It seemed as if during the final few seasons of Cheers, Paul was featured more and more frequently.

Had the show gone on longer than it did, do you think he would have ever joined the regular cast?

Yeah I guess he would have come on. A new character would give the show a couple new plots, but it would get old. He would have probably only kept the show going another season or two. But ultimently I would think he'd be a castmember.

Somehow, I don't see it. I imagine they'd give him a slightly larger role but I can't picture him being anything more than a recurring side character.

Absolutely, proof of this was how he was chosen by the writers to be the one who Carla slept with when she got drunk. They were already pushing him as a regular and getting more involved in storylines.

Absolutely, proof of this was how he was chosen by the writers to be the one who Carla slept with when she got drunk. They were already pushing him as a regular and getting more involved in storylines.

He was also one of the guys that had to go nude for Gary's Old Town Tavern in "Bar Wars VII: The Naked Prey"

Very good point.

He was also one of the guys that had to go nude for Gary's Old Town Tavern in "Bar Wars VII: The Naked Prey"


I have never seen that episode. I just looked it up. Probably the only episode of the Rebecca Years that I haven't seen.

I never really liked the show, but I bet they would have done an episode where Cheers turned 100. Wasn't that coming up in 1993? I forget the year it says Cheers was established in. Either 93', 94', or 95'. I think it woulda been a lot better to end the series on the 100 year anniversary of the bar.

I never really liked the show, but I bet they would have done an episode where Cheers turned 100. Wasn't that coming up in 1993? I forget the year it says Cheers was established in. Either 93', 94', or 95'. I think it woulda been a lot better to end the series on the 100 year anniversary of the bar.

They did do a 'cheers is 100 years old' episode (it's the same episode where lileth gave birth to fredrick). Sam said that the date on the cheers sign is in fact wrong, it was a number they just made up.

Paul was in a lot of later episodes, but he was always just an extra guy in the bar, or otherwise the point of his character was to be left out of things. So he would never become a regular; perhaps the fact that such a prominant character is never a regular is a joke in itself, its just one more thing that poor paul is left out of.

If anyone should have been made a regular in season 12 its Kelly. She too had a larger role in later episodes, and imho she was a lot funnier than paul.

Well when Ted Danson said he was leaving the show they considered going on without him. Had they done that (which I feel would have been a grave mistake) Paul probably would have joined the cast as a regular.