Cheers: Difference between revisions

''And they're always glad you came

''You wanna be where you can see our troubles are all the same

 

 

For its first couple seasons, ''Cheers'' was teetering on the brink of cancellation despite acclaim from critics and actually came in dead last in the ratings its first year. [[Network to the Rescue|However, it slowly became one of the most popular shows on television]]. Its final episode, which aired on May 20, 1993, was one of the most watched finales for a sitcom in American television history.

The first draft of the ''Cheers'' script was originally set in a ''hotel'', with wacky guests coming and going (the creators were inspired by ''[[Fawlty Towers]]''). After the vast majority of script ideas ended up set in the hotel's bar, the producers just dropped the hotel concept entirely.

 

 

The show produced two [[Spin-Off|spinoffs]] - ''The Tortellis'', a mainly forgotten one season show featuring Carla's ex-husband Nick and his family; and the very successful ''[[Frasier]]'' which ran for 11 years.

* [[Abhorrent Admirer]]: Martin Teal, who tries to pressure Rebecca into marriage in Season 7. He looks like he's about sixteen and is five feet tall if he's lucky -- but he's also her boss, so corporate lackey Rebecca has a hard time saying No.

* [[Absolute Cleavage]]: Rebecca in "Hot Rocks".

* [[All Girls Want Bad Boys]]: Sam is a definite beneficiary of this trope. It's even lampshaded in one episode, where Lilith invites him to appear on a television show to promote a book she's written about the phenomenon.

* [[All Part of the Show]]: In "Homicidal Ham", Diane and crazy Andy are performing [[Othello]]'s murder of Desdemona, when Andy really begins to strangle Diane. She struggles, causing the present acting scout to exclaim, "[[Alternate Character Interpretation|I love it! A Desdemona who fights back!]]"

** Sam still briefly checks with the acting coach to make sure "Help me, Sam! This psycho's trying to strangle me!" isn't part of the original text of the play. Coach exclaims, "That's the only line of Shakespeare I ever understood!"

* [[Always Someone Better]]: Sam's never-seen brother Derek is wealthier, more popular, and more attractive to women than Sam, giving Sam a lifelong inferiority complex.

* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Philip Semenko.

{{quote|'''Phillip:''' I make love to everything I paint!

'''Diane:''' Your most famous painting is of the Harvard-Yale football game!

* [[Anachronism Stew]]: [[Conversational Troping|Discussed]] in "Abnormal Psychology" after Norm and Cliff return from watching a gladiator movie.

* [[Art Imitates Art]]: The opening credits tried to match up the tavern-goers in the painting with the characters on the show as the actor credits flashed by.

** As well as Tip O'Neill, Alex Trebek, Gary Hart, Dick Cavett, Robert Urich and The Righteous Brothers.

* [[At the Opera Tonight]]: "Diane Chambers Day". Even Diane falls asleep.

* [[Back for the Finale]]: Diane.

* [[Badass Beard]]: The boys have a beard-growing contest in "Two Girls for Every Boyd".

* [[Bait and Switch Credits]]: The final episode ended with white-on-black credits, instead of the usual yellow. In addition, a [[Lonely Piano Piece]] version of the theme played instead of the usual orchestration.

* [[Bald of Evil]]: John Hill to Sam.

* [[Bar Slide]]: Sam has a trick where he can slide a glass of beer around a corner to a customer.

* [[Bathroom Stall Graffiti]]: Many times and examples.

{{quote|'''Frasier:''' It took all afternoon, but I finally washed off all of Carla's phone number in the men's bathroom.

** [[Memetic Number]] / [[Shout-Out]]: In "Coach Returns to Action", a graffito reads "For a good time call Diane Chambers [[wikipedia:867-5309/Jenny|867-5309]]" (Carla was responsible for that as well. When Diane discovers it and tries to erase it, Carla huffs, "Sheesh! I was doing you a ''favor''!")

* [[Batman Gambit]]: Robin Colcord and Gary of "Gary's Olde Towne Tavern" pull these a lot. And while Harry The Hat usually just cons people or steals from them when he appears, he also has two spectacular [[Batman Gambit|Batman Gambits]] to his name, both of which helped Sam.

** Carla and John Allen Hill have this in later seasons.

* [[Benevolent Boss]]: Sam is usually this.

* [[Berserk Button]]: Never say anything bad about Cliff's mom in front of him. And never, ever suggest that someday she will die.

** Don't make jokes about Sam's alcoholism in front of Carla.

** If Diane has left (even only for what the characters didn't know would be a summer break and the season premiere), do ''not'' mention her around Carla.

* [[Big Damn Kiss]]:

** Sam and Diane, of course, had a famous one in Season 1 finale "Showdown (Part 2)". See [[Slap Slap Kiss]] below.

** Frasier and Lilith, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGDq7bchbEU after she lets her hair down]. Doubles as a [["Shut Up" Kiss]].

{{quote|'''Diane:''' Sam, I have to ask you a question. Promise me you won't make a joke out of it.

'''Sam:''' Yeah, I promise. what's up?

'''Sam:''' Yes.

'''Diane:''' Ha! ha! Now that we've gotten the joke over, will you please help me? This is a strange question, but it's important. Do you think I'm crazy?

** It's even funnier when you consider Diane met Frasier ''as a patient in a sanitarium''.

* [[Book Ends]]: The first episode opens with Sam Malone coming out of the back room, turning on the lights and opening the bar. The final episode ends with Sam locking the bar, turning off the lights, and strolling back into the back room.

** The Diane years had their own [[Book Ends]]. In the show's first episode snooty professor Sumner Sloane brings Diane to the bar and she winds up staying there to work after he dumps her. At the end of Season Five, Sumner comes back to Cheers and lures Diane away.

* [[Bottle Episode]]: Many episodes, especially early on, never leave the bar.

* [[Brotherhood of Funny Hats]]: Cliff gets Norm to join the "Knights of the Scimitar", where they wear turbans.

* [[Bucket Booby Trap]]: For Diane in "Suspicion".

* [[The Bus Came Back]]: The last season saw several. Besides Diane's [[Back for the Finale]] appearance, recurring characters Harry the Hat, Nick and Loretta Tortelli, Robin Colcord, and Andy-Andy made guest appearances in Season 11 after long absences. Lilith also popped back up after being written off the show at the beginning of Season 11.

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Diane became more and more of one during her time on the show, and long after she left, the other characters were still getting in digs at her.

** To say nothing of Cliff. And Lilith. And Rebecca!

* [[The Cameo]]: Luis Tiant and Wade Boggs of the Red Sox, Dick Cavett, Adm. William J. Crowe (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), Arsenio Hall, Robert Urich, Johnny Carson, Mike Ditka, Kim Alexis, Ethel Kennedy, [[The Little Rascals|George McFarland]], [[The Righteous Brothers|Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield]]

* [[Can't Act Perverted Toward a Love Interest]]: Sam respected Diane too much for that from the beginning. Instead, she had become his [[The Confidant|confidant]].

* [[The Cast Showoff]]: In "Mr. Otis Regrets", everyone jokes about Lilith's lack of singing ability when she takes lessons so she can sing to her baby, until the ending, when Lilith sings a beautiful lullaby. In [[Real Life]] [[Bebe Neuwirth]] was (and is) an excellent stage singer who was famous for playing Velma Kelly in ''[[Chicago]]'' long before she was cast on ''Cheers''.

* [[Catapult Nightmare]]: Sam in "The Impossible Dream (Part 2)"

'''Emily:''' You do that and I'll hurt yours right back.

'''Frasier:''' ''Kitten'' fight.

* [[Character Filibuster]]: Diane, who has written a long-winded novel, recorded a long-winded answering machine message, and made long-winded speeches.

** She even once wrote a letter of resignation to Sam that went on for pages and pages.

** Her novel became a screenplay only after several thousand pages were cut. She was baffled why the original novel was never picked up.

* [[The Chew Toy]]: Rebecca. The writers seemed tireless in finding ways for her life to fall apart.

* [[Christmas in July]]: Diane's next-to-last episode, "A House Is Not a Home".

* [[Circumcision Angst]]: Frasier panics when it's time for Frederick to have his bris.

* [[Cliff Hanger]]: Used frequently in the "Diane" years and sparingly thereafter.

** Each of the first four seasons ends with a cliffhanger that has to do with Sam and Diane's [[Will They or Won't They?|relationship]]. The most extreme case is the 4th season finale, which consists of the last three episodes of that season. The first and second episodes have cliffhangers of their own, and the third one ends the season with a massive one: Sam makes a phone call {{spoiler|to propose}}, but the episode ends before the recipient is revealed.

* [[Clip Show]] / [[Milestone Celebration]] / [[Something Completely Different]]: The "200th Anniversary Special", which had John McLaughlin (of the syndicated political show ''The McLaughlin Group'') hosting a panel discussion with the show's cast, writers, and producers, interspersed with clips from earlier episodes.

* [[Closed Door Rapport]]: In "Dinner at Eight-ish", Lilith, Frasier, and Diane each retreat into the bathroom after different arguments over their relationships.

{{quote|'''Diane:''' Doctor, there's still one thing you haven't considered...

'''Dr. Simon Finch-Royce:''' Ok; Sam, Diane, you two are perfect together. I'm sorry I made a mistake before but you are the most perfectly matched couple ever. But, why am I telling this to you? Let's share it with the rest of the world. ''(opens window)'' Hear this, world. The rest of you can stop getting married. It's been done to perfection. Envy them, sofa, envy them, chair, for you shall never be as cozy as they for their union shall be an epoch-shattering success and '''I STAKE MY LIFE ON IT'''. Wait a moment, let me get this on record - ''(speaks into his tape recorder)'' "I, Dr. Simon Finch-Royce, being of sound mind and body declare that Sam and Diane shall be happy together throughout all eternity and if I am wrong I promise I will take my own life in the most disgusting manner possible." ''(shoves tape recorder at Diane)'' Here, take the tape, NO, take the whole machine. It's my wedding gift to you. THE MOST PERFECT COUPLE '''''SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME!!!!!!!!!!!'''''

* [[The Confidant]]

* [[Confusing Multiple Negatives]]: Used by Sam in an attempt to get Diane to sleep with him.

* [[The Couch]]: The one in Sam's office sees a lot of action.

* [[Courtroom Episode]]: Sam has to propose to Diane to stay out of jail in "Chambers vs. Malone".

* [[Dartboard of Hate]]: Frasier takes shots at a dartboard with Lilith's face on it in "Is There a Doctor In the Howe?".

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Carla mostly, but Diane and Norm both enjoy getting their shots in.

* [[Demoted to Extra]]: The show was originally supposed to include a crotchety old spinster named "Mrs. Littlefield" among the bar regulars. But [http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2007/08/cheers-names-not-everybody-knows.html according to series writer Ken Levine], the character "didn't really score" and she was reduced to a background part in the pilot episode (and omitted entirely after that).

* [[Diagonal Billing]]: used for Ted Danson and Shelley Long in the credits.

* [[Disappeared Dad]]: Cliff's long-lost father pops up in "The Barstoolie".

* [[Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe]]: In one episode, Sam started acting very sophisticated and debonair, including lighting up a pipe. Then Diane woke up (it was [[All Just a Dream]]). When she looked through Sam's desk she found an actual pipe, causing her to wonder [[Or Was It a Dream?]]...then she looked at the pipe more carefully, blew into it and [[Bubble Pipe|bubbles came out]].

** Woody's girlfriend Kelly was a combination of this and [[Rich in Dollars, Poor In Sense]].

** Also Loretta, the [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife|trophy wife]] of Carla's ex-husband Nick Tortelli.

* [[Double Date]]: Sam, Diane, and Andy-Andy.

* [[Dream Within a Dream]]: "Diane's Nightmare"

* [[Drop What You Are Doing]]: Twice in "My Fair Clavin".

* [[Drunk on Milk]]: Cliff gets trashed on fake beer in "License to Hill".

* [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette]]: Lilith.

* [[Embarrassing First Name]]

** Norm's real first name is "Hillary".

* [[Establishing Shot]]: Many of the Bull and Finch in Boston, both in the opening credits and within episodes, as well as other Establishing Shots of the Boston skyline from time to time.

* [[Et Tu, Brute?]]: Diane says "Et tu, Woody?" in "Save the Last Dance for Me" after Woody echoes Sam and talks about "picking up the babes."

* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: Ernie Pantuso, known to all as the Coach.

** "Is there an Ernie Pantuso here?" "That's you, Coach."

* [[Everyone Hates Mimes]]: In "2 Good 2 Be 4 Real"--with the unsurprising exception of Diane, who even insists on pronouncing it "[[It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY"|meem]]".

* [[Expy]]: Sam Malone is an Expy of Jon Lonborg. The photo of Sam pitching behind the bar is Lonborg, and Sam even wore Lonborg's number.

* [[The Faceless]]: Norm's wife Vera.

** Also Norm's horny niece Donna.

* [[Fallen-On-Hard-Times Job]]: Sam, the ex-Red Sox star. Eddie--once a Bruin, later a Penguin (in the Ice Capades).

* [[Feigning Intelligence]]: Cliff.

* [[555]]: "Any Friend of Diane's", "One Hugs, the Other Doesn't", "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Everyone Imitates Art", "Never Love a Goalie (Part 1)", "How to Win Friends and Electrocute People"

* [[Foiler Footage]]: A fake ending to Sam and Diane's {{spoiler|wedding}} and season finale was filmed with the audience present so no one would spoil the ending {{spoiler|and reveal it to be Diane's last episode}}.

* [[Frothy Mugs of Water]]: In-universe example. One episode has Rebecca manage the bar while Sam and the guys play poker in the back room. In short order, Rebecca discovers the bar's liquor license has expired (the renewal was returned due to insufficient postage) and she's forced to sell non-alcoholic drinks.

* [[Gainax Ending]]: The series had many. Perhaps the most famous and [[Tear Jerker|heartbreaking]] was the end of "Dark Imaginings". Sam is feeling old because of a hernia, but Diane and a fellow patient manage to convince him he's only as old as he feels. However, when he finds out the young woman visiting the fellow patient is the patient's daughter, and she calls him "[["Ma'am" Shock|sir]]", Sam is rocked. The final shot is of Sam sitting at a window watching the rain, realizing that while he's not an old man, time is slipping away for him, and he has nothing to show for it.

** In Season 11, she makes another, and the entire cast wanders in with a hangover to end all hangovers.

{{quote|'''Sam:''' Hi, Fras.

* [[Gay Aesop]] / [[Gaydar]] / [[Invisible to Gaydar]]: Sam's old baseball teammate comes out in "The Boys in the Bar", causing much consternation.

* [[The Ghost]]: Vera Peterson, although she later becomes [[The Faceless]]. Also Sam's brother Derek in Season 1 finale "Showdown (Parts 1 and 2)".

** In a subversion of the trope, Cliff's ''real'' girlfriend Maggie ends up living in Canada.

* [[Girls Love Stuffed Animals]]: Diane keeps a whole menagerie in her apartment.

* [[Gold Digger]]: Rebecca.

{{quote|"I only loved your for your money!"}}

* [[Good News, Bad News]]: Sam in "Wedding Day"--"I lied about the good news."

* [[Grand Finale]]: "One for the Road", a 98-minute episode involving Norm finally getting a job, Cliff getting a promotion, Rebecca getting married, and the return of Diane Chambers.

** "Diane's Nightmare", in which Diane dreams of the return of Andy Andy.

** "Bar Wars V: The Final Judgment", in which a prank on Gary's Olde Town Tavern appears to have terrible consequences.

* [[Her Codename Was Mary Sue]]: In the final episode, we learn Diane has written an award-winning [[Made for TV Movie]] called ''The Heart Held Hostage'', the central character of which is a thinly-veiled version of Carla.

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: Cliff and Norm.

* [[Hit Me Dammit]]: Coach holds the minor-league record for being hit by pitches and demands that Diane throw a baseball at him. The streak stays alive.

* [[How's Your British Accent?]]: In "The Magnificent Six", [[French Jerk]] Henri, played by American actor Anthony Cistaro, uses an American accent to pick up a girl who doesn't like French guys.

* [[Hypno Fool]]: Woody and Lilith in "Veggie-Boyd".

'''Frasier:''' Oh I'm sure it's just a nice, regular rural town in the Midwest.

'''Norm:''' Ever thought about visiting there?

* [[Dumb Blonde|Idiot Blonde]]: Loretta Tortelli.

{{quote|"Hurry up Nick, we're going to miss the Menudo concert!"}}

** Kelly Gaines is a milder version.

* [[I'll Take Two Beers, Too!]]

*** In a more heartbreaking moment, Sam sees his imaginary son vanishing when he and Rebecca break off the plans.

** In Season 11, Frasier fantasized about Woody becoming President of the United States. [[Nuke'Em|His fantasy doesn't end well.]]

* [[It's Been Done]]: Woody's subplot in the episode "Young Dr. Weinstein" has him trying to create a new beverage to get into the Bartending Hall Of Fame. His first attempt, which he calls "Woody's Blue Boyd of Happiness", turns out to already exist (a [http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink1402.html Blue Moon]).

* [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]]: Frasier with Lilith, after long childishness.

** With an occasional extra dollop of [[Comedic Sociopathy]] on Carla's part, such as when she locked Rebecca inside the ventilation system overnight, or when she forced Cliff to eat a bug on his birthday which later laid eggs in his stomach.

* [[Jekyll and Hyde]]: Norm and "Kreitzer" the alter ego he invents to force his slacker employees in his paint company to work.

* [[Laser Hallway]]: Sam and Rebecca accidentally trigger the security system in Robin Colcord's apartment in "The Art of the Steal".

* [[Last Unsmoked Cigarette]]: Sam's lucky bottle cap, as a symbol of his former, drinking life.

* [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall]]: In Season 11's "The Last Picture Show", some of the gang go to an old drive-in theater and see a Godzilla movie. Cliff notices that the lead actress in this edition of the Godzilla series has been recast. Cue the following bit of dialogue:

{{quote|'''Norm''': She left halfway through the Godzilla series.

** The last line of the series.

{{quote|'''Sam''': I'm sorry; we're closed.}}

* [[Letting Her Hair Down]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGDq7bchbEU Lilith]. Invoked by Diane and Sam in "Abnormal Psychology", and lampshaded/defied/played straight by Frasier.

{{quote|"Don't you see? What these two people, who are such geniuses at romance - are trying to do is to get your hair down, thinking that it will stimulate me like some kind of Pavlovian dog."}}

** It still works, of course.

* [[Little-Known Facts]]: Oh, Cliff.

* [[The Loins Sleep Tonight]]: Sam deals with this in "Baby Talk" when thinking about making a baby with Rebecca makes him unable to make a baby.

* [[Long Runners]]: Probably the only scripted TV series to both qualify for this honor and have a [[Spin-Off]] that qualified for this honor.

* [[Look Behind You!]]: Sam uses "Oh my God, look at the size of that cat!" to get out of a restaurant bill in "Young Dr. Weinstein".

* [[Mars and Venus Gender Contrast]]: A lot of the humor, dialogue, plot and characterization runs on this.

* [[Massive Multiplayer Scam]]: Frequently a part of "Bar Wars" episodes.

* [[Mathematician's Answer]]: Both Cliff and Woody had a tendency to give these, although for different reasons.

* [[The Missus and the Ex]]: In "One Hugs, the Other Doesn't", Frasier and Lilith run into Frasier's (previously unmentioned) ex-wife.

* [[Mistaken for Gay]]: Evan Drake thinks Rebecca is a lesbian ("A Kiss Is Still a Kiss").

* [[Mistaken for Profound]]: Woody when running for city council.

* [[Mother-Daughter Threesome]]: An episode had Sam daydreaming about this — the teen-aged daughter of one of his girlfriends (who called him "Uncle Sammie") started talking to him about male-female attraction. It turns out she was actually talking about her new boyfriend.

* [[My Beloved Smother]]: Ma Clavin, but also Lilith's mother in "Smother Love".

* [[Nails on a Blackboard]]: In "Showdown, Part 2" (the Season 1 finale), Diane does this to force Sam to admit his feelings.

* [[Never Gets Drunk]]: For a show in a bar about about people who drank a lot, drunkenness was very rarely shown, although the aftermath was shown more than a few times.

* [[New Old Flame]]:

* [[Non-Ironic Clown]]: Frasier is drafted by Rebecca to be a clown for a corporate children's party in "Send in the Crane".

* [[No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup]]: Woody's subplot from "Young Dr. Weinstein" (see [[It's Been Done]]) ends with him finally succeeding in creating an original drink. Unfortunately, he can't remember what he put in it.

* [[Not Even Bothering with the Accent]]: This is a show about a bar in Boston, Massachusetts, but of the regular characters Cliff is the only one with even an approximation of a New England accent.

* [[Not Listening to Me, Are You?]]: Woody tunes Frasier out in "The Book of Samuel".

* [[Number One Dime]]: Sam's [[Last Unsmoked Cigarette|lucky bottle cap]], from the last bottle of alcohol he drank before quitting.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: While Woody is a simpleton, but his father seems to be intelligent. For example, he bowed out of investing in Norm's Tan 'N' Wash because he states, "You know, when I left home, my father gave me some very sound advice. Never trust a man who can't look you in the eye, never talk when you can listen, and never spend venture capital on a limited partnership without a detailed analytical fiduciary prospectus."

* [[Off the Wagon]]: Happens to Sam {{spoiler|when he and Diane break up in the second-season finale}}. And never again.

* [[The Oner]]: The last shot of "Sam at Eleven" the series' fourth episode.

* [[Opposites Attract]]: Sam and Diane.

* [[Perma-Shave]]

* [[Phony Veteran]]: The first scene of the first episode involves a kid (who looks about ''12'') with a phony military ID claiming to be a 'Nam vet.

** This was typically done [[Once Per Episode]], and would be followed by Sam (or Coach, or Woody) asking Norm how things were going and him responding with an amusing one-liner.

{{quote|'''Woody:''' How's life treating you, Mr. Peterson?

* [[Pie in the Face]]: Vera takes on in "Thanksgiving Orphans", thus preserving her status as [[The Faceless]].

* [[The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything]]: Diane is a waitress at Cheers, but she seems to spend a lot more time reading a book at the bar or flirting/arguing with Sam than she does serving customers. This is just one of the many reasons Carla hates her.

* [[Plot Allergy]]: "Diane's Allergy" is brought on by Diane's anxiety over moving in with Frasier.

* [[Politician Guest Star]]: From Boston, Mayor Raymond Flynn and Speaker of the House Rep. Tip O'Neill. From the state of Massachusetts, Sen. John Kerry and Gov. Michael Dukakis. Also, Senator and two-time presidential candidate Gary Hart of Colorado.

* [[Poor Man's Porn]]: Norm subscribes to the Victoria's Secret catalogue.

* [[Prepositions Are Not to End Sentences With]]: Diane has a fantasy of her "perfect" Sam, and he does this to her.

* [["Previously On..."]]: A couple of parodies and variations were used for the show, including an amusing recap narrated in a rambling fashion by Coach, who forgot significant plot details and had to start over.

** Another recap featured Cliff explaining what happened in an episode that happened to be Frasier's first appearance, while showing a slideshow of his (Cliff, that is) vacation in Florida.

* [[Prison]]: Rebecca visits Robin Colcord there.

* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: After Kirstie Alley got pregnant during Season 9, the writers crafted a storyline in which Rebecca and Sam decided to conceive a child together. After Alley had a miscarriage, Sam and Rebecca change their minds.

* [[Really Gets Around]]: Carla, who not only Really Gets Around but is seemingly constantly pregnant. Sam is portrayed this way right at the end of the series, which was something of a departure for a show that previously seemed to view him as a [[The Casanova|Casanova]].

* [[Sanity Slippage]]: Diane, after breaking up with Sam. She ends up in an insane asylum, which she insists is a "[[Insistent Terminology|health spa]]". Everyone who saw her there, however, is shocked she was released so quickly.

* [[Second Face Smoke]]: Rebecca does this to Sam when he tries to get her to give up smoking.

** Other Series Continuity Errors with ''Frasier'', mainly Frasier referring to his father as 1) an eminent psychiatrist and 2) dead, were [[Retcon|explained away]] on ''Frasier'' as Frasier basically lying because he was not on good terms with his father at that time.

** The final teaser for Season 3 featured a scene with Coach (after Nicholas Colasanto had passed away) and Carla. Astute viewers would have instantly noticed that the scene was shot a long time before the airing because Carla (and Rhea Perlman herself) is not pregnant. The writers and producers knew this, however - it was used as a tribute to Colasanto since [[Reality Subtext|Coach was talking about a man who could see much farther than anyone realized.]]

** After Nicholas Colasanto died, a picture of Geronimo was taken from his dressing room and hung in the main set, where it stayed for the rest of the show's run. Sam Malone straightens the Geronimo picture before walking off stage in the final scene of the series.

* [[Side Bet]]: In Season 5 finale "I Do and Adieu", money keeps going back and forth as Sam and Diane hesitate on the edge of marriage.

** Even funnier is when the next winner's ball is "11". Woody looks at it and calls out "Eleven!", then looks at it upside down, and mutters, "Oh, no. Not again."

* [[Slap Slap Kiss]]: Sam and Diane, nearly constantly.

{{quote|'''Sam''': [http://dianechambers87.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/kiss.wav You are the nuttiest, the stupidest, the phoniest fruitcake I ever met!]

* [[Slobs Versus Snobs]]

* [[Small Name, Big Ego]]

* [[Split-Screen Phone Call]]: More than once during the Season 3 arc where Diane goes off to Europe with Frasier but keeps calling Sam.

** Again in the series finale, "One for the Road", when Diane calls Sam up after six years away.

* [[Stock Sitcom Grand Finale]]: Follows the template pretty closely. Rebecca leaves first, and apparently permanently (to marry Don, although ''[[Frasier]]'' let us know she'd returned to Cheers as a barfly), the rest of the cast strolls out the front door, Norm hangs back for a bit to have a talk with Sam, and then Sam exits into the pool room.

* "''Cheers'' was filmed before a live [[Studio Audience]]."

* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: Woody, for Coach; Rebecca, for Diane

* [[The Teaser]]: The show always opened with one.

* [[Theme Tune]]: A particularly catchy one.

* [[This Is My Chair]]: Norm and his stool. At one point a yuppie steals it and is informed that Norm has been sitting there "since the Johnson administration."

** In the final scene of the series, Norm announces "I love this stool!".

'''Carla:''' They did it to me. But I got the best of them.

'''Norm:''' How's that?

* [[Tropaholics Anonymous]]: In the next-to-last episode of the series, "The Guy Can't Help It", Sam decides that he is a sex addict and joins a support group. This was a jarring plot twist, given that Sam was able to stay faithful to Diane when they were dating, and his [[The Casanova|Casanova]] ways had been generally [[Played for Laughs]] during the show's run.

* [[True Love Is Boring]]: Sam and Diane can't ever work out their issues.

* [[Twitchy Eye]]: Diane's facial tic. It becomes a [[Mythology Gag]] in ''[[Frasier]]''.

* [[Two-Timer Date]]

** For the next couple seasons, Sam works to save up money to buy the bar back. After some difficulties, Sam alerts the corporation that Robin Colcord is embezzling money from the corporation's coffers, and they sell him back the bar for less than a dollar out of gratitude - creating new old management. Rebecca, for her part, gets sacked from her position for keeping silent on the matter, and Sam ends rehiring her as a waitress.

* [[The Un-Reveal]]: 11 years and 275 episodes, and four Bernadett Birkett guest appearances, and [[The Faceless|we never get to see Vera Petersen's face]].

* [[Upper Class Twit]]: Kelly, Rebecca.

* [[Uptown Girl]]: The relationship between Woody the bartender and the millionaire's daughter Kelly Gaines.

* [[The Voice]]: Vera Peterson, voiced by George Wendt's [[Real Life Relative|real-life wife, Bernadette Birkett]].

** Likewise before that, when Diane leaves Frasier at the altar.

** Subverted yet again in "A Fine French Whine" when Woody interrupts Kelly and Henri's [[Citizenship Marriage]].

** And yes, still another subversion in "Someone Single, Someone Blue", when a clause in Diane's father's will requires Diane to get married so Diane's mother can keep the family fortune.

* [[Welcome Episode]]: Diane meets the gang.

* [[What Exactly Is His Job?]]: After Rebecca gets fired from her corporate job and Sam buys back the bar, she works as the bar's manager and then later goes into partnership with Sam--but in fact she doesn't seem to do much of anything. This was a [[Running Gag]] towards the end of the show's run.

* [[Worth It]]: Cliff tricks Carla into being nice to him by making her think he's a judge in a waitressing contest and humiliating her by having her give him foot messages. She naturally finds out and Norm states that Cliff is dead meat. Cliff invokes the trope.

* [[Yes-Man]]: Rebecca will do anything her bosses at the Lilith Corporation tell her to, no matter how menial--organize a kiddie party, babysit a superior's dogs, etc.

** Averted with Bernadette Birkett, who appeared in one episode ("Fairy Tales Can Come True") as Cliff's date, and then four times without ever showing her face as Vera Petersen.

* [[Your Cheating Heart]]: Lilith tells Frasier she's having an affair, and then leaves him, in "Teaching with the Enemy".

* [[Zip Me Up]]: Rebecca tempts a temporarily celibate Sam in "Swear to God".

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[[Category:Work Com]]

[[Category:The Eighties]]

[[Category:American Series]]

[[Category:TV Series]]

[[Category:Sitcom]]