CHEERS:
-So about six years ago, I figured I'd see how some of my 2e TV Show builds would convert into 3rd Edition- human-level Bystanders are a bit funny in a Comic Book RPG system.
Cheers debuted in 1982, and famously had the worst ratings imaginable during its first season. I mean, they were literally SEVENTY-FOURTH out of seventy-five among every major network- the kind of thing that would be instant cancellatoin to a TV series even ten years later. This has been frequently given as an important lesson to overzealous TV networks that callously cut down nascent TV series after only a few weeks, simply because an audience hasn't found them yet. This process (which has killed COUNTLESS shows before their time, and even resulted in a few fairly popular shows dying after only a season or two, to great outrage from their loyal fans) has actually died down in recent years, as some major networks, notably NBC and FOX, now struggle like dogs for ANY kind of ratings success, and will actually hold on to a failing property for YEARS just because. The lesson of something like
Family Guy (cancelled for crappy ratings, only to be brought back to MASSIVE numbers a few years later) seems to have not fallen on deaf ears. This is the reason by
The Mindy Project, with PATHETIC numbers, stayed on the air for years, and
Parks and Recreation, with barely more than 5 million viewers (sounds like a lot; it isn't. The show is really not that popular) a week, also lasted an eternity.
Cheers mainly survived because network heads liked it, in spite of the ratings. I recommend
Ken Levine's Blog for lots of information about how TV works, and how network executives think- he's a TV writer who's worked on
M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier, Wings and more, and has a TON of fascinating stories about television. He talks about how many hoops actors have to go through for a role (auditions, showrunners checking them out, network execs getting their say, test screenings, etc.- many a career has been shot down because an exec had a negative reaction to one potential star, or decided that their OWN pet project deserved to be in the show instead)- you can find other books about this kind of thing, as well (
Top of the Rock is a good little book discussing the rise and fall of NBC).
Cheers, notably, had THREE potential pairings for the leads, based off of their chemistry. NBC wanted Fred Dryer for Sam, the "Charming Ex-Jock", and he WAS a charming Ex-Jock, but the writers desperately wanted Ted Danson (who was DEFINITELY not a jock) and Shelley Long thanks to their chemistry, and the execs actually heeded the advice of their writers (they would do this again and again, including putting an unknown named Kelsey Grammer onto the series, despite a hesitant executive board). I mean, think of how many things we all remember would be COMPLETELY DIFFERENT had they gone a certain way because an exec thought he knew better than the people actually writing the show.
Cheers' ratings increased as viewers found the show during Summer Repeats (I mean, they'd already SEEN the shows it was up against), and fell in love with the "Sam & Diane" plotline. And it ended up becoming one of the most popular shows in television history, and is still one of the most beloved TV series of all time- people LOVED this show, and desperately wanted a place "Where everyone knows your name" (and is there a better TV show theme, EVER?). There was a palpable sense that you'd LOVE to hang out with this group of miserable bastards. The "Sam & Diane" relationship became the standard by which all other TV hook-ups are measured- the intellectual know-it-all Diane and the charming bad-boy Sam had a GREAT, long-lasting flirtation that ended up going up and down over the years, leaving people enraptured with the "Will They Or Won't They?" stuff- until "Ross & Rachel", THIS was TV's most-famous relationship. The ovation they received when they FINALLY kissed was noted by one of the writers as a moment that they'll never equal.
The Sam & Diane Saga added a surprising kink in the third season, introducing a stick-in-the-mud snob who ended up getting a regular role thanks to the writers and fans loving Kelsey Grammer's work as Frasier Crane, who has a whirlwind romance with Diane, but is left at the altar and soon becomes a regular bar patron, contrasting the blue-collar characters already there. The show survived not only the death of beloved side character Coach, but DIANE leaving the show (Shelley Long wanted a movie career)- since she & Sam had kind of stalled anyways, the writers took the chance to create a new foil for Sam in Kirstie Alley's Rebecca. There is still debate from fans as to which version of the show is better, but as a college student watching the show for the first time (in re-runs circa 2000), I found them equally-good. Most fans now lead towards the former. When the show ended, the ratings for the finale hit an astonishing NINETY-THREE MILLION VIEWERS, and was news all over America. Sadly, I haven't seen the show probably SINCE then, as it's now off the repeat schedule from what I can see (and I don't have Netflix or any of that), which is too bad- I was kind of looking forward to checking it out again after reading Levine's Blog posts about it.
After eleven seasons,
Cheers was cancelled when Ted Danson decided that he had to do something else with his life (Whoopi Goldberg, his girlfriend at the time, had urged him to do so, feeling that he was kind of stagnating), and Woody Harrelson refused to continue on without him (an initial plan was for Woody to run the bar). And so, it ended in 1993, to huge acclaim. And the universe would continue on for ANOTHER eleven years, with Frasier himself getting a successful spin-off.
The Cast of Characters:
Sam Malone- An ex-alcoholic and failed baseball pitcher. An incorrigible ladies man, and more clever than he looks.
Diane Chambers- A snooty brainiac forced to work as a waitress to pay the bills after her man abandons her. Immediately has chemistry with, and disgust for, Sammy.
Carla Tortelli- A rude, obnoxious, experienced waitress with a truly Catholic fertility.
Coach- Sam's old Coach, and possibly the dumbest, most clueless guy on Earth. The heart of the show.
Norm- The bar's best, and most regular customer. Bitches about his wife and drinks. CONSTANTLY.
Cliff Clayvin- A loser know-it-all who regales everyone with useless, and often false, information.
Frasier Crane- Diane's fiancee for several episodes, and ends up sticking around even after their break-up. Has an even larger stick up his ass than Diane, making him a great comic foil.
Woody Boyd- A dumb, naiive farmboy who replaces Coach.
Dr. Lilith Sternin- Frasier's girlfriend and later wife. May possess no emotions. Animals fear her.
Rebecca Howe- A modern '80s Businesswoman archetype who is not as together as she seems.
-All in all, it's a pretty sizeable cast for a sitcom, as all but Lilith were basically in every episode during their runs, with Coach & Diane being replaced by Woody & Rebecca. For the first season, they never left the bar, but this would eventually shift to a few scenes in their homes. But still, almost every single episode revolved around late night antics at the bar (which was based off of Boston's Bull & Finch Pub, now renamed "Cheers"). Hell, often they never even left the MAIN ROOM of the place! You barely ever saw the back room with the pool tables and dartboards, though Sam's Office was a regular hideaway. Humorously, when they did "Hanging around outside" episodes writers would ask "WHO'S WATCHING THE BAR?!" as this place actually had way fewer employees than a bar would in reality.
This is probably one of the most perfect shows in TV history- some of the gags are SO SMART, and the antagonistic relationships between the characters is written so well... this was absolutely the apex of what a sitcom is capable of (and to think, the sitcom was feared DEAD in the early '80s until
The Cosby Show freshened it up again). Not only is it freaking hilarious, but the characters are lovable AND the show is still capable of hitting you with an emotional tidal wave whenever it needs to (GOD, that scene where Diane mourns her pet cat- it will hit you like a truck if you've ever lost a pet, especially if you were away when it happened)- a rare thing in a show. It comes across as schmaltzy if done too often or too poorly, but here we were in good hands. And it was notably a show about Working Class people, yet also featured the "Upper Class", and it played really well to see them bounce off of each other- since writers are often a bit on the intellectual side, it would have been easy to turn Sam & Co. into a bunch of Homer Simpsons, but they were sharp enough to fight back, and the upperclassmen were frequently made to look foolish and clueless at the same time.
Ken Levine lists a bunch of Pet Peeves and quirky things on the show, which are quite hilarious: Sam cuts lemons more than any bartender in history. Carla is the ONLY WAITRESS after Diane leaves (I've noticed this before, too- the bar only ever has three or four people- what kind of drinking establishment can run with that little staff?). Nobody ever pays for a drink. The phone is constantly changing positions in the bar. People can either hear nothing or hear everything that goes on inside the bar. Frasier, despite being a successful psychiatrist, spends as much time in the bar as Norm.
