“Every Family Has Their White Sheep.”
It had been longer than I intended between when I first watched season 1 of Cheers for review and when I sat down to watch season 2. I’m glad I finally did because I laughed through this season.
If you aren’t familiar with this classic sitcom from the 80’s into the mid-90’s, it is set in a Boston bar, focusing on the relationships of the staff and regular customers. Cheers is owned by Sam Malone (Ted Danson), a former baseball pitcher. Also bar tending is Coach (Nicholas Colasanto). The waitresses couldn’t be any different from each other. There’s salt of the earth Carla (Rhea Perlman) and sophisticated intellectual Diane (Shelley Long). As far as the bar patrons go, there’s Norm (George Wendt) and Cliff (John Ratzenberger). John Ratzenberger is the only cast change this season. After appearing in all but one episode in season one, he finally joins the opening credits cast, where he deserves to be.
This season picks up exactly where season one ended. After a year of flirting and fighting, Sam and Diane have finally admitted their attraction for each other while in Sam’s office. What we learn in the opener is that the rest of the bar has at least heard some of what was happening in there. Anyway, as Sam and Diane embark on their new relationship, they find plenty of bumps in the road. Of course, it doesn’t help when Diane decides to help her former homicidal blind date prepare for an audition. And Diane’s best friend comes to town, causing quite a stir. The two take a break when Sam throws out an “I love you.” And the duo tries to set up Coach on a blind date in order to get some alone time.
While watching the season, I felt like Sam and Diane took up a lot of story time. And, if the writers had written to that, they’d have good reason. The two leads have amazing chemistry and play off each other so well.
But in looking back at the season, we get quite a bit for the rest of the cast. Carla has a baby, and while she’s out on maternity leave, Cliff falls for her sister. Norm continues to struggle to find a new job, landing one doing Sam’s taxes. And Norm has to deal with an old rival for his wife, the unseen Vera. Coach takes on coaching a little league team. And Carla struggles when her ex-husband gets remarried.
The show also gets a new set this season. After spending all of season one in the bar, we finally travel to Diane’s living room. We are there in several episodes, but that’s the only set we visit outside of the bar. When you think about all the stories we get from characters talking around a bar, and all the laughs, it’s pretty amazing.
And the laughs are plentiful. Yes, sometimes, the punchlines are obvious, but the cast makes them feel fresh and get laughs out of me. And others? They go in a direction you never expect, eliciting laughter. They also aren’t afraid to go for the physical humor, which is fantastic. The writing is sharp, with the writers making the best use of the cast.
I know that I praised Ted Danson and Shelley Long earlier. Honestly, the entire cast is fantastic together. They play off each other perfectly, getting so many laughs. There is no way the show could have worked this well with others as these characters. Yes, we get some cast changes and additions coming in future seasons, but this is a fantastic start. Notable guest stars include Dick Cavett as himself, Fred Dryer, Markie Post, Harry Anderson, and Christopher Lloyd.
Fortunately, audiences found the show this season. Cheers was famously extremely low rated in season one. Today, it would have been canceled by the end of season one at the latest. But the ratings picked up this season on the way to being the juggernaut it was later in its run.
Season two consisted of twenty-two episodes and they are all part of this DVD set in their native full screen and stereo. Nothing super fancy, but it’s in keeping with the way the show was produced and aired. And it sounds and looks great. Extras are just okay, however, with most of them being great moments from the season centered around specific characters.
Cheers is already firing on all cylinders in season 2. If you haven’t watched this classic sitcom yet, you are truly missing out. I have a feeling I will be moving on to season 3 before too much more time passes.
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