WEBVTT 00:00:00.499 --> 00:00:03.799 You know, there is this there's this really pervasive 00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:07.320 myth in television. And honestly, I think in 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:09.820 business in general. Oh, the idea that quality 00:00:09.820 --> 00:00:12.800 just instantly finds an audience. Exactly. Yeah. 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:14.859 We like to believe that if you build a better 00:00:14.859 --> 00:00:18.559 mousetrap or in this case, if you write a smarter 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:20.960 joke, the world is just going to beat a pass 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.460 to your door immediately. Right. The cream rises 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:26.000 to the top theory. It's a comforting thought, 00:00:26.199 --> 00:00:29.530 you know, a true meritocracy. If you're good, 00:00:29.609 --> 00:00:31.670 you win. Yeah. But then you look at the actual 00:00:31.670 --> 00:00:33.950 data. You look at the history books and you find 00:00:33.950 --> 00:00:36.429 these anomalies that completely shatter that 00:00:36.429 --> 00:00:39.369 worldview. Oh, absolutely. And for this deep 00:00:39.369 --> 00:00:41.770 dive, we're looking at perhaps the most famous 00:00:41.770 --> 00:00:44.530 anomaly in sitcom history. We're looking at a 00:00:44.530 --> 00:00:47.490 show that by all conventional metrics of 1983 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:50.509 should have been dead. Buried and totally forgotten 00:00:50.509 --> 00:00:53.149 before it ever got a second chance. Dead, buried 00:00:53.149 --> 00:00:55.609 and largely unwatched. We are, of course, talking 00:00:55.609 --> 00:00:58.030 about Cheers season two. And it's interesting 00:00:58.030 --> 00:00:59.630 you frame it that way, because when we look at 00:00:59.630 --> 00:01:01.810 the source material for this deep dive, specifically 00:01:01.810 --> 00:01:03.810 the Wikipedia article covering the production 00:01:03.810 --> 00:01:07.489 history between September 1983 and May 1984, 00:01:07.909 --> 00:01:10.790 it's not just a story about a funny show finding 00:01:10.790 --> 00:01:13.280 its legs. No, not at all. It's really a case 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:16.079 study in corporate patients. Yeah. Which is honestly 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:18.780 something we rarely see anymore in media. It's 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:20.540 the miracle renewal. That's the headline everyone 00:01:20.540 --> 00:01:23.120 knows. But I really want to peel back the layers 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:25.079 on why that miracle happened. Yeah, let's get 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:26.920 into it. Because we are just talking about a 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:29.799 show avoiding cancellation. We are talking about 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:33.340 a major cultural pivot point. We're going back 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:35.439 to a time when Ronald Reagan is in the White 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:38.400 House. The Internet is basically just a rumor 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:42.799 in some computer lab somewhere. And NBC is well, 00:01:42.900 --> 00:01:44.620 NBC is in serious trouble. Trouble is putting 00:01:44.620 --> 00:01:47.019 it lightly. NBC was the basement network at the 00:01:47.019 --> 00:01:49.319 time. They were really struggling. So our mission 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.459 today for you listening is to dissect this pivot. 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:54.900 We're going to look at how Cheers went from the 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:57.140 absolute bottom of the Nielsen ratings to the 00:01:57.140 --> 00:02:00.120 top tier in just a single season. A massive jump. 00:02:00.299 --> 00:02:02.840 And we're going to unpack the evolution of Sam 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:06.680 and Diane. Because looking at the notes, season 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:09.039 two is really where that dynamic stops being, 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:12.039 I don't know, cute and starts getting psychologically 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:15.500 complex and honestly a little dark. And toxic, 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:17.729 let's be honest. Looking at it through a modern 00:02:17.729 --> 00:02:20.449 lens, it's a very messy relationship. It's definitely 00:02:20.449 --> 00:02:22.469 not a fairy tale. Incredibly messy. We'll get 00:02:22.469 --> 00:02:24.430 to the nose -pinching violence later. And of 00:02:24.430 --> 00:02:26.110 course, we have to talk about the literal fire. 00:02:26.289 --> 00:02:29.030 The fire at Paramount, that is such a wild story. 00:02:29.330 --> 00:02:31.669 A massive fire that destroyed sound stages, but 00:02:31.669 --> 00:02:34.250 somehow completely missed the bar. We have a 00:02:34.250 --> 00:02:36.310 lot to cover. But let's start with the numbers, 00:02:36.409 --> 00:02:38.129 because I was looking at the starting position 00:02:38.129 --> 00:02:41.219 for season two, and it is bleak. It's not just 00:02:41.219 --> 00:02:43.520 bad. It's pack your bags bad. It's abysmal. To 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:45.699 set the stage for you, we are looking at September 00:02:45.699 --> 00:02:49.199 29th, 1983. Season one has just wrapped up. Now, 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:52.180 critically, the show is a total darling. It just 00:02:52.180 --> 00:02:55.159 swept the Emmys. Literally four days before the 00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:58.400 season two premiere. Right. They win five Emmys, 00:02:58.419 --> 00:03:02.060 including Outstanding Comedy Series. So the industry 00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:04.319 is basically screaming, this is the best thing 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:06.919 on TV. The critics are writing these glowing 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:09.500 love letters. Right. But the American public, 00:03:09.580 --> 00:03:11.860 they are screaming, what is this? Or rather, 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:13.419 they aren't screaming anything because they aren't 00:03:13.419 --> 00:03:15.520 watching at all. The show finished the previous 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:18.699 season dead last among renewed shows. It was 00:03:18.699 --> 00:03:23.180 ranked 74th out of 77 shows on television. 74th? 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:26.250 That is a ghost town. Oh, completely. In today's 00:03:26.250 --> 00:03:28.969 climate, or really even in the 90s climate, that 00:03:28.969 --> 00:03:31.189 show is canceled before the wrap party. You do 00:03:31.189 --> 00:03:33.189 not get a season two with those numbers. You 00:03:33.189 --> 00:03:35.650 barely get a back nine of season one. So this 00:03:35.650 --> 00:03:37.210 is where I want to push on the narrative just 00:03:37.210 --> 00:03:39.750 a little bit. The standard story is that NBC 00:03:39.750 --> 00:03:42.469 executives, you know, Grant Tinker and Brennan 00:03:42.469 --> 00:03:45.389 Tartikoff, were these benevolent geniuses who 00:03:45.389 --> 00:03:48.069 saw the artistic value of Cheers and kept it 00:03:48.069 --> 00:03:49.969 alive out of the goodness of their hearts. Right. 00:03:50.030 --> 00:03:52.669 The artistic champions. But looking at the context 00:03:52.669 --> 00:03:55.979 of NBC's lineup in 1983. Did they actually have 00:03:55.979 --> 00:03:58.340 a choice? That's the cynical take, but it's probably 00:03:58.340 --> 00:04:02.240 the accurate one. You have to remember, NDC in 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:04.879 the early 80s was the distant third network. 00:04:05.640 --> 00:04:08.620 CBS and ABC were just crushing them. They didn't 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:10.300 have a bench of hits waiting to take Cheers' 00:04:10.340 --> 00:04:11.960 place. If they canceled it, what were they going 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:14.639 to air? Another failed melodrama, another variety 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:17.500 show that nobody wanted. Right. Sometimes retention 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:20.779 is just a lack of better options. It's not that 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:23.019 they loved Cheers so much. It's that the alternative 00:04:23.019 --> 00:04:26.720 was literal dead air or a test pattern. Exactly. 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:29.800 They needed content. But then something unprecedented 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:33.300 happens between season one and season two. The 00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:36.120 sources refer to it as the summer of reruns. 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:38.319 And this is really the business lesson of the 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:40.639 whole era. Explain this to me. Because today 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:43.600 for us with streaming, reruns basically just 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:45.959 means I forgot to pause Netflix or I'm engaging 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:49.740 in some comfort viewing. But in 1983, the summer 00:04:49.740 --> 00:04:51.980 rerun cycle was usually a complete dead zone, 00:04:52.139 --> 00:04:53.959 wasn't it? It was just garbage time. Completely 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:56.480 dead. Usually networks would just burn off failed 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:59.079 pilots or air, really generic content because 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:00.839 they assumed everybody was outside and nobody 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:03.689 was watching television. But NBC made a strategic 00:05:03.689 --> 00:05:06.829 decision. They kept Shears in the slot. They 00:05:06.829 --> 00:05:09.569 aired the pilot again. They aired the key episodes. 00:05:09.889 --> 00:05:12.410 They basically forced the audience to look at 00:05:12.410 --> 00:05:15.250 it. And because the competition was also in rerun 00:05:15.250 --> 00:05:18.329 mode, the barrier to entry was lower for new 00:05:18.329 --> 00:05:20.709 viewers. It's the scarcity of attention principle. 00:05:21.610 --> 00:05:24.149 People were flipping channels and remember physically 00:05:24.149 --> 00:05:26.569 walking up to the TV to turn the dial and they 00:05:26.569 --> 00:05:29.129 stumbled onto the show. Yeah. And because Cheers 00:05:29.129 --> 00:05:31.649 is serialized, you really need to know the characters 00:05:31.649 --> 00:05:34.310 to get the inside jokes. That repetition allowed 00:05:34.310 --> 00:05:36.509 people to catch up without the pressure of a 00:05:36.509 --> 00:05:39.069 brand new season moving too fast for them. The 00:05:39.069 --> 00:05:41.730 data really backs this up. Right. By mid 1983, 00:05:42.069 --> 00:05:45.009 during the supposedly dead summer months, the 00:05:45.009 --> 00:05:47.670 reruns started cracking the top 20. That is a 00:05:47.670 --> 00:05:50.850 massive leap from 74th. Which is completely un 00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:52.509 - heard of. It's like a band playing to an empty 00:05:52.509 --> 00:05:54.490 stadium. And then suddenly, without releasing 00:05:54.490 --> 00:05:56.790 a new album or anything, the stadium just fills 00:05:56.790 --> 00:05:58.449 up simply because they kept playing the same 00:05:58.449 --> 00:06:00.990 songs. So they enter season two with this weird 00:06:00.990 --> 00:06:03.089 momentum. They have the shiny Emmys on the shelf 00:06:03.089 --> 00:06:05.769 and they have this summer buzz. But now they 00:06:05.769 --> 00:06:08.649 actually have to perform. September 1983 rolls 00:06:08.649 --> 00:06:11.350 around. Does the summer of reruns actually translate 00:06:11.350 --> 00:06:13.990 to the fall season? Or was it just a fluke? It 00:06:13.990 --> 00:06:16.410 wasn't just a translation. It was a total explosion. 00:06:16.589 --> 00:06:19.310 The turnaround was immediate. In the first seven 00:06:19.310 --> 00:06:21.550 weeks of season two, the show posts an average 00:06:21.550 --> 00:06:25.110 rating of 17 .6. Okay, pause there. Yeah. 17 00:06:25.110 --> 00:06:27.670 .6. For you listening, if you haven't looked 00:06:27.670 --> 00:06:31.209 at a Nielsen chart since 1995, we need to contextualize 00:06:31.209 --> 00:06:33.930 that number. Because in the streaming era... 00:06:34.060 --> 00:06:36.199 We count views in the millions, but a rating 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:39.259 is a percentage, right? Correct. A 17 .6 rating 00:06:39.259 --> 00:06:42.660 means 17 .6 % of all television -equipped households 00:06:42.660 --> 00:06:45.560 in America were tuned in. But the even crazier 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.699 number is the share. They had a 27 share. Meaning, 00:06:48.819 --> 00:06:51.319 of the people who actually had their TV turned 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:53.819 on at that exact moment, not just owning a TV 00:06:53.819 --> 00:06:56.579 but actively watching it, more than one out of 00:06:56.579 --> 00:06:59.240 every four was watching Cheers. Exactly. Imagine 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:01.399 that today. Imagine one out of every four people 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:03.439 watching TV right now is watching the exact same 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:05.300 thing. exact same scripted comedy. It just doesn't 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:07.860 happen. The Super Bowl gets those numbers. The 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:10.800 Oscars used to. But a sitcom on a Thursday night, 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:13.759 that is dominance. That is absolute monoculture. 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:15.720 And it's not like they had an easy path either. 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:18.740 I was looking at the schedule grid for Thursday 00:07:18.740 --> 00:07:21.560 nights in 83. This wasn't a cakewalk where they 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:23.759 were the only game in town. No, Thursday was 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:26.139 a complete war zone. NBC was trying to build 00:07:26.139 --> 00:07:28.379 this must -see TV block, though they didn't really 00:07:28.379 --> 00:07:31.139 call it that quite yet. But you had Give Me a 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:34.680 Break. And Mama's Family leading in. Mama's Family. 00:07:34.819 --> 00:07:37.540 A classic in its own right, but a very different 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:41.230 tone. much broader sketch comedy vibes very different 00:07:41.230 --> 00:07:44.089 yeah then we got it made then cheers then hill 00:07:44.089 --> 00:07:46.750 street blues but look at the competition they 00:07:46.750 --> 00:07:49.850 were up against cbs was airing simon and simon 00:07:49.850 --> 00:07:51.769 which was a juggernaut at the time a massive 00:07:51.769 --> 00:07:55.069 hit a detective show action mystery very easy 00:07:55.069 --> 00:07:56.730 to watch you didn't need to know what happened 00:07:56.730 --> 00:07:59.029 last week to enjoy simon and simon right very 00:07:59.029 --> 00:08:01.329 episodic and abc was throwing everything at the 00:08:01.329 --> 00:08:04.370 wall shows like It's not easy in Trauma Center. 00:08:04.509 --> 00:08:06.310 Trauma Center sounds like a show I've definitely 00:08:06.310 --> 00:08:09.230 forgotten. Was that a medical drama? It was a 00:08:09.230 --> 00:08:11.329 short -lived medical drama, yes. Just one of 00:08:11.329 --> 00:08:14.009 the casualties of that time slot. But Simon and 00:08:14.009 --> 00:08:16.810 Simon was the real threat. It's fascinating because 00:08:16.810 --> 00:08:19.569 it represents the old guard of TV. Procedural, 00:08:19.730 --> 00:08:24.569 episodic, safe. Cheers was the new guard. Serial, 00:08:24.589 --> 00:08:27.449 character -driven, highly neurotic. And Cheers 00:08:27.449 --> 00:08:30.959 won. Or at least it survived and thrived. It 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:35.000 finished the season in 35th place from 74th up 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:37.679 to 35th. That is the very definition of a breakout. 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:39.759 The notes mentioned that other shows weren't 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:42.279 so lucky. Taxi, which is arguably just as brilliant 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:44.220 as Cheers, maybe even more acclaimed critically, 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:47.309 couldn't survive this exact lineup. Taxi is the 00:08:47.309 --> 00:08:49.830 tragic counterexample here. It was also on NBC's 00:08:49.830 --> 00:08:51.990 Thursday lineup for a bit, but it just couldn't 00:08:51.990 --> 00:08:54.049 hold the audience. It got booted to Saturdays. 00:08:54.129 --> 00:08:56.850 Fame got pushed to syndication. It really highlights 00:08:56.850 --> 00:08:58.970 that Cheers had something highly specific that 00:08:58.970 --> 00:09:01.330 clicked at that exact cultural moment. Why? What 00:09:01.330 --> 00:09:03.330 was the X factor? We have a critic here in the 00:09:03.330 --> 00:09:05.629 notes, Steve Sonsky, who described Cheers as 00:09:05.629 --> 00:09:08.070 comic exaggeration built on a grain of truth. 00:09:08.309 --> 00:09:10.549 Is that it? Is it just truth? I think truth is 00:09:10.549 --> 00:09:13.230 definitely part of it. The bar setting is universal. 00:09:13.629 --> 00:09:16.169 Everyone knows a norm. Everyone knows a cliff. 00:09:16.529 --> 00:09:19.110 But if we are being honest, looking at the trajectory 00:09:19.110 --> 00:09:23.009 of season two, the engine wasn't the setting. 00:09:23.110 --> 00:09:26.129 It wasn't the beer. It was the friction. You're 00:09:26.129 --> 00:09:28.649 talking about Sam and Diane. I'm talking about 00:09:28.649 --> 00:09:30.730 the central conflict. Season one established 00:09:30.730 --> 00:09:33.230 the tension. Season two is where they decided 00:09:33.230 --> 00:09:35.830 to just let that tension drive the car off the 00:09:35.830 --> 00:09:37.919 cliff. It's interesting you say that because 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:41.759 usually the golden rule in TV is don't get them 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:44.679 together. The moonlighting curse, right? If the 00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:46.799 couple gets together, the sexual tension evaporates 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:49.940 and the show dies. But in season two, they actually 00:09:49.940 --> 00:09:52.340 are together. They are together, but the writers, 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:54.320 Glenn and Les Charles, and the director, James 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:56.779 Burroughs, they did something brilliant. They 00:09:56.779 --> 00:09:58.559 realized that being together didn't have to mean 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.440 being happy. They completely subverted the romance 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:03.970 trope. The notes describe their status in season 00:10:03.970 --> 00:10:07.450 two as having fulfilling casual sex, but little 00:10:07.450 --> 00:10:09.549 else in common, which is a very polite way of 00:10:09.549 --> 00:10:11.409 saying it was a total train wreck. It was a disaster. 00:10:11.769 --> 00:10:14.629 Let's dissect the anatomy of this train wreck 00:10:14.629 --> 00:10:17.289 because we have two very specific archetypes 00:10:17.289 --> 00:10:21.830 here. Ted Danson as Sam Malone. The jock. The 00:10:21.830 --> 00:10:24.789 recovering alcoholic, the guy who coasts on charm 00:10:24.789 --> 00:10:27.470 and physical prowess. He's street smart, but 00:10:27.470 --> 00:10:29.529 he's deeply insecure about his lack of formal 00:10:29.529 --> 00:10:32.009 education. He's a man who used to be a hero on 00:10:32.009 --> 00:10:34.269 the mound, and now he's serving drinks to people 00:10:34.269 --> 00:10:36.870 who just remind him of his glory days. And Shelley 00:10:36.870 --> 00:10:39.289 Long as Diane Chambers. The pseudo intellectual. 00:10:39.429 --> 00:10:41.809 She's working as a waitress. But she acts like 00:10:41.809 --> 00:10:44.289 she's an anthropologist observing the lower classes. 00:10:44.470 --> 00:10:47.529 Yes. She is pretentious, verbose, honestly often 00:10:47.529 --> 00:10:50.590 quite cruel. She validates herself by making 00:10:50.590 --> 00:10:53.409 Sam feel small. And in season two, instead of 00:10:53.409 --> 00:10:55.750 the will they, won't they dance, we get the they 00:10:55.750 --> 00:10:59.860 are. But. It's a mess reality. It's the definition 00:10:59.860 --> 00:11:02.019 of dysfunction. And the show doesn't shy away 00:11:02.019 --> 00:11:04.059 from it. In fact, they open the season with it. 00:11:04.100 --> 00:11:06.419 The premiere episode, Power Play. Oh, this is 00:11:06.419 --> 00:11:08.419 the one with the door. The door scene is iconic, 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:10.860 but let's break down the psychology of it. Sam 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:12.799 and Diane are looking for a place to be intimate. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:15.379 They go to her apartment, which is rare, by the 00:11:15.379 --> 00:11:17.460 way. We almost never leave the bar in this show. 00:11:17.779 --> 00:11:21.409 True. It feels claustrophobic in the bar. So 00:11:21.409 --> 00:11:23.350 leaving should feel liberating. But it doesn't. 00:11:23.350 --> 00:11:26.330 It feels invasive. Sam immediately starts mocking 00:11:26.330 --> 00:11:28.750 her. He makes fun of her stuffed animals. He's 00:11:28.750 --> 00:11:30.730 looking at her personal space and treating it 00:11:30.730 --> 00:11:32.909 like a joke. Which, to be fair, if you bring 00:11:32.909 --> 00:11:35.389 a date home and your bed is completely covered 00:11:35.389 --> 00:11:37.750 in stuffed animals, questions will be asked. 00:11:38.230 --> 00:11:40.850 But Sam isn't asking questions. He's actively 00:11:40.850 --> 00:11:44.090 attacking. He is. So Diane throws him out. Now, 00:11:44.149 --> 00:11:46.549 a normal couple, they cool off. They talk the 00:11:46.549 --> 00:11:49.009 next day. Maybe they apologize. Sam alone doesn't 00:11:49.009 --> 00:11:52.299 cool off. No. He goes back to the bar, gets terrible 00:11:52.299 --> 00:11:55.200 advice from Carla, who actively wants to sabotage 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:57.860 them, by the way, and he marches back. He literally 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:00.440 kicks the door open. He breaks in. Let's just 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:02.679 call it what it is. He breaks in and kisses her. 00:12:02.779 --> 00:12:05.019 It's that old Hollywood trope, right? Aggression 00:12:05.019 --> 00:12:07.679 equals passion. If you push hard enough, she'll 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:11.259 like it. It is. And in 1983, the studio audience 00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:13.889 cheered. It was seen as romantic determination. 00:12:14.389 --> 00:12:17.009 But look at Diane's reaction. She says, I've 00:12:17.009 --> 00:12:19.649 called the police. A completely logical response 00:12:19.649 --> 00:12:22.909 to a break -in. It is. And Sam immediately backs 00:12:22.909 --> 00:12:25.750 down. He realizes he crossed a major line. He 00:12:25.750 --> 00:12:28.870 apologizes. But then Diane reveals she was bluffing. 00:12:28.870 --> 00:12:32.210 She didn't call the cops. And they embrace. It 00:12:32.210 --> 00:12:33.909 establishes the baseline for the whole season. 00:12:34.269 --> 00:12:37.330 Deceit, aggression, power plays, and impassion. 00:12:37.659 --> 00:12:40.519 It's a vicious cycle. It's a completely dopaminergic 00:12:40.519 --> 00:12:43.399 cycle. High highs, low lows. And the writers 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:46.120 knew that this instability was so much more interesting 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:49.120 than domestic bliss. There's another episode 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:50.879 that flips the script on this, dealing with the 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:53.419 intellectual gap, Sumner's Return. Oh, this is 00:12:53.419 --> 00:12:55.620 the War and Peace episode. Yeah. This is one 00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:57.279 of my absolute favorites because it's just so 00:12:57.279 --> 00:12:59.360 painful to watch. It is painful, and this is 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:02.360 crucial for understanding Sam. Diane's ex -fiancee, 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:04.080 Sumner Sloan, the guy who dumped her in the pilot, 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:07.220 comes back to the bar. He is everything Sam isn't. 00:13:07.909 --> 00:13:10.409 cultured, literate, sophisticated. Sam feels 00:13:10.409 --> 00:13:12.649 incredibly threatened. Oh, deeply threatened. 00:13:12.730 --> 00:13:14.629 He feels small. He feels like just a bartender. 00:13:14.750 --> 00:13:16.789 So he decides he's going to read War and Peace 00:13:16.789 --> 00:13:19.110 to prove he's on their level. Which is, that 00:13:19.110 --> 00:13:21.549 is not a light beach read. That is a massive 00:13:21.549 --> 00:13:25.049 commitment. He spends five days on it, no sleep. 00:13:25.269 --> 00:13:27.450 He's struggling with the Russian names, the history. 00:13:27.590 --> 00:13:30.429 He's essentially torturing himself to be worthy 00:13:30.429 --> 00:13:33.129 of her world. And the real tragedy is the payoff. 00:13:33.789 --> 00:13:36.389 Or the total lack thereof. Right. He finishes 00:13:36.389 --> 00:13:38.669 the book. He sits down at dinner ready to debate 00:13:38.669 --> 00:13:41.149 Tolstoy. He's practically vibrating with knowledge. 00:13:41.350 --> 00:13:43.529 And Diane and Sumner just wave it off. They say, 00:13:43.549 --> 00:13:46.250 oh, that old thing. It's too well known to discuss. 00:13:46.330 --> 00:13:49.049 It's banal. That is gut wrenching. Yeah. It's 00:13:49.049 --> 00:13:52.009 elitism weaponized. It's basically saying your 00:13:52.009 --> 00:13:54.610 greatest, most agonizing effort is our boring 00:13:54.610 --> 00:13:58.029 Tuesday. It is. It totally humiliates Sam. But 00:13:58.029 --> 00:14:01.690 notice what happens next. Sam confesses. He admits 00:14:01.690 --> 00:14:04.649 he read it because he was jealous. He shows genuine 00:14:04.649 --> 00:14:06.870 vulnerability. And that is what Diane responds 00:14:06.870 --> 00:14:09.850 to. She chooses him not because he's smart, but 00:14:09.850 --> 00:14:12.129 because he tried so hard for her. It seems like 00:14:12.129 --> 00:14:14.169 season two is constantly asking the question, 00:14:14.370 --> 00:14:16.470 can these two people actually change each other? 00:14:16.529 --> 00:14:18.269 Or are they just sharpening each other's worst 00:14:18.269 --> 00:14:20.570 edges? That's the core question. And sometimes 00:14:20.570 --> 00:14:23.870 the answer is genuinely violent. we need to talk 00:14:23.870 --> 00:14:26.490 about Homicidal Ham. The title alone tells you 00:14:26.490 --> 00:14:28.870 we are veering way out of standard sitcom territory. 00:14:29.230 --> 00:14:32.370 This episode is bizarre. Diane has an ex -date 00:14:32.370 --> 00:14:35.029 named Andy. He's a convicted criminal, but he's 00:14:35.029 --> 00:14:37.990 also an aspiring actor. As one is. He comes to 00:14:37.990 --> 00:14:40.450 the bar, tries to rob it, but the climax of the 00:14:40.450 --> 00:14:42.629 episode actually happens during a local theater 00:14:42.629 --> 00:14:45.850 production of Othello. Because nothing says sitcom 00:14:45.850 --> 00:14:49.149 hilarity like Othello. Andy is playing Othello. 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:52.259 Diane is Desdemona. And on stage, during the 00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:54.759 famous strangulation scene, he decides to actually 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:57.360 strangle her. Real -life blending with the play. 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:00.379 And Sam has to rush the stage to physically save 00:15:00.379 --> 00:15:03.120 her. It's slapstick, yes, but the stakes are 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:06.139 literally life and death. It highlights how Cheers 00:15:06.139 --> 00:15:08.700 was willing to go into these much darker, almost 00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:11.159 thriller -like modes, but wrap it in a joke so 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:13.120 you didn't quite realize how dark it was. Speaking 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:15.600 of dark, we have to skip to the end of the season, 00:15:15.740 --> 00:15:19.129 the finale. I'll be seeing you. Because if the 00:15:19.129 --> 00:15:21.049 season starts with a breaking and a kiss, it 00:15:21.049 --> 00:15:23.250 ends with a portrait and a slap. The ultimate 00:15:23.250 --> 00:15:26.049 disintegration. This episode is so painful to 00:15:26.049 --> 00:15:28.250 watch if you're invested in them. Diane commissions 00:15:28.250 --> 00:15:30.450 a portrait by an artist named Philip Semenko. 00:15:30.570 --> 00:15:32.970 Sam hates him. He's pretentious. He's arrogant. 00:15:33.289 --> 00:15:35.649 He's basically a male Diane, but more successful. 00:15:35.870 --> 00:15:39.009 Exactly. And the whole relationship just unravels 00:15:39.009 --> 00:15:42.230 over this. Diane calls it a contest of wills. 00:15:42.309 --> 00:15:44.570 She realizes they aren't partners at all. They're 00:15:44.570 --> 00:15:47.460 combatants. And the critics at the time... They 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:49.340 were pretty divided on this, right? I have a 00:15:49.340 --> 00:15:52.159 note here from the Gazette, Mike Boone. He thought 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:54.480 the romance lasted too long. Boone thought it 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:56.559 spoiled the bar's atmosphere. He wanted the ensemble 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:59.539 comedy back. But then you have Harry Stein from 00:15:59.539 --> 00:16:01.899 TV Guide who went even further. He called the 00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:04.539 relationship destructive. He argued it completely 00:16:04.539 --> 00:16:07.440 failed to model trust and moral values. Which 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:09.879 is funny because usually we don't look to sitcoms 00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:11.820 for moral instruction. Yeah, we don't. But Stein 00:16:11.820 --> 00:16:13.899 has a point. If you look at this relationship 00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:16.840 through a modern lens. The A .V. Club did exactly 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:19.159 that. They reviewed the finale years later. There 00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:21.240 is a scene where Sam and Diane are physically 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:23.820 fighting, pinching noses, slapping faces, twisting 00:16:23.820 --> 00:16:26.840 arms. Three stooges -esque is the quote from 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:29.720 the source. Right. In 1984, that was comedy. 00:16:29.860 --> 00:16:32.440 Today, the A .V. Club called it troubling. They 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:35.090 noted the subtext of violence. It really begs 00:16:35.090 --> 00:16:37.809 the question, were we laughing at abuse? That's 00:16:37.809 --> 00:16:40.049 the real tension of revisiting these classics. 00:16:40.309 --> 00:16:42.929 You have the warm nostalgia, but then you have 00:16:42.929 --> 00:16:45.549 the realization that Sam Malone creates a hostile 00:16:45.549 --> 00:16:48.029 work environment every single day. Every single 00:16:48.029 --> 00:16:50.909 day. And yet we still root for him. We do. And 00:16:50.909 --> 00:16:53.490 we root for the people around him. Because while 00:16:53.490 --> 00:16:56.350 Sam and Diane are sucking all the oxygen out 00:16:56.350 --> 00:16:58.929 of the room, the rest of the cast is quietly 00:16:58.929 --> 00:17:01.659 having their best season ever. The ensemble. 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:04.559 This is the season where the supporting cast 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:07.660 really stops being just support and starts being 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:10.279 the structural pillars of the show. Specifically, 00:17:10.539 --> 00:17:13.740 the mailman, Cliff Clavin. John Ratzenberger. 00:17:13.819 --> 00:17:16.559 This is absolutely his breakout year. I didn't 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:18.579 actually realize he wasn't a main cast member 00:17:18.579 --> 00:17:20.819 in season one. He was just a guest star. He was 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:22.920 literally just the guy at the bar. But in season 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:25.440 two, he gets promoted to the opening credits. 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:27.819 He becomes the Cliff we know the know -it -all, 00:17:27.859 --> 00:17:29.839 the blowhard. And we find out he's Norm's best 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:32.000 friend. Which anchors him emotionally. Yeah. 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:34.759 But the episode that really defines him this 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:37.460 season is Cliff's rocky moment. Is this the karate 00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:40.799 episode? It is. Cliff gets challenged to a fight 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:43.579 by a patron named Victor. Cliff is terrified. 00:17:43.700 --> 00:17:46.039 He's a total coward. He leaves town to avoid 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:48.740 it. But then he comes back and he decides to 00:17:48.740 --> 00:17:51.470 bluff. He claims he actually knows karate. The 00:17:51.470 --> 00:17:53.789 deadly hands of the United States Postal Service. 00:17:53.890 --> 00:17:56.769 Exactly. He sets up this elaborate demonstration 00:17:56.769 --> 00:17:59.470 where he's going to break a solid brick with 00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:02.269 his head to prove how dangerous he is. And knowing 00:18:02.269 --> 00:18:04.609 Cliff, this goes very poorly. Well, surprisingly, 00:18:04.670 --> 00:18:06.869 he actually breaks the brick. The crowd cheers. 00:18:07.029 --> 00:18:10.470 It's his huge moment of glory. And then he faints. 00:18:10.529 --> 00:18:13.609 He just passes out cold. It's the perfect encapsulation 00:18:13.609 --> 00:18:16.559 of his character. He succeeds. but in the most 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:18.859 embarrassing way possible. And there is a really 00:18:18.859 --> 00:18:21.460 sweet moment where Diane helps him keep the secret. 00:18:21.539 --> 00:18:24.619 It adds a whole new layer of vulnerability. We 00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:26.839 realize Cliff isn't just annoying. He's incredibly 00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:29.299 lonely and desperate for any kind of respect. 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:31.839 Then we have Carla Tortelli. And this is a case 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:34.519 of life imitating art in a very literal way. 00:18:34.700 --> 00:18:37.220 Yes. Rhea Perlman was pregnant in real life. 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:39.839 She gave birth in March 1983, so the show just 00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:42.279 wrote it in. Carla is pregnant for most of the 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:44.559 season. Which is pretty brave for a sitcom back 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:46.839 then. Usually they hide the actress behind a 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:49.440 giant laundry basket or a conveniently placed 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:52.599 fern. Right, the classic sitcom tricks. But they 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:55.359 leaned into it. And it gave us the episode, La 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:58.839 Cicerdote Cha, Carla Goes Into Labor. And we 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:01.119 finally meet her sister, Annette. Also played 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:03.920 by Rhea Perlman. A double role. And it's brilliant 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:06.940 because Annette is the anti -Carla. She's polite. 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:09.359 She's demure until she's not. She turns out to 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:11.900 be incredibly flirtatious, especially with Cliff. 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:14.740 Poor Cliff. He never stood a chance. It completely 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:17.380 breaks his heart. But it really showed Perlman's 00:19:17.380 --> 00:19:20.700 range as an actress. And we also see a rare moment 00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:23.140 of maturity for Carla in the episode Battle of 00:19:23.140 --> 00:19:26.009 the Exes. This involves Nick. Her infamously 00:19:26.009 --> 00:19:29.170 sleazy ex -husband. Nick and his new wife, Loretta. 00:19:29.410 --> 00:19:32.190 Carla and Nick share a vulnerable moment, a kiss. 00:19:32.490 --> 00:19:35.069 They think maybe the spark is still there, but 00:19:35.069 --> 00:19:37.809 then they pull away and realize, nope, it's gone. 00:19:37.869 --> 00:19:39.849 It's completely dead. That's a heavy realization, 00:19:40.150 --> 00:19:41.950 to realize that the hate you've been holding 00:19:41.950 --> 00:19:44.369 onto doesn't even have passion behind it anymore. 00:19:44.609 --> 00:19:47.430 It's just exhausting. It is. It's a very adult 00:19:47.430 --> 00:19:50.109 moment in a show that is usually full of rapid 00:19:50.109 --> 00:19:52.990 -fire jokes. And speaking of adults, let's talk 00:19:52.990 --> 00:19:57.019 about the coach. Ernie Pantuso, played by Nicholas 00:19:57.019 --> 00:19:59.960 Colasanto. The absolute heart of the bar. He 00:19:59.960 --> 00:20:02.259 really is. He's the father figure for Sam and 00:20:02.259 --> 00:20:05.640 Diane. He's not book smart. But the show always 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:08.539 emphasized his deep wit. He sees the emotional 00:20:08.539 --> 00:20:11.460 truth of a situation even when he doesn't fully 00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:14.180 understand the vocabulary being used. But season 00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:17.440 two gave him some real edge. Manager Coach is 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:20.099 a fascinating episode. Coach takes over a Little 00:20:20.099 --> 00:20:22.099 League team. And he turns into an absolute monster. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:25.200 A total tyrant. He's screaming at kids, benchmarking 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:27.119 them, acting like it's the seventh game of the 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:29.240 World Series. It's so jarring to see the sweet 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:31.779 coach yelling. It is. But it reminds us that 00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:33.839 he was a professional athlete. He was a highly 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:36.619 competitive guy. Sam has to step in and remind 00:20:36.619 --> 00:20:39.160 him of his own past to snap him out of it. It 00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:41.299 added so many layers to a character who could 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:43.380 have easily just been a one -note cartoon. And 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:46.660 sometimes he was just the obstacle. And Kochi 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:50.039 makes three. The ultimate third wheel. He's lonely, 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:52.539 so he starts hanging out with Sam and Diane everywhere 00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:54.960 they go. He's ruining their romantic moments, 00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:57.420 just sitting there on the couch, completely oblivious. 00:20:58.059 --> 00:21:01.279 It's funny, but it's also deeply sad. It speaks 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:03.740 to the profound loneliness of these characters. 00:21:03.940 --> 00:21:07.359 You can't forget Norm. Norm? The man, the myth, 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:10.559 the bar tab. Season two is interesting for Norm 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:13.259 because we really dive into his professional 00:21:13.259 --> 00:21:15.599 failures. He's a semi -unemployed accountant. 00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:18.539 He is. And in No Help Wanted, he actually starts 00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:21.740 working at the bar. Briefly. Very briefly. He 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:24.220 washes dishes at Melville's upstairs first, and 00:21:24.220 --> 00:21:27.059 then Sam hires him to do the bar's taxes. It 00:21:27.059 --> 00:21:29.559 seems like a great idea. Friends helping friends 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:32.079 out of a jam. Until it isn't. Norm finds out 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:34.700 Sam didn't actually trust him. Sam filed completely 00:21:34.700 --> 00:21:36.619 different tax forms than the ones Norm prepared. 00:21:36.859 --> 00:21:39.200 That's a huge betrayal. It's basically telling 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.160 your friend, I love you, but I think you're totally 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:44.839 incompetent. Exactly. Norm nearly quits the bar 00:21:44.839 --> 00:21:48.039 entirely. It leads to this highly emotional reconciliation 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:50.819 between them. And we also see his marriage arc 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:53.700 progress. He separates from his unseen wife, 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.839 Vera, then reconciles. In Norman's conquest, 00:21:57.059 --> 00:21:59.380 he even seriously considers cheating with a client. 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:01.960 Which is very dark for Norm. We usually think 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:04.680 of him as harmless and jovial. He considers it. 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:07.759 But he realizes he loves Vera too much. He hides 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:09.900 that affection constantly behind his old ball 00:22:09.900 --> 00:22:12.420 and chain jokes. But season two shows us that 00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:14.480 he really does care about her. He's not just 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:16.400 a punchline. He's a guy trying to make a marriage 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:18.339 work while feeling like a total failure in his 00:22:18.339 --> 00:22:20.759 career. It's amazing how much depth they gave 00:22:20.759 --> 00:22:23.799 these characters in just 22 episodes. But shifting 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:26.480 gears a bit, we tease this in the intro. We have 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:29.329 to talk about the disaster, the fire. This is 00:22:29.329 --> 00:22:31.349 one of those truth is stranger than fiction moments 00:22:31.349 --> 00:22:34.390 in Hollywood history. August 25, 1983. Cheers 00:22:34.390 --> 00:22:37.130 is filming at Paramount Studios and suddenly 00:22:37.130 --> 00:22:40.269 a massive fire breaks out on the lot. Just how 00:22:40.269 --> 00:22:43.609 bad was it? It was catastrophic. It destroyed 00:22:43.609 --> 00:22:47.329 two or three full sound stages. It wiped out 00:22:47.329 --> 00:22:50.549 four outdoor sets. We are talking about millions 00:22:50.549 --> 00:22:53.609 of dollars in damage. It looked like a war zone 00:22:53.609 --> 00:22:56.329 on the lot. Did the Cheers bar burn down? That 00:22:56.329 --> 00:22:59.630 is the absolute miracle. The fire raged all around 00:22:59.630 --> 00:23:02.549 it. But the Cheers production set, the bar itself, 00:23:02.809 --> 00:23:05.410 was totally unharmed. It completely survived. 00:23:05.730 --> 00:23:08.089 That is unbelievable. It's like divine intervention 00:23:08.089 --> 00:23:10.390 for a sitcom. It certainly felt that way to the 00:23:10.390 --> 00:23:12.549 cast and crew, but it had a very real impact 00:23:12.549 --> 00:23:14.750 on the season itself. Because of the extensive 00:23:14.750 --> 00:23:16.950 damage to the lot, the production was severely 00:23:16.950 --> 00:23:19.390 constrained. They couldn't film outside easily 00:23:19.390 --> 00:23:22.450 because the outdoor sets were literal ash. So 00:23:22.450 --> 00:23:24.349 they contributed to the claustrophobia we talked 00:23:24.349 --> 00:23:27.190 about earlier. Exactly. Diane's apartment in 00:23:27.190 --> 00:23:29.190 season two was the first location outside the 00:23:29.190 --> 00:23:31.089 bar that we see since the premiere. They were 00:23:31.089 --> 00:23:32.890 incredibly limited in where they could physically 00:23:32.890 --> 00:23:35.750 go. So the show became even more about the rapid 00:23:35.750 --> 00:23:38.049 fire dialogue, the facial expressions, the tension 00:23:38.049 --> 00:23:40.849 inside that one single room. The fire practically 00:23:40.849 --> 00:23:43.250 forced them to double down on the writing. And 00:23:43.250 --> 00:23:45.730 the writing held up beautifully. The production 00:23:45.730 --> 00:23:48.410 team, Glenn and Les Charles, James Burroughs. 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:51.000 They stuck to their guns. They did. They had 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.660 a very clear philosophy. Les Charles admitted 00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:56.400 that Sam and Diane had strong chemistry but fundamentally 00:23:56.400 --> 00:23:59.680 incompatible backgrounds. They knew, even then, 00:23:59.819 --> 00:24:01.660 that their relationship was never meant to last 00:24:01.660 --> 00:24:04.000 forever. They weren't writing a fairy tale. They 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:06.380 were writing a collision course. And the industry 00:24:06.380 --> 00:24:08.539 rewarded them for it. We mentioned the Emmys 00:24:08.539 --> 00:24:10.319 before the season started, but they won during 00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:13.619 this era, too. Yes. For the 1983 -84 season, 00:24:13.819 --> 00:24:16.980 they received 12 nominations and won four more 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:19.309 Emmys, including... Outstanding Comedy Series 00:24:19.309 --> 00:24:22.789 again. Rhea Perlman won Outstanding Supporting 00:24:22.789 --> 00:24:25.829 Actress. They were validating the sheer quality 00:24:25.829 --> 00:24:27.990 of the writing and acting, even as the ratings 00:24:27.990 --> 00:24:30.369 were just starting to catch up. I want to dive 00:24:30.369 --> 00:24:32.450 into some specific episodes that maybe aren't 00:24:32.450 --> 00:24:35.450 this huge season -defining milestones, but really 00:24:35.450 --> 00:24:38.170 define the specific flavor of season two. The 00:24:38.170 --> 00:24:40.549 deep cuts, if you will, because sometimes the 00:24:40.549 --> 00:24:42.109 best stuff is just sitting right in the middle 00:24:42.109 --> 00:24:43.950 of the season. Oh, let's do it. I love the deep 00:24:43.950 --> 00:24:46.970 cuts. Fortune and Men's Weight. This one involves 00:24:46.970 --> 00:24:49.650 a fortune -telling machine. This is a quintessential 00:24:49.650 --> 00:24:53.109 sitcom plot, but done with that specific cheers 00:24:53.109 --> 00:24:57.690 twist. Coach buys this old antique fortune -telling 00:24:57.690 --> 00:25:00.569 scale for the bar. Everyone gets a card. And 00:25:00.569 --> 00:25:03.710 Norm gets a good one. Norm's fortune says, your 00:25:03.710 --> 00:25:05.890 most troublesome problem will soon be solved. 00:25:06.109 --> 00:25:09.569 He assumes it means money or work. But it's Vera. 00:25:09.809 --> 00:25:12.589 It leads to an accidental date with her. He thinks 00:25:12.589 --> 00:25:15.250 he's meeting a stranger he met through the classifieds, 00:25:15.250 --> 00:25:18.390 and it turns out to be his own wife. It's incredibly 00:25:18.390 --> 00:25:20.609 sweet. It reinforces that they really are meant 00:25:20.609 --> 00:25:23.950 for each other. But for Sam and Diane, the fortune 00:25:23.950 --> 00:25:26.569 is much darker. It predicts deception. Which 00:25:26.569 --> 00:25:28.910 leads to a massive fight, naturally, because 00:25:28.910 --> 00:25:30.509 they are always looking for reasons to fight. 00:25:30.670 --> 00:25:33.230 Naturally. Diane has a platonic male friend she 00:25:33.230 --> 00:25:35.609 hasn't bothered to tell Sam about. Sam feels 00:25:35.609 --> 00:25:37.940 totally betrayed. They're on the verge of breaking 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:39.960 up again, and they decide to let the machine 00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:42.259 decide their fate. They ask it for the future 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:44.000 of their relationship. They put the penny in. 00:25:44.339 --> 00:25:47.099 The machine runs out of cards. The message just 00:25:47.099 --> 00:25:49.720 says, machine empty. Order more fortunes today. 00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:52.480 That is brilliant writing, just leaving it completely 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:55.440 up to ambiguity. It is. It's the writers basically 00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:57.859 saying, we don't know either. Another really 00:25:57.859 --> 00:26:00.589 great one is. Where there's a will. This is the 00:26:00.589 --> 00:26:02.309 one with the dying man, right? Malcolm Cramer. 00:26:02.450 --> 00:26:06.029 Yes. A dying man comes into the bar. He leaves 00:26:06.029 --> 00:26:09.269 $100 ,000 to the friends he made at the bar in 00:26:09.269 --> 00:26:13.309 his will. And suddenly all that warm camaraderie 00:26:13.309 --> 00:26:16.690 evaporates. Everyone gets incredibly greedy. 00:26:17.029 --> 00:26:19.690 Even coach. Everyone. It turns into this complete 00:26:19.690 --> 00:26:22.690 frenzy of avarice. They are planning how to spend 00:26:22.690 --> 00:26:24.789 the money before the guy is even buried. And 00:26:24.789 --> 00:26:28.799 Sam decides to play moral arbiter. Which is rich 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:31.059 coming from him. He burns the will. He burns 00:26:31.059 --> 00:26:34.019 $100 ,000. Well, he burns a piece of paper. He 00:26:34.019 --> 00:26:36.119 claims he burned the will to stop the greed. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:38.819 Diane is actually relieved. She's happy the madness 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:41.940 is over. She praises him. But then Sam reveals 00:26:41.940 --> 00:26:44.019 he just burned a copy. He still has the real 00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:46.640 one hidden. Classic Sam Malone. He wants the 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:48.720 credit for being moral, but he definitely wants 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:52.740 the money too. Exactly. Diane berates him for 00:26:52.740 --> 00:26:55.480 tricking them. So in front of her eyes, he burns 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:58.140 the paper again. But then Diane suspects he's 00:26:58.140 --> 00:27:00.819 tricked her again. She warns him about the guilt 00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:04.660 he's going to feel. And finally, just infuriated 00:27:04.660 --> 00:27:07.960 by her constant moralizing, Sam reluctantly burns 00:27:07.960 --> 00:27:10.799 the actual will. It's a fascinating study of 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:14.480 morals versus money. Diane shames him into doing 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:16.579 the right thing. And Sam absolutely hates her 00:27:16.579 --> 00:27:18.559 for it. It shows that her influence does make 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:20.799 him a better person but it also makes him totally 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:25.160 miserable. One more spotlight episode. Snow Job. 00:27:25.400 --> 00:27:27.460 This is a prime example of their endless cat 00:27:27.460 --> 00:27:29.980 and mouse games. Sam wants to go on a ski trip. 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:33.279 Not to ski, obviously, but to seduce women. Obviously. 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:35.980 So he lies to Diane. He tells her he's going 00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:38.700 to a funeral for Uncle Nathan in Vermont. Uncle 00:27:38.700 --> 00:27:41.299 Nathan. Not the most creative lie he's ever come 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:43.420 up with. Right. Diane isn't buying it for a second. 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:45.039 She says she's going to check the obituary. Sam 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:46.859 spends the whole episode sweating, trying to 00:27:46.859 --> 00:27:49.000 cover his tracks. He eventually breaks down and 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:51.200 admits the funeral is totally fake. And Diane's 00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:53.799 reaction. She reveals she knew he was lying the 00:27:53.799 --> 00:27:56.519 entire time. She never checked the obituaries. 00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:58.819 She just wanted to watch him squirm until he 00:27:58.819 --> 00:28:01.680 admitted it. She played him like a fiddle. It 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:03.900 shows that she is often one step ahead of him 00:28:03.900 --> 00:28:06.660 intellectually, but he is constantly trying to 00:28:06.660 --> 00:28:09.019 outmaneuver her anyway. It's a power struggle. 00:28:09.450 --> 00:28:11.970 Pure and simple. It is. And that intense power 00:28:11.970 --> 00:28:14.509 struggle is exactly what kept people tuning in 00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:17.049 week after week. So we have looked at the ratings, 00:28:17.230 --> 00:28:19.650 the romance, the ensemble, the fire, and the 00:28:19.650 --> 00:28:22.150 episodes. When we look back at the overarching 00:28:22.150 --> 00:28:25.589 legacy of season two, how does it stand up today? 00:28:25.829 --> 00:28:28.630 It stands incredibly tall. The critical reassessment 00:28:28.630 --> 00:28:31.369 over the years has been very kind. DVD Verdict 00:28:31.369 --> 00:28:34.549 gave the story a 90 % rating. TV Guide named 00:28:34.549 --> 00:28:37.160 the episode How Do I Love Thee? Let me call you 00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:38.920 back a classic. That's the one where Sam tries 00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:41.700 to say I love you and just fails miserably. Yes. 00:28:41.799 --> 00:28:45.119 He says ditto instead. It's painful and hilarious. 00:28:45.640 --> 00:28:48.259 But getting back to the legacy, when the DVD 00:28:48.259 --> 00:28:50.880 came out in 2004, it included all these special 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:53.220 features analyzing the characters. Things like 00:28:53.220 --> 00:28:55.940 strictly top shelf and cliff notes, the wisdom 00:28:55.940 --> 00:28:58.640 of Cliff Clavin. It solidified the idea that 00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:00.880 season two is where Cheers truly became Cheers. 00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:03.180 It's the season where they finally secured the 00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:04.819 audience. They jumped from the bottom of the 00:29:04.819 --> 00:29:07.319 barrel to the top 35. And eventually, of course, 00:29:07.380 --> 00:29:10.000 they would go even higher. Exactly. It set the 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:12.259 stage for the next decade of television dominance. 00:29:12.740 --> 00:29:15.640 It proved that a show about a bar with a smart, 00:29:15.740 --> 00:29:18.519 sophisticated and very messy dynamic at its center 00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:21.799 could win over mainstream America. So as we wrap 00:29:21.799 --> 00:29:23.880 up this deep dive, let's try to synthesize all 00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:26.299 of this. What is the big takeaway from Cheers 00:29:26.299 --> 00:29:28.339 season two? I think the main takeaway is that 00:29:28.339 --> 00:29:30.700 season two is the year of definition. It defined 00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:32.539 the characters. Cliff became the Cliff we know. 00:29:32.779 --> 00:29:35.700 Norm became Norm. And it defined the will -they 00:29:35.700 --> 00:29:37.960 -won't -they trope for generations of sitcoms 00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:40.460 to follow. Shows like Friends, The Office, New 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:43.059 Girl, they all owe a massive debt to the blueprint 00:29:43.059 --> 00:29:45.680 laid down by Sam and Diane in this specific season. 00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:47.920 It's the season where they stopped being a critically 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:50.700 acclaimed flop and started being a cultural classic. 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:53.140 Precisely. They prove that you can respect the 00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:55.339 audience's intelligence and still get the massive 00:29:55.339 --> 00:29:58.299 ratings. Now, before we sign off, I want to leave 00:29:58.299 --> 00:30:01.200 you listening with a provocative thought. We 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:03.200 talked about the modern criticism of Sam and 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:07.000 Diane. The shouting, the deception, the physical 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:09.180 altercations like the nose -pinching fight. Right. 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:11.039 It's very hard to ignore when you watch it today. 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:14.240 If Cheers Season 2 aired today, exactly as it 00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:17.700 was written in 1983, would we view Sam and Diane 00:30:17.700 --> 00:30:21.079 as a romantic comedy? Or would the internet label 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:24.319 it a toxic tragedy? Was there undeniable chemistry 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:27.400 enough to mask behavior that today we might find 00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:30.039 completely unacceptable? Or was it purely a product 00:30:30.039 --> 00:30:32.140 of its time, relying on the immense charm of 00:30:32.140 --> 00:30:34.940 Ted Danson and Shelley Long to make the unpalatable 00:30:34.940 --> 00:30:37.880 palatable? That is the big question. Does the 00:30:37.880 --> 00:30:40.680 charm excuse the dysfunction? Or is the dysfunction 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:42.599 the only thing that actually makes it interesting? 00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:44.940 Someone for you to mull over. If you haven't 00:30:44.940 --> 00:30:46.960 seen it in a while, go back and watch the season 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:50.119 two finale. I'll be seeing you. With this deep 00:30:50.119 --> 00:30:52.900 dive in mind, see how it hits you now. It's definitely 00:30:52.900 --> 00:30:55.359 worth a rewatch. Just maybe don't model your 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:58.019 own relationships after it. Very sound advice. 00:30:58.500 --> 00:31:00.940 Thanks for listening to this deep dive into Cheers 00:31:00.940 --> 00:31:03.119 Season 2. We'll catch you on the next one.