When I picked up Alan Sepinwall's TV book, in which he ranked the top 100 shows of all time, I expected to see The Wire, Breaking Bad, The Simpsons, and The Sopranos in the top five.
I did not expect to see Cheers.
I was born in the mid-80s, and as a friend of mine put it, Cheers is that show that you had to wait for to end so you could watch Full House or whatever else was going to come on afterwards. It's a show that has been regarded as a classic, along the lines of stuff like All in the Family, The Cosby Show, Happy Days, etc. In other words, it has always felt to me like pure Nick at Nite fodder, the kind of show that you might expect to enjoy somewhat if you watch it, but nothing over-the-top great.
Then, I read that damn book.
If two reputable TV critics are going to throw Cheers up there with four of the very best shows I've ever had the pleasure of watching, then I simply had to check it out. As of this writing, I'm in the middle of Season Five of Cheers, and intend to continue to plow through until the end. I was a skeptic because it was set in the 80's, and ugh, old TV must be bad! I was a skeptic because it was a sitcom. I was a skeptic because of the main Season One cast, I had never heard of any of them except Rhea Perlman, whom I actually mistook for Frau from the Austin Powers series. That's right, I've seriously never heard of Ted Danson before late 2017.
And well, yeah, it's sort of an imperfect show. There's occasional episodes where the plot is actually pretty uninteresting. There's total flops that distort the characters into ridiculous caricatures of themselves. In particular, the Halloween episode in which Cliff extremely awkwardly courts a similarly extremely awkward woman was hard to watch, because people that bad at speaking to people of the opposite sex legitimately don't exist. Many of the plots can be of low emotional stakes, Diane is occasionally written to be unrealistically (and annoyingly) weird/artsy, and sometimes the dialogue can be so mean-spirited without redemption that it's fair to wonder whether the show even likes some of its own characters. Specifically, I've wondered that quite a bit about Cliff, until the Season Five episode ""House of Horrors with Formal Dining and Used Brick", which presents what is by my count as the first positive interaction between Cliff and Carla after years of nothing but one-sided verbal abuse.
That's about where the negatives end. I'm only halfway through, but I'm acutely aware that I'm watching what is one of the best sitcoms of all time -- possibly the best.
As a sitcom, the discussion begins with the quality of the comedy, and even though it's been off the air for 25 years, the wit is still extremely sharp. A running gag like Carla picking on Diane has the potential to become tired fast. Instead, thanks to the writing and the acting, I find myself eagerly anticipating those lines when they're set up. The humor is simple, but executed far better than what you'd remember from any of the beloved 90's sitcoms. Cheers is similar to any show that goes for this form of comedy, but it takes the formula to perfection.
Since I've consumed more than four seasons of this show, there's almost too much to talk about. I was a big fan of Harry "The Hat", the con artist that kept returning to screw the Cheers gang out of their cash and possessions. The old guy who sits at the rear of the bar and delivers one-liners a couple times per season is a nice repeat gag. Carla's ex-husband Nick always provides great material for an episode here or there as well.
Norm Peterson, the accountant barfly, is one of the best sitcom characters I've ever seen. Every time he enters the bar, the staff and customers greet him with a resounding, "NORM!" (while Diane says a more polished "Norman"). There were a few moments in the middle of Season Three in which I thought the gag was waning, and they would say his name less enthusiastically. When the "NORM!" was less fervent, I actually got a little sad watching the show, because I love that gimmick. Cheers is all about a place where one feels happy, comfortable, and among friends. That Cheers was actually able to make me feel a little down when they wouldn't yell a sitcom character's name all that loud is a testament to the sense of community that they've created in that bar. The viewer feels it too.
Back on Norm, one of the strongest episodes was in Season Four, when Norm is up for a promotion against a co-worker, whose wife has been sleeping with the boss (who must make the decision as to who will be promoted). Norm becomes very tempted to use the information, even more so after it's revealed that he doesn't get the job and that the reason is because the executives' wives don't get along with his wife, Vera. Still, despite being a noticeably flawed man, Norm passes the trial of character and keeps the rumor to himself. It's one of several times that he's tested during the first four seasons and he usually finds himself on the right side of morality. Norm can be gruff, insulting, rude, and something of an absent husband, but Cheers makes him one of the two most likable characters anyway because of great writing and George Wendt's outstanding performance.
The other of the show's most likable characters? That'd be the lead, Sam Malone (Danson). The character is drawn and played perfectly by Danson. He's a total ladies man who, despite his many relations with beautiful women, is fighting himself over his attraction to the brainy, often grating Diane. Sam is often portrayed as unintelligent, but it's clear he has a good heart and that he's there for his friends. It's obvious how much he loves his bar without him ever having to come out and say it. His charisma and wit often carries the show, and the will-they-won't-they relationship he has with Diane is often at its heart (and inspires many subsequent TV shows). Sam is treated like a hero by the bar's patrons and Carla. Despite Diane's highlighting of his issues, he sort of feels like one to the viewer, too (albeit for different reasons).
Cheers had to deal with a tragedy early on in its run, as Nicholas Colasanto's (the actor portraying Sam's bartender, "Coach") health began to fade during Season Three and the actor sadly passed away. On screen, Colasanto was very endearing as Coach Ernie Pantusso, and even though most of the comedy was in the form of him misunderstanding things, Cheers was often able to elevate that somewhat mundane comedic formula to something consistently entertaining. Even better, when the show turned to Woody Harrelson's Woody Boyd to take Coach's place in Season Four, they didn't miss a beat, as Woody's rural-kid-in-the-big-city act has provided a natural replacement as the resident character who doesn't quite get what everyone else is saying.
There are a ton of episodes of Cheers and picking this up shortly after having my second daughter has ensured that this project won't end anytime soon, but I can't wait to see what the show's back half has to offer. It's a truly wonderful show that is rightfully considered a timeless classic.
Seasons One Through Four Grade: A
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