30 Years of Cheers

bnt

Today is the 30th anniversary of the first airing of Cheers, and writer Ken Levine has posted his memories of the day and how it was celebrated:

The ratings the next morning were disappointing. They would stay bad for a year. But none of that mattered on September 30, 1982. The show was actually going to be ON THE AIR. The brilliant script by the Charles Brothers was written the year before. Casting took months. The pilot was shot in early spring. The small writing staff of the Charles Brothers and Levine & Isaacs began breaking stories and preparing scripts in late May. The show went into production the beginning of August.

By the time we premiered we had already shot six or seven episodes. To help familiarize the studio audience with the show, they were shown an abridged version of the pilot. Between editing and those audience screenings I must’ve seen the CHEERS pilot fifty times.

But this was different. It was finally going to be shown to the world.

I wish that one of the cable channels would put it on again, and they keep doing with Frasier: start at the beginning and show them all, to the end, without exception. Yes, I know you can download everything these days, but it deserves a wider audience.

OU812

If they were putting it out today, it would have been cancelled after four episodes. Great show. Can remember watching it with the whole family (us as kids), we all stayed up to see it, every week.

say_who_now?

bnt wrote: »

I wish that one of the cable channels would put it on again, and they keep doing with Frasier: start at the beginning and show them all, to the end, without exception. Yes, I know you can download everything these days, but it deserves a wider audience.

If you have Sky, it's shown on CBS Drama every evening of the week at 6pm, no need to download anything!

brian_t

say_who_now? wrote: »

If you have Sky, it's shown on CBS Drama every evening of the week at 6pm, no need to download anything!

They have been showing the first 3 series on a loop.
According to Digiguide they are coming to the end of series 3 (next episode 3:23). Series 4 starts on Tuesday.
According to Digiguide they will be back to the start of series 1 on October 19th.

Cheers premieres on Thursday 10th May 2012 at 6pm and will air with double episodes on weekdays at 6pm, as part of the channel's new 'Happy Hour' 6-7pm slot. Series 1 to 3 will be shown initially with series 4 airing later this year.

http://www.cbsdrama.co.uk/articles.php?feature=174

bnt

say_who_now? wrote: »

If you have Sky, it's shown on CBS Drama every evening of the week at 6pm, no need to download anything!

No Sky, just UPC cable - that's why I said "cable channels". I get quite a few channels, but that's not one of them ...

Melion

I was watching it on sky today, can't remember what channel. It was one of my favourite shows in my teenage years.

donfers

all the cast members are still alive, let's have a new series

OU812

^ would be a great movie - Diane walking back into Sam's life...

say_who_now?

OU812 wrote: »

^ would be a great movie - Diane walking back into Sam's life...

TBF you wouldn't get Kirsty Alley through the door as she is now, never mind reprising her role as Sam's love interest!

Guy:Incognito

donfers wrote: »

all the cast members are still alive, let's have a new series

Except Coach. He died in 85.

Wee Willy Harris

Only 30? Always felt like a 70s show. If they were to being It back just ensure there's not a pool table on set, I hear that woodie harrelson's handy with a que

mike65

Wee Willy Harris wrote: »

Only 30? Always felt like a 70s show. If they were to being It back just ensure there's not a pool table on set, I hear that woodie harrelson's handy with a que

1982 was practically the 70s - decades don't begin in style terms until the 4th year! True dat!

Anyway mines a pint!

Wee Willy Harris

You could almost say the 70s was from '73, to '83 for example but cheers still felt like '73 in '88!

Yamanoto

As good as it gets imo, the writing and performances still remain a high watermark in American situation comedy.

Wee Willy Harris

All I recall was Ted sullenly ceasing wiping the rim of a glass, when Kirsty would interject

Technocentral

Along with Simpsons and Seinfeld the best US comedy ever. I just finished watching all the episodes on Netflix US, worth the 6.99 a month just for classic tv shows like this.

Technocentral

bnt wrote: »

No Sky, just UPC cable - that's why I said "cable channels". I get quite a few channels, but that's not one of them ...

If you don't have Netflix which has them all, UPC on demand has the first two series for free.

SB-08

Technocentral wrote: »

Along with Simpsons and Seinfeld the best US comedy ever. I just finished watching all the episodes on Netflix US, worth the 6.99 a month just for classic tv shows like this.

I love Cheers but it's not a patch on Frasier in terms of writing imo. I have the first 7 seasons on DVD of Cheers but tried watching it on the US Netflix but I find it un watchable in the 4:3 ratio with the large black panels on each side of the screen. Why it is not the full screen of 1:78 like on DVD and when it is on TV is beyond me. It's the same with lots of older shows on Netflix.

Technocentral

SB-08 wrote: »

I love Cheers but it's not a patch on Frasier in terms of writing imo. I have the first 7 seasons on DVD of Cheers but tried watching it on the US Netflix but I find it un watchable in the 4:3 ratio with the large black panels on each side of the screen. Why it is not the full screen of 1:78 like on DVD and when it is on TV is beyond me. It's the same with lots of older shows on Netflix.

I have first 6 seasons on Dvd and they are all 4:3 as they should be, Netflix are showing it in its proper aspect ie 4:3, no need to lose picture area just to convert it unnecessarily to widescreen, its perfect and of its time as it is. Btw its not 1:78:1 on TV its "squashed" to fill the screen distorting the picture which is a sh*t way to broadcast non Anamorphic.

Skid

Great show. Haven't seen it in years but it brings back great memories. And the best damn theme tune ever heard on Television ...

SB-08

Technocentral wrote: »

I have first 6 seasons on Dvd and they are all 4:3 as they should be, Netflix are showing it in its proper aspect ie 4:3, no need to lose picture area just to convert it unnecessarily to widescreen, its perfect and of its time as it is. Btw its not 1:78:1 on TV its "squashed" to fill the screen distorting the picture which is a sh*t way to broadcast non Anamorphic.

All of the Cheers DVD's I have are 'full frame'. It says so on the box under ratio and it fills the screen. It's the same with the earlier seasons of Frasier. They are full frame but yet on Netflix they are the large black panels on each side. If you have a 42" TV it would be nice to be able to take advantage of it.

Technocentral

SB-08 wrote: »

All of the Cheers DVD's I have are 'full frame'. It says so on the box under ratio and it fills the screen. It's the same with the earlier seasons of Frasier. They are full frame but yet on Netflix they are the large black panels on each side. If you have a 42" TV it would be nice to be able to take advantage of it.

Full frame IS 4:3! Of course there are going to be black bars on both sides of cheers on a widescreen tv, it was shot 4:3/full frame, there were no tv shows filmed in widescreen until the late 90's as all tvs were 4:3. Netflix are 100% correct in how they display it. Here is an illustration of how cheers and all other 4:3/full frame should correctly and incorrectly look on a widescreen tv:

[IMG][/img]

take everything

bnt wrote: »

Today is the 30th anniversary of the first airing of Cheers, and writer Ken Levine has posted his memories of the day and how it was celebrated:

I wish that one of the cable channels would put it on again, and they keep doing with Frasier: start at the beginning and show them all, to the end, without exception. Yes, I know you can download everything these days, but it deserves a wider audience.

Used to love Cheers in the late 80's/early 90's (in my early teens).
Well written, great characters. Norm (or Nawmie as cliff would say), Frasier, Woody, Sam, Cliff (probably my favourite character)...
Great stuff.

bnt

They had a reunion party on Saturday night, and everyone was there with two exceptions (Woody & Kelsey). Writer Ken Levine was there and reported on it, with photos:



Sounds like quite the party was had by all.

OU812

Aya, it's a little known fact... that Nawmie's long suffering wife Vera was played (voice off camera) by George Wendt's own wife, actress Bernadette Birkett. (she appeared on screen twice with her face obscured both times).

grimm2005

SB-08 wrote: »

All of the Cheers DVD's I have are 'full frame'. It says so on the box under ratio and it fills the screen. It's the same with the earlier seasons of Frasier. They are full frame but yet on Netflix they are the large black panels on each side. If you have a 42" TV it would be nice to be able to take advantage of it.

As technocentral said "full frame" is in fact 4:3. What I imagine is happening with your DVDs are that the TV is displaying them in smart or zoom mode by default (fitting the image to fill the screen). If you prefer to watch in this way, then I'm sure you can change your TV aspect ratio to do this on Netflix as well, I've done the same with Malcolm in the Middle and Larry Sanders show.

Thefirestarter

Always knew of this show but began watching it on netflix through my PS3 a short time ago.

Hugely enjoyable and a superbly selected cast who performed effortlessly.

Love Norms reply to what the Coach use to ask him when he would first walk into the bar.

SHOVELLER

My favourite show of all time. Remember watching the last few series and saddened when it all finished in May 1993. Also that the last show was watched by a near full Skydome in Toronto making itthe largest public gathering ever for a TV viewing!

Been to the Bull & Finch just to see the bar but as you all know its not the same. But do have a 2 litre Norm mug though!

Technocentral

30 years of Cheers and coincidently for Rhea Perlman, 30 years of marriage to another sitcom great (Danny DeVito, Louie in Taxi) comes to an end.

Technocentral

Being broadcast again on TV for the first time in years, starts from the pilot on ITV4 at 7 tonight, hopefully Northern Exposure will get a similar outing.

Skid

Technocentral wrote: »

Being broadcast again on TV for the first time in years

CBS Drama have been showing it from the start since May

http://www.digitalspy.ie/ustv/news/a376090/cheers-to-be-shown-from-the-beginning-on-cbs-drama.html

Technocentral

Skid wrote: »

CBS Drama have been showing it from the start since May

http://www.digitalspy.ie/ustv/news/a376090/cheers-to-be-shown-from-the-beginning-on-cbs-drama.html

Have UPC so hadn't heard of that station until I looked it up, I see its only on the SKY platform, I imagine ITV4 would be more widely available.

kitakyushu

Welcome back Cheers. I wanted to mention repeats were starting again on ITV4 today but didn't feel it worth a new thread. I also didn't want to bump that "other" cheers thread (of which I will not speak again).

SHOVELLER

Enjoying the first episodes.

But this has bad news written all over it:


http://thestar.ie/star/slainte-to-irish-cheers/

An Irish television production company is planning to make a new version of the hit American sitcom Cheers for Irish screens.


Sideline Productions — which made TV3’s Take Me Out — has a tentative deal with CBS Broadcasting to produce an Irish version of the hit series.


Cheers — which ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993 — is about the lives of regulars in a Boston bar “where everybody knows your name” and starred Ted Danson (65), Rhea Perlman (64) and Shelley Long (63).


CBS sells the sitcom as a scripted format around the world and has agreed in principle for Sideline to buy the rights to all 275 Cheers scripts and to initially do a re-version of six episodes for an Irish audience.


Dublin-based Sideline’s co-founder Billy McGrath said: “Cheers is one of the most iconic sitcoms in the world.


“We’ve already considered the ‘who’s playing who’ possibilities.


“With TV3 say, Sam, the star, might be an ex premiership player returned home to Ireland to open a bar.


“For TG4, the character might be a retired hurler who moves to the Gaeltacht and opens a pub.


“There’s so much that can be done when a basic plot is so strong.”

Skid

SHOVELLER wrote: »

Enjoying the first episodes.

But this has bad news written all over it:


http://thestar.ie/star/slainte-to-irish-cheers/

I doubt if that will ever get commissioned. The Production company got a lot of publicity for a non-story.

Although if it ever does, and someone drags up this thread, can I be the first to say that this remake is a disgrace and the original was so much better?

ScrubsfanChris

Went to look for it on Netflix but found nothing, has it been taken down?

Technocentral

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

Went to look for it on Netflix but found nothing, has it been taken down?

No, still on Netflix US as I said in my earlier post, if you mean Netflix Uk/Ireland it was never on that.

mattser

My favourite comedy show. Superbly written and acted. And to think Mrs Browns Boys is winning awards. What a strange world this is.

briany

Cheers is one of those programs I remember liking before I was really old enough to articulate why I liked a program. It's withstood the test of time pretty well besides the usual dated fashions on display but people like Norm, Cliff, Coach, Frasier and Paul (can't forget Paul, everyone else does) didn't even fall victim to that cause their clothes were never particularly out of fashion or in fashion.

mike65

I have to say I only really took to it when Woody replaced Coach.

Technocentral

mike65 wrote: »

I have to say I only really took to it when Woody replaced Coach.

A load of the Coach episodes were great and he had some of the best lines ever, like in the episode where Coach fancies a much younger woman who's moved into his building, Season 1, Episode 9):

Diane: "What was the last chat up line you used Coach?"

Coach: "Would you like some nylons Fraulein?"

Skid

I liked Coach.

I can't remember the set up, but there was an angry mob in the Bar, upset with a Baseball player for changing teams (or something similar)

Someone shouted 'Lets burn him in effigy!", to which Coach replied "To Hell with that, lets burn him right here in Boston!"

Technocentral

Skid wrote: »

I liked Coach.

I can't remember the set up, but there was an angry mob in the Bar, upset with a Baseball player for changing teams (or something similar)

Someone shouted 'Lets burn him in effigy!", to which Coach replied "To Hell with that, lets burn him right here in Boston!"

Great episode called "Coach Buries a Grudge", he was actually a recently deceased friend of Coach who he finds out, once made a pass at his wife.

mattser

Rebecca.. "Why can't more men send flowers" Sam... " I didn't know mormons can't send flowers ". Classic line.