   #copyright

Cheers

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Television

                          Cheers
                    Cheers Title Screen
         Genre       Sitcom
     Running time    24 minutes
      Creator(s)     James Burrows
                     Glen Charles
                     Les Charles
       Starring      Ted Danson
                     Shelley Long
                     Kirstie Alley
                     Nicholas Colasanto
                     Rhea Perlman
                     John Ratzenberger
                     Woody Harrelson
                     Kelsey Grammer
                     Bebe Neuwirth
                     George Wendt
   Country of origin Flag of United States  United States
   Original channel  NBC
     Original run    September 30, 1982– May 20, 1993
    No. of episodes  273
                       IMDb profile
                      TV.com summary

   Cheers was an American situation comedy produced by
   Charles-Burrows-Charles Productions in association with Paramount
   Television for NBC. Cheers was created by the team of James Burrows,
   Glen Charles, and Les Charles. The show was set in the eponymous Cheers
   bar (itself named for the toast " Cheers") in Boston, Massachusetts,
   where a group of locals met to drink and generally have fun. The show's
   theme song was written and performed by Gary Portnoy with its famous
   refrain, "where everybody knows your name", that also became the show's
   tagline.

   After premiering on September 30, 1982, it was nearly cancelled during
   its first season when it ranked dead last in ratings. However, Cheers
   eventually became a highly rated television show in the United States,
   earning a top-ten rating during eight of its eleven seasons, including
   one season at #1, and spending the bulk of its run on NBC's " Must See
   Thursday" lineup. Its widely watched series finale was broadcast on May
   20, 1993, and the show's 273 episodes have now entered into a long and
   successful syndication run. The show earned 26 Emmy Awards, out of a
   total of 117 nominations. The character Frasier Crane ( Kelsey Grammer)
   was featured in his own successful spin-off, Frasier, after Cheers
   ended.

Cast

   Cheers maintained an ensemble cast, keeping roughly the same set of
   characters for the entire run. Numerous secondary characters and love
   interests for these characters appeared intermittently to complement
   storylines that generally revolve around this core group.

   The table below summarizes the main cast of Cheers.
   Character Actor/Actress Role Other occupation(s)
   "Woody" Boyd Woody Harrelson Assistant Bartender Actor
   Diane Chambers Shelley Long Waitress Writer; graduate student
   Cliff Clavin John Ratzenberger Customer Mailman
   Frasier Crane Kelsey Grammer Customer Psychiatrist
   Rebecca Howe Kirstie Alley Manager/Waitress Businesswoman
   Sam Malone Ted Danson Bartender/Owner Former pitcher for the Boston Red
   Sox
   Ernie "Coach" Pantusso Nicholas Colasanto Assistant Bartender Sam's
   coach
   Norm Peterson George Wendt Customer Accountant; interior decorator;
   house painter
   Lilith Sternin Bebe Neuwirth Customer Psychiatrist
   Carla Tortelli Rhea Perlman Waitress Homemaker

   The character of Sam Malone was originally intended to be a retired
   football player, but after casting Ted Danson it was decided that a
   former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox would be more believable.
   The character of Cliff Clavin was created for John Ratzenberger after
   he auditioned for Cheers. While chatting with producers afterwards, he
   asked if they were going to include a "bar know-it-all", the part which
   he eventually played. Kirstie Alley joined the cast when Shelley Long
   left, and Woody Harrelson joined when Nicholas Colasanto died. Danson,
   George Wendt, and Rhea Perlman were the only actors to appear in every
   episode of the series. Paul Willson, who played the recurring barfly
   character of "Paul", made early appearances in the first season as
   "Glen", was credited as "Gregg", and also appeared in the show as a
   character named "Tom".

Guest stars

   Although Cheers operated largely around that main ensemble cast, guest
   stars did occasionally supplement them. Notable repeat guests included
   Jay Thomas as Eddie LeBec, Dan Hedaya as Nick Tortelli, Jean Kasem as
   Loretta Tortelli, Roger Rees as Robin Colcord, Tom Skerritt as Evan
   Drake, and Harry Anderson as Harry the Hat. Other celebrities guest
   starred in single episodes as themselves throughout the series. Some
   sports figures appeared on the show as former teammates of Sam's from
   the Red Sox such as Luis Tiant and Wade Boggs, while others appeared
   with no connection to Cheers such as Kevin McHale or Mike Ditka. Some
   television stars also made guest appearances such as Johnny Gilbert,
   Alex Trebek, Arsenio Hall, and Johnny Carson. Some political figures
   even made appearances on Cheers such as then- Chairman of the Joint
   Chiefs of Staff Admiral William J. Crowe, former Colorado Senator Gary
   Hart, then-Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, Senator John Kerry, then-
   Governor Michael Dukakis, and then- Mayor of Boston Raymond Flynn (the
   last four of which all represented Cheers' home state and city).
   Musician Harry Connick, Jr. appeared in an episode as Woody's cousin
   and plays a song from his Grammy winning album We Are in Love (c.
   1991). John Cleese won an Emmy for his guest appearance as "Dr. Simon
   Finch-Royce" in a fifth season episode "Simon Says".

Production

   The concept for Cheers was the end result of a long consideration
   process. The original idea was a group of workers who interacted like a
   family, hoping to be similar to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. They
   considered making an American version of the British Fawlty Towers
   centered around a hotel or an inn. When the creators settled on a bar
   as their setting the show began to resemble the radio show Duffy's
   Tavern. They liked the idea of a tavern as it provided a continuous
   stream of new people arriving, giving them a constant supply of
   characters.

   After choosing a plot, the three had to choose a location. Early
   discussions centered around Barstow, California, then Kansas City,
   Missouri. They eventually turned to the East Coast and Boston. The Bull
   & Finch Pub in Boston that Cheers was styled after was originally
   chosen from a phone book. When Glen Charles asked the owner to shoot
   initial exterior and interior shots the owner agreed, charging $1. He
   has since gone on to make millions, licensing the pub's image and
   selling a variety of Cheers memorabilia, making the Bull & Finch the
   42nd busiest outlet in the American food and beverage industry in 1997.
   Coincidentally during Shelley Long's casting (who was in Boston at the
   time filming A Small Circle of Friends) she remarked that the bar in
   the script resembled a bar she had come upon in Boston, which turned
   out to be the Bull & Finch.

   Most Cheers episodes were shot before a live studio audience on
   Paramount Stage 25, generally on Tuesday nights. Scripts for a new
   episode were issued the Wednesday before for a read-through, Friday was
   rehearsal day, and final scripts were issued on Monday. Nearly 100
   crewmembers were involved in the shooting of a single episode. Burrows,
   who directed most episodes, insisted on shooting on film rather than
   videotape. He was also noted for using motion in his directorial style,
   trying to always keep characters moving rather than standing still.

Crew

   The crew of Cheers numbered in the hundreds; as such, this section can
   only provide a brief summary of the many crewmembers for the show. The
   three creators — James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles — stayed
   on throughout the series as executive producers along with Tom Palmer.
   In fact, the two Charles brothers kept offices on Paramount's lot for
   the duration of Cheers run. In the final seasons, however, they handed
   over much of the show to Burrows. Burrows is regarded as being a factor
   in the show's longevity, directing 243 of the episodes and supervising
   the show's production. David Angell was also a part of the crew from
   the start, writing many Cheers episodes. The show was often noted for
   its writing which most credit along with other production factors and
   the ensemble cast for the show's success.

Awards

   Over its eleven-season run, Cheers and its cast and crew earned many
   awards. Cheers earned 117 Emmy nominations, tying the series with ER (
   as of 2006) for the most Emmy nominations for a single series. These
   nominations resulted in a total of 26 Emmy wins. In addition, Cheers
   has earned 31 Golden Globe nominations with a total of 6 wins. All ten
   of the actors who were regulars on the series received Emmy nominations
   for their roles. Cheers won the Golden Globe for "Best TV-Series -
   Comedy/Musical" in 1991 and the Emmy for "Outstanding Comedy Series" in
   1983, 1984, 1989 and 1991. Cheers was presented with the "Legend Award"
   at the 2006 TV Land Awards, with many surviving cast members attending
   the event.

   The following table summarizes awards won by the Cheers cast and crew.
   Winner Award
   Kirstie Alley Emmy, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1991)
   Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series -
   Comedy/Musical (1991)
   Ted Danson Emmy, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (1990, 1993)
   Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series -
   Comedy/Musical (1990, 1991)
   Woody Harrelson Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
   (1989)
   Shelley Long Emmy, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1983)
   Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series -
   Comedy/Musical (1985)
   Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a
   Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (1983)
   Bebe Neuwirth Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
   (1990, 1993)
   Rhea Perlman Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
   (1984, 1985, 1986, 1989)
   Production Awards Emmy, Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series (1983,
   1991)
   Emmy, Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series (1983, 1984)
   Emmy, Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design and Title
   Sequences (1983)
   Emmy, Outstanding Film Editing for a Series (1984)
   Emmy, Outstanding Editing for a Series - Multi-Camera Production (1988,
   1993)
   Emmy, Outstanding Live and Tape Sound Mixing and Sound Effects for a
   Series (1985)
   Emmy, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special (1986,
   1987, 1990)

Plot

   Nearly all of Cheers took place in the front room of the bar, only
   occasionally stepping into the rear pool room or the bar's office. In
   fact, Cheers didn't show any action outside the bar until later into
   the series. Cheers had some running gags, such as Norm arriving in the
   bar greeted by a loud "Norm!" Early episodes generally followed Sam's
   antics with his various women, following a variety of romantic comedy
   clichés to get out of whatever relationship troubles he was in that
   particular episode. As the show progressed and Sam got into more
   serious relationships the general tone switched to comedy on Sam
   settling down into a more monogamous lifestyle. Throughout the series,
   larger story arcs began to develop that spanned multiple episodes or
   seasons interspersed with smaller themes and one-off episodes.

Romance

   The show's main theme in its early seasons was the romance between the
   intellectual waitress Diane Chambers and the ex- baseball pitcher,
   recovering alcoholic, bar owner Sam Malone. In later episodes the focus
   shifted to Sam's new relationship with neurotic corporate climber
   Rebecca. Both romances became important continuing story lines, with
   relationship growth and change. The story arc began with mutual
   detestation but sexual attraction to dating and love, and back to
   detestation. Both relationships featured multi-episode "will they or
   won't they" sexual tension that drew viewers in. While a common theme
   in old romantic comedies, such continuing romantic story lines were
   largely absent from television until Cheers. After Sam and Diane's
   courtship was consummated, the show's popularity grew greatly and
   subsequent TV shows now very commonly have such "will they or won't
   they" tensions between opposites.

Social issues

   Many Cheers scripts centered around or were improved with a variety of
   social issues. As Toasting Cheers puts it:


Cheers

      The script was further strengthened by the writers' boldness in
      successfully tackling controversial issues such as alcoholism,
                       homosexuality, and adultery.


                                                                     Cheers

   Social class was a subtext of the show. The "upper class" - represented
   by characters like Diane Chambers, Frasier Crane, Lilith Sternin and
   (initially) Rebecca Howe — rubbed shoulders with middle and working
   class characters — Sam Malone, Carla Tortelli, Norm Peterson and Cliff
   Clavin. An extreme example of this was the relationship between Woody
   Boyd and millionaire's daughter Kelly Gaines. Many viewers enjoyed
   Cheers in part because of this focus on character development in
   addition to plot development.

   Feminism and the role of women were also recurring themes throughout
   the show, with some seeing each of the major female characters as a
   flawed feminist in her own way. Diane was a very vocal feminist, but
   Sam was the epitome of everything she hated: a womanizer and a male
   chauvinist. Their relationship led Diane to several diatribes on Sam's
   promiscuity, while Carla merely insulted people. Carla was respected
   because of her power, while Diane was ignored as she commanded little
   respect. Finally, Rebecca was a stereotypical ambitious and golddigging
   woman, seeking relationships with her superiors at the Lillian
   Corporation, most notably, Robin Colcord, to gain promotions or raises.
   However, she encountered a glass ceiling and ended the show by marrying
   a plumber rather than one of the rich businessmen she originally
   flirted with.

   Homosexuality was dealt with from the very first season, a rare move
   for American network television in the early 1980s. In the first season
   episode "The Boys In The Bar" (after the 1970s film The Boys in the
   Band) a college friend and teammate of Sam's comes out in his
   autobiography. Some of the male regulars pressure Sam to take action to
   ensure that Cheers does not became a gay bar. The episode won a GLAAD
   Media Award, and the script's writers, Ken Levine & David Isaacs, were
   nominated for an Emmy Award for their writing. Harvey Fierstein would
   later appear in the 1990s as "Mark Newberger", Rebecca's old high
   school sweetheart who is gay. Finally, the finale episode included a
   gay man who gets into trouble with his boyfriend (played by Anthony
   Heald) after agreeing to pose as Diane's husband.

   Addiction also plays a role in Cheers, almost exclusively through Sam,
   although some critics believed the issue was never really developed.
   Sam was a recovering alcoholic who ended up buying a bar after his
   baseball career was ruined by his drinking. Frasier also has a notable
   bout of drinking in the fourth season episode "The Triangle", although
   Sam is the primary alcoholic figure on the show. Some critics believe
   Sam was a generally addictive personality who had largely conquered his
   alcoholism but was still a sexual addict, shown through his womanizing.
   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Cheers owners

   Cheers obviously had several owners before Sam, as the bar was opened
   in 1889 (The "Est. 1895" on the bar's sign is a made-up date chosen by
   Carla for numerological purposes as revealed in the 8th season episode
   "The Stork Brings a Crane"). In the second episode, "Sam's Women", Norm
   tells a customer looking for the owner of Cheers that the man he
   thought was the owner has been replaced, and his replacement replaced
   by Sam.

   The biggest storyline surrounding the ownership of Cheers begins in the
   fifth season finale, "I Do, Adieu", when Sam and Diane part ways,
   Shelley Long leaves the regular cast, and Sam leaves to attempt
   circumnavigating the Earth. Before he leaves, Sam sells Cheers to the
   fictional Lillian Corporation. Sam returns in the sixth season
   premiere, "Home is the Sailor", having sunk his boat, to find the bar
   under the new management of Rebecca Howe. He begs for his job back and
   is hired by Rebecca as a bartender. Throughout the sixth season, Sam
   tries a variety of schemes to buy back Cheers. This plot largely comes
   to an end in the seventh season premiere, "How to Recede in Business",
   when Rebecca is fired and Sam is promoted to manager. Rebecca is
   allowed to keep a job at Lillian vaguely similar to what she had
   before, but only after Sam had Rebecca "agree" ( in absentia) to a long
   list of demands that the corporation had for her (e.g. returning to
   graduate school and taking on the task of waitress if the bar became
   too busy).

   From there Sam would occasionally attempt to buy the bar back with
   schemes that usually involved wealthy executive Robin Colcord. Cheers
   did eventually end up back in Sam's hands in the eighth season finale,
   when it was sold back to him for eighty-seven cents by the Lillian
   Corporation after he alerted the company of Colcord's embezzlement.
   Rebecca earns back a waitress/hostess job from Sam.

Other recurring themes

   Aside from the storylines that spanned across the series, Cheers had
   several themes that followed no storylines but that recurred throughout
   the series. There was a heated rivalry between Cheers and the rival
   bar, Gary's Olde Towne Tavern, owned, as the name suggests, by a man
   named Gary. One episode of every season depicted some wager between Sam
   and Gary, which resulted in either a sports competition or a battle of
   wits that devolved into complex practical jokes. Aside from the very
   first and very last "Bar Wars" episodes, the Cheers gang always lost to
   Gary's superior ingenuity. Sam also had a long-running feud with the
   management of the upscale restaurant situated directly above the bar,
   Melville's. The restaurant's management found the bar's clientele
   decidedly uncouth, while Sam regarded the restaurant as snobbish. This
   conflict escalated in later seasons, when Melville's came under the
   ownership of John Allen Hill ( Keene Curtis), and it emerged that Sam
   did not technically own the bar's poolroom and bathrooms. Sam
   subsequently was forced to pay rent for them and often found himself at
   the mercy of Hill's tyranny.

   Norm Peterson continually searched for gainful employment as an
   accountant but spent most of the series unemployed, thereby explaining
   his constant presence in Cheers at the same stool. The face of his
   wife, Vera, was never fully seen onscreen, despite a few fleeting
   appearances and a couple of vocal cameos. Cliff Clavin seemed unable to
   shake the constant presence of his mother, Esther Clavin ( Frances
   Sternhagen). Though she did not appear in every episode, he would refer
   to her quite often, mostly as both an emotional burden and a smothering
   parent.

   Carla Tortelli carried a reputation of being both extremely fertile and
   matrimonially inept. The last husband she had on the show, Eddie LeBec,
   was a washed-up ice hockey goaltender who ended up dying in an ice show
   accident. Carla later discovered that Eddie had cheated on her,
   marrying another woman after impregnating her. Carla's sleazy first
   husband, Nick Tortelli, also made frequent appearances, mostly to
   torment Carla with a new custody battle or legal scam that grew out of
   their divorce. Carla's eight kids were also notoriously ill-behaved.
   Spoilers end here.

Critical reactions

   Cheers was critically acclaimed even in its first season, though it
   landed a disappointing 74th in the ratings that year. This critical
   support, coupled with early success at the Emmys and the support of the
   president of NBC's entertainment division Brandon Tartikoff, is thought
   to be the main reason for the show's survival and eventual success. The
   cast themselves went across the country on various talk shows to try
   and further promote the series after its first season. When NBC
   discovered Family Ties and The Cosby Show and placed them both on
   Thursday night with Cheers' second season, the show's audience expanded
   (starting what NBC would go on to call " Must See Thursday"). By its
   final season Cheers had a run of eight consecutive seasons in the Top
   Ten of the Nielsen ratings. Critics have a variety of opinions on
   addiction in Cheers ( see above). Some critics now use Frasier and
   Cheers as a model of a successful spin-off for a character from an
   already successful series to compare to modern spin-offs, such as Joey
   from Friends.

   NBC dedicated a whole night to the final episode of Cheers. The show
   began with a "pregame" show hosted by Bob Costas, followed by the final
   98-minute episode itself. Local news then aired tributes to Cheers, and
   the night concluded with a special Tonight Show broadcast live from the
   Bull & Finch Pub. Some critics disliked the finale for the sudden
   reentry of Shelley Long which they felt was flawed, the odd length of
   the episode, Leno's monologue, and a seemingly uninterested (and, as
   they would later sheepishly admit, drunk) Cheers cast that resorted to
   spitball fights much to Leno's dismay. Although the episode fell short
   of its hyped ratings predictions to become the most-watched television
   episode, it was the most watched show that year and ranked 11th all
   time in entertainment programming. The episode originally aired in the
   usual Cheers spot of Thursday night and was then rebroadcast on Sunday.
   Some estimate that while the original broadcast did not outperform the
   M*A*S*H finale, the combined non-repeating audiences for the Thursday
   and Sunday showings did. Toasting Cheers also notes that television had
   greatly changed between the M*A*S*H and Cheers finales, leaving Cheers
   with a broader array of competition for ratings.

Spin-offs and crossovers

   Some of the actors and actresses from Cheers brought their characters
   into other television shows, either in a guest appearance or in a new
   spin-off. The most successful Cheers spin-off was the show Frasier
   which directly followed Frasier Crane after moving back to Seattle,
   Washington, where he lived with his family and hosted a call-in radio
   show. Ironically, Frasier was originally supposed to be a small
   disliked character who only existed to further Diane and Sam's
   relationship, but Grammer's acting turned what were supposed to be
   unfunny lines into comedy the audience enjoyed. Sam, Diane, and Woody
   all had individual crossover appearances on Frasier where they came to
   visit Frasier, and his ex-wife Lilith remained a constant supporting
   character throughout Frasier. Cliff, Norm, Carla, and two of Cheers'
   regular background barflies Paul and Phil had a crossover together in
   the Frasier episode "Cheerful Goodbyes". In the episode Frasier, on a
   trip to Boston, meets the Cheers gang and Cliff thinks Frasier has
   flown out for his (Cliff's) retirement party, which Frasier ends up
   attending. Frasier was on the air as long as Cheers, going off the air
   in 2004 after an eleven-season run. Although Frasier was the most
   successful spin-off, The Tortellis was the first series to spin-off
   from Cheers, premiering in 1987. The show featured Carla's husband Nick
   Tortelli and his wife Loretta, but was cancelled after 13 episodes and
   drew protests for its stereotypical depictions of Italian Americans.

   In addition to direct spin-offs, several Cheers characters had guest
   appearance crossovers with other shows. In The Simpsons episode " Fear
   of Flying", Homer stumbles into a Cheers-like bar after being kicked
   out of Moe's. Most of the central cast appears in the episode,
   including Frasier. Ironically Frasier does not speak (so Grammer is not
   in the episode) even though Grammer was the only actor from Cheers with
   an already recurring role on The Simpsons (he voiced the recurring
   character Sideshow Bob). The tagline for Moe's Tavern "Where nobody
   knows your name" is also a reference to Cheers. Characters also had
   crossovers with Wings—which was created by Cheers producers/writers—and
   St. Elsewhere in a somewhat rare comedy-drama crossover. The Star Trek:
   Deep Space Nine character Morn, who remained mostly at Quark's Bar, is
   named (as an anagram) for Norm Peterson.

   The Scrubs episode "My Life in Four Cameras" makes numerous jokes about
   Cheers and multicamera setup laugh track sitcoms. Scrubs is notable for
   using a single camera setup, no laugh track, and not being filmed
   before a live audience. Cheers had all three and a dream sequence in
   "My Life in Four Cameras" was shot with all three also. In addition,
   the main patient treated was fictional Cheers writer "Charles James", a
   mixture of Cheers three creators James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les
   Charles. The episode makes repeated comments about these "traditional"
   sitcoms and ends with the opening bars of Cheers theme playing with the
   quote "Unfortunately, around here things don't always end as neat and
   tidy as they do in sitcoms."

   The bar from Cheers and its patrons were also featured in a scene in
   the Wonderful World of Disney TV special Mickey's 60th Birthday.

Syndication and home video

   Cheers grew in popularity as it aired on American television and
   entered into syndication. When the show went off the air in 1993,
   Cheers was syndicated in 38 countries with 179 American television
   markets and 83 million viewers. Then, after going off the air, Cheers
   entered a long, successful, and continuing syndication run on Nick at
   Nite. While the quality of some earlier footage of Cheers had begun to
   degrade, it underwent a careful restoration in 2001 due to its
   continued success. Notably, a Cheers rerun replaced Australia's
   Naughtiest Home Videos on Australia's Nine Network. The latter was
   cancelled mid-episode on its only broadcast by Kerry Packer, who pulled
   the plug after a phone call. Cheers was aired by NCRV in the
   Netherlands. After the last episode, NCRV simply began re-airing the
   series, and then again, thus airing the show three times in a row,
   showing an episode nightly.

DVD releases

   Paramount Home Entertainment began to release individual seasons of
   Cheers on DVD with the first season during 2003, around the world, and
   the eighth season most recently released on June 13, 2006 in the Region
   1 market.

                                  DVD Name

                                Release dates

                                  Region 1

                                  Region 2

   The Complete 1^st Season May 20, 2003 November 24, 2003
   The Complete 2^nd Season January 6, 2004 June 7, 2004
   The Complete 3^rd Season May 25, 2004 September 6, 2004
   The Complete 4^th Season February 1, 2005 July 18, 2005
   The Complete 5^th Season June 7, 2005 November 13, 2006 (TBA)
   The Complete 6^th Season September 13, 2005 N/A
   The Complete 7^th Season November 15, 2005 N/A
   The Complete 8^th Season June 13, 2006 N/A
   The Complete 9^th Season TBA 2006 N/A
   The Complete 10^th Season TBA 2006 N/A
   The Complete 11^th Season TBA 2007 N/A

Post-Cheers

   Cheers was a successful enough show to launch the careers of several
   young actors. Grammer was arguably the most successful with his
   spin-off Frasier, which lasted for the same eleven-season run Cheers
   had. By the final season of Frasier, Grammer had become the highest
   paid actor on television, earning about $1.6 million an episode.
   Harrelson has also had a successful career following Cheers, including
   appearances in a number of notable films that have established him as a
   box-office draw. He also earned an Academy Award nomination in 1997 for
   The People vs. Larry Flynt. Danson, who had been the highest paid
   Cheers cast member earning $450,000 an episode in the final season, has
   starred in the successful sitcom Becker as well as the unsuccessful
   sitcom "Ink," but has had few starring film roles, including a cameo in
   the 1998 Steven Spielberg film Saving Private Ryan. Ratzenberger has
   voice acted in all of Pixar's computer-animated feature films and
   currently hosts the Travel Channel show Made in America. On Made in
   America he travels around the U.S. showing the stories of small towns
   and the goods they produce. Coincidentally, Ted Danson starred in a
   film also called Made in America. Bebe Neuwirth has gone on to star in
   numerous Broadway musicals, earning two Tony Awards for her work. She
   also did voice work for All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 and All Dogs Go To
   Heaven the TV series. Kirstie Alley starred in the TV series Veronica's
   Closet as well as numerous miniseries and film roles. Although some
   believe Shelley Long leaving the show was a bad career move, she has
   gone on to star in several television and film roles, notably The Brady
   Bunch Movie and its sequel.

   In addition to continuing careers after Cheers, some of the cast
   members have had personal problems. In 2004 Shelley Long grew depressed
   after divorcing her husband of 23 years and appears to have attempted
   suicide by overdosing on drugs. Kirstie Alley gained a significant
   amount of weight after Cheers, which somewhat affected her career. She
   went on to write and star in a sitcom partly based on her life and
   weight gain, Fat Actress. She has recently become a spokeswoman for
   Jenny Craig.

   The Host Marriott Corporation installed 46 bars modeled after Cheers in
   their hotel and airport lounges. Paramount Pictures licensed the
   characters and details of the show, allowing the bars to have fake
   memorabilia such as Sam Malone's supposed jersey while playing for the
   Red Sox. Among the details Marriott included were two robots, "Bob" and
   "Hank", one of which was heavy (resembling Norm Peterson), with the
   other wearing a postal uniform ( Cliff Clavin).

   Ratzenberger and Wendt filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against Paramount
   in 1993 (around the time that Viacom purchased Paramount), claiming
   that the company was illegally licensing and earning off their images
   without their permission. Ratzenberger and Wendt claimed that Paramount
   could not earn off of their images simply because the robots are
   dressed like the characters Paramount still holds rights over. The case
   was dismissed by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in 1996, though a
   federal judge reinstated the case in the Los Angeles court. Paramount
   tried to bring the case before the Supreme Court of the United States,
   but the court refused to hear the case, instead merely reaffirming the
   ruling to reinstate the case in the Superior Court. Some believe the
   case could have had significant implications in Hollywood, as its
   outcome would have determined whether rights over a character imply
   rights to reproduce the actor's image with or without his or her
   permission, so long as the image is of the actor as the character.
   However, Paramount settled with the two before the suit was ruled on.

   In addition to the characters, the Cheers opening sequence and theme
   song has become iconic. Because of this, the sequence is a common
   target for parody, such as on The Simpsons' episode " Flaming Moe's".

Outside the bar

   The first year of the show took place entirely within the confines of
   the bar - the first location outside the bar ever seen was Diane's
   apartment. When the series became a hit, the characters started
   venturing further afield, first to other sets and eventually to an
   occasional exterior location. The exterior location shots of the bar
   were actually of the Bull & Finch Pub, north of Boston Common, which
   has become a tourist attraction because of its association with the
   series and draws in nearly a million visitors annually. It has since
   been renamed Cheers Beacon Hill, though its interior is different from
   the TV bar. To further capitalize on the show's popularity, another
   bar, Cheers Faneuil Hall, was built to be a replica of the show's set
   to provide tourists with a bar whose interior was closer to the one
   they saw on TV. It is near Faneuil Hall, about a mile from the Bull &
   Finch Pub. In 1997 Europe's first officially licensed Cheers bar opened
   in London's Regent's Street W1. Like Cheers Faneuil Hall, Cheers London
   is an exact replica of the set. The gala opening was attended by James
   Burrows and cast members George Wendt and John Ratzenberger. The actual
   bar set is now on permanent display at the Hollywood Entertainment
   Museum.

Episodes

     * List of Cheers episodes

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheers"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
