Series cast summary: | |||
Ted Danson | ... | Sam Malone / ... 271 episodes, 1982-1993 | |
Rhea Perlman | ... | Carla Tortelli / ... 271 episodes, 1982-1993 | |
John Ratzenberger | ... | Cliff Clavin / ... 271 episodes, 1982-1993 | |
George Wendt | ... | Norm Peterson / ... 271 episodes, 1982-1993 | |
Kelsey Grammer | ... | Dr. Frasier Crane / ... 202 episodes, 1984-1993 | |
Woody Harrelson | ... | Woody Boyd / ... 201 episodes, 1985-1993 | |
Kirstie Alley | ... | Rebecca Howe / ... 149 episodes, 1987-1993 | |
Philip Perlman | ... | Phil 21 episodes, 1986-1993 | |
Shelley Long | ... | Diane Chambers / ... 124 episodes, 1982-1993 | |
The lives of the disparate group of employees and patrons at a Boston watering hole called "Cheers" over eleven years is presented. Over much of this period, Sam Malone (Ted Danson), a womanizing ex-Boston Red Sox pitcher and an alcoholic, owns the bar, its purchase and this life, which was his salvation from his alcoholism, which was largely the cause of the end of his baseball career. He ends up having a love-hate relationship with intellectual Diane Chambers (Shelley Long), who he hired as a waitress and whose cultured mentality is foreign to anyone else in the bar. He also has an evolving relationship with Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley), who managed the bar for the Lily Corporation, which bought it from Sam, but whose outward business savvy belied the fact that she was a mess of a woman who was struggling to find her place in life. The regular patrons are largely a bunch of self-identified losers, who bond because of their shared place in life, and because "Cheers" is their home ... Written by Huggo
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.