September 30th will mark the 30th anniversary of the airing of the very first episode of one of television’s greatest shows, Cheers. Now I can’t imagine anyone not being familiar (read: in love) with this show, but perhaps there are those Millennial MamaPoppers amongst us who had not yet arrived on this planet or weren’t old enough to appreciate the show when it was really cooking. To them, I offer a quick thumbnail synopsis along with a stern directive to get thee to the internet and stream, baby, stream! (Or kick it Gen-X style and take in an episode on your town’s version of my town’s Channel 64 at 1:30 in the morning when you can’t sleep because you had a Diet Coke with dinner. You’ll get old too, Mr. Ironic Glasses & Skinny Jeans. There is no escape.)
Ahh…1982. You gave us Cheers, Thriller, and the first Toyota Camry. Solid year.
Synopsis: Cheers is the best sitcom ever. Boom. This concludes the synopsis. But as a frame of reference, again, for those who are unlucky enough to have never seen an episode, picture that show Two and a Half Men. Now imagine if an episode of that show was even remotely funny and didn’t insult your intelligence. Now multiply that by a billion and what you’ll get is exactly one light year away from coming close to the worst episode of Cheers. Oh, and guess what? You won’t find a worst episode of Cheers so…
“Dumb, dumb, dumb, da-DUMB, DA-dumb, dumb, dumb!”
What a premise : set a show in a bar run by a retired baseball player cum matinee idol. Give him a “will they or won’t they” sparing partner (or two), and pepper the rest of the place with recognizable, Everyperson characters. Make sure the dialogue never talks down to the audience, but remains funny and timeless. And (now this is the lucky part, to be sure) make certain every actor cast is perfect for their role. Voila – classic television.
“It’s a dog-eat-dog world and I’m wearing Milk Bone underwear.” – N. Peterson
Cheers is comfort food. It’s that go-to meal that you know will never disappoint. I can watch any episode and still genuinely laugh even though I know what joke is coming. I imagine it’s the same with a lot of you. Do you have a favorite episode or moment from the show? Who’s your favorite character? I’ll start! Over the years, I think Woody Boyd has become my favorite just because of how well Woody Harrelson portrayed him. He never made him a dumb hick caricature, but rather just played him honestly and simply. You never see him “act”, if that makes sense, and I find that amazing.
The pride of Hanover, Indiana.
We all know that making your way in the world today takes everything you got. (You had to know this was coming at some point, right?) So let’s just take a break from all our worries and share some of our favorite moments, memories, and denizens from Cheers. That sure would help a lot.
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