Cheers: The Final Season

The 11th and last season of Cheers maintains the highest standards of the long-running, NBC comedy while adding poignancy by wrapping up the show's long-running storylines. The Final Season commences with a devastating fire that all but destroys the eponymous Boston bar owned by Sam Malone (Ted Danson). Shocking as it is to see Cheers nearly reduced to rubble, a lot of funny material comes out of it, not least the fact that manager Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) is responsible for the blaze and can't quite bring herself to tell Sam. The episode's sophisticated ending sets the tone for the season, in which all the show's characters seem prepared to cut each other more slack than usual. Other tumultuous events include an extended separation between Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) when the latter chooses to live in an underground "eco-pod" with her new boyfriend, a break-up leading to a night of near-bliss for Frasier and Rebecca. Newlyweds Woody (Woody Harrelson) and Kelly (Jackie Swanson) transcend their struggles with religious differences (they're each members of minutely different Lutheran denominations), and Woody becomes an unlikely candidate for the Boston City Council. Meanwhile, Cliff (John Ratzenberger) takes a step toward adulthood by putting his domineering mother in a retirement home, while Norm (George Wendt) takes his dream job as a taster in a brewery. Nothing much changes for acerbic waitress Carla (Rhea Perlman), but she is certainly on hand to comment on everything, including Sam's overdue self-awareness about his sexual addiction. The final half-dozen or so episodes find Rebecca, much to her dismay, attracted to a working man (Tom Berenger) instead of a millionaire, while Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) reappears in Sam's life at a particularly vulnerable moment for each. The series' finale is a corker, including a lovely last scene that ends with Sam uttering one of the best closing lines in television broadcast history. --Tom Keogh