Cheers (#10)

The place where everybody knows your name cracks the top-10.

We’re back looking at my favorite shows of all time, and we’re going way back to the 1980s for one of my favorite comedies of all time, Cheers.

It’s kind of weird to me that Cheers simultaneously is recognized as being a great show but somehow is completely off the pop culture radar. Other shows were bigger at the time (The Cosby Show, for instance, which - ahem - hasn’t aged well), and shows like Seinfeld are still part of cultural references, etc. Somehow Cheers isn’t quite in that tier but I think it should be. It’s still so, so good.

The show takes place at a bar named - wait for it - Cheers - that is owned by former Red Sox pitcher Sam Malone (Ted Danson), helped by (in the early seasons) Ernie “Coach” Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto), Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) and a new waitress, hired in the first episode, Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). The bar has a few regulars, most notably mailman Cliff Claven (John Ratzenberger) and Norm Peterson (George Wendt).

In later seasons, we meet Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson) and Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammar) who were on the show for over 200 episodes apiece, as well as Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley).

Before getting into the show, it’s worth looking back at that cast and realizing that’s a pretty serious bunch of hitters. (Grammar and Alley have turned into sizeable weirdos OFF screen of late, but that need not concern us here.) With the exception of Colasanto, who died in 1985 after a few seasons (and Harrelson took his job at the bar), everyone else has made a serious career in show business, and not many had notable careers before being cast on the show.

So, let’s raise a glass to Coach, and back up a bit.

Sam owns and runs the bar - he’s a recovering alcoholic and an inveterate womanizer. Diane is an academic - her experience is almost exclusively confined to schools and books, and though she’s not a nasty person, she’s certainly a snob. The other thing - Sam and Diane are obviously attracted to each other physically, even though he’s a jock who (we learn in short order) didn’t even graduate high school and she’s an aforementioned academic who grew up in luxury.

They’re opposites in most ways - but they’re clearly, deeply attracted to each other. The “Sam and Diane” debate about whether they should or shouldn’t get together and what that would do to the show is sort of hilarious in retrospect. Because they kiss in the final episode of … Season ONE and date throughout Season Two. They then breakup, and Diane begins dating psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Grammar), which adds more grist to the mill with Sam and Diane’s relationship. However, the Sam/Diane relationship has since been used as a guide for whether it makes sense for two main characters to consummate a flirtation or not. And rewatching the show, it’s clear they had tremendous chemistry and each played their role fantastically.

I was definitely concerned that the show wouldn’t age well - and certainly, Sam’s rampant womanizing at the start of the show isn’t something that would fly if this show debuted in 2022. But that’s also part of what the show is about - first, the women in the show are throwing them at him, and clearly have agency in the terms of their (brief) relationships. What’s more, Sam realizes there’s something more to life than just the next woman up when he meets Diane. That’s part of Sam’s character arc and it’s fairly integral to the show as it goes on through the seasons.

I also wondered about other themes, so I rewatched some episodes that seemed like they might not look good in todays world. One, “The Boys In The Bar” revolves around an ex-teammate of Sam’s who publishes a book revealing that he is gay. Sam (of course) doesn’t read the book, but offers to host a publicity event for the book launch. When he is told the news about his buddy, Sam is at first uncomfortable, both with the shock that his friend isn’t necessarily the same guy he thought he was, and - pressured by regulars like Cliff and Norm - the ‘concern’ that the bar will turn into a gay bar due to Cheers hosting a publicity event for the book’s release.

I mean, that’s not great. Though, while it’s not ideal (the regulars trick a few gay patrons into thinking the bar closes at 7:00PM to get them to leave, and are fairly openly homophobic), Sam refuses to kick the patrons out, and stands up for his friend and ex-teammate. Plus, Norm and Cliff realize they can’t figure out who are the gay patrons, and at the end discover that two of “the regular Cheers crew” are actually gay. That’s not a lot in today’s world, but in 1983 it wasn’t a slam dunk narrative.

And the show has so, so many great memories for me. I watched this show religiously when it came out, and then in reruns all through college and afterwards. This one is from when Sam decides to get his high school degree, and is joined by Coach. Coach is teaching Sam how he memorizes certain facts. Let the record show that I’ve sung this song an embarassing amount of times.

Here’s a moment that aged poorly in a hilarious way - Woody is getting work as an actor, and he has to pretend to like a healthy drink but can’t - because it’s loaded with kale. Because back then, everyone agreed that kale tasted awful. (Editor’s note: Kale isn’t awful, but it sure isn’t yummy.)

“Mmmm…you can REALLY taste the kale in here!”

Another good moment for me happens when Sam gets a chance to be the sports anchor on a local TV network. (You youngsters who have only lived in an ESPN and CNN world may need to do some research into what “local news” is.) This remains one of the worst raps I’ve ever heard and I definitely think of it any time I hear the phrase “groin injury.”

Cheers was funny because it was about a group of friends who treated each other like family, and whether it was Carla Tortelli overreacting to Yankees fans (and the show truly “gets” sports fans in a way you don’t see often enough on TV), Cliff Claven’s run on Jeopardy (“Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?”), Frasier going on a “snipe hunt” or Norm and his sayings as he enters the bar or talks about his wife Vera, it was always fun. The theme song is an all-timer, and the lyrics are so apt to the show - “You want to go where everybody knows your name.”

Frasier showing off his “snipe call” is pretty funny, even years later.

Cheers was made to last and while any show will age a bit around the ends, it still holds up in a way that is absolutely charming and still very funny. If you’ve somehow missed it, while I sit over here cursing your youth, you should go check it out. All episodes are available on Hulu and undoubtedly elsewhere. It is my 10th favorite show of all time, and for good reason.

If you’re keeping track, here’s the list thus far. Also, you might need a new hobby if you’re keeping track of this list.