This episode might as well be called "Cheers: The Reboot" or "Cheers Part II." Shelley Long left the show, taking the character of Diane Chambers with her, and Kirstie Alley stepped in as the female lead, beginning a new chapter and eventually, a brand new show. The Diane years were better in my opinion... it was just a better premise, and Shelley Long was unbelievably brilliant. Still, I love the Rebecca years as well, for different reasons.
This episode- almost a second pilot- should win an award for the most exposition in a single half-hour. We learn that Diane failed as a novelist and that she's in Hollywood writing for television, that Sam sold the bar, went sailing around the world and sank his boat, and that the corporation that now owns Cheers put a new bar manager in place: the icy, gorgeous Rebecca Howe.
It's a lot of information to take in all at once, and it's a testament to the writing staff and direction of James Burrows that the episode doesn't feel like bitter medicine. It's actually fun watching Sam work his way back into the bar while the regulars conspire to oust humorless robo-tender Wayne. By the time Cliffie emerges from the poolroom to order his Screaming Viking it is clear that the show is still strong even without Diane, and that there were plenty more stories and laughs to come. If Cheers I was the setup then Cheers II is the punchline, a sillier show with a more lighthearted approach to romantic story arcs.
Season Six would be spotty... Rebecca goes from Terminator to Class-A Screwball, and the uniforms and tablecloths would slowly, magically vanish from sight. This would be a period of adjustment, with a lot of laughs and a few memorable episodes along the way. "Oh, death in life, the days that are no more..."
Who said that?
GRADE: B+
This episode- almost a second pilot- should win an award for the most exposition in a single half-hour. We learn that Diane failed as a novelist and that she's in Hollywood writing for television, that Sam sold the bar, went sailing around the world and sank his boat, and that the corporation that now owns Cheers put a new bar manager in place: the icy, gorgeous Rebecca Howe.
It's a lot of information to take in all at once, and it's a testament to the writing staff and direction of James Burrows that the episode doesn't feel like bitter medicine. It's actually fun watching Sam work his way back into the bar while the regulars conspire to oust humorless robo-tender Wayne. By the time Cliffie emerges from the poolroom to order his Screaming Viking it is clear that the show is still strong even without Diane, and that there were plenty more stories and laughs to come. If Cheers I was the setup then Cheers II is the punchline, a sillier show with a more lighthearted approach to romantic story arcs.
Season Six would be spotty... Rebecca goes from Terminator to Class-A Screwball, and the uniforms and tablecloths would slowly, magically vanish from sight. This would be a period of adjustment, with a lot of laughs and a few memorable episodes along the way. "Oh, death in life, the days that are no more..."
Who said that?
GRADE: B+
