Cheers

There aren't very many shows that I deem almost (or absolutely) perfect. 'Cheers' is, by far, definitely one of them. On the top. 'Seinfeld', 'Roseanne', 'Bewitched', 'Frasier'...(Those are just a few of the others that I think are great.)

'Cheers' is the perfect show because it has something for everyone. There are so many different character personalities to chose from in that one, simple bar that you can't NOT have a favorite. I don't think anyone (anyone that's ever watched the show) could say "I don't like it, I don't like any of them!" ...But how could you not? For the people that want an (at least) semi-intellectual character (instead of everyone being a complete moron) they have Frasier, Diane, Lilith. Everyone loves Norm's witty one-liners as he enters the bar. Coach and Woody are goofily funny in their own stupidity. Carla has her crude, sarcastic zingers. Sam and his "little black book." Cliff with his "know-it-all" attitude when in actuality he doesn't know a thing. Rebecca's a great, all-around character...

It also has the backup of being CONSTANTLY funny, some episodes aren't completely boring, then the next, twenty times funnier than the one before (though, I admit, some are absolutely hilarious!) It gets better and better with each year, not old and drawn out, just more jokes! That's why it lasted so long.

So, if any of you read this, look in you're TV guides to see when it's on. After just a few, you'll know and love the characters, and you'll be completely hooked!

The perfect setting for any tv show in my opinion, was this little bar in Boston. After a couple of so so seasons (NBC claims to have left it on because they had nothing else to air) the show really hit its stride in the mid 80s, with the core being the romance between Sam and Diane. But lending a comic hand were Norm, the unemployed accountant, Cliff the know-it-all mailman, Carla the spitfire waitress, Coach the dim-witted bartender (who passed away in the 85 season), Woody the second dim-witted bartender, and in later years Frasier the neurotic shrink. After the 87 season Shelley Long (Diane)left the show to pursue a film career, unsuccessfully. She was replaced, by my personal preference, with Kirstie Alley as Sams love interest and female foil. Too many high points along the years to mention, but top episodes would be the one where Woody and Sam try and kiss Rebecca, any episode dealing with Garys Old Towne Tavern, Rebeccas visiting sister, and maybe the night at the opera episode. ("Get a load of the warheads on that cellist!") Only real downside was the final episode, which didnt really tie up loose ends very well. None of the characters had any real life changes, the bar wasnt sold or destroyed, everyone stayed put, and the overall amount of laughs werent very strong. But there were so many other great moments that a bad send off can easily be overlooked.

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

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.

Cheers - a tv-show you just can't stop watching! Many people dont like the show that much in the beginning, but when you get to know the persons in the bar, you start to understand them and their great humor.

They will become your friends, and you want to go out to Cheers to meet them, and hang out with them. You want to shout "NORM" when he enters the bar. You want to listen to Cliffs theory about why the next president has to be named "Gelnic Mcwava", and you want to listen to Sam telling about his great baseball career. If you need help, you got dr Frasier Crane, if you need someone to cheer you up, you got Diane, if you need a loose, you got Rebecca Howe. IF you want to be yelled at, Carla is there for you, and if you want to listen to funny stories about Indiana, Woody will tell you all about it.

All i can say is that Cheers is the place everybody wanna go, because you are allways welcome the place EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME