In 1982, NBC invited us to go "where everybody knows your name" with the debut of the long-running sitcom
Cheers.
35 years later, it's still one of the most watched sitcoms of all time. I plan to sit down and watch my favorite episodes to celebrate
Cheers' anniversary this weekend. Here are my top five in no particular order:
- Sam & Diane's first kiss.
It was awkwardly hilarious and set the tone for the next season.
- Dr. Frasier Crane's first appearance. The uptight, over-educated, and under-socialized shrink just wanted to be "one of the guys"SO much. By the end of the run, he'd sort of made it. And then he got his own show (Frasier). Way to go Doc!
- Cliff gets electroshock therapy. When Cliff had his appendix out, not one person from Cheers went to visit him in the hospital. Trying to win over his friends, he subjected himself to an electric shock every time he did something annoying - which was a lot!
- Woody's writes a song for Kelly. Poor Woody fell in love with a girl above his station. When her birthday rolled around, he realized he was out of his financial league, so he poured his heart in a song with a one-word chorus, "Kelly Kelly Kelly Kelly..." You know the rest.
- The one where we get to see Vera. Well, almost. Norm's elusive wife makes an appearance in the fifth season ("Thanksgiving Orphans"), but she's hit in the face with a pie, which means we still don't get to see her!
If I had to pick a sixth favorite it would be the one where the Cheers crowd shouts "Nahm!" when Norm Peterson walks into the bar. Oh...wait...that's pretty much every episode, so I guess I'll have to binge-watch the entire DVD collection.
And maybe Frasier too!
