Best CHEERS character

give me 30 seconds of the monkees over the fuckin' golden girls any day

I think surm just clutched the pearls.

haha ok maybe that was pushing it but what is it with ppl and that goddamn show

there's this great piece in one of the harlan ellison books of TV criticism where he reviews what's obviously the AITF pilot (starring 'archie justice') and goes on this diatribe about how cutting-edge shows like this NEVER EVER EVER get picked up, why does he even bother turning on his set, etc.

love his constant cutting up of limes when's he's playing the background of a scene too - no-one's ordering G&Ts or V/L/S or whatever, but he's an in-recovery alcoholic in a bar and is keeping his hands busy. same with the completely inappropriate swagger that he brings to swigging from those dinky little water bottles. his swig swag.

xpost to me obv

sic bringing the quality itt

GG is etched in my DNA in ways even I don't understand. I can see how, objectively, it's not as well-crafted as some of the other sitcom heavyweights, but I'll never argue against it.

watching the first episode of this show because of this damn thread and sic is already otm about danson

i thought bebe neuwirth was the most beautiful woman ever when i was a kid

still watching; norm is obvs the answer to this question

oh don't get me started on neuwirth again

haha me too xps

http://images.zap2it.com/images/tv-EP00000882/cheers-bebe-neuwirth-1.jpg

i think lilith prefigured 90s lipstick

diane is such an asshole, y'all, how can you vote for her

i thought bebe neuwirth was the most beautiful woman ever when i was a kid

there was a girl on the train to school, and one in the Bust A Move video, but Lilith was up there

never thought this was a bad show but never watched a whole episode either
did the taxi people create this one, that is a show i loved
liked the first 2-3 seasons of frasier, some reason that clicked more for me

Cast CHEERS with members of the ILX community

did the taxi people create this one, that is a show i loved

yeah, some of them - Burrows had also directed Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart and Laverne & Shirley already (and went on to direct 90% of all US sitcom pilots post-Cheers)

(never seen taxi [or most of the mouldy old cheese ppl keep talking abt itt] tho)

i grew up watching so much Cheers and Taxi and Night Court that i think i had some innate sense that comedy thrived in nocturnal settings

ummm isnt that really obviously laurel

― deeznuts, Wednesday, March 26, 2008 2:41 PM

hey you said it

― chaki, Wednesday, March 26, 2008 2:41 PM

http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/sitebuilder/mcweb/images/nursing/tiercy_lifesaver.jpg

love norm. there was a good one on the other night where frasier and lilith discover norm is secretly a fantastic interior designer. he pretends to be "fabulous" to get a gig designing some yuppies' pad. hilarious watching subdued norm roll with that. sam is his lover. but the truth will out!

i think lilith prefigured 90s lipstick

She is like Janeane Garofalo's cool nanny.

I used to consider Taxi part of the moldy old cheese shelf, too, growing up. But it's probably my favorite of all sitcoms centered around a workplace.

(Which sort of points up what I like about Cheers ... that most of the people in the show are at the setting because they want to be. Not because they work or sleep there.)

Cheers is sort of the blurry line between 70s desperation sitcoms and 90s "friends" type sitcoms. It never gets gritty like some of the taxi type ones but never quite let's you forget where it comes from. Did always love the water bottle touch w Sam and gotta say must rep for the swaggering guest role of sam's id and former teammate (iirc?) as played by Hunter himself Fred Dryer.

Man Tom skerrIt was so on point as Evan drake too

Dryer of course was originally in the running to play Sam. Based on evidence here, he might have done an alright job at some aspects but maybe missed the comic highs Danson is able to nail.

Danson plays gay on Taxi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR3nL7mQGbQ

OMG THE CHEERS THEME BUT LOUD YOUTUBE!!!!!!!!

<3 distortion <3

stuck between cliff and coach as sentimental favorites

cheers theme but loud was going to be in my OP but i thought a screenshot would be better

love his constant cutting up of limes when's he's playing the background of a scene too - no-one's ordering G&Ts or V/L/S or whatever, but he's an in-recovery alcoholic in a bar and is keeping his hands busy. same with the completely inappropriate swagger that he brings to swigging from those dinky little water bottles. his swig swag.

― ʘ (sic), Wednesday, August 22, 2012 9:32 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

very otm! danson's performance is so lived-in from day one. great danson body language moment: theres a norm ep in season 1 or 2 where sam and norm are having a convo in the pool room (i think its the ep where norm confesses he loves vera but he has to be a pig in front of the guys anyway), norm's futzing around with some pool balls and sam wordlessly shows him a pitching grip with the cueball. i assume it was improvised, and its a great brando-picking-up-the-glove moment

diane is such an asshole, y'all, how can you vote for her

― horseshoe, Wednesday, August 22, 2012 10:19 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

well, she grows as a character, she starts out as just a prig but gains dimensions. she can be frustrating (just like sam) but long makes her lovable without softening her irritating edges. and long brings a lot of comic dimensions to the table... she can do slapstick, she can do screwball, she can be dry and she can be antic and it's all credible.

Cheers is sort of the blurry line between 70s desperation sitcoms and 90s "friends" type sitcoms. It never gets gritty like some of the taxi type ones but never quite let's you forget where it comes from. Did always love the water bottle touch w Sam and gotta say must rep for the swaggering guest role of sam's id and former teammate (iirc?) as played by Hunter himself Fred Dryer.

― omar little, Wednesday, August 22, 2012 11:42 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

this is otm too. the Taxi lineage is pretty clear early on (Taxi owned btw), and as the show progresses it becomes more antic and farcical. the show walks this weird tightrope (esp in the early seasons) where they're not sure how much they can acknowledge that they're milking laughs from depressed degenerates. that's why i love those norm lines i quoted upthread.

i imagine that Dryer's sam would've been coarser, i dont know if he could've pulled off danson's sweaters & sailboats vibe.

Plumped for Cliff: Cliff bled - moustache and all - from Cheers into real life, in Glasgow, sometime in the early-mid 1990s and drank in a bar that I worked in. I just googled Cliff's Glasgow Name and found his linkedin profile. He has no connections.

Cheers was so much a part of my early life. Every Friday night with my sister and my parents, and as soon as it finished my Dad would clap his hands and say 'Off to bed'. Of course we'd stay as quiet as possible in order to to remain invisible to my folks. I don't think I've seen an episode in about ten years.

also one of the best tv themes of all time.

Another way Cheers and Taxi are linked for me is that, as a kid, I used to switch away from both because I hated their opening theme/credits. M*A*S*H did the same thing too, to an even greater extent, and unlike Cheers & Taxi, I still hate that show.

okay i love diane

happy birthday shelley long!!

Previews Jingle:
Thank you for coming to Loew's.
Sit back and relax
and enjoy the show!

Previews Announcer: Coming this Spring from Tri-Star Pictures..

[ Husband's eyes widen in excitement as he watches the preview ]

In a land where there is no daylight, fire is a way of life.

Husband: Ooh, this looks good!

Clint Eastwood: Burn, baby, burn!

Previews Announcer: "The Fire King".

Husband: Man, I love Eastwood! I'm definitely going to see that one!

[ bouncy music surrounds next preview ]

Previews Announcer: Meet Diane Carvenal. She's got just two days to learn how to juggle, or she'll lose custody of her only son.

[ Music Pot: "I Feel Good", James Brown ]

Shelley Long is: "My Mom, The Mime". Rated R.

Husband: That looks awful. How do movies like that get made?

Wife: I know what you mean..

Black Man in Rear of Theater: [ exubirant ] That looked funny!

Wife: Boy, you know, I really wish they would just hurry up with the movie.

Husband: Oh, here it is. I think it's starting.

Previews Jingle:
Thank you for coming to Loew's.
Sit back and relax
20 more minutes of previews.

Wife: [ groans ]

[ dissolve to exterior, Loew's Theatre ]

[ SUPER: "Twenty Minutes Later" ]

[ dissolve to interior of theatre ]

Previews Announcer: And this cop doesn't have a badge or a gun, because he's not a cop. John Ratzenberger is.. "Not-a-Cop".

Wife: Well, that should be about it..

Previews Jingle:
Thank you for coming to Loew's.
You've been very patient
so here's more previews!

Husband: Oh, come on!

Angry Man: Start the movie!

Black Man in Rear of Theater: [ overjoyed ] Yeah, more previews!

Previews Announcer: Joe Nukem just found out he has terminal cancer. That means he only has 24 hours left - to rock!

[ Music Pot: "Panama", Van Halen ]

Wife: Oh, come on! Now that is just poor taste!

Black Man in Rear of Theater: [ laughing ] He got sunglasses on!

Previews Announcer: Hal Linden and Shelley Long star in.. "Panama".

Husband: Hey, look, it's been, like, over 30 minutes. You want to get out of here?

Wife: Let's go.

Husband: Come on.

[ stand up and race to exit doors ]

Previews Jingle:
Thank you for coming to Loew's.
Don't think about leaving
The doors are locked from the outside!

Husband: What?!

Wife: Come on, they can't be serious..

Disturbed Man: [ trying to force open the locked doors ] It's true! We're locked in here!

Wife: Oh, my God!

Previews Announcer: Shelley Long has just met the man of her dreams. The only problem? He's a puppet!

[ Music Pot: "I Feel Good", James Brown ]

Wife: You already used that song!

[ dissolve to exterior, Loew's Theatre ]

[ SUPER: "Two Hours Later" ]

[ dissolve to interior of theatre ]

Previews Announcer: See the award-winning film from Pakistan - "Vendetta of Ganesh". Starring Shelley Long.

Wife: God, why are there so many Shelley Long movies?! I'm getting really thirsty..

Husband: My cell phone won't work, either. They're jamming it..

Black Man in Rear of Theater: These previews are hilarious!

[ dissolve to exterior, Loew's Theatre ]

[ SUPER: "The Next Day" ]

[ dissolve to interior of theatre ]

[ Music Pot: "I Feel Good", James Brown ]

Wife: Water! I need water!

Husband: I'm sorry, I've got some melted ice.

Wife: Please! Give it to me, then!

Angry Man: Hey, I found half a box of Junior Mints!

Disturbed Man: Give me those, you son of a bitch!

Previews Announcer: Rhea Perlman is Shelley Long, in "The Shelley Long Story".

[ movie patrons start to tear Man apart, limb for limb ]

Angry Man: Owwww!! Owww!! They're tearing me apart!

every character in this is so great, its so hard to choose. rebecca was a little off-message her first season or two, but the whole robin colcord subplot is gravy - the episode with her getting drunk the night before the wedding and trying to seduce sam is all time.

but it's gotta be woody, i guess.

Rebecca: "Woody, have you ever had your whole life cave in on you all of a sudden?"
Woody: "No, but I have had a cave cave in on me."

this is totally my favourite sitcom of all time btw.

Cosby Show would easily be in my top ten, too.

Timely:

http://d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net/photos/full/646620881.jpg?key=480679&Expires=1346263466&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIYVGSUJFNRFZBBTA&Signature=udPZLYhZX1-neE6OdWNumxvZe8P8EDrMvMmFzVw2rcmkNZrChCwBw8J3l4deTlQgs70K5bwDR8ewGgGsvcRWEtffGW-c8tcHmq039f0oHh4xEJB0gCo5HEOFi60-v5XJ5cJG8Tvp0qZGYBsigaAuVzdVxcBxTkIM~Sx4WU-iDn0_

hey, i know the guy who made that

Charles, Burrows or Charles?

some doof on a movie forum was talking about how he'd rather watch 4 episodes of cheers than any given movie, so someone responded with that

i keep missing threads!

i think i'll vote carla

voted norm just you mention Cheers and the first thing i think of is "NORM!"

are there any episodes where at least several of the characters are all visibly hammered?