• "'Cheers' - the TV Series". h2g2. July 4, 2003. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
• Bird, J.B. (2005). "Cheers". In Horace Newcomb (ed.). Encyclopedia of television (2nd ed.). New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 2697. ISBN 1579583946. {{cite book}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
• Snauffer, Douglas (2008). The Show Must Go On: How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3295-0.
• "Cheers". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
• Tom Pendergast, Sara Pendergast, ed. (1999). St. James encyclopedia of popular culture (1st ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: St. James Press. p. 488. ISBN 1558624007.

External links

• Media related to Cheers at Wikimedia Commons
• Cheers at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com
• Cheers at Museum of Broadcasting Communications
• Cheers Boston, an official website of a bar that tributes to and is also a production set of Cheers

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