Cheers: The Complete Series (1 Viewer)

[LeoA]

I agree, I much preferred Rebecca's original form.

By the end, the only thing left was that she was still a Righteous Brothers fan...

 

[The Drifter]

Slowly making my way through S07. One of my favorite episodes here is when Cliff is training a female postal worker, that he ends up dating. He doesn't want her to meet him at his apartment for a 'tryst' because his mother (who now lives in Florida) has visited him & is acquainted with some of the neighbors, and he doesn't want it getting back to her that Cliff is doing "bad" things - hilarious! So, they end up meeting in an anonymous motel room - LOL. Extremely funny episode.

Another funny episode from season 7- Those Lips, Those Ice. Carla has suspicions about Eddie messing around with an attractive ice skater that has joined his ice show tour. The funnier episodes in the series feature Carla and her feisty, mean demeanor.

That's a great episode. I agree, Carla's mean-spirited nature is frickin' hilarious - especially when she makes fun of Cliff & Rebecca (and Diane in earlier seasons) - LOL.

Unfortunately, as the series progresses, Rebecca Howe turns more and more into a whiny, babbling loser and completely loses all of the stronger personality traits that made her an interesting character in her first few seasons on the show. The Rebecca Howe at the end of the series is nothing like the character that was originally introduced.

I have a completely different opinion about this. I haven't even seen the later seasons (only about mid-way through S07), but I see Rebecca as "tightly wound" from day one. It sounds like she continued to unravel as the series progressed, and an in-story explanation for this could be that the stress of working in the bar & with Sam (and having to constantly fight off Sam's advances), dealing with Carla's snide comments, etc. - made her slowly "lose it" as the years wore on - LOL.
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My opinion about her character is definitely affected by the fact that, in my teens, I used to work at a bar/restaurant in the late '80's (right around the time these episodes were originally on, coincidentally) and actually had a female manager that - now that I'm watching these episodes - reminds me a lot of Rebecca. She was very businesslike - but also extremely sexy at the same time (and did let her hair down at times ). She was very calm, cool, and collected most of the time - but when things got too stressful (as they frequently did) ended up "losing it" on several occasions.

Working in a restaurant/bar & dealing with the public can be an extremely difficult, demanding job with unusual hours (2nd shift, normally). And, it typically doesn't pay well (unless you're high up in the food chain @ a very successful business). So, I can see how people that work in this industry burn out quickly - especially if they don't have the right temperament/personality for the job to begin with (as Rebecca obviously didn't).

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have a completely different opinion about this. I haven't even seen the later seasons (only about mid-way through S07), but I see Rebecca as "tightly wound" from day one. It sounds like she continued to unravel as the series progressed, and an in-story explanation for this could be that the stress of working in the bar & with Sam (and having to constantly fight off Sam's advances), dealing with Carla's snide comments, etc. - made her slowly "lose it" as the years wore on - LOL.
.
My opinion about her character is definitely affected by the fact that, in my teens, I used to work at a bar/restaurant in the late '80's (right around the time these episodes were originally on, coincidentally) and actually had a female manager that - now that I'm watching these episodes - reminds me a lot of Rebecca. She was very businesslike - but also extremely sexy at the same time (and did let her hair down at times ). She was very calm, cool, and collected most of the time - but when things got too stressful (as they frequently did) ended up "losing it" on several occasions.

Working in a restaurant/bar & dealing with the public can be an extremely difficult, demanding job with unusual hours (2nd shift, normally). And, it typically doesn't pay well (unless you're high up in the food chain @ a very successful business). So, I can see how people that work in this industry burn out quickly - especially if they don't have the right temperament/personality for the job to begin with (as Rebecca obviously didn't).

I do not want to spoil it for you so I will not say any more, but stress from the bar doesn't really have much, if anything, to do with the changes in Rebecca's character over the seasons.

 

[sjbradford]

I don’t like any of the episodes with Cliff’s girlfriend Margaret. I just didn’t find the character or situation funny, and this marked the first time, for me, where they had set up a recurring story that didn’t work.

Ken Levine, one of the writers of the show, blogged about the changes to the Rebecca character. He said they did it because they felt there was nowhere to go with the version of the character originally introduced in season 6.

 

[The Drifter]

Finished up S07 of the series. Strong season. Hard to believe I've only got 4 seasons yet. I don't want the show to end - LOL.

-The S07 episode where Carla's young son ends up being temporarily "adopted" by Frasier & Lilith is hilarious. They spend a lot of time with him, to try to see what it would be like to have children of their own. The episode ends with Carla "dressing up" (ha ha) & going with her son & Frasier/Rebecca to a fancy restaurant; it's amusing seeing Carla in a "business" suit with her hair straightened/pulled back - she's barely recognizable, which is the whole point. In any case, her son doesn't want to eat the high-end food that's served (despite Frasier's encouragement), so he & Carla both leave - LOL. One of the funniest lines here was when Carla referred to Frasier & Lilith (behind their backs) as "Dr. Cyclops & Mortitia" - ha ha.

Susan did appear, played by Marcia Cross, but only in a single episode.

This episode with Susan (as Rebecca's sister) was towards the end of S07, and is one of the funniest in the series.

Spoiler: SPOILER

After Susan walks in the bar & Sam finds out who she is - and discovers the so-called "rivalry" between them, he soon after tells his buddies that he's going to "use" this rivalry to try to hook up with both of them. I.e., according to Rebecca, Susan had a habit of always "stealing" Rebecca's boyfriends. So, all Rebecca had to do was show interest in a guy, and Susan was all over him. Sam decided to use this to his "advantage" - LOL. The scene when he is sitting at Melville's (the seafood restaurant above the bar) between them & tries not to smirk as they "fight" is frickin' priceless

As it turns out, Rebecca & Susan set up the whole fictitious scenario to "hook" Sam & then humiliate him in front of the entire bar - extremely funny!

This episode is also notable as being one of the only times you see what Melville's looks like; it's referred to throughout the series & characters are always going up there to eat, but rarely do you actually see what the restaurant itself looks like.

 

[questrider]

 

[Jeffrey D]

Season 8 is the start of the series getting noticeably thin on material- they start having more guest stars, and some of the plots are kind of weak. The episode Death Takes A Holiday On Ice has arguably the funniest line of dialog in the whole series (I don’t want to spoil it for The Drifter).

 

[albert_m2]

Yes, Rebecca does become more pathetic as the seasons progress, but they had fun story lines all the way.

 

[The Drifter]

Started watching S08, and find it to be entertaining, as always.

-One of the funniest episodes (so far) is when Rebecca wants to throw a huge promotional "party" for the bar, to drum up business & invites the Mayor & the media, etc. This is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of "Cheers" (which opened in 1889). So, she pulls out all the stops & brings in a singing barbershop quartet, dresses up as if she were from the late 1800's, etc.

However, this all back-fires because the 106-year old man (whom she brings in to the bar as part of the promotion, since he's one of the only people left alive who was around when the bar opened) ends up being a real lech; he pinches both her & Carla, feigns a heart attack so he can get a "peek" down women's shirts, etc. - LOL. Also, the Cheers "regulars" embarass her as well; Cliff is his usual obnoxious self, and is taken away by the authorities for being a potential crazy person; Frasier & Lilith make inappropriate (as usual) comments in front of the Mayor & his retinue, etc. Hilarious!

I don’t like any of the episodes with Cliff’s girlfriend Margaret. I just didn’t find the character or situation funny, and this marked the first time, for me, where they had set up a recurring story that didn’t work.

I actually find the episodes with Cliff's girlfriend Margaret to be comic; in the episode when she comes back from Canada to spend time with him (early in S08) he starts to have physical problems whenever it looks like he'll may need to "commit" to her - and needs Sam to help him - ha ha. I think these episodes shed a lot of insight into his character, and I actually find the whole situation pathetic & funny - at the same time - LOL!

 

[Jeffrey D]

Started watching S08, and find it to be entertaining, as always.

-One of the funniest episodes (so far) is when Rebecca wants to throw a huge promotional "party" for the bar, to drum up business & invites the Mayor & the media, etc. This is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of "Cheers" (which opened in 1889). So, she pulls out all the stops & brings in a singing barbershop quartet, dresses up as if she were from the late 1800's, etc.

However, this all back-fires because the 106-year old man (whom she brings in to the bar as part of the promotion, since he's one of the only people left alive who was around when the bar opened) ends up being a real lech; he pinches both her & Carla, feigns a heart attack so he can get a "peek" down women's shirts, etc. - LOL. Also, the Cheers "regulars" embarass her as well; Cliff is his usual obnoxious self, and is taken away by the authorities for being a potential crazy person; Frasier & Lilith make inappropriate (as usual) comments in front of the Mayor & his retinue, etc. Hilarious!



I actually find the episodes with Cliff's girlfriend Margaret to be hilarious; in the episode when she comes back from Canada to spend time with him (early in S08) he starts to have physical problems whenever it looks like he'll may need to "commit" to her - and needs Sam to help him - ha ha. I think these episodes shed a lot of insight into his character, and I actually find the whole situation pathetic & funny - at the same time - LOL!

What did you think of Death Takes A Holiday On Ice (the exit of Jay Thomas’s character Eddie LeBec)?

 

[The Drifter]

The episode Death Takes A Holiday On Ice has arguably the funniest line of dialog in the whole series.

What did you think of Death Takes A Holiday On Ice (the exit of Jay Thomas’s character Eddie LeBec)?

Just saw this episode and found it hilarious! One of the best episodes in the series. Carla's husband Eddie LeBec dies in a freak accident on the ice, and at the funeral Carla finds out that Eddie was actually married to another woman named Gloria, and had kids with her as well . Here are some hilarious quotes from that episode. I guess you're referring to one of these - LOL:

Gloria LeBec : I want to talk to you.
Carla LeBec : Yeah? I want to scratch you bald, paint your butt blue and mail you to Guam.
Gloria LeBec : I'd like to see you try.
Norm Peterson : Yeah, I'd like to see that too actually.

Carla LeBec : I bet the only reason he married you was because he knocked you up.
Gloria LeBec : How do you know that?
Carla LeBec : Babe's intuition.
Gloria LeBec : Yeah? Well, maybe that's the same reason he married you.
Carla LeBec : Yeah, but with me, it wasn't a cheap thrill. It was a very tender moment in the back of a Datsun hatchback.
Gloria LeBec : [raises her hand] Toyota Corolla. Front seat.
Cliff Clavin : All right ladies, ladies, let's stop right now, huh? Uh, all this talk about conceiving your children in these cars. This makes me sick. Doesn't anybody buy American anymore?

HA! HA! HA!

Speaking of Jay Thomas (who played Eddie LeBec), there was apparently an "urban legend" that he upset/insulted Rhea Perlman (Carla) - and as a result was kicked off the show. Not sure how true this is:

http://legendsrevealed.com/entertai...ecause-of-insulting-his-co-star-rhea-perlman/

In any case, IMHO Thomas' departure from the show didn't make any difference one way or the other. He was barely in any episodes, and wasn't that funny in the episodes he was in. I actually find him a throw-away character - and it's interesting that he wasn't even in the funniest episode involving his character (Death takes a Holiday on Ice) - LOL.

 

[albert_m2]

He did a lot of shows. I always assumed he left for another show with a starring role. It's been too long now though

 

[Jeffrey D]

The funny line of dialog from Death Takes A Holiday is after Carla tells Gloria “If this is some kind of joke, lady, I’m not amused”.
Woody- “Yeah if you’re trying to get a laugh at a funeral, you’re gonna have to be funnier than that”

 

[The Drifter]

Yes, that was a great line. What was especially funny about the episode was that even though it involved a death (a tragic event) it was presented in an extremely humorous way & was definitely one of the funniest episodes in the series (so far)..

 

[Chip_HT]

I also have a suspicion a Righteous Brothers song was replaced. In the episode where Sam learns that Rebecca's favorite song is You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin', it's actually Unchained Melody that Sam ends up playing for Rebecca.

That episode of Cheers is the same way in syndication, which makes me suspect it's actually an edit that happened at some point after it first aired. Happily though, Unchained Melody is just as good and fits the scene just as well.

To make the edit even more confusing, they revisit that gag in the season 8 premiere, only to use "Lovin' Feelin'".

 

[The Drifter]

About halfway through S08, and just finished watching one of the funniest episodes in the series:

-"What is Cliff Clavin?": Cliff somehow ends up being a contestant on the famous game show Jeopardy, and Norm & others watch from the side-lines. Cliff initially seems to be sitting pretty, since the categories are all things he can definitely relate to, i.e. "Mothers and Sons", "Bar Trivia", etc. - LOL. And, since he's the king of useless trivia you would think he would ace the questions.

Spoiler: SPOILER

As the contest progresses, it's obvious that he's winning by a large margin. However, he screws it all up at the end by betting everything on a stupid movie category guess that he should have known he would get wrong - so ends up losing all of his $. What an idiot, especially considering that this was easily avoidable - LOL.

It was especially funny how host Alex Trebek (playing himself) went to Cheers at the end of the episode and told Cliff that he was so upset that Cliff lost that he was planning on quitting the show. However, Cliff "talked him out of it" & told him he needed to stay as host, etc. So, Trebek "relented", and said he would stay because Cliff had talked him out of leaving. Cliff, enthusiastic, went to call his mother to tell her that Alex Trebek didn't leave as host of Jeopardy because of him - LOL. Then, Trebek admitted to the guys at the bar that he made the whole thing up, and only told Cliff he was thinking of leaving the show because Cliff "scared" him & he wanted to make him feel better. Hilarious! The sarcasm here was great!

That being said:

Season 8 is the start of the series getting noticeably thin on material- they start having more guest stars, and some of the plots are kind of weak.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with this - I'm about mid-way through S08, and though the first 7-8 episodes were as funny as in the past...I did find that, overall - after "Death Takes a Holiday on Ice" the later episodes aren't quite as funny as before. In earlier episodes, I found myself laughing out loud throughout most of a given episode - however, now the laughs are much more infrequent. Yes, there are still definitely some great & hilarious episodes - but, in some cases the jokes are somewhat falling flat. Though, the show is still funny - I get the strong impression it's slowly winding down.

One of the S08 episodes I thought was just OK was when the guys all grew beards over the course of several weeks in a sort of "contest". Cliff couldn't grow a full beard, so looked ridiculous. Then, he stupidly ended up using industrial strength glue to bond beard hair to his face - LOL. The scene when Carla had the guys rub their beards on the bar to see who could soak up the most alcohol was mildly funny...but a far cry from the truly hilarious story-lines from previous episodes.

 

[The Drifter]

I spoke too soon re: S08; I just finished watching this. Though - as a whole - it's not quite as funny as previous seasons, I still found many of the episodes entertaining & hilarious;

-"Severe Crane Damage" - Lilith is invited on a talk show to promote her book, Good Girls, Bad Boys. Sam & Frasier also get invited to appear on the show - to illustrate the contrast between a "Bad Boy" and a "Good Boy", respectively. The female audience ends up fawning over Sam (including Lilith - LOL), and practically ignoring Frasier. Later, Frasier and Lilith temporarily break up - and Frasier starts dating a woman named "Viper" who rides a motorcycle - presumably to become more of a "bad boy" so he can be more attractive to women - ha ha.

-Some of my favorite episodes of S08 were the last two, "Cry Hard" and "Cry Harder" - LOL. In these, it's revealed that the extremely wealthy Robin Colcord (whom Rebecca is dating) is just using her to get information so he can attempt a hostile takeover of her company. Soon after, Robin is going to get in trouble re: insider trading, so he disappears (it's presumed he's left the country). Rebecca initially doesn't want to believe that Robin took advantage of her, but the evidence is all there - and so she finally tries to forget Robin by hooking up with Sam. The final scene of the season is classic: Robin goes back to Cheers to try to win Rebecca back - and finds her with Sam You knew Rebecca & Sam were going to hook up (at least temporarily), but didn't know the circumstances - or necessarily when it would happen.

And, Robin is such an entitled, rich jerk - that you're glad when his sins end up catching up with him at the end.

I also feel these last two episodes are very topical re: some of the "hot issues" that were in the news at the time. I.e. in the late '80's/early '90's I remember hearing terms like "hostile takeover" & "insider trading" in relation to corporations, stocks, etc. This was more fully explored in movies from this era, like the iconic Wall Street (1987), etc.

Unfortunately, as the series progresses, Rebecca Howe turns more and more into a whiny, babbling loser and completely loses all of the stronger personality traits that made her an interesting character in her first few seasons on the show. The Rebecca Howe at the end of the series is nothing like the character that was originally introduced.

Though I continue to like the Rebecca character - even in S08 - I have to reluctantly agree that she's become a much weaker person as her "story arc" has progressed - LOL. In S06 she was presented as a strong career woman who was essentially married to her job & trying to climb the corporate ladder, etc.; yes, she had a crush on her unattainable boss (Tom Skerritt), but her pursuit of him wasn't that pathetic. I actually knew someone like Rebecca in the late '80's, so really liked the character - initially.

However, by S08 she is just looking to marry a rich guy (Robin Colcord) so she can quit her job & be supported by him - i.e., a very predictable goal. So, yes - I do prefer the Rebecca from the earlier seasons. That being said, I still strongly prefer Rebecca's character overall to the pretentious Diane Chambers.

And, I still enjoy the show - and am really looking forward to the last three seasons.

 

[Jeffrey D]

You’ll like Grease- the episode where Norm tries to save his favorite restaurant from the wrecking ball. This episode is early on in season 9.

 

[questrider]

You’ll like Grease- the episode where Norm tries to save his favorite restaurant from the wrecking ball. This episode is early on in season 9.

Spoiler: The Hungry Heifer

 

[Jeffrey D]

Another funny line about The Hungry Heifer-

food critic- “I stand by my review. The Hungry Heifer is a trough”.
Norm- “Well, if you can find a better 25 ounce steak for $1.99, let me know, pal”.