Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
12-14-22, 12:55 AM
#51
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
I listened to the extended theme song the other day when Kirsten Alley passed. It’s such a nostalgic song that brings me right back to childhood watching Cheers on Thursday nights.
Although, in current times there’s a, umm, problematic line about halfway through the song that I don’t remember catching my attention before. The line in question starts at 1:16.
https://youtu.be/h-mi0r0LpXo
Although, in current times there’s a, umm, problematic line about halfway through the song that I don’t remember catching my attention before. The line in question starts at 1:16.
https://youtu.be/h-mi0r0LpXo
12-14-22, 07:13 AM
#52
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
Are we at the point where "a black fly in your chardonnay" is seen as making light of alcoholism?
12-14-22, 07:21 AM
#53
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Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
I mean, if you WERE married and you're husband came to you and said he wanted to be a girl, regardless of what age we're living in, that's still probably going to be problematic for your marriage.
A WOMAN, ok, but a little girl? Sheesh.
A WOMAN, ok, but a little girl? Sheesh.
12-14-22, 07:22 AM
#54
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Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
Also, somebody get PETA on the horn regarding that poor kitty cat's tail!!!!
12-14-22, 07:33 AM
#55
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
In reference to the question of who's working and what are they doing. There was an episode where the guy who sold the bar to Sam comes in for a visit. He's retired and lives on the west coast.
First, Sam is confused about how the guy could retire comfortable after running Cheers. Then, they let him run the bar for the night, and he's a task master who keeps barking orders at Carla and Rebecca to get to work. At the end of the night, they are complaining about him to Sam. Then, the guy hands Sam a huge wad of bills from his pocket because the bar made more money than would fit in the cash drawer. Sam realizes for a moment what this means, and tries ordering Carla and Rebecca around, but they just ignore him, and things return to normal.
When you think about it, most sitcoms do not portray how people deal with money or what is required to run a successful business in any way, and the subjects only come up if the episode of that week's plot requires it, and then it's forgotten by next week in favor of a new problem.
That's what made Blockbuster so weird. The show kept talking about how this guy with real financial problems was struggling to keep his business running, but then always ended up acting like it did not matter. It would be like if every episode of Friends included a discussion of how difficult it was for them to afford their Manhattan apartments, but never showed them actually making any effort to save money.
First, Sam is confused about how the guy could retire comfortable after running Cheers. Then, they let him run the bar for the night, and he's a task master who keeps barking orders at Carla and Rebecca to get to work. At the end of the night, they are complaining about him to Sam. Then, the guy hands Sam a huge wad of bills from his pocket because the bar made more money than would fit in the cash drawer. Sam realizes for a moment what this means, and tries ordering Carla and Rebecca around, but they just ignore him, and things return to normal.
When you think about it, most sitcoms do not portray how people deal with money or what is required to run a successful business in any way, and the subjects only come up if the episode of that week's plot requires it, and then it's forgotten by next week in favor of a new problem.
That's what made Blockbuster so weird. The show kept talking about how this guy with real financial problems was struggling to keep his business running, but then always ended up acting like it did not matter. It would be like if every episode of Friends included a discussion of how difficult it was for them to afford their Manhattan apartments, but never showed them actually making any effort to save money.
12-14-22, 08:55 AM
#56
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
Do you think the "Norm!" bit came before the theme song was chosen, or is that a recurring gag that they do because "Everybody knows your name" at Cheers? I think both were present since the pilot.
12-14-22, 09:02 AM
#57
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Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
Yes, first episode:
"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" was recorded in August of 1982. The show debuted the next month at the end of September.
Fun fact, original opening verse:
Singin' the blues when the Red Sox lose,
it's a crisis in your life.
On the run 'cause all your girlfriends
wanna be your wife.
And the laundry ticket's in the wash.
The tune was nominated for an Emmy but lost to Two of a Kind...obviously, not the right way to go :P
"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" was recorded in August of 1982. The show debuted the next month at the end of September.
Fun fact, original opening verse:
Singin' the blues when the Red Sox lose,
it's a crisis in your life.
On the run 'cause all your girlfriends
wanna be your wife.
And the laundry ticket's in the wash.
The tune was nominated for an Emmy but lost to Two of a Kind...obviously, not the right way to go :P
Last edited by ViewAskewbian; 12-14-22 at 09:11 AM.
12-14-22, 09:22 AM
#58
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
I listened to the extended theme song the other day when Kirsten Alley passed. It’s such a nostalgic song that brings me right back to childhood watching Cheers on Thursday nights.
Although, in current times there’s a, umm, problematic line about halfway through the song that I don’t remember catching my attention before. The line in question starts at 1:16.
https://youtu.be/h-mi0r0LpXo
Although, in current times there’s a, umm, problematic line about halfway through the song that I don’t remember catching my attention before. The line in question starts at 1:16.
https://youtu.be/h-mi0r0LpXo
"your husband wants to be a girl" to "your girlfriend says she's not a girl".
If wanted to update other lines in the song they could do this:
"Roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee's dead" to "Roll out of bed, your Keurig's dead"
"Your shrink ran off to Europe and didn't even write" to "your shrink ran off to Europe and didn't even text"
"your third fiance didn't show" to "your third Tinder date didn't show"
12-14-22, 09:25 AM
#59
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
I've always wondered when they had the line "your shrink ran off to Europe" and then later in the third series they show Fraiser in Europe.
12-14-22, 09:27 AM
#60
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
Yes, first episode:
First Norm Greeting
"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" was recorded in August of 1982. The show debuted the next month at the end of September.
First Norm Greeting
"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" was recorded in August of 1982. The show debuted the next month at the end of September.
12-14-22, 09:39 AM
#61
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Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
Though, here's the rub:
Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin were absent from the original script. George Wendt and John Ratzenberger had auditioned for the role of George, a character who would have been included in the ending scene of the pilot episode with just one line, "Beer." Wendt was cast as George, who evolved into Norm Peterson,while a know-it-all character Cliff Clavin was added at Ratzenberger's suggestion.[22] Therefore, influenced by the casting of Wendt and Ratzenberger, the pilot script was revised before production began on the show.
So, unsure if the gag was in the original script as "GEORGE!".
I can't find when the season was actually filmed (the first episode mainly) but I suppose it is fair to say the gag was probably there before the theme song line.
12-14-22, 09:49 AM
#62
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
Yup. Though the episode debuted in September, the final script was from April of 1982.
Though, here's the rub:
Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin were absent from the original script. George Wendt and John Ratzenberger had auditioned for the role of George, a character who would have been included in the ending scene of the pilot episode with just one line, "Beer." Wendt was cast as George, who evolved into Norm Peterson,while a know-it-all character Cliff Clavin was added at Ratzenberger's suggestion.[22] Therefore, influenced by the casting of Wendt and Ratzenberger, the pilot script was revised before production began on the show.
So, unsure if the gag was in the original script as "GEORGE!".
I can't find when the season was actually filmed (the first episode mainly) but I suppose it is fair to say the gag was probably there before the theme song line.
Though, here's the rub:
Norm Peterson and Cliff Clavin were absent from the original script. George Wendt and John Ratzenberger had auditioned for the role of George, a character who would have been included in the ending scene of the pilot episode with just one line, "Beer." Wendt was cast as George, who evolved into Norm Peterson,while a know-it-all character Cliff Clavin was added at Ratzenberger's suggestion.[22] Therefore, influenced by the casting of Wendt and Ratzenberger, the pilot script was revised before production began on the show.
So, unsure if the gag was in the original script as "GEORGE!".
I can't find when the season was actually filmed (the first episode mainly) but I suppose it is fair to say the gag was probably there before the theme song line.
12-14-22, 09:51 AM
#63
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
ETA: Or, based on VA's post, maybe not.
Maybe they got the "Norm!" thing from the song.
Such a simple but great running idea that encapsulated a theme of the show.
Murphy Brown tried to copy it with "Close the door! at Phil's bar, but that always seemed forced and stupid.
Last edited by Count Dooku; 12-14-22 at 09:57 AM.
12-14-22, 10:10 AM
#64
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
For those who have never seen it, take a moment to appreciate the complete weirdness of the strangest TV crossover ever :
12-14-22, 10:14 AM
#65
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
I loved the episode of Cheers in Mexico where there was a Mexican Norm at Sam's new bar.
12-14-22, 10:42 AM
#66
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
Most of the regular customers at Cheers were male with the exception of a few recuring characters. Did they ever have any female characters order a beer in any scene? It always seemed like anytime a female character ordered a drink it was either a specific wine or a fancy spirit of some sort. They tried to make the women look more sophisitcated than the men who most often just ordered a beer (but never a specific type or brand).
12-14-22, 10:48 AM
#67
12-14-22, 10:59 AM
#68
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
did we seriously gain a thread of 3 pages from a celebrity death? 
You guys are the best. Does anyone remember the chain of Cheers bars? I seem to recall there was one in Boston Fanual hall even though it was only a mile from the Bull Finch Bar which was the exterior and basis for the series. They had some kind of fake Norm and Cliff if I recall seated at the bar.
You guys are the best. Does anyone remember the chain of Cheers bars? I seem to recall there was one in Boston Fanual hall even though it was only a mile from the Bull Finch Bar which was the exterior and basis for the series. They had some kind of fake Norm and Cliff if I recall seated at the bar.
12-14-22, 11:01 AM
#69
DVD Talk Special Edition
12-14-22, 11:26 AM
#70
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
did we seriously gain a thread of 3 pages from a celebrity death? You guys are the best. Does anyone remember the chain of Cheers bars? I seem to recall there was one in Boston Fanual hall even though it was only a mile from the Bull Finch Bar which was the exterior and basis for the series. They had some kind of fake Norm and Cliff if I recall seated at the bar.
You guys are the best. Does anyone remember the chain of Cheers bars? I seem to recall there was one in Boston Fanual hall even though it was only a mile from the Bull Finch Bar which was the exterior and basis for the series. They had some kind of fake Norm and Cliff if I recall seated at the bar.
12-14-22, 12:13 PM
#71
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
Assuming that a bar is open from 12pm to midnight and 2 am on weekends, that's 88 hours of labor you would need for each bartenders and waitresses if you needed those positions filled all the hours the bar was open not including any overlap. Sam and Woody/ Coach overlapped quite a bit just as Carla and Diane did.
Norm had a white collar, mostly 9 to 5 job with similar hours to Cliff as a mail man, but Cliff may have gone to work a little earlier and got off earlier as well as he was usually in the bar before Norm got there. So, most of what we saw on the show would have happened later in the evening on weekdays or on the weekends. Maybe what we saw happened during those hours and he had other bartenders and wait staff during the other hours that we just never saw. It's not possible for Carla to be working 88 hours a week, nor is it likely for Sam or the other bartenders. I feel like there were some other waitstaff in some of the other episodes that just didn't have speaking lines. I seem to recall during a few opening scenes, you could see Carla and another waitress waiting tables in the background while the camera panned towards Sam at the bar talking to one of the regulars.
So, it's possible they had other employees working there at times, they just weren't important to the plot so they were either not seen or didn't have any speaking parts. You could also assume that Cheers has another entrance, even if never shown, as there are several scenes that show wheelchair bound patrons in the bar who would have been unable to get down the steep stairs even with assistance. Also, fire laws would have required them to have a second point of egress in case of an emergency.
Norm had a white collar, mostly 9 to 5 job with similar hours to Cliff as a mail man, but Cliff may have gone to work a little earlier and got off earlier as well as he was usually in the bar before Norm got there. So, most of what we saw on the show would have happened later in the evening on weekdays or on the weekends. Maybe what we saw happened during those hours and he had other bartenders and wait staff during the other hours that we just never saw. It's not possible for Carla to be working 88 hours a week, nor is it likely for Sam or the other bartenders. I feel like there were some other waitstaff in some of the other episodes that just didn't have speaking lines. I seem to recall during a few opening scenes, you could see Carla and another waitress waiting tables in the background while the camera panned towards Sam at the bar talking to one of the regulars.
So, it's possible they had other employees working there at times, they just weren't important to the plot so they were either not seen or didn't have any speaking parts. You could also assume that Cheers has another entrance, even if never shown, as there are several scenes that show wheelchair bound patrons in the bar who would have been unable to get down the steep stairs even with assistance. Also, fire laws would have required them to have a second point of egress in case of an emergency.
One thing to remember is that after Dianne left, Rebecca started working there. So, with Rebecca there managing the bar, there would still be four employees there at one time which is the same as when Dianne had worked there. Rebecca would have taken away some of the duties that Sam had performed previously so that would have freed up Woody or Sam to help with waiting tables if Rebecca didn't also assist with that as well.
On a side note, Cliff would have been in violation of postal regulations for consuming alcoholic beverages while wearing a postal uniform even if he was off duty at the time.
On a side note, Cliff would have been in violation of postal regulations for consuming alcoholic beverages while wearing a postal uniform even if he was off duty at the time.
That would still have them working seven days a week, with no days off and no coverage for when anyone got sick. Sam would not have had the time to bang all the ladies and take them on trips/ drives up the coast.
I figured Sam would maybe have temps from an agency fill in certain days or times of the week. None of the temps stayed long enough for the regulars at the bar to remember their names or even bother to mention them in any of their conversations on screen.
I figured Sam would maybe have temps from an agency fill in certain days or times of the week. None of the temps stayed long enough for the regulars at the bar to remember their names or even bother to mention them in any of their conversations on screen.
Most of the regular customers at Cheers were male with the exception of a few recuring characters. Did they ever have any female characters order a beer in any scene? It always seemed like anytime a female character ordered a drink it was either a specific wine or a fancy spirit of some sort. They tried to make the women look more sophisitcated than the men who most often just ordered a beer (but never a specific type or brand).
12-14-22, 12:19 PM
#72
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
Sam (talking to a pretty Latina while mixing a drink): Sure, soon as I finish making this margarita.
Sam (to the girl): So, where are you from, Margarita?
12-14-22, 12:24 PM
#73
DVD Talk Special Edition
12-14-22, 12:59 PM
#74
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Re: Cheers: Best Moments, Making of, and Who's on Day Shift?!
This thread is great. I haven't watched Cheers in a long time, but now I want to start binge watching it from the beginning.
