WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.960 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. Today, I want 00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:06.400 you to just sort of picture the television landscape 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:10.609 of 1990. Oh, wow. Yeah, that's a whole different 00:00:10.609 --> 00:00:12.910 world. It really is. There's no streaming, no 00:00:12.910 --> 00:00:17.089 internet spoilers, no DVRs. You literally had 00:00:17.089 --> 00:00:20.289 to be there sitting on your couch at 9 p .m. 00:00:20.289 --> 00:00:22.329 on a Thursday night. Right. Appointment viewing. 00:00:22.570 --> 00:00:24.829 Exactly. And if you missed it, you were just 00:00:24.829 --> 00:00:27.050 completely out of the conversation at work the 00:00:27.050 --> 00:00:29.769 next day. And in that very specific window of 00:00:29.769 --> 00:00:32.350 time, there was one show that was absolutely 00:00:32.350 --> 00:00:35.630 dominating the cultural conversation. Dominating 00:00:35.630 --> 00:00:37.750 is almost an understatement for what it was doing. 00:00:38.060 --> 00:00:40.899 Yeah, I mean, we are talking about Cheers, but 00:00:40.899 --> 00:00:43.939 we are talking about those early days, you know, 00:00:43.939 --> 00:00:46.060 the Sam and Diane romance that I think everyone 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:48.039 instantly remembers. We are fast -forwarding 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:51.060 all the way to season nine. Which, if you know 00:00:51.060 --> 00:00:53.020 anything about television history, that's a really 00:00:53.020 --> 00:00:55.619 fascinating place to land. It is. Because usually 00:00:55.619 --> 00:00:57.659 when we talk about a sitcom in its ninth season, 00:00:57.799 --> 00:00:59.380 we are talking about a show that's basically 00:00:59.380 --> 00:01:01.520 on life support. Oh, totally. The Jumping the 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:03.929 Shark era. Yeah. We're talking about writers 00:01:03.929 --> 00:01:06.469 completely running out of ideas, actors kind 00:01:06.469 --> 00:01:08.969 of just phoning it in, or, you know, the network 00:01:08.969 --> 00:01:11.469 introducing some cute little kid to try and spike 00:01:11.469 --> 00:01:13.909 the ratings. Like Cousin Oliver syndrome. Exactly. 00:01:14.109 --> 00:01:15.609 It's almost always the beginning of the end. 00:01:15.689 --> 00:01:18.090 Right. That is the standard trajectory. You have 00:01:18.090 --> 00:01:20.290 the peak, the plateau, and then the inevitable 00:01:20.290 --> 00:01:24.450 decline. But here is the hook for today's deep 00:01:24.450 --> 00:01:29.250 dive. Cheers. Season nine basically broke the 00:01:29.250 --> 00:01:32.299 laws of television physics. It really did. According 00:01:32.299 --> 00:01:34.379 to the Nielsen Media Research Ratings for that 00:01:34.379 --> 00:01:38.879 specific time frame, the 1990 -1991 season, this 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:41.519 show, which was nearly a decade old and had key 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:44.379 cast members who had left years prior, was the 00:01:44.379 --> 00:01:46.739 number one top -rated network television show 00:01:46.739 --> 00:01:49.069 in the United States. It's just a staggering 00:01:49.069 --> 00:01:51.370 statistic. I mean, it wasn't just doing okay 00:01:51.370 --> 00:01:53.670 for an older show. It was beating 60 Minutes. 00:01:53.709 --> 00:01:55.769 Which is wild. And it was beating Roseanne, which 00:01:55.769 --> 00:01:58.010 at that time was an absolute juggernaut of working 00:01:58.010 --> 00:02:00.870 class comedy. It even beat The Cosby Show. Cheers. 00:02:01.090 --> 00:02:03.629 Season nine is arguably the most successful late 00:02:03.629 --> 00:02:07.030 stage season of any sitcom in history. So our 00:02:07.030 --> 00:02:09.409 mission today for this deep dive is to figure 00:02:09.409 --> 00:02:11.949 out how. Yeah, how did they pull it off? Exactly. 00:02:12.289 --> 00:02:15.680 How does a show set in a single location? A basement 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:17.800 bar in Boston, which had already played out its 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:20.659 primary love story, managed to just keep its 00:02:20.659 --> 00:02:23.259 momentum and reinvent itself to become more popular 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:25.539 than ever. A great question. And to answer it, 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:27.780 we've got a fantastic stack of source material 00:02:27.780 --> 00:02:30.819 today. We're pulling from the comprehensive Wikipedia 00:02:30.819 --> 00:02:34.300 entry for Cheers Season 9, which includes, you 00:02:34.300 --> 00:02:37.500 know, detailed episode summaries, cast lists, 00:02:37.939 --> 00:02:41.080 the Nielsen ratings charts, and their accolade 00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:43.520 records. And we are going to unpack all of the 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:45.740 writing strategies. the character evolutions, 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:48.879 and the specific ensemble magic that made this 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:52.259 season an actual masterpiece. But I think we 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:54.139 have to start by talking about the huge risk 00:02:54.139 --> 00:02:56.219 they took right out of the gate, because season 00:02:56.219 --> 00:02:59.319 nine starts by completely dismantling the one 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:01.539 thing fans thought they wanted. Oh, you're talking 00:03:01.539 --> 00:03:04.139 about the Sam and Rebecca dynamic. I am. Let's 00:03:04.139 --> 00:03:06.180 jump right into section one of our deep dive, 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:08.900 the central tension. All right, so context is 00:03:08.900 --> 00:03:11.639 really key here. For three seasons, ever since 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:14.199 Shelley Long left and Kirstie Alley joined the 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:16.759 cast as Rebecca Howe, the show had been building 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:19.479 up this intense will -they -won't -they tension 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:22.300 between Sam Malone and Rebecca. It was the new 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:24.680 engine of the show. Exactly. The classic television 00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:27.939 trope. Sam is the playboy ex -athlete. Rebecca 00:03:27.939 --> 00:03:31.780 is this neurotic corporate climber. They're completely 00:03:31.780 --> 00:03:35.479 oil and water, so naturally, TV logic. dictates 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:37.280 they have to fall in love. Right. And season 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:40.000 eight ended with this massive cliffhanger involving 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.680 Rebecca's extremely rich boyfriend, Robin Colcord. 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:45.719 So season nine opens with episode one, which 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:48.240 has a great title. Love is a really, really perfectly 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:51.319 OK thing. Such a good title. And Robin Colcord 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:53.800 returns from hiding to find Sam and Rebecca together 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:56.180 in the office. Now, if this were Friends or The 00:03:56.180 --> 00:03:58.659 Office or frankly, almost any other sitcom, this 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:01.500 is the exact moment where the leads confess their 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:04.520 undying love. Right. The music swells. Kiss, 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:06.919 the live studio audience loses their mind. That's 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:08.860 the safe play. You give the audience the payoff. 00:04:09.080 --> 00:04:11.800 But the Cheers writers did something incredibly 00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:15.199 brave here. They zagged. Instead of falling into 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:17.000 each other's arms, they have Sam and Rebecca 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.639 frantically convince Robin that nothing happened, 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:23.639 that they didn't sleep together. Which is hilarious. 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:26.220 And Robin, who has these ongoing legal issues, 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:28.959 just surrenders to the police. We'll definitely 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:31.379 get to his legal troubles a bit later. But then 00:04:31.379 --> 00:04:34.740 once the dust settles, Sam and Rebecca have this 00:04:34.740 --> 00:04:38.509 private moment. The honesty bomb. Yes. I was 00:04:38.509 --> 00:04:40.529 rereading the summaries and watching some clips, 00:04:40.629 --> 00:04:43.230 and the acting in this scene is so beautifully 00:04:43.230 --> 00:04:45.889 subtle. Sam looks at her, and instead of giving 00:04:45.889 --> 00:04:48.829 this grand romantic speech, he just says, it 00:04:48.829 --> 00:04:51.170 wasn't as great as I expected. It is brutal. 00:04:51.230 --> 00:04:53.149 I mean, he basically gives their night of incredible 00:04:53.149 --> 00:04:56.329 passion a Yelp review of two stars. He tells 00:04:56.329 --> 00:04:58.170 her, I thought I'd be seeing fireworks, but eh. 00:04:58.370 --> 00:04:59.990 It's so funny, but why do you think the writers 00:04:59.990 --> 00:05:01.629 did that? I mean, on the surface, it seems like 00:05:01.629 --> 00:05:04.350 they are deliberately alienating the entire segment 00:05:04.350 --> 00:05:06.430 of the audience that was rooting for them to 00:05:06.430 --> 00:05:08.220 get together. They were acting. avoiding the 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:10.620 moonlighting curse. There was a huge fear in 00:05:10.620 --> 00:05:12.800 the television industry at that time that once 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:14.920 you finally put your two leads together, all 00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:17.500 the sexual tension evaporates and the show just 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:21.199 dies. By having Sam essentially say, it was just 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:24.279 okay, they completely reset the board. They took 00:05:24.279 --> 00:05:26.699 away the magic. Exactly. They moved the relationship 00:05:26.699 --> 00:05:31.019 from potential soulmates to buddies who accidentally 00:05:31.019 --> 00:05:32.879 slept together once and it was just kind of weird. 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:35.480 That is such a crucial distinction for the show. 00:05:35.540 --> 00:05:38.240 It turns them into friends. Dysfunctional friends, 00:05:38.379 --> 00:05:40.959 sure, but friends. And adversaries. Yeah. Really. 00:05:41.060 --> 00:05:44.519 Because Rebecca is curious, obviously. Her ego 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:46.300 is completely shattered. She storms out. She 00:05:46.300 --> 00:05:49.060 actually quits, which, let's be honest, is her 00:05:49.060 --> 00:05:51.300 go -to move. But she eventually comes back to 00:05:51.300 --> 00:05:53.860 apologize. And from that point on in season nine, 00:05:54.060 --> 00:05:57.459 the romantic tension is largely just gone. It's 00:05:57.459 --> 00:06:00.500 replaced by this sibling -like bickering that 00:06:00.500 --> 00:06:02.660 is actually much funnier and way more sustainable 00:06:02.660 --> 00:06:05.459 for a show entering its ninth year. It also frees 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:08.319 Rebecca up to continue her absolute unhinged 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:12.120 obsession with Robin Colcord. Yes, which really 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:14.740 becomes the driving force of her character this 00:06:14.740 --> 00:06:17.319 year. Because we have to remember, Rebecca Howe 00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:19.980 is defined by her ambition. She desperately wants 00:06:19.980 --> 00:06:23.269 to be a winner. And Robin Colcord. The suave 00:06:23.269 --> 00:06:26.050 British multimillionaire is her golden ticket 00:06:26.050 --> 00:06:28.769 to the high life, even if he is currently a fugitive 00:06:28.769 --> 00:06:31.910 or, well, an inmate. Which brings us to episode 00:06:31.910 --> 00:06:35.550 four, where Nobody Knows Your Name. That title 00:06:35.550 --> 00:06:37.930 itself is a brilliant play on the show's theme 00:06:37.930 --> 00:06:41.050 song. And this episode is just painful for Rebecca. 00:06:41.310 --> 00:06:43.389 It really is a masterclass in cringe comedy, 00:06:43.589 --> 00:06:46.029 way before cringe comedy was a mainstream genre. 00:06:46.170 --> 00:06:48.930 So Robin is in prison. And he's giving these 00:06:48.930 --> 00:06:51.069 interviews to the press, very nobly protecting 00:06:51.069 --> 00:06:53.290 the identity of his quote -unquote true love. 00:06:53.470 --> 00:06:55.949 And Rebecca naturally assumes it's her. Oh, she 00:06:55.949 --> 00:06:58.089 is preening. She is ready for the paparazzi. 00:06:58.149 --> 00:07:00.790 She wants to be the glamorous mistress behind 00:07:00.790 --> 00:07:02.990 this huge corporate scandal. But then the news 00:07:02.990 --> 00:07:05.490 breaks. The press describes the person Robin 00:07:05.490 --> 00:07:08.589 is protecting as merely some Boston bar manager. 00:07:08.790 --> 00:07:11.680 They don't even use her name. Meanwhile, a woman 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.120 from the French consulate who Robin was apparently 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:17.220 also seeing claims to be the true love. And she 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:19.720 gets all the fame, the TV interviews, the magazine 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:22.579 covers. It strips Rebecca of the one thing she 00:07:22.579 --> 00:07:25.060 wants more than anything, which is Scotus. Being 00:07:25.060 --> 00:07:27.079 the secret lover of a billionaire is romantic. 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:30.379 Being some bar manager is just humiliating for 00:07:30.379 --> 00:07:33.209 her. And it really highlights her delusion. She 00:07:33.209 --> 00:07:35.370 is in love with the lifestyle Robin provides, 00:07:35.509 --> 00:07:38.310 not necessarily the man himself. She wants to 00:07:38.310 --> 00:07:40.769 be the main character in a romance novel, but 00:07:40.769 --> 00:07:43.730 the universe just keeps casting her as the comic 00:07:43.730 --> 00:07:46.290 relief. She tries so hard to keep that fantasy 00:07:46.290 --> 00:07:48.949 alive, though. In episode seven, Breaking In 00:07:48.949 --> 00:07:51.329 is Hard to Do, she actually visits him in prison. 00:07:51.550 --> 00:07:53.910 And tries to seduce him. In the visitation room. 00:07:54.069 --> 00:07:56.850 Yes. With the glass partition right there. It 00:07:56.850 --> 00:07:59.759 is physical comedy gold for Kirstie Alley. She's 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:02.420 trying to be incredibly sexy in this drab, depressing 00:08:02.420 --> 00:08:05.639 prison environment. But Robin rejects her. And 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:07.459 this is key, right? He doesn't reject her because 00:08:07.459 --> 00:08:10.259 he has newfound morals. Not at all. He rejects 00:08:10.259 --> 00:08:12.480 her because getting caught messing around in 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.699 the visitation room would extend his prison sentence. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:18.100 He is being purely pragmatic. He is always looking 00:08:18.100 --> 00:08:21.139 out for number one, which perfectly sets up the 00:08:21.139 --> 00:08:23.420 massive three -part arc in the middle of the 00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:25.920 season. The Wedding. Oh, this is the absolute 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:28.839 centerpiece of Season 9, Episodes 15, 16, and 00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:33.240 17. The days of wine and neuroses, wedding bell 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:35.759 blues, and I'm getting my act together and sticking 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:37.720 it in your face. Those are fantastic titles, 00:08:37.820 --> 00:08:40.559 by the way. They really are. So Robin gets released 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.899 from prison. He proposes to Rebecca. And this 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:46.320 is it. She has won. She has a giant ring. She 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:49.559 has the billionaire. But in Part 1, she starts 00:08:49.559 --> 00:08:52.679 drinking. Is it just cold feet? It's worse than 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:54.639 that. It's a subconscious realization. She gets 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:57.340 drunk because deep down she knows this entire 00:08:57.340 --> 00:09:00.659 thing is a sham. And in part two, on the actual 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:02.740 wedding day, she finally admits it to herself. 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:05.399 She has this huge epiphany. She says, I only 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:07.980 love him for his money. That is a massive moment 00:09:07.980 --> 00:09:10.399 of growth for her character. To actually say 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:12.440 that out loud, it redeems her a little bit. I 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:14.000 mean, she's shallow, but at least she's finally 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:16.139 being honest about it. Right. And she is actually 00:09:16.139 --> 00:09:19.059 ready to call the whole thing off. But the writers 00:09:19.059 --> 00:09:23.649 have one. Final, incredibly cruel twist waiting 00:09:23.649 --> 00:09:27.049 for her. Yes, the betrayal. Just as she is grappling 00:09:27.049 --> 00:09:30.450 with this huge moral dilemma, Robin reveals his 00:09:30.450 --> 00:09:33.570 true colors. He tells her he didn't come back 00:09:33.570 --> 00:09:36.450 to the bar for love. He came back because he 00:09:36.450 --> 00:09:39.750 hid $6 million in cash under her desk in the 00:09:39.750 --> 00:09:42.409 bar's office. Under the desk the entire time 00:09:42.409 --> 00:09:45.320 he was in prison. The whole time. He basically 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:48.080 lifts up the floorboard, grabs this giant satchel 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:50.200 of cash, and abandons her right at the altar. 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:52.059 He just flees the country with the money. So 00:09:52.059 --> 00:09:54.159 she is left standing there with no husband, no 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:56.399 money, and the crushing realization that she 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:59.120 was just a pawn in his game. It completely destroys 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:01.720 her. In part three, she has a total breakdown. 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:03.840 She locks herself in the office. She leaves town 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:07.240 for a bit. It is absolute rock bottom for Rebecca 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:09.299 Howe. But, and I think this is why we love the 00:10:09.299 --> 00:10:11.620 show so much, she comes back. She always comes 00:10:11.620 --> 00:10:14.490 back to cheers. Because the bar is the only real 00:10:14.490 --> 00:10:17.230 thing she has left in her life. The people there, 00:10:17.370 --> 00:10:20.289 despite being absolute weirdos, actually care 00:10:20.289 --> 00:10:23.570 about her. Unlike Robin. Now, while Rebecca is 00:10:23.570 --> 00:10:26.250 spiraling out of control this season, Sam is 00:10:26.250 --> 00:10:28.490 playing a very different role. He really becomes 00:10:28.490 --> 00:10:31.590 the anchor of the show. He does. With Rebecca 00:10:31.590 --> 00:10:34.730 acting as the agent of chaos, Sam kind of steps 00:10:34.730 --> 00:10:37.190 into the straight man role. He's back as the 00:10:37.190 --> 00:10:39.779 manager. He's running the bar day to day. But 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:41.980 we do start to see a crack in his armor by the 00:10:41.980 --> 00:10:45.179 season finale, episode 26, Uncle Sam Wants You. 00:10:45.299 --> 00:10:48.879 Ah, the baby fever episode. Yes. Sam starts spending 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:50.899 time with Frasier and Lilith's son, Frederick, 00:10:51.100 --> 00:10:53.259 and he gets completely obsessed. He starts really 00:10:53.259 --> 00:10:55.240 seriously thinking about fatherhood for himself. 00:10:55.539 --> 00:10:57.919 Which is a huge shift for Sam Mayday Malone. 00:10:57.940 --> 00:10:59.980 He was always the guy who ran away from any kind 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:02.840 of commitment. Now he is actively seeking a legacy. 00:11:03.019 --> 00:11:05.860 It really signals the beginning of the end for 00:11:05.860 --> 00:11:08.019 this series as a whole. Sam is starting to realize 00:11:08.019 --> 00:11:10.240 that casual dating and bartending might not actually 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:12.220 be enough to fulfill him for the rest of his 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:15.080 life. It sets the stage for the much more introspective 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:17.299 Sam that we see in the final couple of seasons. 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:21.419 So we have the two leads of the cast evolving 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:24.820 in these major ways. The listener feedback we 00:11:24.820 --> 00:11:26.679 got, and frankly, what all the critics were saying 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:29.399 at the time, points to one specific thing that 00:11:29.399 --> 00:11:32.500 made Season 9 so special. The ensemble? Exactly. 00:11:32.860 --> 00:11:35.080 Section 2 of our outline, the supporting cast 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:37.360 highlights. This is where the show really just 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:40.379 flexes its muscles. When you have a bench this 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:42.940 deep, you don't need Sam and Rebecca to carry 00:11:42.940 --> 00:11:45.419 every single scene. You can let the supporting 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:48.179 players shine. So let's talk about the Cranes, 00:11:48.179 --> 00:11:50.360 Frasier and Lilith, played by Kelsey Grammer 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:53.220 and Bebe North. They are comedy snipers. They 00:11:53.220 --> 00:11:54.940 don't need a lot of setup at all. They just walk 00:11:54.940 --> 00:11:57.940 into the bar, deliver one devastatingly dry line, 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:01.029 and the audience is completely in stitches. In 00:12:01.029 --> 00:12:03.789 episode seven, we get to see their intense parenting 00:12:03.789 --> 00:12:06.250 anxiety. They're absolutely distraught because 00:12:06.250 --> 00:12:08.870 they find out their baby, Frederick, is only 00:12:08.870 --> 00:12:11.370 of quote unquote average intelligence. Which 00:12:11.370 --> 00:12:13.889 to them is a literal tragedy. Oh, yeah. They 00:12:13.889 --> 00:12:15.649 are both renowned psychiatrists. They are both 00:12:15.649 --> 00:12:18.389 hardcore intellectuals. The mere idea that their 00:12:18.389 --> 00:12:21.870 combined gene pool produced a normal kid is terrifying 00:12:21.870 --> 00:12:24.289 to them. So they try to overcompensate. Right. 00:12:24.309 --> 00:12:26.009 They try to stimulate his brain with complex 00:12:26.009 --> 00:12:28.950 flashcards and classical music, trying to force 00:12:28.950 --> 00:12:31.259 him into being a genius. But then we get to the 00:12:31.259 --> 00:12:34.019 first word incident. This is legendary television. 00:12:34.440 --> 00:12:37.100 Frazier brings the baby into the bar. Norm walks 00:12:37.100 --> 00:12:40.299 in. The entire bar does the classic Norm chorus. 00:12:40.899 --> 00:12:44.399 And the baby mimics it. His very first word is 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:48.100 shouting, Norm! It is the perfect nurture over 00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:50.940 nature joke. The kid is spending all his formative 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:53.620 time being raised in a Boston bar. Of course, 00:12:53.659 --> 00:12:55.120 his first word is the name of the guy who is 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:57.139 always sitting there. But the best part is Lilith's 00:12:57.139 --> 00:13:00.220 reaction. Bebe Newworth is just a genius in this 00:13:00.220 --> 00:13:02.610 scene. She clearly hears him say Norm, but her 00:13:02.610 --> 00:13:05.190 face completely lights up and she screams, Mommy! 00:13:05.509 --> 00:13:08.149 He said Mommy. It is so delusional, but it is 00:13:08.149 --> 00:13:10.509 deeply human. She wants that maternal validation 00:13:10.509 --> 00:13:13.289 so badly that she just rewrites reality in real 00:13:13.289 --> 00:13:16.129 time. I think it shows that beneath that coal, 00:13:16.269 --> 00:13:19.250 robotic, tight bun exterior, Lilith is just as 00:13:19.250 --> 00:13:20.990 desperate for connection as anyone else in that 00:13:20.990 --> 00:13:23.110 room. Speaking of Frasier, though, we do have 00:13:23.110 --> 00:13:25.409 to address a bit of a controversy. A continuity 00:13:25.409 --> 00:13:27.710 error that still haunts internet forums to this 00:13:27.710 --> 00:13:31.559 day. Oh boy. Yes, episode two cheers Fowles out. 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:34.019 Frazier makes a very specific comment about his 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:36.960 parents in this episode. What exactly does he 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:39.899 say? He explicitly states that his parents are 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:42.840 dead, both of them deceased. Which, if you have 00:13:42.840 --> 00:13:45.419 ever seen the massively successful spinoff series, 00:13:45.659 --> 00:13:48.960 Frazier, is a pretty big problem. Because his 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:52.220 father, Martin Crane, is literally the co -lead 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:55.220 of that show. It is a massive retcon. But you 00:13:55.220 --> 00:13:57.139 have to put yourself in the mindset of the era. 00:13:57.659 --> 00:14:00.320 There was no Wikipedia back then. There was no 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:02.519 streaming where fans could binge watch and fact 00:14:02.519 --> 00:14:05.000 check every line of dialogue. Right. The writers 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:06.820 just needed a quick reason for Frazier to be 00:14:06.820 --> 00:14:08.779 grumpy or sympathetic in that specific scene 00:14:08.779 --> 00:14:11.220 in 1990, so they tossed in a line about his dead 00:14:11.220 --> 00:14:13.639 parents. They never in a million years dreamed 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:15.500 that Frazier Crane would get his own spinoff 00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:17.580 set in Seattle that would run for 11 seasons. 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:20.039 It just proves that for sitcom writers in the 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:23.340 90s, the joke always came first. canon and continuity 00:14:23.340 --> 00:14:25.480 were secondary to getting the laugh in the room? 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:27.639 Always. You've serviced the senior right now. 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:29.879 Let's move down the bar a bit to Cliff Clavin, 00:14:30.059 --> 00:14:33.899 the mailman, the resident know -it -all. Season 00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:36.460 9 really feels like the writers just sat in a 00:14:36.460 --> 00:14:38.879 room and decided, let's see exactly how weird 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:41.379 we can make Cliff this year. They really leaned 00:14:41.379 --> 00:14:45.039 hard into his eccentricity. And equally importantly, 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:47.960 the other characters' total intolerance of it. 00:14:48.059 --> 00:14:51.720 Take episode 12, Woody Interruptus. This episode 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:54.919 features the infamous frozen head prank. This 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:57.440 is maybe the most classic sitcom plot of the 00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:00.360 entire season, but it works so well because it's 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:03.419 grounded in these specific characters. Cliff 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:06.220 announces to the bar that he wants to be cryogenically 00:15:06.220 --> 00:15:09.419 frozen when he dies. Specifically, he wants his 00:15:09.419 --> 00:15:11.539 head preserved. Because of course he does. He 00:15:11.539 --> 00:15:13.179 probably read half a brochure about it in the 00:15:13.179 --> 00:15:15.500 mail and considers himself an expert. Exactly. 00:15:15.500 --> 00:15:17.659 So the bar gang decides they're going to mess 00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:19.950 with him. They get a cardboard box. They pack 00:15:19.950 --> 00:15:22.330 it full of dry ice so it's smoking. And they 00:15:22.330 --> 00:15:24.690 tell Cliff they found a frozen head. And Cliff 00:15:24.690 --> 00:15:27.070 actually believes it. Cliff will believe absolutely 00:15:27.070 --> 00:15:31.070 anything if it somehow validates his pseudo -intellectual 00:15:31.070 --> 00:15:34.350 worldview. But the prank doesn't stop there. 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:37.320 It escalates until Norm eventually pretends to 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:39.740 be decapitated. It sounds so gruesome when you 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:42.519 describe it out loud, but on screen it is just 00:15:42.519 --> 00:15:46.080 guys being dudes. It's this weird, almost affectionate 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:49.460 male bonding ritual. They torment Cliff because 00:15:49.460 --> 00:15:51.519 he is part of their tribe. That's spot on. If 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:53.120 they didn't actually like him, they would just 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.620 ignore him. The sheer amount of effort they put 00:15:55.620 --> 00:15:57.779 into building this elaborate prank proves that 00:15:57.779 --> 00:15:59.950 he is family to them. But we also see that Cliff 00:15:59.950 --> 00:16:01.710 has these moments of really deep insecurity. 00:16:01.990 --> 00:16:05.070 Like in episode 10, Veggie Boyd, there is a whole 00:16:05.070 --> 00:16:07.830 subplot about trivia napkins. Oh man, the bar 00:16:07.830 --> 00:16:10.309 gets these new cocktail napkins with trivia questions 00:16:10.309 --> 00:16:13.049 printed on them and Cliff just spirals. He literally 00:16:13.049 --> 00:16:14.970 feels threatened by a napkin. Well, if you think 00:16:14.970 --> 00:16:16.990 about it from his perspective, Cliff's entire 00:16:16.990 --> 00:16:19.750 social currency in that bar is that he knows 00:16:19.750 --> 00:16:23.350 useless facts. If a disposable paper napkin can 00:16:23.350 --> 00:16:26.129 provide that exact same service, what is the 00:16:26.129 --> 00:16:28.720 point of Cliff Clavin? Right. It is a full -blown 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:30.919 existential crisis triggered by a bar supply. 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:33.879 And we get to see his home life issues too this 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:37.539 season. Episode 5, Ma Always Liked You Best. 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:39.860 This is the introduction of the great feud for 00:16:39.860 --> 00:16:43.399 Ma Clavin's affection. Cliff refuses to let his 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:45.840 mother stay with him at his place. So she ends 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:47.659 up moving in with Woody. And of course they get 00:16:47.659 --> 00:16:50.580 along famously. Which just drives Cliff completely 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:54.870 insane. It is classic petty jealousy. He pushes 00:16:54.870 --> 00:16:57.809 her away because he wants his space, but he absolutely 00:16:57.809 --> 00:17:00.210 cannot stand seeing her be happy with someone 00:17:00.210 --> 00:17:03.129 else. It adds a surprisingly real layer of psychological 00:17:03.129 --> 00:17:06.509 complexity to Cliff. He is the ultimate mama's 00:17:06.509 --> 00:17:09.410 boy who deeply resents his mama. Speaking of 00:17:09.410 --> 00:17:11.839 Woody. Woody Boyd, played by Woody Harrelson. 00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:13.720 I think we forget sometimes that he was this 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:16.420 incredible, incredibly gifted comedic actor before 00:17:16.420 --> 00:17:18.640 he became a serious dramatic movie star. His 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:21.339 physical comedy in season nine is just top tier. 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:24.119 In that same episode, Veggie Boyd, he actually 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:26.500 gets cast in a local commercial for a new health 00:17:26.500 --> 00:17:28.500 drink called Veggie Boy. But there's a catch. 00:17:28.859 --> 00:17:32.150 The drink is absolutely disgusting. It's vile. 00:17:32.250 --> 00:17:35.349 But Woody is so pure -hearted and naive he literally 00:17:35.349 --> 00:17:38.309 cannot tell a lie. He physically cannot smile 00:17:38.309 --> 00:17:40.589 and drink the sludge on camera at the same time. 00:17:40.650 --> 00:17:43.049 His face just rejects it. So they have to bring 00:17:43.049 --> 00:17:45.829 in Frasier to fix it. Frasier actually hypnotizes 00:17:45.829 --> 00:17:47.970 Woody to believe the drink is the most delicious 00:17:47.970 --> 00:17:50.329 thing in the world. And the physical acting here. 00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:54.039 The face Woody makes, this manic, wide -eyed, 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:56.539 forced delight while clearly swallowing poison, 00:17:56.819 --> 00:17:59.740 is easily one of the funniest visual gags of 00:17:59.740 --> 00:18:02.380 the entire season. Woody also deals with some 00:18:02.380 --> 00:18:05.059 surprisingly modern problems this year. In episode 00:18:05.059 --> 00:18:07.720 11, Norman Cliff's Excellent Adventure, Woody 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:10.460 gets addicted to a home shopping channel. This 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:13.220 was a very real 90s phenomenon. People staying 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:15.960 up and buying cubic zirconia jewelry and terrifying 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:18.160 porcelain dolls at three in the morning. Woody 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:20.079 has zero impulse control, so it fits his character 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:22.549 perfectly. And we also see his ongoing romance 00:18:22.549 --> 00:18:25.710 with Kelly Gaines. We actually meet a rival suitor 00:18:25.710 --> 00:18:29.069 for her named Henri in episode 12. Ah, Henri 00:18:29.069 --> 00:18:32.170 the Frenchman. He is the complete anti -Woody. 00:18:32.250 --> 00:18:35.710 He is sophisticated, cynical, smooth, and he 00:18:35.710 --> 00:18:38.529 clearly wants to steal Kelly away. So Woody tries 00:18:38.529 --> 00:18:41.410 to prove his manhood by taking Kelly to a cheap 00:18:41.410 --> 00:18:44.630 motel for a romantic rendezvous. Which, knowing 00:18:44.630 --> 00:18:46.930 Woody and Kelly, is just such a hilariously bad 00:18:46.930 --> 00:18:49.890 idea. It is a total disaster waiting to happen. 00:18:49.970 --> 00:18:52.829 Right. But Carla, Carla Tortelli, of all people, 00:18:52.930 --> 00:18:55.589 actually saves the day. She tracks them down, 00:18:55.670 --> 00:18:58.430 bursts into the motel room and interrupts them 00:18:58.430 --> 00:19:00.450 before anything happens. Why does she do that? 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:03.119 Because Carly usually loves watching people's 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:05.599 lives dissolve into chaos. She does, but she 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:08.079 has a real soft spot for Woody. She knows he 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:10.240 is way out of his depth and is about to make 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:12.140 a massive mistake that will probably cost him 00:19:12.140 --> 00:19:14.599 his relationship with Kelly. So she willingly 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:17.000 plays the villain to save him from himself. It's 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:19.339 a very rare moment of maternal protectiveness 00:19:19.339 --> 00:19:21.960 from Carly. Finally, for the ensemble, we have 00:19:21.960 --> 00:19:24.680 to talk about Norm, the man holding down the 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:27.279 corner of the bar. Norm is essentially the Greek 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:29.799 chorus of cheers. He sits there, he observes 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:32.480 everything, he comments. But in episode six, 00:19:32.700 --> 00:19:36.019 Grease, he actually gets active. Yes, the campaign 00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:38.700 to save the hungry heifer. His absolute favorite 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:42.160 restaurant, it is a greasy spoon, basically a 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:46.019 total health hazard. But Norm loves it. When 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:48.160 he hears that it's closing down, he launches 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:51.700 this full scale protest campaign. He's got petitions. 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:54.539 He's picketing outside. The irony of the whole 00:19:54.539 --> 00:19:57.039 situation. The twist is brilliant. The owner 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.339 of the Hungry Huffer actually wants it to close. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:02.299 He desperately wants to burn the place down to 00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:04.980 collect the insurance money and sell to developers. 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:07.960 So you have Norm out there passionately defending 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:11.059 the structural integrity of this building while 00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:13.099 the owner is standing right behind him holding 00:20:13.099 --> 00:20:16.180 a lit match. It is a perfect. somewhat tragic 00:20:16.180 --> 00:20:19.500 metaphor for Norm's entire life. Yeah. He consistently 00:20:19.500 --> 00:20:22.000 invests his energy and loyalty into things that 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.859 are fundamentally broken. And we can't ignore 00:20:23.859 --> 00:20:25.920 the physical comedy with Norm either. Back in 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:28.480 episode five, the window incident. Oh, the new 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:30.640 entrance. Right. Rebecca decides they need a 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:33.079 new fancier entrance to the bar where she's testing 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:35.279 out a new door frame. And Norm decides to test 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:37.420 it out and gets completely stopped, just literally 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:39.519 wedged in the window frame. I mean, let's be 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:42.700 honest, it is a fat joke. It definitely is. But 00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:44.819 the reason it works is because George Wendt plays 00:20:44.819 --> 00:20:47.819 it with such incredible dignity. He doesn't panic. 00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:50.599 He doesn't flail around. He just kind of accepts 00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:53.519 that being stuck in a wall is his life now. He 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:55.720 just asks someone to hand him a beer while he 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:58.240 waits for the police. It emphasizes that Norm 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:00.900 isn't just a customer. He is a literal fixture 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:03.599 of the bar. He is part of the architecture. So 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:05.660 that really covers the people inside the ecosystem 00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:09.519 of the bar. But season nine also actively expands 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:12.400 the world outside. those walls right moving on 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:15.400 to section three of our deep dive the environment 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:19.519 and specifically bar wars and real estate the 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:21.839 writers knew they needed some external antagonists 00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:24.319 to unite the cast you need a villain to bring 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:26.839 the family together and we get the classic rivalry 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:30.640 with gary's oldie town tavern in episode 2 cheers 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:33.259 fouls out it escalates to a basketball game high 00:21:33.259 --> 00:21:35.910 stakes basketball And Cheers decides they aren't 00:21:35.910 --> 00:21:37.710 messing around this time. They bring in a ringer. 00:21:37.750 --> 00:21:40.569 Actual Boston Celtics legend Kevin McHale. This 00:21:40.569 --> 00:21:42.970 was such a huge cameo at the time. It really 00:21:42.970 --> 00:21:46.069 grounded the show in the reality of Boston. Seeing 00:21:46.069 --> 00:21:48.490 an actual Celtic hanging out in the bar with 00:21:48.490 --> 00:21:51.369 Norm and Cliff made the whole world feel authentic. 00:21:51.769 --> 00:21:54.230 But of course, because it is Cheers, and because 00:21:54.230 --> 00:21:56.250 they are playing against Gary, they absolutely 00:21:56.250 --> 00:21:59.730 cannot win. Gary is always playing 4D chess while 00:21:59.730 --> 00:22:01.950 the Cheers gang is playing checkers. Gary plays 00:22:01.950 --> 00:22:05.700 so dirty. Exactly is the con this time. He fakes 00:22:05.700 --> 00:22:08.619 a medical diagnosis. Yeah. So Gary orchestrates 00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:11.420 this elaborate guilt trip. He tricks the Cheers 00:22:11.420 --> 00:22:13.299 gang into believing that the game is actually 00:22:13.299 --> 00:22:15.819 a charity event or that Gary's players have some 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:18.700 severe physical limitations. I think he sends 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:21.180 in a fake doctor to diagnose Mikhail with a stress 00:22:21.180 --> 00:22:23.119 fracture or something. Right. He makes the Cheers 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:25.920 gang feel like absolute monsters for trying to 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:28.160 win the game. So they forfeit or they throw the 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:30.480 game out of this sudden moral obligation. Only 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:32.579 to find out seconds later that Gary was lying. 00:22:32.779 --> 00:22:34.920 the entire time and just walked away with their 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:37.519 money. It is the ultimate Charlie Brown in the 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:40.579 football scenario. Gary always, always pulls 00:22:40.579 --> 00:22:42.660 the football away at the last second. But while 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:45.559 Gary is fun, the much more significant villain 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:48.839 introduced this season is John Allen Hill. Played 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:51.180 by the wonderful Keane Curtis, he's introduced 00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:54.240 in episode nine as the new owner of Melville's, 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:56.380 which is the fancy seafood restaurant located 00:22:56.380 --> 00:22:59.299 directly upstairs from Cheers. This was a brilliant 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:01.920 addition to the cast. Because John Allen Hill 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:05.019 is not a childish prankster like Gary. He is 00:23:05.019 --> 00:23:08.099 a legitimate snob. He actively hates the bar. 00:23:08.279 --> 00:23:10.779 He hates the noise. He hates the smell of the 00:23:10.779 --> 00:23:13.720 beer. And he really hates the people. And in 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:16.839 that episode, Bad Neighbor Sam, he drops an absolute 00:23:16.839 --> 00:23:19.380 bombshell on them. Real estate law at its finest. 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:22.440 Hill reveals that through some arcane quirk in 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:24.599 the original deed to the building, he actually 00:23:24.599 --> 00:23:27.400 owns the back hallway, the pool room, and the 00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:30.039 restrooms of Cheers. That is a nightmare scenario 00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:32.420 for a bar owner. Sam doesn't even own his own 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:35.279 bathrooms. It's a massive power move. Hill literally 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:38.180 has his workers build a solid brick wall in the 00:23:38.180 --> 00:23:40.940 hallway to block access. He holds the bladders 00:23:40.940 --> 00:23:43.650 of the bar patrons hostage. It forces Sam to 00:23:43.650 --> 00:23:45.769 literally pay daily rent just to let his customers 00:23:45.769 --> 00:23:48.349 use the toilets. It is so deeply humiliating 00:23:48.349 --> 00:23:50.849 for him. It really changes the power dynamic 00:23:50.849 --> 00:23:55.210 of the entire show. Sam is usually the undisputed 00:23:55.210 --> 00:23:57.670 king of his castle. John Allen Hill makes him 00:23:57.670 --> 00:23:59.750 feel like a helpless serf. And this storyline 00:23:59.750 --> 00:24:02.069 doesn't just fade away. It actually resolves 00:24:02.069 --> 00:24:04.049 in a way that permanently changes the ownership 00:24:04.049 --> 00:24:07.509 structure of the bar, right? Yes, it does. Later 00:24:07.509 --> 00:24:10.009 in the season, in episode 19, Crash of the Titans, 00:24:10.210 --> 00:24:13.839 Rebecca finally steps up. She uses the money 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:16.559 she has, or money she managed to scrape together, 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:19.859 to buy back the pool room and the bathrooms directly 00:24:19.859 --> 00:24:22.160 from Hill. So she essentially saves the bar. 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:25.079 She does. And in doing so, she becomes an official 00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:27.299 partner. She isn't just an employee drawing a 00:24:27.299 --> 00:24:29.619 salary anymore. She owns a piece of the rock. 00:24:29.859 --> 00:24:32.140 That is a great character arc. It solidifies 00:24:32.140 --> 00:24:34.019 her place in the ecosystem. She has literally 00:24:34.019 --> 00:24:36.519 bought her way into the Cheers family. Okay, 00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:38.619 let's zoom out a bit now. We have talked about 00:24:38.619 --> 00:24:40.680 the plot mechanics, the character arcs, the jokes. 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:43.119 But we need to look at the historical legacy 00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:46.880 of this season. Moving to section four, critical 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:49.200 reception. We mentioned the Nielsen ratings at 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:51.400 the very top of the deep dive, the number one 00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:54.359 show in America. But the critics were also completely 00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:57.079 on board, which isn't always a guarantee. Right. 00:24:57.140 --> 00:24:59.960 Sometimes massively popular shows get absolutely 00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:03.339 slammed by television critics. But Cheers Season 00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:05.960 9 was a critical darling across the board. It 00:25:05.960 --> 00:25:08.119 really swept the awards season. Let's look at 00:25:08.119 --> 00:25:11.000 the 1991 Emmy Awards. This was basically a coronation 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:14.460 for the show. They won Outstanding Comedy Series. 00:25:15.049 --> 00:25:16.769 And they were up against heavy hitters like the 00:25:16.769 --> 00:25:19.329 Golden Girls, Murphy Brown, and Designing Women. 00:25:19.470 --> 00:25:22.250 That was incredibly tough competition. And Kirstie 00:25:22.250 --> 00:25:24.690 Alley won the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Comedy 00:25:24.690 --> 00:25:27.630 Series. This was a huge milestone for her. You 00:25:27.630 --> 00:25:29.390 have to remember, for her first few years on 00:25:29.390 --> 00:25:31.849 the show, she was living entirely in Shelley 00:25:31.849 --> 00:25:34.940 Long's shadow. The critics constantly compared 00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:37.680 Rebecca to Diane. Unfavorably, usually. Right. 00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:40.140 By season nine, she had completely won everyone 00:25:40.140 --> 00:25:43.900 over. This Emmy win was the industry definitively 00:25:43.900 --> 00:25:46.259 saying, you are not just a replacement anymore. 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:49.039 You are a massive star in your own right. And 00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:51.480 by Meanworth, one outstanding supporting actress 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:53.839 for playing Lilith. Again, just proving that 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:56.180 playing a cold, seemingly unfeeling character 00:25:56.180 --> 00:25:58.059 can actually make you the funniest person in 00:25:58.059 --> 00:26:00.160 the room if the writing is sharp enough. And 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:02.920 we can't forget. James Burroughs won the Emmy 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:05.859 for directing. Yes, for Woody Interruptus. The 00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:08.460 Frozen Head episode. I just love that it's a 00:26:08.460 --> 00:26:11.539 highly prestigious highbrow award for an incredibly 00:26:11.539 --> 00:26:14.700 lowbrow prank storyline. I think it just shows 00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:17.200 that execution matters so much more than concept. 00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:20.140 You can do a fundamentally dumb sitcom joke, 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:23.119 but if you direct it with precision pacing, it 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:26.119 becomes art. The show also won the Golden Globe 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:28.480 for Best Television Series Musical or Comedy, 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:31.500 which it shared with Season 8. due to the eligibility 00:26:31.500 --> 00:26:33.799 window, they were just unstoppable. And they 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:36.799 celebrated this success with a very special event. 00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:40.420 The 200th episode. Episode eight of this season. 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:42.460 They broke the fourth wall completely for this 00:26:42.460 --> 00:26:44.940 one. It was a special retrospective hosted by 00:26:44.940 --> 00:26:47.240 John McLaughlin, the famous political pundit 00:26:47.240 --> 00:26:49.740 from the McLaughlin Group. It was formatted as 00:26:49.740 --> 00:26:51.720 a serious panel discussion about the cultural 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:54.140 impact of the show, with the cast appearing on 00:26:54.140 --> 00:26:57.440 stage as themselves alongside the creators. And 00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:00.410 the biggest moment of that special. They brought 00:27:00.410 --> 00:27:02.890 back Shelley Long. Which was the exact moment 00:27:02.890 --> 00:27:05.849 every single fan was waiting for. Diane Chambers 00:27:05.849 --> 00:27:08.730 returned, well, sort of, as the actress. It was 00:27:08.730 --> 00:27:11.630 a huge peace offering to the longtime fans. It 00:27:11.630 --> 00:27:13.509 acknowledged the foundational history of the 00:27:13.509 --> 00:27:15.829 show while also showing how confident the current 00:27:15.829 --> 00:27:18.910 cast was. They clearly weren't afraid of the 00:27:18.910 --> 00:27:21.349 ghost of Diane Chambers anymore. Exactly. They 00:27:21.349 --> 00:27:23.710 were the number one show on TV. They had nothing 00:27:23.710 --> 00:27:26.740 to prove. So as we start to wrap up this deep 00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:29.579 dive into season nine, I want to circle back 00:27:29.579 --> 00:27:32.460 to the central theme of our outline. Why did 00:27:32.460 --> 00:27:35.259 this specific season work so incredibly well? 00:27:35.400 --> 00:27:37.480 I think it worked because it simply wasn't afraid 00:27:37.480 --> 00:27:40.329 to change. Most sitcoms die because they try 00:27:40.329 --> 00:27:42.670 to freeze time. They want the characters to stay 00:27:42.670 --> 00:27:44.890 exactly the same forever because that's what 00:27:44.890 --> 00:27:46.849 made them famous in the first place. Cheers let 00:27:46.849 --> 00:27:49.369 them grow. They let Sam get older and start wanting 00:27:49.369 --> 00:27:51.630 a family. They let Rebecca get completely broken 00:27:51.630 --> 00:27:54.549 down. They let Frasier and Lilith struggle with 00:27:54.549 --> 00:27:57.049 the realities of raising a baby. Exactly. They 00:27:57.049 --> 00:27:59.589 leaned heavily into the ensemble magic. They 00:27:59.589 --> 00:28:01.470 realized that characters like Cliff and Norm 00:28:01.470 --> 00:28:03.430 and Woody weren't just background decoration 00:28:03.430 --> 00:28:06.130 to serve drinks to. They were the actual beating 00:28:06.130 --> 00:28:08.730 heart of the show. And I think that shift moving 00:28:08.730 --> 00:28:12.690 from a romance -driven narrative to a true balanced 00:28:12.690 --> 00:28:15.630 ensemble comedy is exactly what allowed Cheers 00:28:15.630 --> 00:28:18.210 to stay on the air and stay relevant for another 00:28:18.210 --> 00:28:21.069 two full seasons after this. Absolutely. Season 00:28:21.069 --> 00:28:23.750 9 was the crucial bridge. It proved to the network 00:28:23.750 --> 00:28:26.369 and the fans that the show was bigger than any 00:28:26.369 --> 00:28:29.130 one romantic relationship. It was a victory lap 00:28:29.130 --> 00:28:30.869 where they were comfortable in their identity. 00:28:31.089 --> 00:28:33.250 Before we go today, I always like to leave you, 00:28:33.349 --> 00:28:35.750 the listener, with a final provocative thought. 00:28:35.869 --> 00:28:37.759 Something to sort of... mull over on your own 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:39.700 that builds on what we've discussed today. Okay, 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:41.400 I think I know exactly where you're headed with 00:28:41.400 --> 00:28:43.759 this. We spent a lot of time talking about Robin 00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:46.380 Colcourt today, the billionaire boyfriend. Played 00:28:46.380 --> 00:28:49.160 just brilliantly by Roger Reese. He lies. He 00:28:49.160 --> 00:28:52.079 cheats on Rebecca. He steals six million dollars. 00:28:52.359 --> 00:28:55.400 He leaves her standing alone at the altar. By 00:28:55.400 --> 00:28:57.859 all conventional accounts, he is the ultimate 00:28:57.859 --> 00:29:01.559 villain of season nine. He is a classic mustache 00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:04.700 twirling bad guy. But hear me out on this. Is 00:29:04.700 --> 00:29:07.619 he actually the hero of Rebecca's overall story? 00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:09.819 Oh, that is a hot take. Go on, explain that. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:13.140 Think about exactly who Rebecca Howe was before 00:29:13.140 --> 00:29:16.180 Robin left her. She was entirely obsessed with 00:29:16.180 --> 00:29:19.079 status. She was relentlessly climbing a corporate 00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:21.480 ladder that didn't even really exist anymore. 00:29:21.740 --> 00:29:24.660 She was defining her entire self -worth by the 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:26.579 wealth of the man she was sleeping with. She 00:29:26.579 --> 00:29:29.299 was a shallow, highly neurotic mess. Right. So 00:29:29.299 --> 00:29:31.900 when Robin stole that money and ran away, he 00:29:31.900 --> 00:29:35.230 essentially... He took away the financial safety 00:29:35.230 --> 00:29:37.730 net. He completely destroyed the fantasy. He 00:29:37.730 --> 00:29:40.240 forced her to hit. absolute rock bottom. And 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:42.599 because she hit rock bottom, she had absolutely 00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:44.599 no choice but to rebuild her life from scratch. 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:47.180 Exactly. Because of what he did, she had to buy 00:29:47.180 --> 00:29:49.460 into the bar. She had to learn to actually rely 00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:51.680 on Sam and the rest of the gang for emotional 00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:54.059 support. She had to become a real functioning 00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:57.160 person rather than just a corporate caricature. 00:29:57.460 --> 00:30:00.180 So you're basically saying that Robin Colcord 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:02.859 was the forest fire that had to burn everything 00:30:02.859 --> 00:30:05.819 down so that new life could finally grow. Exactly. 00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:08.359 Without that massive betrayal, Rebecca Rebecca 00:30:08.359 --> 00:30:11.359 Howe just remains a miserable social climbing 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:14.500 executive forever. With the betrayal, she becomes 00:30:14.500 --> 00:30:17.160 a beloved friend and a legitimate small business 00:30:17.160 --> 00:30:19.960 owner. I really like that framing. He is the 00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:22.079 accidental savior. It certainly doesn't forgive 00:30:22.079 --> 00:30:25.559 the theft or the emotional abuse. But narratively 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:28.519 speaking, abandoning her was the absolute best 00:30:28.519 --> 00:30:30.119 thing he could have ever done for her character 00:30:30.119 --> 00:30:32.359 development. It's definitely something to think 00:30:32.359 --> 00:30:34.359 about the next time you are flipping channels 00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:37.279 and catch the reruns. A massive thank you to 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:39.500 the brilliant cast and crew of Cheers for giving 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:42.319 us this incredible season of television. And 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:44.440 as always, a huge thank you to you for listening. 00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:46.539 Cheers. We will catch you on the next deep dive.