Happy anniversary to my favorite sitcom. Here are thoughts from the players as well as people influenced by the show:

http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movi...story-extended

"And Woody Harrelson had the smallest penis..."

Damn, I watched every episode of this show. That's a long time ago.

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One of the best comedies of all time. Even though the styles are dated the show holds up pretty well if you ask me. I haven't seen all the episodes but I've seen a good chunk of them and own the first four seasons. I should really get around to picking up the remainder someday.

Always in the discussion for one of the best theme songs of all time.

The first (Diane and Coach) seasons were the best. Frazier was a good addition, but Woody and Rebecca were not as good as those they replaced.

Wasn't Cheers on the verge of cancelation after its first season?

It was dead last in the ratings during the first season, but they decided to give them a chance.

They don't give shows any real chance now days. Most times, if the show doesn't do good, it won't even last an entire season.

The X-Files also would not have made it out of year 1 in today's TV climate.

Neither would Seinfeld...

I dunno, as much as I like Diane her character was getting pretty bland by the time she had left. Coach was a great part of the show though. A shame Nicholas Colasanto passed away so early. I liked the addition of Woody and Frasier. Rebecca was sort of a blah character though for the most part I'll agree. She had her moments but overall I never liked her as much.

Who are three people that have never visited my kitchen?

I prefer this Cheers alterna intro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evKGz8U-PK0

John P. Navin Jr. !

Smartest move ever. Would not happen today.

Yeah, different world today. Here is Ken Levine's recollection of the first night it aired. He will also post his reaction to the GQ article (in the OP) later this week.

http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2012/0...ers-aired.html

I liked Diane with Fraiser even more than her with Sam.

I am not completely sure why, but I do not like Woody Harrelson. He was better on Cheers than in other roles, but Coach was much, much better. I sensed a heart with Coach that I didn't see with Woody.

I loved Kirstie in Star Trek II, but she was poorly used in Cheers. Her character was just too over the top as a basket case.

Yeah, networks needs to make money, not lose it.

They lost money on those shows way back when -- and still had faith in them.

Networks needed to make money back then too, and Cheers made buckets of money for them. The difference is that they took the long view more often.

And? If networks did that with every show we would be stuck with a bunch of shit on TV.

That' just not how it works nowadays. Very few chances are taken if a show is not a hit after it's first Season. Now some shows manage to limp along because the networks are in bad shape (NBC with Chuck), or a studio hoping/praying for a syndication payoff (Fringe).

But giving shows a chance? Very rare. They make money off advertising. Why keep as stinker when the next show could be a hit? Obviously some exceptions are made.

They shouldn't do that with every show, but they should be able to give quality shows a chance to build an audience as they did 30 years ago with Cheers. On the flip side, there are some that they should have let go of long before they did.

On the balance, sticking with Cheers made NBC a whole lot of money. It's not just what Cheers made on NBC, but also the syndication rights, as well as the money Frazier made.

Coach telling his daughter how gorgeous she is because of how much she resembles his deceased wife is one of the most touching moments is tv history.

Coach was the better character if you have to compare the two, but Woody was a great "fish out of water" character in his own right.

I agree with all this.

I always loved the theme song, but never got into the show at all.

I loved the show as a young teenager in the 80s.