CHEERS: Blu-ray (Burrows/Charles/Burrows Productions, Paramount, 1982-1993) CBS/Paramount Home Video
How does one pay a fitting homage to a blue-chip/blue-collar/blue-ribbon-winning American situation-comedy like, Cheers? From 1982 to 1993, Cheers enjoyed a legendary run, becoming a beloved cornerstone of NBC’s ‘must see’ television lineup. Along the way it plied our hearts as easily as it tickled our funny bones with solidly crafted, astute observations about humanity at large, creating truthful and hilarious exemplars from its microcosm of loveable madcaps, zanies, and whack-jobs. The brainchild of co-producers, Glen and Les Charles and James Burrows, who oversaw the show’s entire run and actually contributed ideas to its authorship, Cheers proved a bonanza for such skillfully diverse writing talents as Dan O’Shannon, Tom Anderson, David’s Lee-Angell-Lloyd-and-Isaacs, Ken Levine, Rob Long, Dan Staley, Brian Pollack, Mert Rich, Peter Casey, Phoef Sutton, Heide Perlman, Kathy Ann Stumpe, Fred Graver, Rebecca Parr Cioff, and Bill and Cheri Steinkellner. Over 275 episodes, Cheers also came to represent a sort of clear-eyed comedy genius not seen on TV before it, cribbing from the flaws and foibles of a group of regulars who called this Bostonian watering hole their home.
Until Cheers, the American
sitcom had been largely about finding, and then stringing along the 30-second
laughs, lobbed mainly at the expense of one or two characters. Cheers,
however, was an ensemble, with an ever-evolving roster – in some cases, done
out of necessity (the death of beloved character actor, Nicholas Colasanto, as
Ernie ‘the coach’ Pantusso midway through Season 3 after
71 episodes, resulting in the debut of Woody Harrelson as naive farm boy come
bartender, Woody Boyd) or otherwise, to satisfy the aspirations of its stars
(the departure of Shelley Long’s ever-annoying intellectual fish-out-of-water,
Diane Chambers so Long could pursue a film career after 124 episodes, marking
the entrance of the late Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe, to run an even longer
149 episodes). Throughout its run, Cheers served up ample drinks and
drama, running up its tab in our minds as the place to be, where
everybody knows your name and audiences were always glad they came.
Important to note, Cheers
was hardly a shoe-in for TV’s Hall of Fame in 1982. Despite being an
industry darling from the outset, earning an impressive 11 consecutive Emmy
nominations for Outstanding Sitcom – one for each year of its original run, its
first season ranked almost dead last in the Nielsen’s (74th out of 77 shows). Today,
no show would survive such a catastrophic kick-start. And Cheers did not
immediately thereafter rise like cream to the surface either, but rather, steadily
built upon its ever-expanding fanbase, only to gain top-ten status in its final
8-years. The series’ finale was the single most watched episode of the 1990’s
with an estimated 93 million (or roughly 40% of the population) tuning in to
bid the series farewell. By then, Cheers had also earned an impressive
28 Emmys from a record 117 nominations, ranking it as one of TV’s greatest
shows of all time. The final bit of creative kismet, forever to trademark Cheers
as a standard-bearer, was its indelibly hummable theme song, ‘Where
Everybody Knows Your Name’ – co-written by Broadway’s Gary Portnoy and Judy
Hart Angelo. Interestingly, Paramount rejected two prior compositions –
repurposed ‘hand-me-downs’ from Portnoy/Angelo’s stagecraft, ‘Preppies’,
before finally embracing this iconic anthem.
Cheers’ mainstays
included Ted Danson (top-billed) as former Boston Red Sox pitcher, Sam Malone –
the bar’s manager, Rhea Perlman as his tart-mouthed, perennially pregnant head
waitress, Carla Tortelli, John Ratzenberger and George Wendt as resident
barflies, Cliff Clavin and Norm Peterson respectively. Cheers also
established a second-string fav in Kelsey Grammer’s psychiatrist, Dr. Frasier
Crane, eventually to wed Bebe Neuwirth’s joyously austere fellow-analyst, Dr.
Lilith Sternin. It is difficult to quantify Cheers’ enduring fame, as
good writing and great characterizations will only carry a sitcom so far. But Cheers,
unlike virtually all of its contemporaries, stayed the course well beyond its
anticipated expiration, never running dry of viable on-camera chemistry to see
us through to happy hour or the tenderly understated ‘last call’, with Sam Malone
alone at series’ end, as he had begun in the first episode 11 years earlier,
casually shooing away a patron only shown to us in shadow, with a quiet, if
slightly careworn, “We’re closed.”
In between these bookends, there
were moments to forever remember, more so for their gentle finesse than
bombastic guffaws, with Season 5’s finale, ‘I Do, Adieu’ –
the exit of Shelley Long – decidedly a high-water mark. In his final moments with
Diane, Sam implores his one-time paramour to “Have a good life.” Diane
stubbornly insists she is taking a break to try her hand at writing a novel and
promises to return to Sam in six months. Knowing it is futile to argue with her,
Sam merely provides a bittersweet, comforting embrace as his gaze follows Diane
out the front door and up the stairs to street level, reiterating his best
wishes with a discarded, far-away look in his eye, “Have a good life.”
For many, this departure must have seemed the end of the line. After all, how
could Cheers survive without Diane and Sam’s antagonistic chemistry? The
answer, of course, was to introduce an even more humanly odd and sincerely
flawed character, Rebecca Howe, to fill this void, if ironically, never
entirely to fill Long’s shoes.
Narrative arcs in the series
included Sam and Diane’s problematic on again/off again romance, as well as
Sam’s failed attraction – after Diane’s departure – to his new boss, Rebecca.
Although various episodes dealt with Sam’s past addiction to alcohol, and his
ongoing struggles to procure a meaningful relationship with any woman, the
character of Sam ‘Mayday’ Malone would decidedly take a backseat as Cheers’
ensemble evolved to have lives and problems of their own. Initially, the
character of Frasier Crane was perceived by the show’s creators as a fill-in
love interest for Diane after she and Sam temporarily separated. However, it
did not take long for Frasier to establish himself as a reoccurring figure of
fun, eventually to be spurned by Diane, yet, to remain an ever-present fixture
at the bar. And thus, Frasier’s story became a subplot worthy of good humor and
random silliness as he, first, attempted in vain to re-enter Diane’s life;
then, resigned to give her up and instead found a curious life-partner in
Lilith Sternin whose unerring, if vague monotone strangely suited Frasier’s
easily flustered persona.
Precisely how the principles came
to be cast is a story in itself. Both Fred Dryer and Ted Danson auditioned for
the lead. As Sam Malone was originally written as an ex-football player, and
Dryer was – in fact – a newly retired NFL defensive end, he seemed like
the odds-on favorite. Danson, however, had more acting experience and was
younger than Dryer. So, producers chose him. Danson’s lanky frame necessitating
altering the character’s past life from football to baseball. Interestingly,
Danson cared not a hoot for sports of any kind and had no prior knowledge of
baseball. He also had to be sent to bartending school to learn how to mix
drinks. As for Shelley Long, she preferred to be offered the role outright,
rather than to compete for it. Reluctantly, Long came in for an interview and,
with ease, convinced producers she was right for the job.
On the peripheries of these
struggling romantic entanglement, was Carla Tortelli – newly divorced from her
cad/husband, Nick (Dan Hedaya), and thereafter, generally attracted to bad
boys, chronically to derail her happiness. Carla would eventually wed hockey
player, Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas) only to lose him in a freak accident. As for
Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin – they effectively became the Statler and
Waldorf of the series, cribbing off each other’s various ineptitudes while
providing a running commentary on the rest of the cast’s foibles, with oft
scathing opinions about their cohort’s lives. Cliff, a postal worker, lived
with his domineering mother, Esther (Frances Sternhagen) while Norm was married
to Vera – a character never to appear on the show, but cleverly delineated in
the audience’s mind by Norm’s nonchalant jibes about her behavior towards him. Interestingly,
when Frasier became his own sitcom series after Cheers’ retirement, the
same tactic was applied to reference Maris, the never-to-be-seen wife of Frasier’s
brother, Niles (played by David Hyde Pierce).
During its run, Cheers
brought in some ‘then’ fresh faces to provide support – the list, far too
extensive to mention herein. But some of the luminaries included Fred Dryer (to
eventually get his own show, Hunter 1984-91) as sports reporter, Dave
Richards, Annie Golden as Margaret O’Keefe - a potential romantic interest for
Cliff, Derek McGrath as psychotic Andy Schroeder who almost murders Diane
during a performance of Othello, Tom Skerritt as Rebecca’s boss, Evan Drake,
Michael McGuire as Diane’s married lover, Professor Sumner Sloan, Glynis Johns, as
Diane’s mum, Helen, Celeste Holm as Sam’s mother, Harry Anderson as con-artist,
Harry ‘The Hat’ Gittes, Roger Rees as Rebecca’s devious paramour, Robin
Colcord, Harry Connick Jr. as Woody’s musically-inclined cousin, and, Jackie
Swanson as Kelly Gaines – a dim-witted love interest for Woody Boyd. Kelly and
Woody would eventually wed.
Of the aforementioned notables,
only John Cleese would go on it win an Emmy for his guest appearance as Dr.
Simon Finch-Royce. Owing to the series’ popularity, producers attracted some
fairy heady talent in cameos - Emma Thompson as Frasier's ex-wife, Christopher
Lloyd, a tortured artist, Marcia Cross as Rebecca's sister, and stud du jour,
Tom Berenger as the man whom Rebecca weds in the series’ finale. Unknowingly,
at least at the time, Cheers also had its tie-ins with the spin-off
success of Frasier as costars from that later runaway hit (as yet to
even be under consideration when Cheers was on the air), John Mahoney
and Peri Gilpin (came to play Frasier’s father, Martin, and programming
director, Roz Doyle) but first appeared on Cheers as a maladroit jingle
writer and reporter, Holly Matheson respectively. Cheers also featured a
parade of sports celebrities: Luis Tiant, Wade Boggs and Kevin McHale, loosely
connected with Sam’s past, as well as TV luminaries like Alex Trebek, Arsenio
Hall, Dick Cavett, Robert Urich, George McFarland and Johnny Carson, and
appearances from politicos of their time, Admiral William J. Crowe, Senator
Gary Hart, then-Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, Senator John Kerry, then-Governor
Michael Dukakis, Ethel Kennedy and then-Mayor of Boston, Raymond Flynn.
In retrospect, one of the most miraculous aspects about Cheers is
how much of it takes place on one set. The interiors of the famed watering hole
were all shot on Stage 25 at Paramount Studios. When Cheers wrapped, its
1,000 sq. ft. bar room was offered to the Smithsonian, which turned it down
because it was too large. Briefly, the set appeared at the now defunct
Hollywood Entertainment Museum, before being returned to storage at Paramount
where it would remain locked away until 2014. Owing to Burrows due diligence for
its preservation – the set was donated, with CBS’s blessings, to the Museum of
Television. For the first season, apart from the stock shots photographed just
outside Boston’s The Bull and Finch Pub on Beacon Hill
we never leave the Cheers bar for a moment. The first time we do is for
the debut of Season 2 – another set, depicting Diane’s apartment. As for
The Bull and Finch, its location was selected by co-creator, Glen
Charles at random out of the phone directory when the pub’s owner, Tom Kershaw,
agreed to allow exteriors to be shot and interior photographs to be taken for
one-dollar! Kershaw was the real winner however, as Cheers would make
his bar internationally famous. As of 1997, The Bull and Finch ranks as
the 42nd most popular pub and eatery in the whole United States with
Kershaw granted the rights to market a line of Cheers promotional
materials to capitalize on the show’s enduring popularity.
Cheers was also
modestly ‘progressive’ for its time, with its tongue-firmly-in-cheek, tackling
issues such as feminism/chauvinism, addiction, homosexuality, and adultery with
a wink and a nudge. Cheers might have ended its legacy run after the
departure of Shelley Long. Instead, producers recalculated the show’s appeal on
creating a minor shakeup in the bar’s management. Sam sold the bar to a
corporation who appoint a new overseer, Rebecca Howe. Alas, when Sam’s retirement
proved short-lived, he begged Rebecca to hire him back. She did – but only as a
lowly bartender. At the end of Season 6, the tide turned yet again.
Rebecca was fired and Sam, promoted to manager, hiring Rebecca back to work for
him. This tug-o-war continued as Sam exposed Rebecca’s fiancée, Robin Colcord
of insider trading, forcing the corporation’s hand to sell the bar back to him.
As Cheers’ billiard room and bathrooms were always the property of Melville's –
the restaurant directly above it, Rebecca secretly purchased the deed from its
caustic owner, John Allen Hill (Keene Curtis) ensuring she and Sam would remain
partners for the duration of the show’s run.
For decades, rumors have circulated
Cheers was actually a reboot of Park Street Under, a little seen,
and even less-remembered 1979 sitcom, a myth dispelled by Glen and Les Charles,
and, James Burrows, who affectionately have referenced themselves as ‘two
morons and a Jew’. Actually, their original concept was based around the
closely interwoven lives of its costars, vaguely to resemble the structure and
narrative arcs developed on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77). While
Burrows briefly suggested the action be set in a hotel or inn, as in an
Americanized version of the short-lived, though much-beloved Brit-based sitcom,
Fawlty Towers (1975-79), Cheers more directly began to resemble
the popular American radio program, Duffy’s Tavern (1941-51) written by
Burrow’s father, Abe. The final
inspiration for Cheers was a show built around the antagonistic
on-screen chemistry of Hollywood greats, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn,
on which Sam and Diane were loosely modeled, with Sam’s proletariat appeal
squarely pitted against his more dryly sophisticated/pseudo-intellectual
paramour.
As previously mentioned, Cheers
was hardly an instant hit with audiences. Cheers survival beyond its
first year was largely owed its status among critics, its solid performance at
the Emmys (where it won Best Direction and Best Original Comedy Series), and
the faith exhibited in it by NBC’s President, Brandon Tartikoff, publicly to
champion Cheers as an astutely ‘adult’ sitcom with great potential, but
quietly to acknowledge his network had ‘nothing better’ to put on in its’ stead.
By its second season, Cheers was offering strong competition to CBS’s
top-rated action/drama, Simon & Simon (1981-89) and rapidly
advancing to overtake NBC’s other beloved sitcom, Family Ties (1982-89).
From Season 2 to Season 5, Cheers’ ratings bonanza
incrementally swelled, cresting with its highest rating ever for Season 5’s
finale. Although ratings steadily declined thereafter, Cheers held tight
to its ‘top ten’ status for the rest of its run. To honor its farewell, NBC
devoted a whole night’s primetime broadcasting to an anthology celebration of
all that had gone before it, capped off by the series’ actual finale. Falling
short of NBC’s ambitions to make Cheers’ swan song the ‘most watched’
episode in television history (that honor is still held by primetime soap
opera, Dallas for its ‘Who Shot J.R.?’ episode) the end of Cheers
was nevertheless the ‘most watched’ show of 1993 and remains the second
‘most watched’ in TV’s hallowed pantheon of greats. Not bad. Not bad, at all.
Since its’ departure, Cheers
has remained a perennial, syndicated in 38 countries around the world and rerun
on 179 American TV outlets, maintaining a solid 83 million viewers on average. When a show is this beloved, it also stands
to reason its original elements are oft in danger, suffering considerable
damage and wear-and-tear from overprinting and redistribution. Cheers is
no exception to this rule, particularly in the years when studios could see no
‘resale’ value in preserving their catalog beyond immediate profits.
Mercifully, co-creator, Burrows’ early foresight that Cheers be shot on
film rather than video-tape (as was the norm for sitcoms of its vintage)
ensured its image fidelity could be brought back from the brink with a bit of
digital massaging to restore and remaster it. Important to note, although shot
on film, Cheers was edited back onto tape resulting in some interesting
anomalies on Paramount’s previously released DVD box set, including several
episodes sporting considerable color fading, boosted contrast, and, even some
needless – and painful – interlacing. Cheers was given a considerable
video upgrade in 2001, shortly thereafter reborn as a staple on Nick at Nite,
before migrating over to the Hallmark Channel in 2008, then WGN America
in 2009. As of 2011, Cheers is available for streaming on Netflix. As
for physical media: Paramount Home Entertainment, to be absorbed and rebranded CBS
Home Entertainment in 2006 after the studio’s split from its one-time parent
company - Viacom, has long-since made Cheers available on DVD. Owing to
the exorbitant, and some would argue, extortionist demands of ASCAP (American
Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), a handful of episodes from Cheers’
last 3 seasons have had music substitutions. For example, in Season 9’s Grease,
Bobby Fuller’s ‘I Fought the Law’ has been excised to the detriment of
some of this episode’s pivotal one-liners, and, at 73-mins., it is now
represented in its 3-part syndicated cut.
But now, cometh the Blu-ray –
long-overdue, but not altogether what fans are probably expecting, as CBS has
taken no extra time or steps to make the necessary video upgrades and correct
the aforementioned ‘interlacing’ of various episodes, nor to provide a viable
video master for some, now even more transparently sourced from video tapes
rather than film (and looking it, with an incredible loss of color
saturation/density, and absurdly boost contrast). No further ‘clean-up’ of
age-related dirt and scratches (intermittent at best, though nevertheless
present) has been performed. And more than a handful of episodes still contain
weird anomalies – as in suddenly switching back and forth from ‘film-based’
content to video tape masters, but only for a shot here or there. When the
image does snap together, it can look quite marvelous, with vastly improved
color saturation, good solid contrast and black levels, a light smattering of
grain appearing indigenous to its source, to provide excellent overall image
refinement in clarity and crispness.
Alas, Cheers on Blu-ray is a
real ‘Frankenstein’ mess of a mastering effort, stitching together
disparate elements, and, such an incredible shame too that Paramount could not
see the intrinsic value in its one-time cornerstone of American television
broadcasting, or, for that matter, see their own way clear to spend a bit more
to perform the necessary ‘heavy lifting’ to prep and present these episodes as
they ought to appear in an age of advanced video/film mastering, capable of
resurrecting careworn elements from the brink, as well as correcting
shortcomings made, prior to these advantages in technology. The audio on the
first 4 seasons is DTS 2.0 mono, as these episodes were originally aired in an
era before stereo was possible on TV. From Season 5 on, the audio
switches to a 5.1 DTS mix, with clearly delineated advancements in the overall
sonic resonance and spatial separation of score and laugh tracks – particularly
heard during the theme song and end titles. For shame, CBS. Apart from the scattered few 'legacy' features which were a part of the first 3 seasons of Cheers on DVD, Paramount offers no new extras. Bottom line: Cheers is a seminal sitcom in American television
history. It deserves better than this. Are these discs ‘viewable’. Yes. Could they have been better? Absolutely!
Judge and buy accordingly.
FILM RATING (out
of 5 – 5 being the best)
Overall – 4
VIDEO/AUDIO
3.5
EXTRAS
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