I know there are plenty of oldies out there who remember Cheers as the equivalent of Friends in their own time. Only.. Cheers was more quality... I prefer the hairstyles on girls these days and maybe I have been conditioned to feel so BUT... wit was awesome when it was a young looking Ted Danson and Shelly Long before she knew she couldn't hold a movie. And of course Coach... my pragmatic self hopes there is a Heaven for a man such as him. So which of you are old enough to speak a piece for the best sitcom of all time? I'm actually Boston enough to have been at the original Cheers. What a hole in the wall but they let me keep the labeled glass. Ted Danson was awesome but he aged faster than David Boreanaz. That dude expired after season 2. It's a shame that we can't see this genius of a show nowadays. I have to buy the DVDs on ebay if I want to see past season 2. It's too bad Coach died during season 3. That guy was really the heart and soul of the show. You young guys should check the show out. It didn't make you tampon out loud like a hit show like Friends. It was better. And Sam was a former alcoholic which made the show more accessible to the rest of us.
I was old enough to watch it from the beginning, but I didn't start watching until I went to college in '89 and one of the Lubbock stations played the reruns at night.
I grew up with Cheers. For a while I didn't like it, thought it was lame to build a whole show around drinking, but then I got to know the characters, messed up humans but you developed an affection for them. I saw more of the later years, though, and had what are probably unpopular opinions. I rooted for Rebecca. I couldn't stand Diane, the b!tch, and would usually turn off the older reruns when she got too annoying. I didn't understand why she and Sam were supposed to have so much "chemistry", but then again I was a little young to understand those things. And Carla was my favorite - she was tough and always had a choice comment for everybody.
Cheers comes on at like, 2:00am if you really wanna watch it on CW. I have nothing to do in the mornings so I always stay up and end up watching it.
Cheers was a thousand times better than Friends. I am of an age that I was able to appreciate both. Cheers I watched from season 1 until the very end. I quit watching Friends after about the 5th or 6th season. The jokes were the same. It just grew real stale for me.
I've never seen one second of Friends. Cheers was a great show (during the Diane years). However, I must disagree about you placement of Cheers at the top of the list. Soap was/is the greatest sitcom of all time. Period. Arrested Development is probably 1a. Carry on...
I watched it for all 11 years, one of my favorite series of all time, great cast of characters, great writing, very good show. And to quote my good friend Norm Peterson as he walked into the bar... Woody "Norm !!, What are you up to Mr. Peterson?" Norm " My ideal weight if I was 11 feet tall" Just classic. Mash & Cheers two all time greats. DD
The all time greats. I still watch MASH to this day. I've seen every episode 100's of times and it still never gets old.
I loved Cheers during its run, but never really cared for Diane. I didn't like Rebecca that much, either, but loved that trick she did when she was trying to quit smoking and didn't want Sam busting her smoking. Sam started coming into her office and she quickly, without using her hands, flipped the cigarette backwards into her mouth. Once he left, she flipped it back out. I still crack up seeing that. I liked the co-stars more than the Sam/Diane or Sam/Rebecca combination. Coach was probably my favorite, but Woody, Norm, Carla, and Frasier all had their hilarious moments. Norm's one liners as he enters the bar and Woody's "Kelly" song were all greats. "It's a dog-eat-dog world out there and I'm wearing milkbone underwear" -- Norm. I tried watching Friends a few times, but could never get into it... I couldn't relate to the peoople on the show.
I liked Cheers when I was a child, but I can't stand it now. Flip the channel every time it's on. And Friends has always sucked, not sure what point you are trying to make comparing cheers to that crap.
first of all, friends is a damn good show. i don't care what anyone else says. however, cheers is the best sitcom ever. to me, it got better basically every episode from the first season until the end of the 10th season, which was the best episode in television history, Woody and Kelly's wedding. the first season or two weren't great, but then it ran off about 8 seasons that are as good as anything else there's ever been (kinda like the simpson's). i've never seen a show that could add characters to the mix so well. ER could replace characters the best, but the way cheers got woody in there (i liked him better than coach), got rebecca in there (liked here better than diane), incorporated frasier from a nothing character to a character that would be one of the best on television for 20 years, added lilith who was only supposed to be on for one episode, threw in love interests like evan drake, robin colcord, kelly, eddie, etc. and then the long running recurring characters of eddie tortelli, gary, cliff's mom, and harry the hat. they could seemingly take anyone who just seemed like a throw in and make them an integral, and after a while almost essential, part of the show. i've never seen another show that could do it like that. hell, cliff was only supposed to be on for a few episodes and ended up becoming a classic character who delivered one of my favorite lines ever. as he's saying goodbye to maggie as she goes off to canada and the bar is humming "ballad of the green beret" in the background, she says that it'll be cold and cliff reassures her she'll be ok, "women have that extra layer of blubber." how anyone kept a straight face for that one, i don't know. damn i love that show. now that i've got a bigger dvr and no roommate so share it with, i've got it set up to record all of the 2 A.M. episodes each night so i can actually start watching it again.
Cheers rules. One of my favorite episodes is when Rebecca has to serve near beer because she forgot to send in their liquor license, and Cliff manages to get hammered on near beer. Another favorite is when Ciff goes on Jeopardy. "Who are four people who have never been in my kitchen?" Classic.
I think that was three people who have never been in my kitchen. The bar wars episodes were my favorite, especially when Sam didn't believe Gary was dead. Classic!!!! One of my favorite scenes is when they have a bowling contest with Gary's team and Norm goes to get a beer from the bowling alley bar. He walks in and everybody there shouts "Norm!". Sam looks at Cliff and asks "what's the deal?" Cliff tells Sam "he's got a life you know" And mentioning Friends in the greatest sitcom of all time pool is just asking to be ridiculed. All the characters were one dimensional, cardboard cut out mannequins who were more amusing than funny.
I loved Cheers, but I only watch re-runs, also I love Frasier, when I got the time to see Frasier I see it, it is an amazing show,
Anyone else remember the feeling you'd get when the theme music started at the beginning of the show? You knew you were in for a great 22 minutes, or however long they were, minus the commercials. A great series. Another series missed or forgotten these days that is classic... All in the Family. "Meathead!!!" Impeach Bush.
