Cheers

At it's best Cheers fully deserves it's place as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. Well cast, sharply written and made all the more impressive when you consider that most of the episodes rarely stray from the bar setting.

Cheers fans though are a divided bunch. Some prefer the Coach years, others prefer the Woody years. The Diane or Rebecca dispute is far more controversial.

For me I enjoyed the Diane years more. The chemistry between Shelly Long and Ted Danson was great and their characters on/off relationship gave viewers something extra to invest in whilst watching the antics of the other patrons.

Upon watching the later seasons the standard is far lower though, with weaker plots and the characters far too exaggerated from their original form. It happens with a lot of long running sitcoms I know, but when a Cheers episode was poor, it really was poor.

I forgive and forget the latter years though and celebrate the first five because that for me was when Cheers was well worth drinking to

How on Earth can this only be rated 7.9?! I still watch it to this day and it doesn't bore me. I love these characters and feel like I grew up with them. Interestingly I've noticed over the years that "Friends" borrowed such a lot of episode storylines that it's scary they weren't pulled up for it. Long live the King, long live Sam 'Mayday' Malone!

*Small edit. I see the rating has went down since I wrote the original. It's millennials and Sam's quest for sex. Has to be.

Cheers was one of those shows that had all of the ingredients of being a success from its inception, yet it took a while before it really gained the respect it has over the years. In fact, it was in jeopardy of being canceled after its first season due to low ratings. However, thanks to some smart executives, amazing writers, and a stellar cast, Cheers persevered. The sitcom mainly takes place in a bar and focuses on the daily lives of a variety of colorful characters and the comical situations they create. In a way, it's like watching a slice of what it means to be a citizen in this great country. We are a melting pot of different people, circumstances, beliefs, hang–ups, triumphs, misfortunes, etc., yet when push comes to shove in moments of desperation and/or despair, we work it all out. We work as a team to solve problems and get through each day, whether it be a good one or a day wrought with idiosyncrasies. That's what the patrons in Cheers do. Sure, they have their issues and selfish forays that help define them as individuals, but they're basically good people with good hearts. Everybody commits selfish acts sometimes. This show simply magnifies these types of predicaments for the sake of humor that's all in good fun. It's nice to know there is a place where everyone knows your name that is an extended family of sorts. Sometimes we have to get away from those closest to us just to recharge our batteries. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone could go to a place like Cheers to unwind now and then?

The main ensemble included the cocky–but–likable head bartender, Sam Malone (Ted Danson). I believe Danson was perfectly cast here, and his two Emmy wins are well–deserved. Sam had a love interest on the show for the first five seasons named Diane Chambers (Shelly Long). She was brilliant as the stuffy, neurotic bookworm filled with insecurities and dilemmas that would drive anyone nuts. When Long left the show, Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) took over. She would eventually buy the bar and have her own insecurities to contend with. She had big shoes to fill as Diane was a popular television character. In fact, Long won an Emmy and two Golden Globes for her scene stealing performances. Alley, to her credit, was a terrific replacement because she brought in a distinctive flavor to her character and added a different dimension to the show. She won an Emmy as well. Rhea Perlman played the fiery head waitress, Carla. She could be a bit hard to swallow at times, but she was dead–on in all of her performances and has four Emmy awards to prove it. The rest of the cast included the spacey bartender, Ernie Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto), naive bartender Woody (Woody Harrelson – who replaced The Coach after his death in real life), couch potato, Norm (George Wendt), goofy mailman, Cliff (John Ratzenberger), quirky Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammar – who went on to star in his own very successful spin off show aptly titled Frasier), and Frasier's uptight wife, Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth). All of these diverse characters provided plenty of humorous material and the actors/actresses played them to a tee. It was their top notch performances that propelled this show to a higher level than it already was.

In closing, Cheers offers the viewer the opportunity to escape the rat race world of the major cities (and perhaps the humdrum of small towns??) that we live in where we can enjoy some good conversation, a few laughs, and great company. Feeling welcome is never a bad thing...

A dominant block-buster of a television series that put NBC on top in the ratings race in the 1980s and the network has not looked back since. When "Cheers" first came into homes around the nation in 1982, it was greatly ignored by the viewing public. The Emmy Awards more than anything resurrected a series that had no life after a first season that found the series consistently in the gutter of the Nielsen Ratings. After several big-time awards (including one for Best Comedy Series) "Cheers" sky-rocketed and was almost always a top 5 show and most of the times the number 1 program in America. In modern-day Boston, a small tavern does prove that there are still places where everyone does indeed "know your name". A former baseball player (Ted Danson) owns a bar that caters to many (bar-flies George Wendt and John Ratzenberger, former professional coach Nicholas Colasanto, waitress Rhea Perlman and love interest Shelley Long). Quirky stories, heartwarming moments, heartrending situations and consistent comedy would always follow the key players. As the years passed, the cast changed (Long left the show and was replaced with Kirstie Alley who became the owner and Colasanto passed away in real life and the Woody Harrelson character was created), but the constant was always the show's outstanding group of creative writers and top-notch directors. Psychiatrist Kelsey Grammar (and wife Bebe Neuwirth) would also come along early in the series and just add more color, heart and intelligence to a show that had a surplus of all those elements throughout its 11-year-run. From the emotionally-charged theme song to its smallest of bit players, "Cheers" proved that there could be quality on television and that it could sustain and withstand unfortunate problems with its players in real-life. Monumentally important to the art of television study. A truly outstanding achievement for all involved. 5 stars out of 5.

Not only was this show good enough to run a full eleven seasons, but, over twenty years after the last episode, it still holds up! The topics are still relevant, the dialogue is still funny, and you can still see real-life versions of these scenarios play out in your local favorite watering hole. I've already called out a few Cliff Clavins!

Whereas most shows that start out hot eventually lose their steam and fizzle out, this series changed characters, tweaked plot lines, and kept just enough of its essence true to execute a strong run throughout (I think the show got better when Woody came aboard!). I normally hate sitcoms, but this is one of the best ones I've ever watched. Queue up the complete series on Netflix, and watch every last episode.

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