WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.720 Okay, let's unpack this. We are standing at the 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:06.679 edge of a cliff today. Oh, absolutely. Or maybe 00:00:06.679 --> 00:00:10.179 more accurately, we're standing at the entrance 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:12.740 of a basement bar for the very last time. That's 00:00:12.740 --> 00:00:14.300 a great way to put it. Because we're looking 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:16.960 at the end of an era. And I really don't use 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:19.160 that phrase lightly. No, you shouldn't. It really 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:22.920 is a massive, significant moment in television 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:24.980 history. I mean, we are talking about a show 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:28.640 that didn't just exist on the schedule. It completely... 00:00:29.419 --> 00:00:32.240 Right. It essentially defined a decade. Exactly. 00:00:32.299 --> 00:00:34.960 So for you listening, we are taking a deep dive 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:38.179 today into the 11th and final season of the legendary 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:41.700 sitcom Cheers. Yeah. And to set the scene for 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:44.679 you, we are mentally transporting ourselves back 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:48.060 to the early 90s. Specifically, this season aired 00:00:48.060 --> 00:00:52.479 on NBC from September 24th, 1992 to May 20th, 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:55.399 1993. Which is just a fascinating cultural window. 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:57.700 It is. You've got the Chicago Bulls in the middle 00:00:57.700 --> 00:00:59.759 of their first three -peat. Bill Clinton is in 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:02.520 the process of being elected president. And on 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:05.439 Thursday nights, America, and I mean practically 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:08.879 all of America, is just parking itself in front 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:11.659 of the TV. It was a completely different time 00:01:11.659 --> 00:01:13.319 in terms of television consumption. We throw 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:15.299 around the term water cooler shows now. Yeah, 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:18.739 we do. But back in 1992, if you didn't watch 00:01:18.739 --> 00:01:21.760 Cheers on Thursday night, you basically didn't 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:23.719 exist at work on Friday morning. You couldn't 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:25.700 participate in the culture. Oh, completely. You'd 00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:27.359 just be standing there nodding while everyone 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:30.000 else talked about it. And our mission for this 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.379 deep dive is pretty specific. We aren't just 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:34.700 going to sit here and recap the jokes for you. 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:36.819 No, that wouldn't do it justice. Right. We have 00:01:36.819 --> 00:01:39.319 a stack of data in front of us, primarily the 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:42.420 detailed Wikipedia records of season 11. And 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:45.379 what we want to do is explore exactly how a titan 00:01:45.379 --> 00:01:48.280 of television says goodbye. Yeah. We want to 00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:50.719 look at how the writers deliberately dismantled 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:54.420 the status quo, the absolutely bizarre storylines 00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:56.659 they finally felt free to write. Some of them 00:01:56.659 --> 00:01:58.760 are truly wild. I mean, we are going to talk 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:02.480 about biospheres and literal arson today. Yes, 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:05.980 we are. And, of course, the staggering cultural 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:09.379 impact of that grand finale. When we say staggering, 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:12.879 the numbers in our source material. really, really 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:15.180 back that up. They absolutely do. And we are 00:02:15.180 --> 00:02:16.800 going to get into those numbers in just a second. 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:20.120 But first, just to orient everyone, we are looking 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:23.860 at this core ensemble one last time. The heavy 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:27.379 hitters. Yeah. The return of the core cast. We 00:02:27.379 --> 00:02:29.180 don't really need to list their character names. 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:31.120 If you're taking this deep dive with us, you 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:33.800 know exactly who they are. But the actors, Danson, 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:37.319 Allie, Perlman, Ratzenberger, Harrelson, Grammer, 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:40.520 Newworth, Wendt. Right. They're all here. And 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:42.599 the showrunners, Tom Anderson and Dan O'Shannon, 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:45.060 are at the helm. But what's really interesting 00:02:45.060 --> 00:02:48.080 is the state of this cast at this specific moment. 00:02:48.219 --> 00:02:50.039 It's a very transitional state. Exactly. They've 00:02:50.039 --> 00:02:51.860 been doing this for a decade. They're undeniably 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:54.759 tired. They are extremely rich. And they are 00:02:54.759 --> 00:02:57.090 basically ready to move on. That's the key to 00:02:57.090 --> 00:02:59.849 understanding this season. By season 11, the 00:02:59.849 --> 00:03:01.889 actors had outgrown the characters in a lot of 00:03:01.889 --> 00:03:04.409 ways. Right. You have Woody Harrelson actively 00:03:04.409 --> 00:03:07.250 transitioning into a genuine movie star right 00:03:07.250 --> 00:03:11.150 in the middle of this. You have Ted Danson vocalizing 00:03:11.150 --> 00:03:13.150 that he's looking for something new. So Anderson 00:03:13.150 --> 00:03:16.069 and O'Shannon had this nearly impossible task 00:03:16.069 --> 00:03:19.889 of steering this massive, heavy ship into the 00:03:19.889 --> 00:03:22.789 harbor without crashing it into the docks. So 00:03:22.789 --> 00:03:24.860 let's look at the lay of the land first. Setting 00:03:24.860 --> 00:03:27.280 the table with segment one here, the ratings 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.159 juggernaut. Because looking at this source material, 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:32.560 the very first thing that jumps out is that this 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:35.039 show was not limping to the finish line. Not 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:37.340 at all. It was sprinting. Completely sprinting. 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:40.539 If you look at the viewership data provided in 00:03:40.539 --> 00:03:43.120 our records, it's actually difficult to comprehend 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:45.639 by modern standards. Well, walk us through the 00:03:45.639 --> 00:03:48.139 numbers game here. Because today, a massive hit 00:03:48.139 --> 00:03:50.900 show on network TV gets what? Maybe three or 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:53.039 four million live viewers? They are incredibly 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:56.020 lucky. Yeah. But looking at the season 11 logs. 00:03:56.840 --> 00:03:59.259 Throughout the entire season, the U .S. viewership 00:03:59.259 --> 00:04:02.780 regularly hovered between 22 and 29 million viewers. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:06.099 22 to 29 million for a regular run -of -the -mill 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:09.280 weekly episode. That's essentially a small country 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:11.759 tuning in every single Thursday. It really is. 00:04:11.900 --> 00:04:13.939 And for some context, let's look at the season 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:16.420 opener, The Little Match Girl. That aired on 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:20.620 September 24, 1992. Okay. That specific episode 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:24.699 pulled in 28 .7 million viewers. Nearly 29 million 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:27.199 people tuning in. to see how the final season 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:29.300 begins. And it's crucial to note that it wasn't 00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:31.899 just premiere hype. Sometimes it shows spikes 00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:34.319 for the premiere and then fades. Right. But if 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:37.680 you look late in the season, specifically, episode 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:42.079 23, Rebecca Gaines, Rebecca Loses, which aired 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:45.279 May 6th, 1993, so right before the very end. 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.910 Yeah. That episode hit. 30 .8 million viewers. 00:04:49.170 --> 00:04:52.089 30 .8. That is wild. It's actually gaining significant 00:04:52.089 --> 00:04:55.009 momentum as it goes, because usually by season 00:04:55.009 --> 00:04:57.829 11 of any show, you see a massive drag off, don't 00:04:57.829 --> 00:04:59.970 you? Almost always. It's referred to as franchise 00:04:59.970 --> 00:05:02.910 fatigue. The audience usually drifts away. They 00:05:02.910 --> 00:05:04.949 find something newer, something shinier on another 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:08.569 network. But Cheers in season 11 was performing 00:05:08.569 --> 00:05:10.910 at a level that would literally be considered 00:05:10.910 --> 00:05:14.129 a Super Bowl number in today's fragmented media 00:05:14.129 --> 00:05:16.980 landscape. This wasn't a show. being put out 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:19.000 of its misery. This was a victory lap. Right. 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:21.579 Frankly, NBC would have happily kept this show 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:23.779 going for another five years if Ted Danson hadn't 00:05:23.779 --> 00:05:25.959 pulled the plug. It's the absolute definition 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:28.779 of going out on top. But I noticed something 00:05:28.779 --> 00:05:30.360 really interesting in the production notes here. 00:05:31.100 --> 00:05:33.579 While the ratings were rock steady, the cast 00:05:33.579 --> 00:05:36.980 configuration wasn't exactly perfect. It feels 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:39.079 like there was some logistical friction behind 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:40.800 the scenes. You're referring to the Woody anomaly. 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:44.959 Yes. The Woody anomaly. The source material explicitly 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:47.920 notes that Woody Harrelson does not appear in 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:50.540 certain episodes this season. Right. Specifically, 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:53.339 he's missing from episode four, The Magnificent 00:05:53.339 --> 00:05:57.160 Six, and episode 13, Norm's Big Audit. And he 00:05:57.160 --> 00:05:59.480 only appears in the cold open of episode 14, 00:05:59.660 --> 00:06:04.329 It's a Mad Max. Right. So think about that. Here 00:06:04.329 --> 00:06:07.180 you have this massive ratings juggernaut. But 00:06:07.180 --> 00:06:10.019 one of your key players, maybe the single most 00:06:10.019 --> 00:06:12.800 popular character at that specific moment in 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:15.899 pop culture, is just completely missing for chunks 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:18.259 of the final run. What do you make of that? It's 00:06:18.259 --> 00:06:20.779 the harsh reality of Hollywood crashing into 00:06:20.779 --> 00:06:23.060 the sitcom fantasy. You have to remember the 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:26.639 context of 1992 and 1993. Woody Harrelson is 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:28.779 blowing up globally. Right. He's everywhere. 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:31.009 White Men Can't Jump had just come out. and was 00:06:31.009 --> 00:06:33.970 a massive hit, he's actively filming Indecent 00:06:33.970 --> 00:06:37.569 Proposal. He is making that very rare, very difficult 00:06:37.569 --> 00:06:40.689 transition from TV star to movie star, and those 00:06:40.689 --> 00:06:43.129 shooting schedules simply do not align. It must 00:06:43.129 --> 00:06:45.089 have been an absolute nightmare for the writer's 00:06:45.089 --> 00:06:47.129 room. Oh, undoubtedly. And you can see the strain 00:06:47.129 --> 00:06:49.209 of the scripts if you look closely. When Woody 00:06:49.209 --> 00:06:51.629 isn't there, who carries that specific comedic 00:06:51.629 --> 00:06:54.629 load? Yeah. The lovable, naive energy is just 00:06:54.629 --> 00:06:57.069 completely missing. It forces them to lean much 00:06:57.069 --> 00:06:59.769 heavier on the Sam and Rebecca dynamic, or they 00:06:59.769 --> 00:07:01.990 have to give Cliff and Norm significantly more 00:07:01.990 --> 00:07:04.629 screen time to compensate. It definitely changes 00:07:04.629 --> 00:07:07.589 the flavor of the show. It reminds you that even 00:07:07.589 --> 00:07:10.550 though the series is this well -oiled machine, 00:07:10.910 --> 00:07:13.629 the actual human parts are moving on before the 00:07:13.629 --> 00:07:16.509 show formally ends. Precisely. It's like watching 00:07:16.509 --> 00:07:19.250 a band starting to break up right before the 00:07:19.250 --> 00:07:22.389 final encore. That's a great analogy. It's a 00:07:22.389 --> 00:07:25.279 subtle... almost subconscious signal of the end. 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:28.560 You're watching this perfect ecosystem struggling 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:32.139 to sustain itself because its components are 00:07:32.139 --> 00:07:34.100 literally becoming too big for the container. 00:07:34.420 --> 00:07:36.519 Speaking of breaking the container, let's move 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:38.360 into segment two and talk about how they actually 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:40.060 started the season. Because if you're a writer 00:07:40.060 --> 00:07:42.920 and you know this is the definitive end, you 00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:44.959 want to make a statement. Absolutely. And boy, 00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:47.100 did they make a statement here. Burning down 00:07:47.100 --> 00:07:49.420 the house, literally and figuratively. You're 00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:51.839 talking about the premiere episode. The little 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:54.699 match girl. Yes. Talk about a metaphor to kick 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:57.560 things off. It's episode one. We are back for 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:00.620 the highly anticipated final season. The audience 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:03.279 is pumped. And what happens? Rebecca decides 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:05.779 to quit smoking. Which is a very noble goal. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.899 It is. And it's very much on brand for Rebecca's 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:12.899 constant frantic attempts at self -improvement. 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:15.639 Right. But then she throws a lit cigarette into 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:18.240 the office trash can. Yep. And she inadvertently 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:21.000 burns down the bar. It's such a shocking way 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:23.399 to start a season. It's completely explosive. 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:26.100 I mean, you have the fire marshal assessing the 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:29.120 damage, but think about the psychology of the 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:32.620 writers in that room. You have this iconic set 00:08:32.620 --> 00:08:35.100 the bar itself. Yeah. It's been the physical 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:37.480 home for 10 years. It's probably the most famous 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:40.980 recognizable room in America at that point. And 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:43.159 in the very first script of the final season, 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:45.500 they just torch it. If we connect this to the 00:08:45.500 --> 00:08:47.320 bigger narrative picture, it feels incredibly 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:50.279 metaphorical. Fire is traditionally a symbol 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:53.500 of cleansing, of rebirth, but obviously of destruction, 00:08:53.700 --> 00:08:55.899 too. Right. By burning the bar down right out 00:08:55.899 --> 00:08:58.379 of the gate, they are loudly signaling to the 00:08:58.379 --> 00:09:00.360 audience that things are not going to stay the 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:02.889 same. The sanctuary is vulnerable now. It's a 00:09:02.889 --> 00:09:05.269 massive disruption of the safe space of the sitcom. 00:09:05.470 --> 00:09:07.629 Because usually in a traditional sitcom, the 00:09:07.629 --> 00:09:10.389 set is sacred. It never changes. But here, they 00:09:10.389 --> 00:09:13.629 destroy the main hub immediately. And look at 00:09:13.629 --> 00:09:15.330 what that destruction does to the characters. 00:09:15.529 --> 00:09:18.320 That's the real genius of it. The aftermath in 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:21.639 episode two, the beer is always greener, is just 00:09:21.639 --> 00:09:23.860 as emotionally disruptive. Right, because the 00:09:23.860 --> 00:09:25.799 bar is actively being rebuilt, so they can't 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:27.519 just sit around on their stools drinking all 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:32.059 day. Exactly. Carla, the famously mean, venomous, 00:09:32.059 --> 00:09:35.139 aggressive waitress, she has to go out and find 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:37.299 another job while the bar is closed. And our 00:09:37.299 --> 00:09:40.019 source notes that she is, quote, forced to clean 00:09:40.019 --> 00:09:42.679 up her act and behave nicely. Which is fundamentally 00:09:42.679 --> 00:09:45.379 against her very DNA. It's hilarious watching 00:09:45.379 --> 00:09:48.399 Rhea Perlman try to force herself to be polite, 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:50.620 but it's also kind of sad, isn't it? It really 00:09:50.620 --> 00:09:53.220 is. But that is the brilliance of stripping away 00:09:53.220 --> 00:09:55.759 the physical bar. It reveals the characters' 00:09:55.899 --> 00:09:59.240 deep dependencies on their environment. Carla 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:01.480 is only truly Carla because Cheers allows her 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:03.700 to be that way. Right. Take away that specific 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:06.340 bar, and she has to wear this incredibly uncomfortable 00:10:06.340 --> 00:10:09.740 mask of niceness just to survive in the normal 00:10:09.740 --> 00:10:12.299 world. It highlights how the bar actually protects 00:10:12.299 --> 00:10:14.820 them from reality. Without it, they are just 00:10:14.820 --> 00:10:16.899 deeply dysfunctional people who can barely hold 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:20.519 down a regular job. Exactly. And once that protection 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:23.379 is gone, even temporarily due to the fire, we 00:10:23.379 --> 00:10:25.440 see how ill -equipped they are for the outside 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:28.379 world. It perfectly sets the stakes for the finale. 00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:31.440 If the bar ever closes for good, these people 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:34.120 are doomed. Well, if we want to talk about being 00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:36.879 ill -equipped for reality, we absolutely have 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:38.980 to move to segment three, the deconstruction 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:41.720 of the Cranes. Oh boy. Because this season, the 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:43.759 writers didn't just burn down the bar, they took 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:46.779 a massive sledgehammer to Frasier Crane's entire 00:10:46.779 --> 00:10:49.429 life. This is arguably the most significant, 00:10:49.629 --> 00:10:52.269 long -lasting narrative arc of the entire season. 00:10:52.389 --> 00:10:54.870 And frankly, it is the most bizarre. It is a 00:10:54.870 --> 00:10:57.190 complete train wreck, and I just cannot look 00:10:57.190 --> 00:10:59.590 away from it. It starts relatively normally with 00:10:59.590 --> 00:11:02.169 episode six, Teaching with the Enemy. Right, 00:11:02.269 --> 00:11:04.210 which is part one of a two -part arc. Rebecca 00:11:04.210 --> 00:11:06.909 spots Lilith Frasier's wife, the mother of his 00:11:06.909 --> 00:11:09.529 child, with another man, the other man. And she 00:11:09.529 --> 00:11:12.330 faces this major moral dilemma, does she tell 00:11:12.330 --> 00:11:14.950 Frasier. Which is fascinating because it puts 00:11:14.950 --> 00:11:16.990 Rebecca, who is usually the most self -centered 00:11:16.990 --> 00:11:19.830 character on the show, in a very rare position 00:11:19.830 --> 00:11:22.389 of moral authority. Yeah, that's a great point. 00:11:22.470 --> 00:11:25.090 But honestly, that's just the appetizer. The 00:11:25.090 --> 00:11:28.769 main course is episode seven, The Girl in the 00:11:28.769 --> 00:11:31.289 Plastic Bubble. Yes. Now, I have to stop here 00:11:31.289 --> 00:11:33.129 because when I was reading this in the source 00:11:33.129 --> 00:11:35.149 notes, I genuinely thought I was hallucinating. 00:11:35.389 --> 00:11:38.009 It is certain. Well, it's a choice. the plot 00:11:38.009 --> 00:11:41.509 is lilith informs fraser she wants to leave him 00:11:41.509 --> 00:11:45.049 okay sad but realistic TV marriages end, but 00:11:45.049 --> 00:11:46.769 why does she want to leave him? It's not for 00:11:46.769 --> 00:11:49.750 a colleague. It's not for a richer man. She leaves 00:11:49.750 --> 00:11:53.090 him to live in a quote -unquote biosphere underground 00:11:53.090 --> 00:11:56.690 with her lover for a year. An ecopod. An ecopod. 00:11:57.750 --> 00:11:59.570 Subterranean. It sounds like pure science fiction 00:11:59.570 --> 00:12:02.710 crashing headfirst into a grounded sitcom. It's 00:12:02.710 --> 00:12:04.889 almost Looney Tunes logic. It really is. I mean, 00:12:04.889 --> 00:12:06.490 try to imagine that pitch meaning, okay, guys, 00:12:06.570 --> 00:12:09.490 Lilith leaves Frasier. Oh, sad for another psychiatrist. 00:12:09.870 --> 00:12:12.190 No, to live in a plastic bubble underground. 00:12:12.289 --> 00:12:14.679 Right. And then the image the source specifically 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:17.159 described, a distraught Frazier, ends up on a 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:20.700 ledge feigning suicide. It's very dark comedy. 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:23.980 And they pushed it to the absolute limit. But 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:26.539 let's analyze why they actually did this. Because 00:12:26.539 --> 00:12:29.039 I don't think this was just random late stage 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:31.659 wackiness. Okay, what's your theory? Lilith and 00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:34.389 Frazier were the ultimate power couple. They 00:12:34.389 --> 00:12:37.149 were the smug intellectuals who constantly looked 00:12:37.149 --> 00:12:40.210 down on the bar patrons. To break them up effectively, 00:12:40.429 --> 00:12:43.149 the writers couldn't just have an amicable, normal 00:12:43.149 --> 00:12:46.269 divorce. It had to be something so profoundly 00:12:46.269 --> 00:12:49.759 absurd, so... utterly humiliating for Frasier 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:52.799 that it completely shattered his ego. But isn't 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:54.879 it a bit much? I mean, having Frasier out on 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:57.000 a ledge threatening to jump, even if he's feigning 00:12:57.000 --> 00:12:58.679 it, it kind of threatens to pull the show out 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:01.120 of reality entirely. I definitely see your point. 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:03.340 But you have to remember what is coming next 00:13:03.340 --> 00:13:05.720 in the real world. The network already knows 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:07.919 that Frasier, the spinoff series, is happening. 00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:10.740 Oh, right. They need to physically get Frasier 00:13:10.740 --> 00:13:13.720 from Boston to Seattle. And crucially... They 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:15.240 need him to be single when he gets there. So 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:17.620 this entire bizarre arc is basically a targeted 00:13:17.620 --> 00:13:21.820 demolition job. 100%. They have to destroy his 00:13:21.820 --> 00:13:24.259 comfortable life in Boston so thoroughly that 00:13:24.259 --> 00:13:27.259 he has absolutely no reason to stay there. If 00:13:27.259 --> 00:13:30.679 Lilith just divorces him normally, he might logically 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:33.240 stay in Boston to co -parent Frederick. That 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:35.179 makes sense. But if she completely loses her 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:38.220 mind and runs off to a subterranean ecopod with 00:13:38.220 --> 00:13:41.139 a wacky lover, that's deep trauma. That is a 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:43.340 massive burn the bridges moment. It certainly 00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:45.519 accomplished that. And it really does leave him 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:47.440 adrift. If you look at the episodes following 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:49.960 this incident, Frasier is effectively single 00:13:49.960 --> 00:13:52.879 for the rest of the series. And honestly, he's 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:55.379 kind of a huge mess. He is totally spiraling. 00:13:55.399 --> 00:13:57.919 Look at episode 12, Sunday dinner. He's trying 00:13:57.919 --> 00:13:59.919 to desperately date his very young secretary, 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:03.740 Shauna. Which is such a classic, tragic midlife 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:05.840 crisis move. It's actually painful to read about. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:08.360 It is. And then it gets even messier in episode 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:11.610 16. Is there a doctor in the how? A surprise 00:14:11.610 --> 00:14:13.929 party for Frasier leads to him and Rebecca getting, 00:14:13.990 --> 00:14:16.590 well, a little too close. Yeah, the source notes 00:14:16.590 --> 00:14:18.950 that things go a bit further than expected. Which 00:14:18.950 --> 00:14:21.110 is just, it's so messy. Frasier and Rebecca, 00:14:21.350 --> 00:14:24.889 that screams sheer desperation from both of them. 00:14:24.990 --> 00:14:27.730 It does. It feels exactly like two drowning people 00:14:27.730 --> 00:14:29.429 just grabbing onto each other because there's 00:14:29.429 --> 00:14:31.649 nothing else around. And then right when he's 00:14:31.649 --> 00:14:34.009 at his lowest, we get the closure of the arc 00:14:34.009 --> 00:14:37.809 in episode 17. The bar manager, the shrink, his 00:14:37.809 --> 00:14:41.019 wife and her lover. Lilith returns from the ecopod. 00:14:41.220 --> 00:14:43.820 The underground experiment is over. Apparently 00:14:43.820 --> 00:14:46.500 so. And of course, she walks in and finds Rebecca 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:50.500 actively consoling Frasier. But the really key 00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:53.159 detail here that our source points out, this 00:14:53.159 --> 00:14:56.039 is the final appearance of Bebe Neuwirth as Dr. 00:14:56.259 --> 00:14:59.320 Lilith Sternen on Cheers. That's a huge deal. 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:01.600 Bebe Neuwirth was absolutely incredible in that 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:03.340 role. She won Emmys for it. She was phenomenal. 00:15:03.950 --> 00:15:06.289 And her exit here is fascinating. Her lover from 00:15:06.289 --> 00:15:08.809 the Ecopod actually takes extreme measures to 00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:11.269 get her back underground with him. But effectively, 00:15:11.330 --> 00:15:13.490 she exits the show's main narrative for good 00:15:13.490 --> 00:15:15.769 right here. So if we step back and look at the 00:15:15.769 --> 00:15:18.909 whole picture, this season systematically dismantled 00:15:18.909 --> 00:15:21.429 Frasier Crane's life piece by piece. Completely. 00:15:21.549 --> 00:15:23.529 Yeah. And I think that's absolutely crucial for 00:15:23.529 --> 00:15:26.429 the long term legacy of the character. If Frasier 00:15:26.429 --> 00:15:29.580 ends Cheers happily married to Lilith. There 00:15:29.580 --> 00:15:31.779 is no Fraser the spinoff. They had to utterly 00:15:31.779 --> 00:15:34.720 destroy his happiness in Boston to make him movable. 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:37.340 They had to break him down completely so they 00:15:37.340 --> 00:15:39.799 could build him back up in a new city. It's ruthless 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:42.360 writing when you think about it. It's like, sorry, 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:45.379 Fraser, your immense emotional pain is just necessary 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:48.059 for our franchise expansion. That's the cold 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:50.700 reality of show business. It really is. Now, 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:53.000 while Fraser's life was turning into a Greek 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:55.480 tragedy, the writers seemed to be having a lot 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:58.100 of fun with some truly bizarre concepts elsewhere. 00:15:59.019 --> 00:16:02.419 Which brings us to segment four. I like to call 00:16:02.419 --> 00:16:06.379 this absurdity and senioritis in the writer's 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:09.480 room. I love that title. There's a definite sense 00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:11.659 of senioritis going on. And I mean that in the 00:16:11.659 --> 00:16:14.460 best, most creative way possible. Yeah. It really 00:16:14.460 --> 00:16:16.919 feels like the writers suddenly realized, hey. 00:16:17.419 --> 00:16:19.279 We can do whatever we want. Who's going to stop 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:21.220 us? We're the number one show. We're ending in 00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:23.279 May anyway. Let's just get weird. Let's get weird 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:25.519 is almost an understatement based on these notes. 00:16:25.740 --> 00:16:28.580 Let's look at episode 11, Love Me, Love My Car. 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:31.159 Now, the main plot is about Sam, which we'll 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:34.580 get to later, but the subplot. Oh, no. Rebecca 00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:37.899 actively befriends a pig. A pig that is destined 00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:41.139 to be Woody's Christmas dinner. A live, squealing 00:16:41.139 --> 00:16:45.070 pig inside the bar. It's high concept absurdity. 00:16:45.090 --> 00:16:46.850 It feels like a plot line straight out of Green 00:16:46.850 --> 00:16:50.009 Acres, not the sophisticated rapid fire repartee 00:16:50.009 --> 00:16:54.090 that Cheers was known for. And then you have 00:16:54.090 --> 00:16:57.220 episode nine feelings. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Cliff 00:16:57.220 --> 00:16:59.100 Clavin starts a rumor. Now, we know Cliff always 00:16:59.100 --> 00:17:01.340 starts rumors. That's his thing. But what is 00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:04.319 this specific rumor? He tells people that Adolf 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:07.119 Hitler has secretly moved into his apartment 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:10.140 building. That is just, it's a remarkably bold 00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:13.200 choice for a sitcom subplot. It's insane. Cliff 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:15.339 telling people Hitler is his neighbor. Even for 00:17:15.339 --> 00:17:17.460 a character as eccentric as Cliff, that seems 00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:19.900 like a massive stretch of reality. It does, but 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:22.380 it highlights the extreme eccentricity of Cliff's 00:17:22.380 --> 00:17:24.779 character as the years went on. It also shows 00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:26.240 the writers actively pushing the boundaries. 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:29.420 Right. They're basically testing to see exactly 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:31.660 how far they can bend the reality of the show 00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:33.940 before it completely snaps. And then we have 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:36.880 episode 14. It's a mad, mad, mad bar. Which is 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:39.160 a very clear, deliberate homage to the classic 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:41.740 film. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world. Exactly. 00:17:42.099 --> 00:17:45.220 The gang completely tears the bar apart, literally 00:17:45.220 --> 00:17:47.299 flipping the place upside down because they are 00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:49.720 desperately looking for Robin Colcord's hidden 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:53.069 money. It's pure, unadulterated slapstick. It's 00:17:53.069 --> 00:17:56.170 intense physical comedy. And our source notes 00:17:56.170 --> 00:17:58.630 it also marks the very last appearance of Roger 00:17:58.630 --> 00:18:02.049 Rees as Robin Colcord. But my absolute favorite 00:18:02.049 --> 00:18:05.490 example of this senioritis satire where the writers 00:18:05.490 --> 00:18:08.829 just decide to relentlessly roast society is 00:18:08.829 --> 00:18:12.769 episode 21. Woody gets an election. Ah, yes. 00:18:12.849 --> 00:18:15.190 The political satire episode. The premise is 00:18:15.190 --> 00:18:17.940 just gold. Frazier wants to run an experiment 00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:20.400 in voter psychology. He basically wants to prove 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:23.299 that the voting public are complete idiots, that 00:18:23.299 --> 00:18:25.539 they will mindlessly vote for anyone with a nice 00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:28.039 smile. But our source explicitly notes that he 00:18:28.039 --> 00:18:30.440 does this because he, quote, couldn't find a 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:32.619 monkey. Right. He couldn't find a monkey to run. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:35.440 So he uses Woody instead. The next best thing, 00:18:35.539 --> 00:18:37.819 at least in Frazier's mind. So he formally runs 00:18:37.819 --> 00:18:40.279 Woody for city council against a seasoned incumbent. 00:18:40.990 --> 00:18:43.630 And what happens? Against all logic, Woody wins. 00:18:43.769 --> 00:18:46.450 Woody actually wins the election. Now, this is 00:18:46.450 --> 00:18:48.269 where I think the show actually gets really sharp. 00:18:48.369 --> 00:18:51.230 It's a classic comedic trope. The lovable idiot 00:18:51.230 --> 00:18:54.589 failing upwards. Sure. But used here, this late 00:18:54.589 --> 00:18:57.410 in the final season, it feels like a really biting 00:18:57.410 --> 00:19:00.369 commentary on modern politics. The guy who literally 00:19:00.369 --> 00:19:02.930 thinks an ecopod is a type of vegetable connects 00:19:02.930 --> 00:19:05.250 with the voters way better than the educated 00:19:05.250 --> 00:19:08.259 intellectual. I have to push back on this being 00:19:08.259 --> 00:19:10.359 just a standard trope, though, because isn't 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:13.299 it a bit cynical for a show like Cheers? Usually 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:15.819 the show has a very warm heart. Having Woody 00:19:15.819 --> 00:19:17.799 accidentally win an election he doesn't even 00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:20.700 understand feels almost mean spirited toward 00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:22.619 the democratic process. I can see why you'd say 00:19:22.619 --> 00:19:25.380 that. But look at the specific year. Nineteen 00:19:25.380 --> 00:19:28.720 ninety three. Broad political cynicism was really 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:31.660 rising in America. OK, fair point. The idea that 00:19:31.660 --> 00:19:33.880 a guy you'd want to have a beer with is somehow 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:36.619 better suited for office than a policy wonk was 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:39.440 becoming a very real, pervasive political sentiment. 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:42.059 I think the writers were using Woody to say something 00:19:42.059 --> 00:19:44.480 very sharp about the electorate rather than just 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:46.539 making fun of Woody's intelligence. That makes 00:19:46.539 --> 00:19:49.480 a lot of sense. And it's hilarious either way. 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:52.339 Plus, it gives Woody a brand new status by the 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:54.779 end of the show, Councilman Boyd. Which is a 00:19:54.779 --> 00:19:56.599 really nice setup for his future, too. Yeah. 00:19:56.660 --> 00:19:59.559 He's not just the naive bartender anymore. He's 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:02.460 an actual public official. God help the city 00:20:02.460 --> 00:20:06.119 of Boston. Seriously, God help us all. Okay, 00:20:06.180 --> 00:20:08.119 let's move to segment five and discuss something 00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:10.539 a bit more combative. We've had fires. We've 00:20:10.539 --> 00:20:13.140 had divorces. We've had pigs. Now we have war. 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:17.500 The war of the bars. Yes. Bar Wars 7th. The Naked 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:20.529 Prey. Episode 19. Now, the Bar Wars episodes 00:20:20.529 --> 00:20:22.450 were a deeply beloved tradition on the show. 00:20:22.589 --> 00:20:25.509 Cheers versus Gary's Old Town Tavern. Every single 00:20:25.509 --> 00:20:27.849 season, the pranks got more and more elaborate. 00:20:28.069 --> 00:20:30.049 They were legendary. And this one, this one goes 00:20:30.049 --> 00:20:32.150 completely nuclear. It starts with a bet for 00:20:32.150 --> 00:20:35.029 St. Patrick's Day, and Cheers loses the bet. 00:20:35.190 --> 00:20:38.890 And the penalty for losing is... Well, it's severe. 00:20:39.190 --> 00:20:41.730 They must perform completely naked for Gary's 00:20:41.730 --> 00:20:44.369 patrons. Talk about high stakes. So Sam knows 00:20:44.369 --> 00:20:46.769 he needs a ringer. He realizes he can't possibly 00:20:46.769 --> 00:20:49.569 outsmart Gary on his own this time. So he calls 00:20:49.569 --> 00:20:52.480 in the ultimate weapon. Harry the Hat gets. Played 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:55.319 brilliantly by Harry Anderson. Yeah. A huge fan 00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:57.259 favorite. Harry the Hat hadn't actually been 00:20:57.259 --> 00:20:59.759 seen on the show in years. So this was a massive, 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:03.039 highly anticipated callback for longtime fans. 00:21:03.220 --> 00:21:05.519 Right. And Harry declines at first. He claims 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:08.240 he's, quote unquote, went straight. But then 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:12.319 things get crazy. Gary's bar is bulldozed. Completely 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:15.490 flattened to the ground. Destroyed. Sam is terrified. 00:21:15.750 --> 00:21:18.549 He genuinely thinks Gary did it himself. Like 00:21:18.549 --> 00:21:21.069 maybe it's an elaborate insurance scam or he 00:21:21.069 --> 00:21:24.589 forced a sale just to frame Cheers. But then 00:21:24.589 --> 00:21:27.029 the real twist comes. It is a brilliant double 00:21:27.029 --> 00:21:30.190 cross. wrapped inside a triple cross. Gary introduces 00:21:30.190 --> 00:21:32.829 the wealthy real estate developer that he supposedly 00:21:32.829 --> 00:21:36.089 sold the land to. And who walks in the door? 00:21:36.210 --> 00:21:38.289 Harry the Hat. Harry bought the land. He was 00:21:38.289 --> 00:21:41.069 the one who bulldozed Gary's bar. It is a stunning 00:21:41.069 --> 00:21:44.009 escalation of the usual prank war. Usually they 00:21:44.009 --> 00:21:45.829 just dump a bunch of sheep in the bar or dye 00:21:45.829 --> 00:21:48.509 the draft beer blue. Yeah. Here, Harry literally 00:21:48.509 --> 00:21:51.210 destroys the man's entire livelihood. But here 00:21:51.210 --> 00:21:53.920 is the absolute kicker from the source. Harry 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:55.980 cheerfully announces that the check he wrote 00:21:55.980 --> 00:21:59.019 to Gary for the land is going to bounce. He used 00:21:59.019 --> 00:22:01.799 a fake alias. So Gary has absolutely no bar. 00:22:02.190 --> 00:22:04.109 And Gary has absolutely no money. And Cheers 00:22:04.109 --> 00:22:06.430 wins by default. It is the ultimate victory. 00:22:06.549 --> 00:22:09.349 The game just luxuriates in it. They are celebrating 00:22:09.349 --> 00:22:12.390 the total, utter destruction of their bitter 00:22:12.390 --> 00:22:15.630 rival. Until... Until Sam realizes that Harry 00:22:15.630 --> 00:22:18.269 quietly robbed the Cheers cash register on his 00:22:18.269 --> 00:22:20.430 way out the door. I love that line. I'm a little 00:22:20.430 --> 00:22:22.690 light here, Sammy. I love that ending so much. 00:22:22.809 --> 00:22:25.329 It is the absolute perfect send -off for the 00:22:25.329 --> 00:22:28.160 Harry the Hat character. He wins. And everyone 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:30.700 else loses. He is the ultimate agent of chaos. 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:34.579 He absolutely destroys the rival, but he still 00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:37.400 taxes his friends. Yeah. It's remarkably consistent 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:39.839 character work right up to the very end. It is. 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:42.920 It reminds us that in the world of Cheers, nobody 00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:45.599 is purely good. Even the supposed hero of the 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:48.039 episode is a compulsive thief. It really is great 00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:50.140 writing. Okay, we need to shift gears for segment 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:52.519 six. Relationships and closure. We've talked 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:54.619 about all the chaos, but we need to talk about 00:22:54.619 --> 00:22:57.220 the actual heart of the show. Because amidst 00:22:57.220 --> 00:22:58.839 all the pigs and bulldozers, there were some 00:22:58.839 --> 00:23:02.319 really heavy emotional beats this season. Specifically 00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:05.740 regarding our main guy, Sam Malone. Sam is the 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:08.740 anchor of the whole series. And Sam is visibly 00:23:08.740 --> 00:23:11.339 struggling this season. We see it clearly in 00:23:11.339 --> 00:23:14.640 episode four, The Magnificent Six. Henri, the 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:17.740 younger French guy, challenges Sam to a ladies' 00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:19.880 man contest to see who can get the most phone 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:22.220 numbers. Which, if you think about it, feels 00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:24.960 a bit pathetic at this stage, doesn't it? Sam 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:27.299 is in his mid -40s now, competing with a guy 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:29.619 in his 20s over bar napkins with phone numbers. 00:23:29.819 --> 00:23:32.019 It really does. It feels deeply desperate. You 00:23:32.019 --> 00:23:34.519 can see Sam realizing in real time that his cool 00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:36.500 guy schtick is starting to look a little sad 00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:39.480 and dated. And then you look at episode 11, Love 00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:43.279 Me, Love My Car. Sam actively romances a widow, 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:45.960 played by Dana Delaney, just to buy back his 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:48.309 old Corvette. This episode really struck me when 00:23:48.309 --> 00:23:50.690 reviewing the notes. He sold the car earlier 00:23:50.690 --> 00:23:53.710 in the series, deeply regrets it, tracks it down, 00:23:53.750 --> 00:23:56.970 and realizes the new owner has died. So his solution 00:23:56.970 --> 00:23:59.809 is to date the grieving widow just to get close 00:23:59.809 --> 00:24:01.930 to the car. That is such a crucial character 00:24:01.930 --> 00:24:04.490 note. He is desperately chasing his youth. That 00:24:04.490 --> 00:24:06.789 Corvette physically represents the Mayday Malone 00:24:06.789 --> 00:24:09.230 era. The baseball pitching, the perfect hair, 00:24:09.410 --> 00:24:12.730 the endless youth. He is literally willing to 00:24:12.730 --> 00:24:15.490 manipulate a grieving woman just to get his favorite 00:24:15.490 --> 00:24:18.609 toy back. It shows his massive attachment to 00:24:18.609 --> 00:24:21.630 the past. He is terrified of aging. But then 00:24:21.630 --> 00:24:24.069 we get a moment of real, genuine reflection. 00:24:24.450 --> 00:24:27.150 Episode 25, The Guy Can't Help It, Sam finally 00:24:27.150 --> 00:24:29.549 joins a support group. For sexual compulsives. 00:24:29.630 --> 00:24:31.769 That feels like a massive breakthrough for him. 00:24:31.950 --> 00:24:35.710 It absolutely is. For 11 straight years, Sam's 00:24:35.710 --> 00:24:38.430 compulsive womanizing was the main joke. It was 00:24:38.430 --> 00:24:40.950 celebrated by the bar. Sammy's got a date. Yeah, 00:24:40.950 --> 00:24:43.809 they cheered him on. But here... Right at the 00:24:43.809 --> 00:24:46.730 very end of this series, this show finally acknowledges 00:24:46.730 --> 00:24:49.190 it as a real compulsion. Something that might 00:24:49.190 --> 00:24:51.410 actually be a serious problem. Something that 00:24:51.410 --> 00:24:53.990 is keeping him fundamentally lonely. Some moment 00:24:53.990 --> 00:24:55.710 of maturity that we hadn't really seen from him 00:24:55.710 --> 00:24:58.029 before. Meanwhile, as Sam is maturing, Rebecca 00:24:58.029 --> 00:25:00.750 is just spiraling out of control. Her year is 00:25:00.750 --> 00:25:03.509 chaotic from start to finish. She quits smoking, 00:25:03.769 --> 00:25:06.250 which, as we discussed, causes a massive fire. 00:25:06.670 --> 00:25:09.009 She gets dangerously obsessed with a slot machine 00:25:09.009 --> 00:25:12.200 in Episode 3, The King of Beers. She's expecting 00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:14.880 a huge proposal from her plumber boyfriend Don 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:19.099 in One for the Road. And in Rebecca Gaines. Rebecca 00:25:19.099 --> 00:25:22.359 loses. She completely misinterprets an innocent 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:24.960 society invite from Kelly's wealthy father as 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:27.859 a romantic date. She is so desperate for high 00:25:27.859 --> 00:25:30.160 status and financial stability, and she just 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:32.279 keeps missing the mark. It's painful to watch, 00:25:32.380 --> 00:25:34.579 but it's also very funny. Christy Alley was just 00:25:34.579 --> 00:25:37.839 so good at playing that frantic, neurotic desperation. 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:41.619 She was the absolute perfect foil to Sam's laid 00:25:41.619 --> 00:25:45.339 -back cool. And then we have Cliff Clavin, episode 00:25:45.339 --> 00:25:48.930 24. Cliff's murder mystery. This one is classic 00:25:48.930 --> 00:25:51.809 sitcom farce. Cliff decides to put his mother 00:25:51.809 --> 00:25:54.430 in a retirement home. Esther Clavin, the absolute 00:25:54.430 --> 00:25:57.130 bane of his existence. Right. And because Cliff 00:25:57.130 --> 00:25:59.049 feels incredibly guilty about it, he's acting 00:25:59.049 --> 00:26:01.690 weird. He's being very evasive with his answers. 00:26:01.849 --> 00:26:04.410 So the bar gang, being the wonderfully supportive 00:26:04.410 --> 00:26:06.869 friends they are, immediately thinks. They think 00:26:06.869 --> 00:26:09.549 he violently murdered her. Naturally. They immediately 00:26:09.549 --> 00:26:11.750 jump to the conclusion that Cliff Clavin, the 00:26:11.750 --> 00:26:14.599 harmless mailman, has gone full psycho. It's 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:17.700 a classic misunderstanding plot, sure, but it 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:20.240 actually permanently resolves the toxic Cliff 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:23.140 and mom dynamic. He finally makes a difficult 00:26:23.140 --> 00:26:25.900 adult decision for his own life, even if the 00:26:25.900 --> 00:26:28.059 gang thinks he's a matricidal maniac for a few 00:26:28.059 --> 00:26:30.660 days. It shows that even Cliff is trying to grow 00:26:30.660 --> 00:26:33.720 up in his own weird, twisted way. Which brings 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:37.240 us finally to the big one. Segment seven, the 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:40.480 grand finale. One for the road. May 20th, 1993. 00:26:40.940 --> 00:26:43.700 The ultimate cultural event of the year. The 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:45.859 source data lists the official viewership at 00:26:45.859 --> 00:26:49.480 80 .4 million. 80 .4 million people. Let that 00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:51.779 sink in. To put that incredibly massive number 00:26:51.779 --> 00:26:54.460 in perspective, that is roughly the entire population 00:26:54.460 --> 00:26:57.559 of Germany at the time, all simultaneously watching 00:26:57.559 --> 00:26:59.740 a sitcom finale. Everyone in the country was 00:26:59.740 --> 00:27:01.440 watching. I mean, I remember exactly where I 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:02.940 was. You probably remember where you were. It 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:05.839 is consistently cited as one of the top 10 most 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:09.279 watched scripted TV finales of all time. And 00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:11.400 the immense pressure on the writers must have 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:14.789 been crushing. How do you definitively end a 00:27:14.789 --> 00:27:17.509 show about a place where the whole premise is 00:27:17.509 --> 00:27:19.690 that nobody ever leaves? So let's break down 00:27:19.690 --> 00:27:22.470 what actually happens. First, the return. Diane 00:27:22.470 --> 00:27:24.910 Chambers returns to Boston. Shelley Long is back. 00:27:25.130 --> 00:27:27.630 This was heavily rumored, but it was still the 00:27:27.630 --> 00:27:29.829 biggest secret in Hollywood. And she supposedly 00:27:29.829 --> 00:27:32.069 won a major award for her television writing. 00:27:32.210 --> 00:27:36.509 She seems incredibly successful. But, as is typical 00:27:36.509 --> 00:27:39.710 with Diane Chambers, her life isn't exactly as 00:27:39.710 --> 00:27:42.740 glamorous as it appears on the surface. The source 00:27:42.740 --> 00:27:45.279 implies the success might be a bit exaggerated. 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:49.079 Her life is still deeply messy. And this unexpected 00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:52.119 return perfectly triggers the central conflict 00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:54.680 for Sam. The ultimate will -they -won't -they 00:27:54.680 --> 00:27:57.420 playing out one last time. Sam is potentially 00:27:57.420 --> 00:27:59.839 leaving Cheers for good. He seriously considers 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:02.539 moving to California to be with her. The dramatic 00:28:02.539 --> 00:28:04.680 tension was incredibly high for the audience. 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:07.099 People genuinely didn't know if Sam would actually 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:09.619 go through with it. It felt like a true 50 -50 00:28:09.619 --> 00:28:12.380 shot at the time. But ultimately he stays. He 00:28:12.380 --> 00:28:14.980 realizes finally that his true love isn't Diane, 00:28:15.180 --> 00:28:17.720 it's the bar itself. That is the ultimate thesis 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:20.119 of the entire show. The romantic relationships 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:23.099 are fleeting and complicated, but the bar is 00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:25.400 eternal. And we get nice little resolutions for 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:27.440 the rest of the gang too. Woody surprisingly 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:31.109 gets Norm a job. A civil service job, if I recall 00:28:31.109 --> 00:28:34.089 the notes correctly, which is utterly terrifying. 00:28:34.470 --> 00:28:36.930 Norm Peterson working for the city government. 00:28:37.190 --> 00:28:39.369 Cliff finally gets a promotion at the post office. 00:28:39.650 --> 00:28:45.289 Rebecca hopes to wed Don. She finally, definitively 00:28:45.289 --> 00:28:48.490 chooses a normal working class guy over a rich, 00:28:48.529 --> 00:28:52.690 manipulative tycoon, which is huge emotional 00:28:52.690 --> 00:28:56.079 growth for her. She stops chasing the robin colcords 00:28:56.079 --> 00:28:58.400 of the world and settles for the plumber who 00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:00.500 actually loves her. And then there's the final 00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:02.880 discussion. The core gang just sitting around 00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:05.319 late at night, pondering the literal meaning 00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:08.079 of life. It's surprisingly philosophically dense 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:10.960 for a network sitcom. They are genuinely asking 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:13.420 each other, what was this all for? And the legacy 00:29:13.420 --> 00:29:15.740 of that moment. The source specifically notes 00:29:15.740 --> 00:29:17.759 that the episode ends with a strong feeling that 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:19.579 their lives are going to go on. But the cameras 00:29:19.579 --> 00:29:21.960 simply stops filming them. Sam straightens the 00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:24.140 picture of Geronimo on the wall. He walks over 00:29:24.140 --> 00:29:26.279 to the door. Someone knocks from the outside. 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:29.559 And he delivers that perfect final line. Sorry, 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:32.559 we're closed. It is the absolute perfect ending. 00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:34.880 It doesn't blow up their world, even though they 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:36.920 quite literally burned it down earlier in the 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:39.920 season. It just gently says, the story continues, 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:43.039 but you don't get to watch them anymore. It's 00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:45.220 incredibly intimate. It really is. It gives me 00:29:45.220 --> 00:29:46.819 chills just thinking about it right now. So as 00:29:46.819 --> 00:29:49.380 we head to the outro here, let's get your verdict 00:29:49.380 --> 00:29:53.430 on season 11. I think based entirely on the massive 00:29:53.430 --> 00:29:55.609 ratings data and the sheer density of the plot 00:29:55.609 --> 00:29:58.569 resolution we've discussed, it unequivocally 00:29:58.569 --> 00:30:01.289 stuck the landing. Yeah. It managed to beautifully 00:30:01.289 --> 00:30:05.130 balance the absurd sitcom elements. The pigs, 00:30:05.190 --> 00:30:08.710 the fires, hair, the hats, elaborate cons with 00:30:08.710 --> 00:30:11.970 very genuine, heavy emotional stakes like divorce, 00:30:12.309 --> 00:30:15.390 aging and marriage. It felt like a complete meal. 00:30:15.529 --> 00:30:17.690 It didn't just quietly fizzle out like so many 00:30:17.690 --> 00:30:20.329 shows do. It exploded. Then it rebuilt itself. 00:30:20.549 --> 00:30:23.210 Then it finally closed its doors. It deeply respected 00:30:23.210 --> 00:30:25.150 the audience that had been there for a decade. 00:30:25.329 --> 00:30:27.710 It gave us the wackiness we expected, but it 00:30:27.710 --> 00:30:29.710 gave us the emotional closure we actually needed. 00:30:29.890 --> 00:30:32.849 I completely agree. But before we wrap up this 00:30:32.849 --> 00:30:34.740 deep dive, here's a. Final provocative thought 00:30:34.740 --> 00:30:37.859 for you and for you listening at home. We talked 00:30:37.859 --> 00:30:40.339 earlier about the utter destruction of the Cranes. 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:42.619 Yes, we did. Consider the overall trajectory 00:30:42.619 --> 00:30:45.920 of Frasier Crane this year. Season 11 systematically 00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:50.119 destroyed every pillar of his life. His wife 00:30:50.119 --> 00:30:52.480 abruptly leaves him for a man in an underground 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:56.069 bubble. He attempts, or at least feigns, suicide 00:30:56.069 --> 00:30:59.910 on a ledge. He has these disastrous, humiliating 00:30:59.910 --> 00:31:02.569 dates he has just humiliated over and over again. 00:31:02.650 --> 00:31:04.869 It was brutal to watch. So the question is, was 00:31:04.869 --> 00:31:07.130 the destruction of Frasier's happiness simply 00:31:07.130 --> 00:31:10.150 the necessary cost of Cheers' season 11 comedy? 00:31:10.650 --> 00:31:14.190 Or was it a highly calculated, deliberate demolition 00:31:14.190 --> 00:31:17.529 to carefully clear the site for the massive Frasier 00:31:17.529 --> 00:31:19.509 spinoff skyscraper that was about to be built? 00:31:20.410 --> 00:31:22.650 Did Cheers literally have to break him so that 00:31:22.650 --> 00:31:25.089 Frazier could fix him? That is the ultimate question, 00:31:25.150 --> 00:31:27.250 isn't it? Yeah. Sometimes you really have to 00:31:27.250 --> 00:31:29.230 hit absolute rock bottom before you can find 00:31:29.230 --> 00:31:30.809 the motivation to move across the country to 00:31:30.809 --> 00:31:33.809 Seattle. And sometimes, from a purely narrative 00:31:33.809 --> 00:31:36.690 standpoint, a character practically has to die 00:31:36.690 --> 00:31:39.809 in one show just to be successfully reborn in 00:31:39.809 --> 00:31:42.609 another. Exactly. The Ecopod wasn't just a mistake. 00:31:42.710 --> 00:31:45.529 It was the necessary launch pad. That's a really 00:31:45.529 --> 00:31:48.240 brilliant way to put it. And on that note. Thanks 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:50.240 for taking this deep dive with us today. We're 00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:52.460 officially closed for the night. See you next 00:31:52.460 --> 00:31:52.660 time.