CHEERS: The Complete Series - 5/5/15

[rexcrk]

Got the set today. It's nice to have the whole series in one box, it's set up just like the Frasier set.

The spine is a bit bland though. The box is white and it just has the Cheers logo.

At least Frasier put the Seattle skyline and a graphic of Eddie so it looked a little better lol.

[OldPangYau]

Call me when it's on blu... until then, all eleven seasons in HD on Hulu Plus. And unlike Seinfeld and Friends, it's actually still in 4x3, as intended!

Although I noticed the season premiere of season 4 had to resort to a lower quality film source for some of the angles early in the episode, so the quality jumps around.

[geekesmind]

thank god this is on netflix started watching it a couple of weeks ago when it was on hallmark channel when I was a kid I could never get past one episode and always changed the channel. Same with MASH hated it when I was younger but when I got in my teens I loved it!

[stevo4264]

If the price drops, I will buy the dvd set, but I would rather Blu's....

[Mr.TopCat]

I just snatched the UK one for 25 pounds. What a bargain. I also read that the episodes look way better than the individual season releases, so I guess they put in the new masters on for the complete series release.

[Gizz]

Originally Posted by Mr.TopCat

I just snatched the UK one for 25 pounds. What a bargain. I also read that the episodes look way better than the individual season releases, so I guess they put in the new masters on for the complete series release.

I got mine before Christmas for £ 25 have only watched the first season so far and it looks great.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

In the US, the last 3 seasons on DVD had some music changes due to licensing issues.

Can anyone confirm if the region 2 or region 4 versions of the series have the music intact?

[thatguamguy]

There are music cuts in seasons 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7, and season 8 has one episode where it was edited post 9/11 and they forgot to put it back (there's another one of those in season 9). It's not just the final 3 CBS-released seasons, the Paramount ones are cut too (though those CBS releases are worse about it). And the HD versions have restored some music and cut other music. Amazon had music changed in the season 5 finale that ended the Sam/Diane relationship (don't know if they still do).

On the one hand, I wouldn't be surprised if there were intact overseas releases, but on the other hand, I've never heard of it. The few restored fan-edits I have seen floating around on-line have used broadcast sources unlike, say, "ALF" or "Roseanne" where overseas releases are more intact.

[HaroldnMaude]

I am curious about what got edited out re 9-11?

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Re: Cheers: For whatever reason I never caught much of this iconic comedy when it originally ran on TV back in the '80's & early '90's. So, to rectify that, I saw the whole series on DVD between 2018-2019. Great series! Many of the scenes are laugh-out-loud funny, and there are a lot of great one-liners as well. This is an extremely well-written show! And, if anything, the show gets funnier as the seasons progress.

- Norm & Cliff are my two favorite characters. It's very funny how each considers the other their "best friend", but despite this - for the first three?! seasons Cliff had apparently never met Vera (Norm's wife), nor been invited over to Norm's house - nor has Norm ever been to Cliff's home. However, Cliff living with his mother may have something to do with this - LOL. In any case, for the first several seasons it seems their so-called "friendship" begins & ends at the bar, for the most part at least - not surprising. And, when Norm was finally invited over to Cliff's house for the first time (Season 4?!) it was only so Cliff could have the help he needed to paint the attic - hilarious.

-Vera's first appearance on the show (in S05, I think) was great. After being mentioned (but never seen) by Norm throughout the series, she was scheduled to show up for a Thanksgiving dinner @ Carla's house with the rest of the gang. Then, when she finally did appear @ the end of the dinner, you (the viewer) didn't see much of her since she caught a pie in the face, thrown during a childish food fight that the gang were having - and then promptly left - LOL.

- It's funny how Cliff sees himself as "lady's man" to a great extent, when in reality he's actually the complete opposite - LOL.

-I didn't realize until I started watching Cheers that Frasier Crane was originally on that show in the '80's, as Diane's boyfriend & later almost-husband. And, after I finished Cheers - I watched the Frasier in it's entirety (though that's another thread).

And, of course, the show features numerous & classic jokes/one-liners:

Cliff: [to Eric] We swear not a word you say will ever go beyond this room.
Norm: We never go beyond this room.

Coach: What can I do for you, Norm?
Norm: I am going to need something to kill time before my second beer. How about a first one?

Coach: My friends call me 'Coach', but my other nickname is 'Red'.
Helen: Why? Because your hair used to be red?
Coach: No, because I read a book.

Coach: Norm, you're in here every night. Doesn't your wife wonder where you're at?
Norm: Wonders. Doesn't care.

I'm actually glad I waited so long to watch the show, since I feel I appreciated this mores a middle-aged guy, than I would have as a teen back in the '80's. I.e. the storylines/situations on the show are a lot more relatable to me now than they would have been when I was a kid.

Unusually enough, back in the '80's I was more familiar with Shelley Long in the hilarious '80's films like The Money Pit (with Tom Hanks) and Outrageous Fortune (w/Bette Midler) - than for her role in Cheers.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Re: Cheers S05, excellent season, and a good swan song for Diane (Shelley Long). Not going to go into a review of each episode, but some stand-outs:

Episode 21, "Simon Says". Hilarious UK actor/comedian John Cleese guest-starts as an "eminent psychiatrist" that Frasier hired to question/psychoanalyze Sam & Diane to see if they should get married - this was a "wedding gift" from Frazier to them - LOL. After Cleese asks them some pointed questions, he insists that they shouldn't get married. However, they keep bugging him by showing up at his hotel room (at all hours - LOL), and he finally tells they they are suited for each other - but it's obviously only because he wants to get rid of them - ha ha.

Episode 24 "Cheers: The Motion Picture". This is quite possibly the funniest episodes of the series I've seen in the first 5 seasons, and involves the gang putting together some footage for Woody Boyd to send to his parents. This is in order to convince them that he didn't need to go back home to his small town in Indiana, and isn't being "corrupted" by the big, bad city of Boston.

The "footage" that is shot features at least one setting that had been referenced, but hadn't been seen in the series previously, i.e. "The Hungry Heifer" (the greasy spoon "restaurant" that Norm frequents). Another scene was a funny cook-out with the gang - which includes a scene of someone putting tennis shoes on the grill, that Woody ignorantly tries to cook without looking at them; etc.

What was especially funny here was that after Diane initially saw the footage, she re-cut/re-edited this to be much more "cinema verite" (ha ha) in appearance, in an pretentious attempt to make an "art" film - but the end result just ended up being a ridiculous - but extremely funny - mess

Cliff misdelivering mail is one of the funniest in the episode; he brags about how difficult his job is, delivers some mail, and then you see that all of the mail obviously went to the wrong addresses - LOL. I myself have had mail frequently misdelivered, and am disgusted by this - how difficult can it be to look at an address on an envelope/package, and then match it up with a physical address?!

The final episode of S05, "I Do and Adieu".

[Show spoiler]Excellent finale to the season, and a great turning point to the series. Sam's "daydream" of what life would be like for him & Diane (if they settled down) 30+ years in the future was both funny & depressing. The penultimate scene of them standing in front of the justice of the peace & then Diane getting a phone call about her book - which led to Sam's letting her off the hook for the marriage....was a classic scene.

I'm glad they didn't end up getting married. They obviously weren't suited for each other. Their friends knew it, and I believe they both knew it too (though didn't want to admit it to each other or themselves).

[Dickieduvet]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

Re: Cheers S05,

The final episode of S05, "I Do and Adieu"

"Have a good life" ....

Kills me every time.

[WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

I think they'll probably wait to see how this new DVD set sells; Paramount doesn't want to waste a ton of cash on something again, like they did with "Star Trek TNG".

but in this case the masters are already done, so there is no more cash outlay, at least if they release them on blu they could do more to get their money back for the already completed HD masters they did for TV/streaming (these were also simpler to do than ST:TNG since no special effects at all)

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Continuing my review of Cheers:

S06 (1987-1988) was definitely a big turning point in the show. Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) is the total opposite of Shelley Long's Diane in many cases; her sarcastic comments/commentary are great, and IMHO she was a more interesting character than Diane. She definitely has a harder, more businesslike edge to her, and her inclusion on the series (coupled with Diane's departure the previous season) was an extremely refreshing change of pace...and was just the shot in the arm the series needed to avoid becoming too "stale".

Also, the 6th season has a completely different feel/vibe than what was seen in the previous five seasons. I.e., the bar has been sold to RH's company & has gone "corporate", so is much less "homey" than previously. In one of the first S06 episodes, Sam comes back to the bar after having sold it & trying to sail around the world (presumably it's only been several months) - and barely recognizes any of the customers - other than the regulars like Norm, Cliff, etc. Yes, RH "replacing" Diane Chambers seems to be the only real major cast change. However, I wonder if the bar being sold was not only a way to "change things up" on the show, but was also a kind of social commentary on how local, small businesses were being bought up by large corporations - something that - IIRC - was happening more often by the late '80's.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Continuing my review of Cheers S06:

Great season. Even though I liked the previous 5, I may actually prefer this "second half" of the series with Rebecca Howe.

Some of the main characters are going through some obvious changes here. Most notably, the houses in Cliff & his mother's neighborhood were bought out by a developer in order to make way for a shopping center/businesses, and Cliff & his Mom eventually & reluctantly took the payment offered by the developer. And, soon after his Mom moved to Florida. Though, initially Cliff was so reluctant to leave his childhood home that he actually handcuffed himself to a beam in the house to keep it from being demolished - ha ha.

As with the buy-out of the bar by a corporation at the beginning of S06, this buying out & tearing down old neighborhoods to make way for new businesses seemed to start happening quite a bit in the '80's - or at least that's when I first started paying attention to things like this.

That being said, in this particular fictitious case, it was obvious that this change ended up being for the better, since it forced Cliff to move out from under his mother's apron strings, temporarily move in with Norm and Vera, and then eventually into his own "bachelor pad" condo - which led to his starting to date, etc.

Some of the funniest sequences in S06 involved Norm & Cliff discussing Cliff's temporarily staying w/Norm & Vera (before he got his condo) and how Norm didn't want him to leave - due to Cliff helping with the cooking, cleaning, rubbing Vera's feet (LOL) and "talking" to her - which Norm didn't want to deal with. So, instead of portraying Cliff as being a burden (as the majority of house-guests would be) he actually ended up being a benefit to the house-hold - ha ha. There was another sequence when Vera called Cliff at the bar, and he enthusiastically discussed cooking strategies/recipes with her - LOL.

The sequence when Cliff invited some of his friends from the bar over to his new condo was hilarious; at one point, one of them asked why his refrigerator wasn't working & he gave a ridiculous answer. As it turns out, it wasn't even turned on properly - something he obviously hadn't even realized before it was pointed out to him - LOL.

[ElectricPeterTork]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

Continuing my review of Cheers:

S06 (1987-1988) was definitely a big turning point in the show. Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) is the total opposite of Shelley Long's Diane in many cases; her sarcastic comments/commentary are great, and IMHO she was a more interesting character than Diane. She definitely has a harder, more businesslike edge to her, and her inclusion on the series (coupled with Diane's departure the previous season) was an extremely refreshing change of pace...and was just the shot in the arm the series needed to avoid becoming too "stale".

It needed it. Without it, IMO, the series would've been dead by season 7.

I'm going through Cheers now. By the beginning of season 5, I'm sick of Sam and Diane. The episodes focused on their shenanigans just make me zone out. And if she had stayed, then what? Marriage? Kids? Showkillers.

Diane gets TFO, the show is revitalized because it becomes an ensemble comedy instead of The Sam and Diane Show. That show ran its course over 5 seasons.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by HaroldnMaude

I am curious about what got edited out re 9-11?

There's two post-9/11 syndication cuts. One involves a long anecdote that Cliff is telling about the movie "Fail Safe" (that's apparently "Bar Wars III"). The other is a shorter bit about Carla talking about acquiring dynamite to blow up a brick wall ("Bad Neighbor Sam").

The funny thing is, I couldn't find my notes right now, so I went on Google, and wound up finding a guy on a forum quoting my notes. I even have the specific line from Cliff:
""In the movie [Fail Safe], the United States accidentally launches a nuclear attack on Russia- not that those godless Communists didn't deserve it. In an attempt to avoid retaliation on America the President- played by Henry Fonda- decided to launch his own nuclear attack on New York- not that those arrogant loudmouths didn't deserve it."."

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Continuing my review of Cheers S06:

Great season, and one of my favorites (so far). It's interesting that Rebecca Howe - despite being cool & professional (for the most part) still harbors an unrequited "crush" on her boss, the wealthy Evan Drake (Tom Skerritt). I think this humanizes the character to a great extent, and it's funny how Sam, Cliff, Norm, etc. use this knowledge to their advantage.

Some stand-out S06 episodes include:

- Woody & Sam make a bet that one of them will be able to kiss Rebecca first by the end of the night.

[Show spoiler]And, once Rebecca is onto them - she enlists Carla for help in humiliating/tricking them both - LOL.

- Rebecca hires Sam & Woody to serve as bartenders at a party for the "big boss" & his wealthy big-shot friends/co-workers.

[Show spoiler]While there, Rebecca accidentally breaks an expensive vase - and, in order to protect her, Woody takes the fall - with unexpected & hilarious consequences.

-Sam is hired to work at the corporate office by Evan Drake,

[Show spoiler]but it's only because they temporarily need his skill on the company baseball team so they can beat the opposing team - LOL.

-Sam "accidentally on purpose" locks Evan Drake's chauffeur in the bar's basement (temporarily) so that Rebecca can take over the role as the car's driver & take Evan to the airport....

[Show spoiler]and use the opportunity to tell him how she feels. However, the plan back-fires when Evan has Rebecca pick up his gf on the way - LOL.

General comment(s) about this show:

I'm always interested in background characters in shows like this, and it's interesting that in the last several seasons I've watched there are a couple of funny "stand-outs", notably the little old guy w/the squint (always wearing a hat) who makes amusing one-liners throughout the episodes - I think his name is "Al"?!; there is also an older woman who sometimes gets inadvertently pulled into the main characters' shenanigans - LOL. Both of these characters are obviously "regulars".

Rebecca Howe is a complex and emotional character - even in S06; she is a much more nuanced & interesting character than Diane Chambers. I.e., she is initially introduced as this hard-edged "career woman" who was married to her job - but then, you found out soon after that she has this "schoolgirl crush" on her unattainable boss & finds herself in ridiculous, avoidable situations because of this - i.e., getting stuck at his house (while he's asleep in the next room), etc. I.e., even in S06 I felt that she presented an exterior 'facade' of being calm, cool, and collected - but in reality was the exact opposite, and all that was needed were some things that weren't going her way to 'set her off' - LOL.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

I'm always interested in background characters in shows like this, and it's interesting that in the last several seasons I've watched there are a couple of funny "stand-outs", notably the little old guy w/the squint (always wearing a hat) who makes amusing one-liners throughout the episodes - I think his name is "Al"?!; there is also an older woman who sometimes gets inadvertently pulled into the main characters' shenanigans - LOL. Both of these characters are obviously "regulars".

If you haven't read Ken Levine's blog at all, you're missing out (not sure if he keeps it up, I just check in sporadically). I think you'd especially be interested in this post:
http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2007/0...ody-knows.html

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

If you haven't read Ken Levine's blog at all, you're missing out (not sure if he keeps it up, I just check in sporadically). I think you'd especially be interested in this post:
http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2007/0...ody-knows.html

I just read this - Thanks very much. The older guy with the squint was Al Rosen, per the blog - funny character.

I also remember Phil Perlman (Rhea Perlman's father), who did have some funny lines.

A background character I didn't see mentioned in the blog (though she was mentioned in the comments) is the attractive, middle-aged gray-haired woman who was a regular barfly; don't know who the actress is, and I'm not sure if the character is ever named. She was typically seen in the background in many episodes - in the later seasons especially. She never had any speaking parts, but did interact with others at the bar. For the most part she was not part of the main "action", and was just seen talking to her friends & drinking, etc.

And, this same woman (obviously the same actress, or her identical twin - LOL) is seen in the background on many occasions @ the radio station in Frasier; she is also seen in the background @ "Cafe Nervosa" - Frasier's hang-out on the show. So, since both shows take place in the same "universe", after Frasier left Boston for Seattle - this barfly followed him & coincidentally got a job at the same radio station where he worked - LOL!