Cheers

CHEERS takes viewers back to the Boston bar where everybody knows your name. As former baseball star Sam Malone (Danson) and his colleague Diane Chambers (Long) fight their mutual attractions, they cater to their regulars including Norm Petersen (Wendt) and Cliff Claven (Ratzenberger). Talking about their problems, laughing at each other’s flaws and trying to be there when someone needs them, the gang are joined by naïve farm boy Woody (Harrelson, The Thin Red Line), bitter waitress Carla (Perlman), troubled psychiatrist Frasier (Grammer) and his wife.

The definition of comfort television is this: You want to go where everybody knows your name. And you're always glad you came. Long one of DVD's most wanted, Cheers is at last open for business in this four-disc set that contains all 22 episodes of the first, and best, season of one of the defining series of the 1980s. Cheers inherited the mantle from Taxi as television's best ensemble-driven workplace comedy. It can be instructive to return to a long-running series' more humble beginnings. While Cheers got drunk on farce in its later seasons, it began life as a much more grounded human comedy. In these inaugural episodes, the action does not stray from the Boston bar owned by Sam Malone, a washed-up baseball player three years sober. The straws that stir the drink are the lineup of MVPs: Nick Colasanto as addled Coach; Rhea Perlman, the Thelma Ritter of her generation, as surly and fertile waitress Carla; George Wendt as quintessential barfly Norm; and John Ratzenberger as Cliff, the bar know-it-all ready with "little-known facts" (and blessedly far from the pathetic blowhard his character would evolve into).

Spiking this concoction is the palpable chemistry between Ted Danson's Sam and Shelley Long's Diane Chambers, fledgling waitress and self-described "student of life." The battle lines are drawn in the episode "Sam's Women": He's the "dim ex-baseball player" and she, "the post graduate." But, as Carla so indelicately puts it, they can't "put their glands on hold." In the first blush of lust, they were primetime's most potent mismatched couple until Moonlighting's David and Maddie bantered entendres. Here are little remembered facts: Sam was initially "an astute judge of human character." Guest stars Fred Dryer ("Sam at Eleven") and Julia Duffy ("Any Friend of Diane's") were among those considered for the roles of Sam and Diane. A pre-"Night Court" Harry Anderson stole his scenes in his recurring role as flim-flam man Harry ("Pick a Con...Any Con"). The lack of a commentary track is a disappointment, as are the extras that wouldn't fill a shot glass. Still, Cheers patrons can expect plenty of happy hours with this set. --Donald Liebenson

All 22 episodes from season two--including "Power Play," "They Called Me Mayday," "Just Three Friends," "No Help Wanted," and the two-part "I'll Be Seeing You"--are collected in a four-disc set. 9 hrs. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; bloopers; featurettes; interviews. **22 episodes on 4 discs. 9 hrs.**

It looks great: season two of the situation comedy many consider the best ever produced on American television has a superb presentation on this DVD collection. The colors are rich, the images sharp--a vast improvement over those murky reruns in perpetual TV syndication.

Then, of course, there are the consistently brilliant episodes from Cheers' sophomore year. Despite its low-rated debut in 1982, the ensemble farce set in a Boston bar confidently returned with several strong story arcs, including the turbulent, screwball romance between intellectual poseur Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) and affable primitive Sam Malone (Ted Danson), romantic conflicts for the sexually voracious and deeply cynical barmaid Carla (Rhea Perlman), and marital separation for beloved barfly Norm (George Wendt). With John Ratzenberger signing on as a full-time cast member (playing pompous jive-slinger and postman Cliff Claven), and those opaque one-liners by the clueless Coach (Nicholas Colasanto), Cheers was firing on all cylinders.

Episode highlights include "They Call Me Mayday," in which talk-show personality Dick Cavett, playing himself, convinces Sam the public would be interested in the former major league pitcher's autobiography--a notion that throws the unpublished, would-be novelist Diane into disbelief. Also wonderful is "Where There's a Will," guest-starring George Gaynes as a rich, dying man who leaves the gang $100,000 on a paper napkin will. "No Help Wanted" finds Sam's friendship with down-on-his-luck accountant Norm strained when the latter has a go at the bar's books, while the great "Coach Buries a Grudge" features the addled, elder statesman of Cheers delivering a memorable eulogy for a friend after discovering the dead man had an affair with his wife. Opinions vary about the worthiness of Cheers' latter years (the show ended in 1993), but no one disputes the merit of its groundbreaking start. --Tom Keogh

All 25 episodes from season three--including the two-part "Rebound," the two-part "Coach in Love," "If Ever I Would Leave You," "Bar Bet," "Cheerio, Cheers," and "Rescue Me"--are collected in a four-disc set. 10 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; featurettes; interviews. **25 episodes on 4 discs. 10 hrs.**

Season 3 of Cheers enriched television history in a lot of ways, most notably by introducing Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist Frasier Crane while also bidding an off-screen farewell to Nicholas Colasanto, the actor who played Coach. (Colasanto died near the end of the season, and while Coach's character was kept alive via outtakes for remaining episodes, he essentially disappeared from Cheers before the commencement of year 4.)

Grammer's beloved character, who remained on NBC for 20 unbroken years (including the long-running Frasier), is ushered into the Cheers family when he meets barmaid Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) in a very funny, Emmy-nominated episode suggesting the neurotic course of their future romance. Meanwhile, Sam (Ted Danson), having fallen off the wagon due to his own tempestuous love affair with Diane, has to endure Frasier's questions about how to be intimate with the brainy babe. Elsewhere in Cheers' sardonic community, Cliff (John Ratzenberger), in a sweet but barbed episode, meets a woman (Bernadette Birkett) at a costume party and is afraid of re-introducing himself later. Norm (George Wendt) becomes aware of his mortality and decides to move to Bora Bora, and Sam (in another Emmy-nominated show) has to explain how he got shot in his posterior. Other good things: "The Heart Is a Lonely Snipe Hunter," in which the men of Cheers cruelly initiate Frasier in the manly art of snipe-hunting, and "Bar Bet," starring Jacqueline Bisset as a woman Sam must marry before a certain date or lose the bar forever. --Tom Keogh

All 25 episodes from the 10th season--including "Baby Talk," "The Norm Who Came to Dinner," "I'm Okay, You're Defective," "Heeeeeere's.. . Cliffy!," and "An Old-Fashioned Wedding"--are collected in a four-disc set. 10 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo. **25 episodes on 4 discs. 10 hrs.**

CHEERS - THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON focuses on the colorful staff and offbeat patrons of a friendly Boston bar where "everybody knows your name." Starring Shelley Long as Diane Chambers and Ted Danson as Sam Malone, Cheers co-stars Nick Colasanto as "Coach," Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli, John Ratzenberger as Cliff and George Wendt as Norm. Guest appearances by John Cleese, Bob Costas, Dan Hedaya, Bebe Neuwirth and Brent Spiner.

Even as it bid goodbye to one of its core characters, Cheers enjoyed a fifth season of high hilarity that still holds up decades later. The cliffhanger at the end of the fourth season began a season-long courting dance between Sam (Ted Danson) and Diane (Shelley Long) in which both want to get married--but never at the same time. They argue, they see a pre-nuptial counselor (an Emmy-winning John Cleese), and then one has to make a final decision. But Sam and Diane weren't the only ones exploring relationships. Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) once again meets Dr. Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) and, with the help of Diane, are soon cozily coinhabiting. Woody (Woody Harrelson) gets a visit from his ex-girlfriend (Amanda Wyss), and meets Coach's niece (Cady McClain). Carla (Rhea Perlman) seems finally rid of the sleazy Nick (Dan Hedaya, who was spun off into a thankfully short-lived series called The Tortellis) only to meet a Bruins goalie named Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas). Then again, there were some non-relationship events, such as Diane's trying out for the Boston Ballet and the gang's classic Thanksgiving dinner at Carla's house (in which we finally get to see Norm's wife, Vera, sort of). But more than anything, the fifth season belonged to Sam and Diane. Their relationship ends in touching flash-forward and a wish to "have a good life." If only the departing actor's subsequent career had been so good. Like the fourth season, the DVD set has no extras. --David Horiuchi

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• Color; DVD; Full Screen; NTSC

It’s the cozy little Boston bar where everybody knows your name…welcome to CHEERS – the Emmy award-winning smash-hit television series that kept the laughs uncorked for 11 years.

Cheers: The Complete Ninth Season, like every season of the great NBC sitcom, is graced by a number of very funny episodes involving the going-nowhere denizens of a Boston bar. The year begins with Cheers' multi-millionaire owner Robin (Roger Rees) heading to a probable term in jail, selling the bar back to Sam (Ted Danson) and putting its manager, Rebecca (Kirstie Alley), who also happens to be Robin's girlfriend, out of work. But what's really interesting is the onset of Sam and Rebecca's intimate relationship at the same time, which ceases soon after it begins but leaves such a residual level of caring that Sam invites Rebecca to come back and work at Cheers when her fortunes flag. In the wonderful "Rebecca Redux," Sam hires an assistant (Bryan Clark) with a mythic all-American grin and such a good, positive thought for everyone that a near-mutiny develops among Cheers' customers when Rebecca replaces him upon her return. While the Rebecca-Sam-Robin relationship dynamic works itself out over the season, other perennial storylines pick up their threads from previous years. "Cheers Fouls Out" is the latest in a long line of mind games between Sam and the (unfortunately superior) Gary, owner of a rival bar that annually kicks Cheers' behind in a basketball game. This time, Gary comes up with a couple of redwood-tall ringers to go up against the likes of Norm (George Wendt) and Woody (Woody Harrelson), but Sam has a secret weapon: Kevin McHale of the Celtics. Not that Sam's luck can be expected to improve even with the odds seemingly in his favor.

Sam's gullibility rears itself in another episode, "Pitch It Again, Sam," in which failed Red Sox pitcher "Mayday" Malone is goaded into taking the mound once again in a duel with a veteran hitter. Hoping for the redemption of his dim, major league reputation, Sam encounters an unexpected challenge to his decency at the last moment. The hilarious "Rat Girl" finds Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) concerned when his psychiatrist wife, Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth), grieves so deeply following the death of her favorite lab rat that she carries its little corpse around in her purse. "Uncle Sam Wants You" begins an understated story thread about Sam's desire to be a father, while "Carla Loves Clavin" puts cynical barmaid Carla (Rhea Perlman) in the horrifying position of having to be nice to one of her favorite targets, blowhard Cliff (John Ratzenberger). Cliff's mom (Frances Sternhagen), by the way, shows up unexpectedly in the painfully funny "Ma Always Liked You Best," prodding at Cliff's newfound independence and stoking her son's jealousy by lavishing Woody with attention. "Bad Neighbor Sam" initiates Sam's long-running feud (which never works in Sam's favor) with the owner of a restaurant above Cheers. "Woody Interruptus" sees poor Woody upset by girlfriend Kelly (Jackie Swanson) returning from Europe with a boyfriend, while Cliff babbles on about having his head cryogenically frozen. It's life as usual at Cheers, and as always the show's community of misfits is a joy to behold. --Tom Keogh

CHEERS - THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON focuses on the colorful staff and offbeat patrons of a friendly Boston bar where "everybody knows your name." Starring Shelley Long as Diane Chambers and Ted Danson as Sam Malone, Cheers co-stars Nick Colasanto as "Coach," Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli, John Ratzenberger as Cliff and George Wendt as Norm

For its fourth season, Cheers served up a new bartender. Following the death of Nicholas Colasanto, who had played Coach, the season premiere introduced Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), the Indiana hick who certainly didn't raise the bar's collective IQ but had his own brand of endearing goofiness. That episode, "Birth, Death, Love and Rice," also explained what happened at the end of season 3 when Sam (Ted Danson) chased Diane (Shelley Long) and Frasier (Kesley Grammer) to Italy in hopes of preventing their marriage. The end result is that Diane returns to work at the bar and resumes her sexually charged flirtation with Sam, and Frasier becomes a brooding presence always looking for a way to win her back. Jennifer Tilly guest-stars as one of Sam's ex-girlfriends who actually hits it off with the petulant psychiatrist, but stealing the show in the same episode ("Second Time Around") was Dr. Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth), in what was supposed to be a five-minute one-shot role. The impossibly buttoned-up Sternin was such a perfect match for Frasier that she later became a regular cast member and won two Emmys.

In other memorable episodes, Andy Andy (Derek McGrath) returns to terrorize Diane ("Diane's Nightmare"), the gang tries to turn the tables on Gary's Old Town Tavern in a bowling match ("From Beer to Eternity"), and Frasier sets up a night at the opera ("Diane Chambers Day"). In the three-part season finale ("Strange Bedfellows"), Sam begins dating a politician (Kate Mulgrew, later of Star Trek: Voyager) running for reelection. Diane decides to work for her opponent before taking a more drastic step, leading to Sam's memorable telephone call that served as a cliffhanger leading to season 5. Unlike previous seasons, the DVD set has no extras. --David Horiuchi

All 28 episodes from the 11th season--including "The Little Match Girl," "Sunday Dinner," "Bar Wars VII: The Naked Prey," "Woody Gets an Election," and the three-part series finale "One for the Road"--are collected in a four-disc set. 10 3/4 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; TV spots. **28 episodes on 4 discs. 10 3/4 hrs.**

CHEERS – THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON focuses on the colorful staff and offbeat patrons of a friendly Boston bar where "everybody knows your name." Starring Shelley Long as Diane Chambers and Ted Danson as Sam Malone, Cheers co-stars Nick Colasanto as "Coach," Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli, John Ratzenberger as Cliff and George Wendt as Norm.

In its sixth season, Cheers introduced its second major--and most significant--cast change. Following the events of season 5, Sam (Ted Danson) returns from his aborted around-the-world boat trip to find the old gang gone, Carla (Rhea Perlman) and Woody (Woody Harrelson) wearing uniforms more fit for a barbershop quartet, and a tough new boss who reportedly "eats live sharks for breakfast." The new boss, Rebecca (Kirstie Alley, probably best known at the time for her appearance in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and later to anchor such series as Veronica's Closet and Fat Actress), grudgingly hires back Sam, but has him positively befuddled with her resistance to his masculine wiles. She's not as tough as she seems, however, getting weak in the knees at the thought or sight of her corporate boss, Evan Drake (Tom Skerritt).

After the Diane debacle, the irony of the sixth season is that wedding bells are in the air. Carla is on the verge of hitching up with her Boston Bruins boyfried, Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas), until a string of bad luck threatens to tear apart the "two most superstitious people in the world." Then Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) is the victim of a prank that turns serious when he decides to dump live-in psychologist-lover Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) in order to "pursue the fair Rebecca." Other events of the season include Sam as a rapping sportscaster, Sam and Woody being sold in a charity auction, Woody entering a romance with an older woman while dressed up as Mark Twain, and another showdown with Gary's Old Town Tavern. Cheers missed Shelley Long, but it remained a high-quality show; her career missed Cheers infinitely more. --David Horiuchi

All 22 episodes from the seventh season--including "How to Recede in Business," "Norm, Is That You?," "Golden Boyd," "Sisterly Love," and "The Visiting Lecher"--are collected in a four-disc set. 8 3/4 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo Surround. **22 episodes on 4 discs. 8 3/4 hrs.**