WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.680 Hello and welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:05.419 we are cracking open a file that, honestly, I 00:00:05.419 --> 00:00:08.939 really didn't think would be this thick. Yeah, 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:10.580 I know what you mean. It's quite a stack of notes. 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:13.359 It is. Because we are looking at a piece of television 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:15.900 history that I think, you know, a lot of people 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:17.420 just sort of take for granted. We're going back 00:00:17.420 --> 00:00:20.300 to the early 90s. It is so good to be here. And 00:00:20.300 --> 00:00:22.820 you're right. Taken for granted is really the 00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:24.339 perfect way to put it, because when something 00:00:24.339 --> 00:00:26.379 is this massively successful, people tend to 00:00:26.379 --> 00:00:28.519 think it was easy. But as we're going to see 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:31.620 today, it was anything but easy. Exactly. So 00:00:31.620 --> 00:00:34.159 for you listening, we are doing a highly granular, 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:38.299 really deep look at season 10 of the legendary 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:40.899 American sitcom Cheers. A monumental season. 00:00:41.409 --> 00:00:44.509 Totally. Now, just to orient everyone, this specific 00:00:44.509 --> 00:00:48.530 season aired on NBC from September 1991 all the 00:00:48.530 --> 00:00:51.469 way to May 1992. And I have to be completely 00:00:51.469 --> 00:00:53.409 honest with you. When I saw we were doing season 00:00:53.409 --> 00:00:56.289 10, my very first thought was zombie TV. Zombie 00:00:56.289 --> 00:00:58.890 TV. I like that term. What do you mean by that 00:00:58.890 --> 00:01:01.090 exactly? You know what I mean. It's that phase 00:01:01.090 --> 00:01:04.750 in a show's life where it's just, well, shuffling 00:01:04.750 --> 00:01:08.140 along. The writers are exhausted. The actors 00:01:08.140 --> 00:01:10.900 are coorly bored and they're just recycling the 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:13.379 exact same plots because the network keeps backing 00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:15.480 up a dump truck full of money. Right, right. 00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:18.000 Usually by season 10, a show is just dead on 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:20.969 its feet. That is the typical trajectory. Absolutely. 00:01:21.090 --> 00:01:23.510 Usually see the creative peak around season three, 00:01:23.569 --> 00:01:25.730 maybe season four. Then you get those sort of 00:01:25.730 --> 00:01:29.090 maintenance years and then the slow, really painful 00:01:29.090 --> 00:01:32.349 decline. Yeah. But the data we have here and 00:01:32.349 --> 00:01:34.530 the source material we're looking at tells a 00:01:34.530 --> 00:01:37.069 completely different story about Cheers. That's 00:01:37.069 --> 00:01:38.489 the first thing that jumped out at me in the 00:01:38.489 --> 00:01:41.329 production notes. The numbers are just staggering. 00:01:41.510 --> 00:01:43.989 We're talking about viewerships in the 20 to 00:01:43.989 --> 00:01:47.069 30 million range. Every single week. It was an 00:01:47.069 --> 00:01:49.430 absolute juggernaut. I mean, to put that in perspective 00:01:49.430 --> 00:01:51.810 for you today, 30 million viewers is, well, it 00:01:51.810 --> 00:01:53.829 just doesn't happen anymore. No, not at all. 00:01:53.849 --> 00:01:56.150 That's a Super Bowl number or a major breaking 00:01:56.150 --> 00:01:59.870 news event. But for Cheers in 1991, that was 00:01:59.870 --> 00:02:02.569 just a normal Thursday night. It's just a Thursday. 00:02:02.950 --> 00:02:06.109 So our mission today, really, is to figure out 00:02:06.109 --> 00:02:09.409 how. How do they completely avoid the zombie 00:02:09.409 --> 00:02:11.960 face? We're going to explore how they managed 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:14.960 this massive ensemble cast, how they navigated 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:17.400 the whole Sam and Rebecca dynamic, and how they 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:19.879 delivered these iconic guest appearances. All 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:22.020 while maintaining those insane numbers. Right. 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:24.639 And we have the receipts for all of this. We're 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:27.080 looking at detailed production notes, cast lists, 00:02:27.219 --> 00:02:30.770 and episode synopses for the entire season. And 00:02:30.770 --> 00:02:32.810 it's really worth noting who was actually driving 00:02:32.810 --> 00:02:35.189 the bus at this point. Good point. Because you 00:02:35.189 --> 00:02:36.789 still have the original creators at the very 00:02:36.789 --> 00:02:39.169 top, right? James Burroughs and the Charles Brothers, 00:02:39.389 --> 00:02:41.909 Glenn and Les. They were up there under Charles 00:02:41.909 --> 00:02:43.789 Burroughs, Charles Productions in association 00:02:43.789 --> 00:02:47.150 with Paramount Television. But on the ground, 00:02:47.250 --> 00:02:49.610 the day -to -day showrunners were different. 00:02:49.830 --> 00:02:51.530 Yeah, I was looking at that exact list in our 00:02:51.530 --> 00:02:53.250 sources. It's not the Charles Brothers running 00:02:53.250 --> 00:02:55.650 the room anymore. No, it wasn't. For season 10, 00:02:55.849 --> 00:02:58.659 the specific showrunners were Cherry Iken. Bill 00:02:58.659 --> 00:03:02.439 Steinkellner and Feef Sutton. And did that change 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:04.819 the vibe of the show? Because usually, you know, 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:07.639 when you change the people actually writing the 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:09.800 words every week, you inevitably change the voice 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:12.400 of the characters. It definitely did. This team 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:14.759 is actually sometimes referred to as a sort of 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:17.780 dream team of sitcom writers. They really swung 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:19.520 for the fences this year. Oh, for sure. They 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:22.240 brought... a slightly more absurdist, maybe even 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:25.000 a darker energy to the show. You see them taking 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.419 these massive creative risks that a younger, 00:03:28.539 --> 00:03:31.120 less established show simply wouldn't dare take. 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:33.680 Like a disastrous attempt at baby making. Exactly. 00:03:33.719 --> 00:03:36.520 Or an elaborate prank war that somehow involves 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:39.560 a sitting U .S. senator. Or, and we are definitely 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:41.740 going to get to this later, a look into the future 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:44.259 at a main character's actual funeral. That funeral 00:03:44.259 --> 00:03:47.199 detail absolutely blew my mind when I read it. 00:03:47.629 --> 00:03:49.550 Okay, let's unpack this systematically. We really 00:03:49.550 --> 00:03:51.349 have to start with the central dynamic of the 00:03:51.349 --> 00:03:54.169 show. Sam and Rebecca. Right. Because for years, 00:03:54.370 --> 00:03:57.069 Cheers was the Sam and Diane show. Then Diane 00:03:57.069 --> 00:03:59.750 left, Rebecca came in, and we had a few years 00:03:59.750 --> 00:04:02.770 of Sam just relentlessly trying to conquer Rebecca. 00:04:03.050 --> 00:04:06.860 But by season 10... Where exactly are Sam Malone 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:10.520 and Rebecca Howe? It feels like that whole will 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:13.060 they won't they thing must be getting incredibly 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:16.439 stale by 1991. It was getting stale. And the 00:04:16.439 --> 00:04:19.040 writers absolutely knew it. So in the season 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:21.379 opener, which is an episode called Baby Bawk, 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:24.680 they decided to just blow up the dynamic completely 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:26.980 by accelerating it to the absolute maximum. They 00:04:26.980 --> 00:04:28.660 don't just flirt. They don't just casually date. 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:30.740 They decide to have a baby together. A baby. 00:04:30.819 --> 00:04:33.199 See, this is exactly where my zombie TV alarm 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:37.319 bells started ringing. Because of the trope? 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:40.420 Yes. The let's have a baby plot is usually the 00:04:40.420 --> 00:04:42.240 ultimate Cousin Oliver moment in television. 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:45.000 Yeah. It's usually this desperate Hail Mary pass 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:47.639 to add cuteness to a show when you've clearly 00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:50.040 run out of jokes. In almost any other show, yes, 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:53.220 that's exactly what it is. But here is the pure 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:56.459 brilliance of that season 10 writing room. They 00:04:56.459 --> 00:04:58.819 didn't introduce the concept of a baby to bring 00:04:58.819 --> 00:05:00.939 the characters closer together or to make things 00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:02.720 heartwarming. No, they didn't. They used the 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:05.420 idea of a baby. baby to expose exactly why these 00:05:05.420 --> 00:05:07.839 two specific people should never, ever be together. 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:10.819 So it's essentially the anti -sitcom baby arc. 00:05:11.339 --> 00:05:14.199 Precisely. Look at how they set it up. They decide 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:16.620 they want to have a baby. Do they have a romantic 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:19.660 candlelight dinner to celebrate? No. Right. They 00:05:19.660 --> 00:05:23.060 immediately go to Frasier and Lilith for parenting 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:25.939 advice. Which, if you know those characters... 00:05:26.089 --> 00:05:29.290 is mistake number one right if you want encouragement 00:05:29.290 --> 00:05:33.110 for a happy carefree family life you do not go 00:05:33.110 --> 00:05:36.209 to the cranes the source notes specifically mentioned 00:05:36.209 --> 00:05:38.310 that their advice immediately kills the mood 00:05:38.310 --> 00:05:40.910 and that feels very intentional from the writers 00:05:40.910 --> 00:05:44.089 it's like the show is actively contrasting the 00:05:44.089 --> 00:05:47.329 impulsive Let's just do it attitude of the bar 00:05:47.329 --> 00:05:49.949 managers with the neurotic, hyper intellectual 00:05:49.949 --> 00:05:52.389 reality of the cranes. That's a great observation. 00:05:52.709 --> 00:05:55.350 The cranes serve as a sort of ghost of Christmas 00:05:55.350 --> 00:05:58.089 future for Sam and Rebecca. They are what happens 00:05:58.089 --> 00:06:00.129 when you intellectualize a relationship but completely 00:06:00.129 --> 00:06:02.829 lack natural warmth. Right. And the show doesn't 00:06:02.829 --> 00:06:04.629 just stop with them talking about it. They don't 00:06:04.629 --> 00:06:06.509 let them off the hook. They force them to actually 00:06:06.509 --> 00:06:09.110 test drive the idea of parenthood. Oh, you're 00:06:09.110 --> 00:06:10.550 talking about the unplanned parenthood test. 00:06:10.790 --> 00:06:13.209 Yes. The episode where they agree to babysit 00:06:13.209 --> 00:06:16.290 Carla Tortelli's children. Now, for anyone listening 00:06:16.290 --> 00:06:18.250 who maybe hasn't watched the show in a while 00:06:18.250 --> 00:06:20.790 or hasn't seen the early seasons, we really need 00:06:20.790 --> 00:06:24.790 to clarify something. Carla's children are not 00:06:24.790 --> 00:06:27.790 normal children. No, they are not. They are essentially 00:06:27.790 --> 00:06:30.069 feral beings. It's the ultimate stress test. 00:06:30.509 --> 00:06:33.370 I mean, if you can survive a single night alone 00:06:33.370 --> 00:06:36.610 with the Tortelli brood, you can probably survive 00:06:36.610 --> 00:06:39.410 anything life throws at you. And naturally, it 00:06:39.410 --> 00:06:42.699 is a complete, unmitigated disaster. But the 00:06:42.699 --> 00:06:44.560 important takeaway here from a writing perspective 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.459 isn't just the slapstick comedy. It isn't just 00:06:47.459 --> 00:06:49.959 Sam getting hit with food or Rebecca screaming 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:52.180 in frustration. Right. It's about the aftermath. 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:54.800 The important thing is the emotional fallout. 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:57.379 Because in a lesser show, they would have survived 00:06:57.379 --> 00:06:59.720 the chaotic night, looked at a sleeping child 00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:01.600 at the end of the episode, and said something 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:04.180 like, ah, it's all worth it. Exactly. The soft 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:06.660 piano music plays, the studio audience says, 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.420 ah, and they decide to keep trying for a kid. 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:12.720 Cheers completely refuses to do that. It shows 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:15.699 them deeply overwhelmed, genuinely frightened 00:07:15.699 --> 00:07:18.220 and actively questioning their own competence 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:21.620 as adults. It uses the comedy to drive a permanent 00:07:21.620 --> 00:07:24.579 wedge between them. And that leads directly to 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:27.100 the conceptual future episode. The episode called 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:29.319 Go Make. This one really fascinated me in the 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:31.300 production notes. It sounds so claustrophobic. 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:33.339 It really is. It's what people in the industry 00:07:33.339 --> 00:07:36.459 call a bottle episode. I hear that term thrown 00:07:36.459 --> 00:07:38.699 around a lot. Can we define that for the listener 00:07:38.699 --> 00:07:41.959 who might not be a huge TV production nerd? Sure 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:43.920 thing. A bottle episode is usually something 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:46.720 done for budgetary reasons. You use just one 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:48.699 set, usually the main one, and only the core 00:07:48.699 --> 00:07:51.879 cast members. No expensive guest stars, no location 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:54.040 shoots. It saves the production money. Okay, 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.259 that makes sense. But creatively, it acts as 00:07:56.259 --> 00:07:58.779 a pressure cooker. it forces the writers to rely 00:07:58.779 --> 00:08:01.040 entirely on dialogue and character psychology 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.800 because you can't rely on action sequences or 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:06.459 constant scene changes to keep the audience entertained. 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:09.360 So in Go Make, Sam and Rebecca are just stuck 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:11.370 together where... They are spending the night 00:08:11.370 --> 00:08:13.990 together, specifically trying to conceive this 00:08:13.990 --> 00:08:17.149 baby. But instead of it being sexy or romantic 00:08:17.149 --> 00:08:19.810 in any way, they just get completely stuck in 00:08:19.810 --> 00:08:21.649 their own heads. It's got overthinking the whole 00:08:21.649 --> 00:08:24.709 thing. Yes. They start deeply imagining the future. 00:08:24.910 --> 00:08:27.189 And this is where the show gets really conceptual. 00:08:27.709 --> 00:08:30.310 They actually play out these hypothetical scenarios 00:08:30.310 --> 00:08:33.009 of what their potential child would be like. 00:08:33.309 --> 00:08:36.429 They ask, what if the kid is exactly like Sam? 00:08:36.750 --> 00:08:39.929 What if the kid is exactly like Rebecca? And 00:08:39.929 --> 00:08:42.789 reading the notes, Neither of those options sounds 00:08:42.789 --> 00:08:46.070 particularly great. I mean, a mini Sam is basically 00:08:46.070 --> 00:08:49.070 a tiny womanizer and a mini Rebecca is a complete 00:08:49.070 --> 00:08:51.889 neurotic mess. Exactly. And through this imaginative 00:08:51.889 --> 00:08:53.809 play, which is really just them projecting their 00:08:53.809 --> 00:08:56.769 own deep -seated insecurities onto a non -existent 00:08:56.769 --> 00:08:59.850 child, they come to a massive realization. They 00:08:59.850 --> 00:09:01.769 ultimately decide not to do it. They decide against 00:09:01.769 --> 00:09:03.830 having a child together. And this is a truly 00:09:03.830 --> 00:09:06.470 massive moment for the entire series. Just think 00:09:06.470 --> 00:09:08.090 about the overall trajectory of the show. Season 00:09:08.090 --> 00:09:11.789 6, 7, 8, 9. It was all, will they find... Then 00:09:11.789 --> 00:09:14.409 season 10 starts with, will they have a family? 00:09:14.850 --> 00:09:18.490 And the final answer is a hard, undeniable no. 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:21.220 It's surprisingly mature for a network sitcom. 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:24.799 It is. It shifts the entire dynamic from romantic 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:28.940 tension to fundamental incompatibility. It takes 00:09:28.940 --> 00:09:31.320 a lot of bravery for a writing staff to look 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:33.440 at their two highly bankable lead characters 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:36.139 and say, actually, you two would be terrible 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:38.000 parents together and you really shouldn't do 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:40.240 this. It honestly saves the show from becoming 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:42.779 just another standard domestic comedy. Because 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:45.299 if they had a baby, the show basically just becomes 00:09:45.299 --> 00:09:47.820 full house set in a Boston bar. And absolutely 00:09:47.820 --> 00:09:49.679 no. Nobody wants to see that. Nobody. So they 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:53.200 dodged the baby bullet. But this season has this 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:55.700 really strong underlying theme running through 00:09:55.700 --> 00:09:57.600 it, doesn't it? Yeah. Based on the sources, it 00:09:57.600 --> 00:09:59.519 feels like there's this constant tension between 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:02.580 growing up and growing old. And Sam seems to 00:10:02.580 --> 00:10:04.799 be fighting the growing old part incredibly hard. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:07.360 That is the perfect thematic lens to look at 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:09.679 the season through. Sam Malone is fighting a 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.360 completely losing battle against time. And that 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:14.659 brings us directly to the sperm count saga. This 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:18.370 is episode 11, titled I'm OK. You're defective. 00:10:18.450 --> 00:10:20.929 Which, by the way, that title alone is just brutal. 00:10:21.149 --> 00:10:23.090 It is brutal. And it's a critical breakdown of 00:10:23.090 --> 00:10:24.789 Sam's entire character. You have to remember, 00:10:24.929 --> 00:10:27.809 Sam Malone's entire identity, his complete sense 00:10:27.809 --> 00:10:30.169 of self -worth is built on his virility. Right. 00:10:30.230 --> 00:10:32.289 He's the former pro baseball player. He's the 00:10:32.289 --> 00:10:35.590 ultimate ladies' man. He is Mayday Malone. So 00:10:35.590 --> 00:10:37.820 if his plumbing doesn't work, who is he? That 00:10:37.820 --> 00:10:40.980 is the exact existential crisis the writers force 00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:43.940 him into. He is anxiously bracing for news from 00:10:43.940 --> 00:10:46.580 a fertility doctor. He is absolutely terrified 00:10:46.580 --> 00:10:48.919 that he might be the defective one in the equation. 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:52.100 And to really ramp up the thematic tension, the 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:54.740 B -plot of the episode features Frasier actively 00:10:54.740 --> 00:10:57.039 writing his last will and testament. That is 00:10:57.039 --> 00:10:59.419 such a stark contrast. So you have Sam dealing 00:10:59.419 --> 00:11:01.879 with the potential creation of life, and at the 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:04.480 exact same time, Frasier is dealing with the 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:07.240 absolute certainty of death. Cheers was always 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:10.320 masterful at that specific kind of tonal balance. 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:13.539 But here is where the episode gets really interesting. 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:16.539 Sam finally gets the envelope from the doctor 00:11:16.539 --> 00:11:18.460 with the test results. And what does he actually 00:11:18.460 --> 00:11:21.480 do? He burns it. He literally sets the envelope 00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:24.820 on fire. He consciously chooses ignorance. He 00:11:24.820 --> 00:11:27.659 decides in that moment that the myth of Sam alone 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:30.379 is vastly more important to him than the reality 00:11:30.379 --> 00:11:33.240 of his own physical health. It is a moment of 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:36.659 extreme. Almost childish vanity, but also deep 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:39.379 vulnerability. He's just too scared to know the 00:11:39.379 --> 00:11:42.080 truth. But the writers, they don't just let him 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:43.840 off the hook there, do they? This is the part 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:45.580 of the production notes that I honestly had to 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:48.100 reread three times to make sure I was seeing 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:51.220 it right. The flash forward. Yes. This is undoubtedly 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:54.019 one of the most unique narrative devices used 00:11:54.019 --> 00:11:56.740 in the entire 11 year run of the show. Describe 00:11:56.740 --> 00:11:58.919 exactly what happens for the listener. So Sam 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:01.620 burns the envelope in the bar. We fade out. But 00:12:01.620 --> 00:12:04.600 then. We fade back in and the on -screen caption 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:07.559 tells us we are suddenly many, many decades in 00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:10.299 the future. So we are completely leaving the 00:12:10.299 --> 00:12:13.000 early 90s. We are leaving the 20th century entirely. 00:12:13.299 --> 00:12:16.919 The scene opens and we are at a funeral. Specifically, 00:12:17.019 --> 00:12:19.419 we are at Frasier Crane's funeral. Wait, let's 00:12:19.419 --> 00:12:21.679 just pause right there. We actually see the death 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:25.389 of Frasier Crane. Because... Considering Frazier 00:12:25.389 --> 00:12:27.629 went on to have his own incredibly successful 00:12:27.629 --> 00:12:30.870 spin -off show for another 11 years, and then 00:12:30.870 --> 00:12:33.779 a whole reboot in the 2020s, This is kind of 00:12:33.779 --> 00:12:35.879 a massive continuity nightmare, isn't it? It 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:38.059 absolutely is if you take it completely literally. 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:40.759 But you have to remember, in 1991, they had no 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:43.360 idea Frazier would basically live forever on 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:46.480 television. So they show us his funeral. We see 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.860 an elderly Lilith. We see an elderly Sam. And 00:12:48.860 --> 00:12:50.679 the lawyer is standing there reading the will. 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:52.600 Right. The lawyer opens an envelope that everyone 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:55.460 assumes is Frazier's last testament. But instead, 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:58.159 it turns out to be the medical results that Sam 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:00.879 thought he had burned back in 1991. He burned 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:03.519 the wrong envelope. That is such a classic farce 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:06.240 setup. It really is. But the payoff isn't just 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:09.019 slapstick comedy. The lawyer reads the results 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:11.559 out loud to everyone. And it turns out Sam's 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:14.720 sperm count was, quote, perfectly average. Perfectly 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:17.960 average. Wow. Not Superman, not defective, just 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:20.600 average. And for a total narcissist like Sam 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:23.059 Malone, that is the ultimate insult. He isn't 00:13:23.059 --> 00:13:25.220 biologically special. He's just a regular guy. 00:13:25.610 --> 00:13:27.909 and Lilith's reaction to all of this happening 00:13:27.909 --> 00:13:30.509 at her husband's funeral. She delivers arguably 00:13:30.509 --> 00:13:33.029 the best line of the season. She just looks around 00:13:33.029 --> 00:13:35.889 at the absolute chaos unfolding and she sighs 00:13:35.889 --> 00:13:39.370 and says, that damn bar. That damn bar. You know, 00:13:39.389 --> 00:13:41.309 when you think about it, that feels really heavy. 00:13:41.470 --> 00:13:43.289 It's played for a laugh, but it's incredibly 00:13:43.289 --> 00:13:46.049 heavy. It is heavy because it implies that the 00:13:46.049 --> 00:13:48.389 bar isn't just a fun place where they all hang 00:13:48.389 --> 00:13:50.789 out and work. It's a trap. It's this emotional 00:13:50.789 --> 00:13:53.610 black hole. Yeah. It implies that this specific 00:13:53.610 --> 00:13:56.470 dynamic, Sam. Sam, the gang, the bar itself, 00:13:56.789 --> 00:13:59.169 outlasts their marriages, their other careers, 00:13:59.230 --> 00:14:01.549 and eventually even their lives. They're all 00:14:01.549 --> 00:14:03.950 just trapped in Cheers forever. That is, wow. 00:14:04.129 --> 00:14:05.990 I never really thought of Cheers as a sort of 00:14:05.990 --> 00:14:08.210 purgatory before, but that reading really sells 00:14:08.210 --> 00:14:10.509 it. So Sam is dealing with the absolute horror 00:14:10.509 --> 00:14:13.549 of being average. Meanwhile, the notes show that 00:14:13.549 --> 00:14:16.070 Rebecca is dealing with her own independent struggles, 00:14:16.389 --> 00:14:19.580 mostly a spiraling sense of self -worth. Rebecca's 00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:22.419 entire arc in season 10 is really about the massive 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:24.799 gap between who she desperately wants to be and 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:27.059 who she actually is. She wants to be seen as 00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:30.200 this high -powered, ruthless, corporate killer. 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:33.179 But in reality, she's a total mess. We definitely 00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:35.379 see this in the episode License to Hill. Right. 00:14:35.789 --> 00:14:38.269 In that episode, she tries to impress Sam by 00:14:38.269 --> 00:14:41.029 taking total authoritative control of the bar. 00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:43.730 She wants to prove once and for all that she's 00:14:43.730 --> 00:14:46.450 the responsible one in the room. But in her absolute 00:14:46.450 --> 00:14:49.269 hubris, she accidentally lets the bar's liquor 00:14:49.269 --> 00:14:52.350 license expire. Which, if you run a bar, is basically 00:14:52.350 --> 00:14:54.429 the single most important thing you cannot do. 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:57.059 It's the only thing that actually matters. So 00:14:57.059 --> 00:14:59.639 because of her mistake, they have to serve non 00:14:59.639 --> 00:15:01.519 -alcoholic drinks covertly to the customers. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:04.419 It's a classic sitcom farce, everybody running 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:06.779 around trying to hide the crime. But it really 00:15:06.779 --> 00:15:09.259 underlines Rebecca's constant state of failure. 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:12.519 She tries so incredibly hard, but she always 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:14.360 ends up tripping over her own feet. And then 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:17.500 there's her love life, or I guess lack thereof. 00:15:18.029 --> 00:15:19.970 We definitely have to talk about the episode 00:15:19.970 --> 00:15:23.370 Rebecca's Lover. Oh, that is a standout episode, 00:15:23.549 --> 00:15:25.789 mostly because of the incredible guest star they 00:15:25.789 --> 00:15:28.389 brought in. The source material highlights Harvey 00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:31.190 Fierstein. The legendary Harvey Fierstein. He 00:15:31.190 --> 00:15:34.350 plays Mark, who is Rebecca's old high school 00:15:34.350 --> 00:15:37.330 flame. And Rebecca, just being classic Rebecca, 00:15:37.570 --> 00:15:40.330 thinks this is finally it. She thinks this is 00:15:40.330 --> 00:15:43.250 her big second chance at true love. She is completely 00:15:43.250 --> 00:15:46.070 and utterly oblivious. She doesn't realize for 00:15:46.070 --> 00:15:49.110 a second that Mark is gay. She is aggressively 00:15:49.110 --> 00:15:52.470 pursuing him, just throwing herself at him, completely 00:15:52.470 --> 00:15:55.009 convinced that he's her destined soulmate. What's 00:15:55.009 --> 00:15:57.929 interesting is, usually in a network sitcom from 00:15:57.929 --> 00:16:01.350 1991, the big reveal that a character is gay 00:16:01.350 --> 00:16:04.029 would be played purely for a cheap laugh. You 00:16:04.029 --> 00:16:05.809 know, just a big shock reaction from the studio 00:16:05.809 --> 00:16:08.470 audience. Exactly. The gay panic trope was everywhere 00:16:08.470 --> 00:16:11.190 back then. But Cheers handles it with surprising 00:16:11.190 --> 00:16:14.049 tenderness. When the penny finally drops for 00:16:14.049 --> 00:16:16.950 Rebecca, she isn't angry at him. She's just profoundly 00:16:16.950 --> 00:16:20.190 sad. And Mark is incredibly kind and gentle with 00:16:20.190 --> 00:16:22.730 her. The synopsis mentions a specific scene where 00:16:22.730 --> 00:16:25.149 they just cuddle together. It's a genuinely beautiful 00:16:25.149 --> 00:16:27.350 scene. They just sit there on the couch, cuddling 00:16:27.350 --> 00:16:29.529 and commiserating about how incredibly difficult 00:16:29.529 --> 00:16:32.840 relationships with men are. It totally pivots 00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:35.440 from being this goofy farce about a misunderstanding 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:39.399 into a really poignant moment about adult loneliness. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:42.200 It shows the audience that Rebecca isn't just 00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:44.879 a cartoon character. She's a deeply lonely person 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:48.240 who is just desperate for real connection. And 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:51.519 that specific balance, that manic, crazy energy 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:55.679 versus the deep underlying sadness is exactly 00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:57.860 what Kirstie Alley was so brilliant at playing. 00:16:58.059 --> 00:17:00.340 She was an absolute master of that specific. 00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:03.399 tragic comic tone. No one did it better. Okay, 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:06.059 so if Sam's theme is growing old and Rebecca's 00:17:06.059 --> 00:17:08.859 theme is basically spinning her wheels, we really 00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:10.640 need someone in the show who is actually growing 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:13.019 up. And surprisingly, according to the notes, 00:17:13.220 --> 00:17:16.119 that person is Woody Boyd. It is Woody. Season 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:18.759 10 is arguably the Woody season. He is the one 00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:21.099 core character who is actively moving his life 00:17:21.099 --> 00:17:23.039 forward in a meaningful way. He's on the road 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:24.940 to the altar with his girlfriend, Kelly. Right. 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:28.980 Woody, the incredibly simple farm boy from Hanover, 00:17:29.019 --> 00:17:31.599 Indiana, and Kelly. The astronomically wealthy, 00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:34.900 totally oblivious socialite. It's the classic 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:37.940 class divide romance trope. But the writers throw 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:40.440 some pretty significant obstacles in his way 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:45.259 this season. Like Henri. Ah, Henri. The suave 00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:48.339 French photographer. He was specifically introduced 00:17:48.339 --> 00:17:51.700 to be a romantic rival, a foil for Woody. In 00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:54.900 the episode, Find French Wine. Henri's visa is 00:17:54.900 --> 00:17:57.720 expiring and he actively tries to marry Kelly 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:00.420 just so he can stay in the country. It completely 00:18:00.420 --> 00:18:02.980 threatens Woody's own proposal plans. But reading 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:05.460 through this, Henri is really just a plot obstacle. 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:07.819 The real foundational obstacle between them is 00:18:07.819 --> 00:18:10.559 the money. The massive class difference. That's 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:12.279 the real theme they're exploring. Look at the 00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:14.759 episode Rich Man, Wood Man. Woody and Kelly come 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:17.180 back to Boston from a lavish vacation in London. 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:19.420 And Woody has noticeably changed. He's got a 00:18:19.420 --> 00:18:21.180 real taste of the good life. He has. He's suddenly 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:23.160 wearing these fancy clothes. He's insufferably 00:18:23.160 --> 00:18:25.519 dropping names left and right. And the rest of 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:27.480 the gang at the bar has to actively work to bring 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:29.519 him back to Earth. It's a really interesting 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:33.019 dynamic shift because usually. Woody is the most 00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:36.680 grounded, humble person in the room. Seeing him 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:39.440 suddenly get a big head creates this really fun 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:41.700 friction with the rest of the ensemble. But the 00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:44.099 show is careful to show he's not just a gold 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:47.430 digger, right? He genuinely loves her. and he 00:18:47.430 --> 00:18:49.190 really proves it in the episode No Rest for the 00:18:49.190 --> 00:18:51.190 Woody. Oh, this is easily one of the funniest 00:18:51.190 --> 00:18:54.150 visual episodes of the entire season. Woody desperately 00:18:54.150 --> 00:18:56.970 needs money to pay for a proper engagement ring 00:18:56.970 --> 00:19:00.329 for Kelly, so he takes on a grueling second job. 00:19:00.549 --> 00:19:03.450 As a gravedigger. Yes, a gravedigger. We are 00:19:03.450 --> 00:19:05.549 really leaning heavily into the death themes 00:19:05.549 --> 00:19:07.930 this season. We really are. Between Frasier's 00:19:07.930 --> 00:19:10.809 will, the funeral flash forward, and now digging 00:19:10.809 --> 00:19:13.500 graves. It's everywhere. So Woody is working 00:19:13.500 --> 00:19:16.039 nights in a cemetery, physically digging holes 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:18.339 in the ground. He is completely exhausted. He's 00:19:18.339 --> 00:19:20.640 covered in filth. And the primary conflict is 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:22.859 that he has to formally meet Kelly's intimidating 00:19:22.859 --> 00:19:25.980 grandmother, who is played by the amazing Celeste 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:28.339 Holm. So he's desperately trying to be presentable 00:19:28.339 --> 00:19:30.880 and charming for this high society matriarch 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.799 while literally smelling like an open grave. 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:37.359 It is physical comedy gold. Woody Harrelson is 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:39.660 just so incredibly good at playing bone -tired 00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:42.890 exhaustion. But beneath the comedy, it really 00:19:42.890 --> 00:19:46.150 emphasizes his deep devotion to Kelly. He is 00:19:46.150 --> 00:19:48.789 willing to literally dig ditches in the middle 00:19:48.789 --> 00:19:51.009 of the night just to be worthy of marrying her. 00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:53.990 And all of this careful buildup leads directly 00:19:53.990 --> 00:19:57.769 to the massive season finale, an old -fashioned 00:19:57.769 --> 00:20:00.730 wedding. The double -length season closer. And 00:20:00.730 --> 00:20:02.789 looking at the reception data provided in the 00:20:02.789 --> 00:20:05.069 sources, this wasn't just a television episode. 00:20:05.130 --> 00:20:07.960 This was a cultural event. It truly was. We have 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:09.920 to look at the raw ratings here. This single 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:13.720 episode drew nearly 33 million viewers. Specifically, 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:18.519 32 .9 million. 32 .9 million people tuned in 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:20.940 at the exact same time. That is nearly a third 00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:23.380 of the entire television viewing population of 00:20:23.380 --> 00:20:25.579 the country. It was by far the highest rated 00:20:25.579 --> 00:20:27.900 episode of the season. Wow. It just completely 00:20:27.900 --> 00:20:30.599 proves that the audience was deeply emotionally 00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:33.359 invested in Woody's happiness. Over the course 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:35.599 of 10 years, he had basically become the lovable 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:37.720 little brother to the entire American viewing 00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:39.680 public. And the wedding itself. Did they actually 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:42.059 give him the perfect fairy tale ending? Of course 00:20:42.059 --> 00:20:46.440 not. It's Cheers. It was absolute, unmitigated 00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:49.519 chaos. Carla predicts early on that it's going 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:52.339 to be a disaster. And she's entirely right. You 00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:54.519 had angry mobsters hiding in the kitchen. You 00:20:54.519 --> 00:20:57.019 had a very confused German translator causing 00:20:57.019 --> 00:20:59.660 massive communication issues. You even had a 00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:02.619 dead minister again with the death motif. It 00:21:02.619 --> 00:21:05.450 is a serious recurring motif this year. But despite 00:21:05.450 --> 00:21:08.329 all the farce and the disaster, the wedding actually 00:21:08.329 --> 00:21:10.390 happens. Woody grows up. He officially becomes 00:21:10.390 --> 00:21:13.410 a husband. Right. While Sam is still just standing 00:21:13.410 --> 00:21:16.470 behind the bar serving beers, his former protege, 00:21:16.509 --> 00:21:19.490 Woody, has completely surpassed him in major 00:21:19.490 --> 00:21:22.049 life milestones. That's a really sharp contrast. 00:21:22.210 --> 00:21:24.390 The young apprentice completely outgrowing the 00:21:24.390 --> 00:21:27.250 older mentor. Exactly. Now, we absolutely cannot 00:21:27.250 --> 00:21:29.349 talk about season 10 without dedicating some 00:21:29.349 --> 00:21:31.230 time to the Cranes. Frasier and Lilith, they're 00:21:31.230 --> 00:21:33.250 such a dominant power couple on the show. But 00:21:33.250 --> 00:21:36.109 this season, the writers really start peeling 00:21:36.109 --> 00:21:38.690 back the layers of Frasier's past. And we suddenly 00:21:38.690 --> 00:21:40.910 find out he wasn't always this stuffy, buttoned 00:21:40.910 --> 00:21:43.650 up... psychiatrist. No, he wasn't. This is really 00:21:43.650 --> 00:21:45.890 where we get into expanding the deep lore of 00:21:45.890 --> 00:21:49.009 Frasier Crane. The episode one hugs, the other 00:21:49.009 --> 00:21:51.829 doesn't, drops an absolute bombshell on the audience. 00:21:52.089 --> 00:21:55.200 The famous Nanny Gee episode. Yes. Nanny Gee 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:58.019 is this wildly famous children's singer in the 00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:00.380 universe of the show. Think of someone like Raffi, 00:22:00.500 --> 00:22:03.500 but vastly more intense and theatrical. She comes 00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:06.079 to Boston to perform a concert for their son 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:08.819 Frederick's birthday. And she is played by none 00:22:08.819 --> 00:22:11.099 other than Emma Thompson. You're just casually 00:22:11.099 --> 00:22:13.460 racking up the Academy Award winners in this 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:16.700 cast list. Emma Thompson playing a manic children's 00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:19.259 singer. It is a total tour de force performance 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:22.319 from her. She is incredibly manic. She's hilarious. 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:25.019 She commands the room. But the plot reveal is 00:22:25.019 --> 00:22:27.200 the real kicker here. It turns out Nanny Gee 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:29.700 isn't just some random performer Frazier hired 00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:32.079 out of the phone book. She's actually Frazier's 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:35.019 first wife. His first wife. So Frazier was fully 00:22:35.019 --> 00:22:37.200 married to someone else before Lilith. He was. 00:22:37.500 --> 00:22:39.980 Back in his early medical school days, he had 00:22:39.980 --> 00:22:43.259 this brief, wild, bohemian marriage to this exact 00:22:43.259 --> 00:22:46.539 woman. And in classic conflict -avoidant Frazier 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:48.640 fashion, he somehow just forgot to mention this 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:52.710 tiny little detail to Lilith. Oh, Frazier. That 00:22:52.710 --> 00:22:55.089 is an absolute death wish. You do not hide major 00:22:55.089 --> 00:22:57.670 life secrets from the old sternum. It predictably 00:22:57.670 --> 00:23:01.069 results in a spectacular physical cat fight between 00:23:01.069 --> 00:23:04.250 the two women. But beyond the slapstick comedy 00:23:04.250 --> 00:23:06.529 of the fight, this episode is structurally crucial 00:23:06.529 --> 00:23:08.750 because it completely expands the character of 00:23:08.750 --> 00:23:11.460 Frasier. How so? It shows us that he actually 00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:14.660 had a rich, complex life. Long before he ever 00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:17.299 walked into the bar, he had a wild side. He has 00:23:17.299 --> 00:23:19.640 secrets. It really sets the narrative stage for 00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:21.839 his own spinoff later on, doesn't it? It proves 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:24.359 he has enough depth. It absolutely does. It proves 00:23:24.359 --> 00:23:26.559 to the network and the audience that Frasier 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:29.240 Crane can easily carry a complex story that is 00:23:29.240 --> 00:23:31.859 completely separate from Sam or the rest of the 00:23:31.859 --> 00:23:34.200 bar patrons. The sources also mention another 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:36.660 family expansion for Lilith in an episode called 00:23:36.660 --> 00:23:39.220 Smotherly Love. Yes, that's the episode where 00:23:39.220 --> 00:23:41.880 they finally introduce Lilith's overbearing mother 00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:44.859 during a vow renewal ceremony. Again, just building 00:23:44.859 --> 00:23:47.160 out the world of the Cranes. And then they also 00:23:47.160 --> 00:23:49.640 have to deal with Norm as a terrible house guest 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:52.480 in the Norm who came to dinner after he injures 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:55.000 his back painting their living room. Right, right. 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:57.480 And speaking of expanding the universe, we definitely 00:23:57.480 --> 00:24:00.119 have to mention the big network crossover event. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:03.059 In the episode License to Hill, Frazier casually 00:24:03.059 --> 00:24:05.480 mentions he's taking a trip. Right. He mentions 00:24:05.480 --> 00:24:07.539 he's taking a quick flight over to Nantucket. 00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:09.880 Now, if you were just casually watching Cheers 00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:12.519 in a vacuum, that's just a totally throwaway 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:14.980 line of dialogue. But if you were sitting on 00:24:14.980 --> 00:24:17.559 your couch watching NBC that specific Thursday 00:24:17.559 --> 00:24:20.500 night, you knew exactly where he was going. He 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:23.140 was flying directly into the show Wings. Yes. 00:24:23.339 --> 00:24:26.500 The episode titled Planes, Trains, and Visiting 00:24:26.500 --> 00:24:29.400 Cranes aired on Wings that exact same night. 00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:36.539 I love that so much. The early NBC cinematic 00:24:36.539 --> 00:24:39.779 universe. It makes the fictional world feel so 00:24:39.779 --> 00:24:41.960 incredibly real. Like you could just get on a 00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:44.480 plane in the Cheers universe and literally land 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:47.329 in the Wings universe. It was a brilliantly executed 00:24:47.329 --> 00:24:50.309 marketing strategy by NBC, part of that whole 00:24:50.309 --> 00:24:54.029 must -see TV branding, but it also deeply rewarded 00:24:54.029 --> 00:24:56.609 the loyal viewer. It made you feel like you were 00:24:56.609 --> 00:24:59.089 part of this exclusive club that understood the 00:24:59.089 --> 00:25:02.410 inside joke. So we've covered the major romances, 00:25:02.430 --> 00:25:05.970 the giant weddings, the secret past wives. Now 00:25:05.970 --> 00:25:08.089 we have to zoom out and talk about the overall 00:25:08.089 --> 00:25:11.880 texture of the show, the daily bar life. Because 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:14.799 Cheers isn't just about the two leads. It's about 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:17.640 the entire ensemble. And the notes indicate that 00:25:17.640 --> 00:25:19.740 Season 10 kept the classic traditions alive. 00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:23.779 Specifically, the Bar Wars. Oh, Bar Wars was 00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:26.980 the sacred annual tradition. The escalating prank 00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:30.420 war with their rival, Gary's Old Town Tavern. 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:32.680 It's basically the Super Bowl for the bar regulars. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:35.819 It really is. And in Season 10, the writers actually 00:25:35.819 --> 00:25:38.579 give us two doses of it. First, there's Bar Wars 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:41.299 V. The Final Judgment, which is a Halloween -themed 00:25:41.299 --> 00:25:43.079 episode where the notes say Sam may have gone 00:25:43.079 --> 00:25:45.140 a little too far with a prank involving a fake 00:25:45.140 --> 00:25:47.619 murder. A fake murder. Again, with the death 00:25:47.619 --> 00:25:49.420 theme. I'm telling you, the writers were clearly 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:51.079 working through some heavy existential dread 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:53.680 that year. Clearly. But then, later in the season, 00:25:53.720 --> 00:25:56.619 we get Bar Wars 6. This time, it's for real. 00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:59.039 The inciting incident here is that Gary finally 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:01.890 sells his bar. The true end of an era. Or so 00:26:01.890 --> 00:26:05.009 they think. The gang immediately decides to intensely 00:26:05.009 --> 00:26:07.450 haze the new owner. But they realize way too 00:26:07.450 --> 00:26:09.630 late that the new owner isn't just some random 00:26:09.630 --> 00:26:12.289 guy off the street. And this whole setup leads 00:26:12.289 --> 00:26:14.269 to one of the most highly specific political 00:26:14.269 --> 00:26:17.410 cameos in the show's entire history. Right. The 00:26:17.410 --> 00:26:20.710 cameo by Senator John Kerry. Senator John Kerry 00:26:20.710 --> 00:26:23.569 appearing on camera as himself in the pre -credits 00:26:23.569 --> 00:26:26.380 sequence. Now. Obviously, keeping our neutral 00:26:26.380 --> 00:26:28.839 hats on here, we are just looking at this as 00:26:28.839 --> 00:26:32.240 a piece of media history. This is 1991 John Kerry. 00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:34.259 He is the sitting senator from Massachusetts 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:36.359 at the time. He's not a presidential candidate 00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:39.140 yet, but still, purely from a production standpoint, 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:42.319 why him? It's entirely about grounding the show 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:44.099 in its physical setting. You have to remember, 00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:47.059 Cheers was entirely filmed on a closed soundstage 00:26:47.059 --> 00:26:49.480 in Los Angeles, California. It wasn't shot in 00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:52.400 Boston. So the producers constantly needed these 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:54.539 little authentic touches to remind the audience, 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:57.400 hey, don't forget, we are supposed to be in Boston. 00:26:57.799 --> 00:27:00.279 Having the actual sitting Massachusetts senator 00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:03.579 walk through the door creates that instant verisimilitude. 00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:05.880 It's a lot like when the actual mayor of New 00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:08.519 York shows up on an episode of Seinfeld. It makes 00:27:08.519 --> 00:27:10.339 the city itself feel like a living, breathing 00:27:10.339 --> 00:27:12.740 character in the ensemble. Exactly. It's geographical 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:16.039 shorthand. And speaking of true Boston institutions, 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:20.839 we definitely cannot forget Carla Tortelli. Aside 00:27:20.839 --> 00:27:23.579 from accurately predicting absolute disaster 00:27:23.579 --> 00:27:26.039 at Woody's wedding, what is her main arc this 00:27:26.039 --> 00:27:29.779 season? She actually has a very weird, almost 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:33.380 mystical arc early on in Madame La Carla. Her 00:27:33.380 --> 00:27:35.920 personal psychic decides to retire and actually 00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:38.880 selects Carla to formally succeed her as a psychic. 00:27:39.059 --> 00:27:41.279 You know, Carla as a psychic actually makes perfect 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:43.660 sense to me. She's already... Deeply suspicious 00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:46.319 of absolutely everything and everyone. She definitely 00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:49.180 has that dark, cynical intuition. But her major 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:51.839 ongoing conflict this season is with the upstairs 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:54.839 neighbor, John Allen Hill. He's the guy who owns 00:27:54.839 --> 00:27:57.579 Melville's, the incredibly fancy seafood restaurant 00:27:57.579 --> 00:27:59.839 located directly above the bar. And they just 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:02.740 absolutely hate each other. They profoundly despise 00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:04.819 each other. He's this massive, condescending 00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:09.450 snob. And she's, well, she's Carla. In the episode 00:28:09.450 --> 00:28:11.750 Head Over Hill, she meticulously sets out to 00:28:11.750 --> 00:28:14.509 completely humiliate him. It's a classic, straightforward 00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:17.549 revenge setup. But then the writers throw in 00:28:17.549 --> 00:28:20.170 a massive twist. Let me guess. She ends up sleeping 00:28:20.170 --> 00:28:23.210 with him. Kara, sleeping with the enemy. It is 00:28:23.210 --> 00:28:26.009 such a great character complication. She hates 00:28:26.009 --> 00:28:29.569 his guts, but she is undeniably physically attracted 00:28:29.569 --> 00:28:32.190 to him. It adds this great layer of messy complexity 00:28:32.190 --> 00:28:35.029 to her character. Yeah. It shows the audience 00:28:35.029 --> 00:28:37.869 that her constant burning anger is very often 00:28:37.869 --> 00:28:41.180 just a protective mask for intense passion. And 00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:43.519 the deep overriding shame she feels about sleeping 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:45.799 with him is actually way funnier than the feud 00:28:45.799 --> 00:28:48.500 itself ever was. The notes also mention her son 00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:50.859 going through some major life changes in My Son 00:28:50.859 --> 00:28:53.640 the Father. Yes, her son initially enters the 00:28:53.640 --> 00:28:55.680 priesthood, which is a big deal for her, but 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:57.759 then abruptly pivots his career path to become 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:00.400 a male model. Just a slight career pivot there. 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:02.579 Just a minor change in direction. And we also 00:29:02.579 --> 00:29:04.940 have to touch on Cliff Clavin, the resident Barneau 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:07.740 et al. The notes show he actually has a major 00:29:07.740 --> 00:29:10.240 brush with greatness this season. Yes. In the 00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:15.059 episode, here's Cliffy. Cliff writes a joke. 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:18.099 And he becomes... Utterly and completely convinced 00:29:18.099 --> 00:29:20.460 that he has successfully sold this joke to The 00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:23.700 Tonight Show. Ah, the tragic, enduring hope of 00:29:23.700 --> 00:29:26.460 Cliff Clavin. He always genuinely thinks he is 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:29.339 just one single step away from nationwide fame. 00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:31.319 He really does. He actually buys plane tickets. 00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:33.259 He flies all the way to Burbank, California. 00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:36.019 He goes straight to the studio taping. And this 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:38.559 whole plot line gives us a massive cameo from 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:41.359 the absolute king of late night himself. Johnny 00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:43.519 Carson. Johnny Carson appearing on a primetime 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:46.759 sitcom. That is a massive deal for 1991. It was 00:29:46.759 --> 00:29:49.640 a gargantuan get for the producers. Carson was 00:29:49.640 --> 00:29:51.880 notoriously private and incredibly picky about 00:29:51.880 --> 00:29:54.420 his outside appearances. For him to formally 00:29:54.420 --> 00:29:57.220 agree to appear on Cheers really speaks to the 00:29:57.220 --> 00:29:59.759 overwhelming cultural dominance of the show at 00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:01.839 that time. Yeah. It was essentially a public 00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:04.000 tip of the hat from one television legend to 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:06.319 another. It's the undisputed king of late night 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:08.720 formally acknowledging the undisputed king of 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:12.069 the sitcoms. Precisely. And Cliff also gets a 00:30:12.069 --> 00:30:14.470 more grounded storyline in a diminished Rebecca 00:30:14.470 --> 00:30:16.769 with a suspended Cliff where he has to deal with 00:30:16.769 --> 00:30:19.710 deep unhappiness regarding the new United States 00:30:19.710 --> 00:30:22.650 postal uniforms, which is just such a perfectly 00:30:22.650 --> 00:30:26.069 mundane Cliff storyline. Just to quickly round 00:30:26.069 --> 00:30:28.450 out the pure Boston flavor of the season, the 00:30:28.450 --> 00:30:30.589 source material highlights an appearance by Kevin 00:30:30.589 --> 00:30:33.130 McHale from the Boston Celtics. Yes, in the episode 00:30:33.130 --> 00:30:35.549 Where Have All the Floorboards Gone, Kevin McHale 00:30:35.549 --> 00:30:38.269 appears, but critically, he is not shown playing 00:30:38.269 --> 00:30:41.619 basketball. Instead, he becomes bizarrely obsessed 00:30:41.619 --> 00:30:44.259 with counting the exact number of bolts in the 00:30:44.259 --> 00:30:46.720 floorboards of the Boston Garden. It's such a 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:49.559 weirdly specific, trivial obsession for a pro 00:30:49.559 --> 00:30:52.019 athlete to have. Which is exactly why it fits 00:30:52.019 --> 00:30:54.799 so perfectly into the universe of Cheers. Because 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:57.099 everyone sitting in that bar is deeply obsessed 00:30:57.099 --> 00:30:59.420 with something trivial. Kevin McHale fit right 00:30:59.420 --> 00:31:01.759 into that specific neurotic energy. They also 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:04.539 had Harry Connick Jr. guest star as Woody's cousin, 00:31:04.660 --> 00:31:07.700 who develops a massive crush on Rebecca. So they 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:09.720 were just absolutely packing the season with 00:31:09.720 --> 00:31:12.240 star power. So we've looked at the major plots. 00:31:12.380 --> 00:31:14.480 We've looked at the underlying themes. Now let's 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:15.900 just look at the overall scoreboard one more 00:31:15.900 --> 00:31:18.579 time. We mentioned earlier that the wedding finale 00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:22.000 got nearly 33 million viewers. But was the rest 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:23.880 of the season genuinely strong or was that just 00:31:23.880 --> 00:31:26.920 a finale bump? It was incredibly consistent from 00:31:26.920 --> 00:31:28.980 start to finish. If you look at the viewership 00:31:28.980 --> 00:31:31.759 trends provided in the source material, the season 00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:35.599 premiere alone had 31 .4 million viewers. Wow. 00:31:35.740 --> 00:31:38.160 And even the absolute low points of the season 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:40.779 were still pulling in around 22 million. 22 million 00:31:40.779 --> 00:31:44.799 viewers as a low point. That is just incomprehensible 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:48.440 today. Most regular episodes hovered very comfortably 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:51.990 between 24 and 30 million. That kind of rock 00:31:51.990 --> 00:31:55.190 solid consistency in a show's 10th year on the 00:31:55.190 --> 00:31:58.589 air is basically unheard of in television history. 00:31:58.789 --> 00:32:00.789 Right. It fundamentally proves that the writing 00:32:00.789 --> 00:32:02.849 room was still incredibly sharp. The characters 00:32:02.849 --> 00:32:04.970 were still naturally evolving. And the American 00:32:04.970 --> 00:32:06.829 audience still considered these fictional people 00:32:06.829 --> 00:32:10.329 to be a part of their own family. So synthesizing 00:32:10.329 --> 00:32:12.490 all of this information from our deep dive today, 00:32:12.630 --> 00:32:15.130 what does this all actually mean? When we look 00:32:15.130 --> 00:32:17.720 back at the totality of season 10. It's clear 00:32:17.720 --> 00:32:20.119 it wasn't just a show lazily treading water. 00:32:20.299 --> 00:32:23.019 No, absolutely not. It was a season of massive 00:32:23.019 --> 00:32:25.700 expansion. They successfully expanded the lore 00:32:25.700 --> 00:32:27.859 of the world with characters like Nanny Gee and 00:32:27.859 --> 00:32:30.960 Lilith's mother. They dramatically expanded the 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:33.160 emotional range of the leads with the heavy Sam 00:32:33.160 --> 00:32:35.779 and Rebecca baby arc. They successfully married 00:32:35.779 --> 00:32:38.359 off Woody. Yeah. They were still actively building 00:32:38.359 --> 00:32:41.160 new rooms onto the house, even as they were slowly 00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:43.240 getting ready to prominently close the front 00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:46.640 door in season 11. It really emphasizes that 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:48.980 village feel we were talking about. Yeah. You're 00:32:48.980 --> 00:32:50.559 not just tuning in every week to see what Sam 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:53.279 is up to. You're tuning in for the entire ecosystem 00:32:53.279 --> 00:32:56.059 of the bar. One week, it's a Frasier heavy episode. 00:32:56.220 --> 00:32:58.559 The next week, it's a Carla episode. Exactly. 00:32:58.779 --> 00:33:01.920 And that rotating ecosystem is exactly what kept 00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:04.359 the format feeling so fresh and kept people coming 00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:06.720 back year after year. You know, before we wrap 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:09.059 up today, I really want to leave you, the listener, 00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:12.339 with one final sort of provocative thought to 00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:14.920 chew on. We talked extensively about that flash 00:33:14.920 --> 00:33:17.339 -forward scene in episode 11, the one set at 00:33:17.339 --> 00:33:19.779 Fraser's funeral. Right, the perfectly average 00:33:19.779 --> 00:33:23.200 sperm count reveal. Think about what that scene 00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:26.079 actually implies for the entire universe of the 00:33:26.079 --> 00:33:29.460 show. In a sitcom that is so deeply grounded 00:33:29.460 --> 00:33:31.940 in the present moment, the day -to -day trivial 00:33:31.940 --> 00:33:35.460 grind of hanging out in a bar, the writers actively 00:33:35.460 --> 00:33:39.299 chose to show us the literal, definitive end 00:33:39.299 --> 00:33:42.319 of Frasier Crane's life just to deliver a punchline 00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:45.160 about Sam's vanity. Right. But if you look beneath 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:47.799 the joke, there's something else there. It heavily 00:33:47.799 --> 00:33:50.359 implies that the core dynamic of Cheers Sam Lilith 00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:53.680 Regulars, the bar itself, is arguably the single 00:33:53.680 --> 00:33:55.559 most permanent thing in these characters' lives. 00:33:55.799 --> 00:33:57.839 That is a really profound point to make. Think 00:33:57.839 --> 00:33:59.930 about it. They get married. The marriages fail. 00:34:00.029 --> 00:34:01.569 They have big careers. They eventually retire. 00:34:01.809 --> 00:34:04.109 But the physical bar, the bar is always going 00:34:04.109 --> 00:34:06.470 to be there. That damn bar, exactly as Lilith 00:34:06.470 --> 00:34:08.650 says of the funeral, is their anchor in life, 00:34:08.769 --> 00:34:11.710 but it's also arguably their chain. It's a beautiful, 00:34:11.789 --> 00:34:14.610 if maybe a slightly melancholic observation. 00:34:15.369 --> 00:34:17.949 The place where everybody knows your name ultimately 00:34:17.949 --> 00:34:20.550 becomes the one place you can never really leave. 00:34:20.750 --> 00:34:23.989 Even decades later, even in death, they are entirely 00:34:23.989 --> 00:34:26.860 defined by their relationship to that room. Exactly. 00:34:26.860 --> 00:34:29.559 It's a surprisingly haunting little existential 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:33.800 note to leave inside a network comedy. But honestly, 00:34:33.980 --> 00:34:37.019 that kind of depth is exactly what made Cheers 00:34:37.019 --> 00:34:39.940 such a legendary show in the first place. Well, 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:41.460 that brings us to the end of this deep dive. 00:34:41.559 --> 00:34:44.000 We really hope you enjoyed this extensive trip 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:47.199 back to 1991. It was an absolute pleasure to 00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:49.400 revisit the source material with you. Next time 00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:51.199 you're flipping channels and watching old reruns, 00:34:51.260 --> 00:34:53.360 keep a close eye out for those specific cameos 00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:55.699 we discussed today. Spot Senator John Kerry, 00:34:55.940 --> 00:34:58.760 spot Emma Thompson playing Nanny Gee, and just 00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:01.039 take a moment to appreciate the incredible craft 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:02.840 that went into keeping this massive television 00:35:02.840 --> 00:35:05.719 machine running at absolute full speed right 00:35:05.719 --> 00:35:07.300 when it should have been running on empty fumes. 00:35:07.420 --> 00:35:09.599 Absolutely. Well said. Thanks so much for listening, 00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:11.380 and we will catch you on the next Deep Dive.