Overview

Cheers is a US sitcom which was initially aired on NBC. It has eleven seasons and a staggering 275 episodes, which ran between 1982 and 1993. The setting for the show is a bar called Cheers in Boston where locals meet up regularly.

When the show made its debut, it was almost cancelled due to incredibly low ratings. However, it eventually became a top ten show for eight of its seasons, which included a season in the number one slot.

Premise

Cheers chronicles the lives of a group of employees and patrons at a Boston bar over the course of eleven years. The owner is Sam Malone, an alcoholic and former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He is in an on-off relationship with Diane Chambers, who he hired as a waitress.

His other relationship is with Rebecca Howe, who managed the bar for a corporation which bought it from Sam. Many of the patrons are people who bond due to being at similar stages in their lives. Cheers is depicted as their home away from home.

Cast and characters

• Sam Malone – Ted Danson
• Diane Chambers – Shelley Long
• Coach Ernie Pantusso – Nicholas Colasanto
• Carlo Tortelli – Rhea Perlman
• Norm Peterson – George Wendt
• Cliff Clavin – John Ratzenberger
• Frasier Crane – Kelsey Grammer
• Woody Boyd – Woody Harrelson
• Lilith Sternin – Bebe Neuwirth
• Rebecca Howe – Kirstie Alley
• Nick Tortelli – Dan Hedaya
• Loretta Tortelli – Jean Kasem
• Dave Richards – Fred Dyer
• Margaret O’Keefe – Annie Golden
• Andy Shroeder – Derek McGrath
• Eddie LeBec – Jay Thomas
• Robin Colcord – Roger Rees
• Evan Drake – Tom Skerritt
• Esther Clavin – Frances Sternhagen
• Walter Gaines – Richard Doyle
• John Allen Hill – Keene Curtis

Episodes

Here is an extract of the episodes which can be viewed in season one of Cheers:

Season One

Episode One – Give Me a Ring Sometime

Diane and her fiance Sumner Sloane plan to get married in Barbados. When he gets a call from his ex wife, Sumner goes back to her and leaves Diane in the bar. The owner and bartender, Sam, offers her a job as a waitress.

Episode Two – Sam’s Women

Diane makes fun of Sam for flirting with a blonde called Brandee. They argue about Sam’s dating history. Sam blames her for making him unhappy with his serial dating habits.

Episode Three – The Tortelli Tort

Carla is mad with Big Eddie for insulting the Boston Red Sox. She is confronted with a lawsuit which would result in either losing her job or Sam losing the bar. She tries to calm the situation by seeing an anger management counsellor.

Episode Four – Sam at Eleven

Dave Richards expresses interest in interviewing Sam, purely because no-one else is available. He wrecks Sam’s confidence by leaving halfway through when a celebrity’s schedule opens up.

Episode Five – Coach’s Daughter

Lisa, Coach’s Daughter, turns up with her fiancé Roy who is rude. Coach keeps quiet about his attitude, but Roy continues to insult people. Coach tells Lisa in private that she is too good for Roy.

Episode Six – Any Friend of Diane’s

Diane’s friend from university, Rebecca, says she’s dumped her fiancé Elliott as he cheated on her. Feeling desperate, Rebecca sets her sights on Sam. Diane’s efforts to prevent this are unsuccessful.

Episode Seven – Friends, Romans, Accountants

Norm Peterson chooses a toga theme for the annual office party in an effort to placate his boss. However, when he shows up in the costume, nobody else is in the mood, so he is humiliated and disappointed.

Episode Eight – Truce or Consequences

Sam gets involved in a fight between Diane and Carla. He orders them to amend the situation, warning they could lose their jobs. Carla confesses to Diane that one of her children, Gino, is Sams’.

Episode Nine – Coach Returns to Action

Coach is in love with his neighbour Nina, but when she comes to the bar as her apartment is too cold, he lacks the courage to ask her out. Diane and Carla give his confidence a boost just as he’s about to give up.

Episode Ten – Endless Slumper

Sam gives a baseball player his lucky bottle cap to improve his career. Then Sam experiences bad luck as his bartending skills go down the drain. Sam admits to Diane that the cap helped to keep him from falling back into alcoholism.