Hello there, I have been watching Cheers semi-religiously since a local channel started playing it from Season 1, Episode 1 in January. I just watched the Season 5 finale today, and have enjoyed what I have seen so far a lot, but the aforementioned channel decided to go back to S1E1 today :mad:.

So, is it worth renting/buying S6-11? Or are they not worth the money?

Hello there, I have been watching Cheers semi-religiously since a local channel started playing it from Season 1, Episode 1 in January. I just watched the Season 5 finale today, and have enjoyed what I have seen so far a lot, but the aforementioned channel decided to go back to S1E1 today :mad:.

So, is it worth renting/buying S6-11? Or are they not worth the money?


Absolutely! Some of the best episodes are yet to come. I would definitely take the risk and rent/buy seasons 6-11! :)

I actually like the Kirstie Alley years better. lol

http://i53.tinypic.com/2lllk79.jpg

I actually like the Kirstie Alley years better. lol


Me too, Kirstie Alley was very funny as Rebecca.

I prefer Diane over Rebecca, but I honestly think some of the funniest episodes were in the Rebecca years. I think the Diane years focused more on the Sam/Diane romance, while the Rebecca years focused more on the comedy.

I prefer the Rebecca years, I think the episodes that centered around her were far more hilarious than the Diane ones.

Season 6 of Cheers finally returned to TV on Saturday, I've seen the first two episodes, loved them, and can't wait for more!

I haven't seen every episode of Cheers but the ones that I like the most seem to fall in the Rebecca years. Plus, I never liked Shelly Long at all... and from what I've heard some people say that seems to be a common thing among Frasier/Cheers viewers-even casual ones.

I have now seen every episode of "Cheers" thanks to Netflix. I can say that yes, the Rebecca Howe era is worth purchasing.:)

They are the better episodes humor wise. Sam, Woody, and Cliff only improve as characters humor wise. Fraiser of course is gold, as is Lilith and Rebecca. You also have a lot of great side characters to get to know. The show really gets cooking after Diane leaves.

I really like the whole series, but its a tale of two different shows and the Rebecca years are my favorite. Her, Cliff, and Fraiser are my favorites.

The Diane years were great, but the Rebecca years is where the show really became more of an ensemble comedy than just a focus on Sam-Diane.

Well worth getting, you will not be disappointed!

The Rebecca years are way different than the Diane years. While the first five seasons of the show were always centered on the sexual tension of Sam and Diane and much of the humor worked off of these two central characters, in the Rebecca years most of the humor was more centered on the ensemble and the quirky situations they got themselves into. Personally, I think the writing was more sophisticated during the Diane years so if you're into that kind of humor, you might not care for the Rebecca years as much. The humor in the later years was less story oriented and more focused around the goofy antics of the ensemble as a whole. Enjoy!!!

It gave room for all the characters to grow.

I could have done without the episodes with the latter Rebeca story-lines. I don't want to spoil it for you.

The Rebecca Years(Season 6-11)are considered The Best Years of of the show Run by the majority of Cheers fans.

I liked the Rebecca years better. The whole cast was featured more often.

Yes, definitely worth it. I liked the Diane years but I personally don't think the show jumped the shark when Kirstie came. As others have mentioned, it was just less about two people and more about everyone.

Yes! Cheers was great with Kirstie Alley.I liked the Diane years a lot too though.It would of been interesting to see what it was like with both of them.

Honestly, I like the Rebecca years way more than the Diane years because I found Diane really annoying. I loved when they brought in Rebecca.

And the show became number 1 for a year during the Rebecca era.

Absolutely! Some of the best episodes are yet to come. I would definitely take the risk and rent/buy seasons 6-11! :)

As I've already mentioned elsewhere on this forum, I recently bought the entire series of Cheers for less than AU$0.50 an episode! :D

And the show became number 1 for a year during the Rebecca era.

Ah yes, Season 9, the season that was playing when I was born! patriot:

Well instead of focusing an incredible amount of time & energy on Sam & Rebecca like they had with Diane, I think it was wise to make it a top-notch ensemble comedy. A decade earlier The Mary Tyler Moore Show was in the same situation when Rhoda left for her own show so they decided to turn the show into an ensemble piece, which most agree made the show even better solidifying it's place in TV history.

Most definitely. There were still many funny moments. In fact towards the end it was the #1 show in the ratings.

I liked Diane a lot more than Rebecca, but the first few seasons got a bit repetitive, especially when compared to the later ones. The earlier seasons were almost all about Sam and Diane and sometimes it seemed like the rest of the characters were just there to comment on the two of them.

I liked Diane a lot more than Rebecca, but the first few seasons got a bit repetitive, especially when compared to the later ones. The earlier seasons were almost all about Sam and Diane and sometimes it seemed like the rest of the characters were just there to comment on the two of them.

I have to agree with you there, I love all of Cheers, but you can tell in Season 5 that the Sam & Diane thing was getting old, as were Carla's insults to Diane. Kirstie Alley joined Cheers at the right time in my opinion.

I got kind of tired of Rebecca as the show went on, but getting rid of Diane did seem to shake things up a lot. I was pretty impressed though by how consistent the show was, up until the very end. Most shows get old in about half the time.

I got kind of tired of Rebecca as the show went on, but getting rid of Diane did seem to shake things up a lot. I was pretty impressed though by how consistent the show was, up until the very end. Most shows get old in about half the time.

Whereas I thought Cheers held its quality until the very end, it could have easily gone on for another season or two. It was sad watching the finale, but not for long, because I had Frasier to watch!

Yeah, I felt the same way. I watched it on Netflix, and put off watching the last part of the finale for days. I think they could've kept it going for a while longer, too. So many shows now start off with a premise and then run it to death or change the show so much it's hardly the same program.

I actually like the Kirstie Alley years better. lol

So do I. :) But it's all good.

I've purchased the complete boxset some months ago.
Even if I'm quite young (I wasn't even born while the show started) I usually enjoy watching old sitcoms: I couldn't imagine that I would have struggle so hard to make it to season 6.
The Diane period has its moments, some laughs... but it is far away from the top sitcoms standards, and not entirely because of Diane (whom, anyway, I hate). However, in the last episodes the show grew a lot.

Now I recently started with season 6... woah!
Rebecca's arrival is so refreshing, one of the best cast addition that comes to mind. Looks like the show has an edge over.

If some part of the show is skippable, I think it's the Diane years.

I've purchased the complete boxset some months ago.
Even if I'm quite young (I wasn't even born while the show started) I usually enjoy watching old sitcoms: I couldn't imagine that I would have struggle so hard to make it to season 6.
The Diane period has its moments, some laughs... but it is far away from the top sitcoms standards, and not entirely because of Diane (whom, anyway, I hate). However, in the last episodes the show grew a lot.

Now I recently started with season 6... woah!
Rebecca's arrival is so refreshing, one of the best cast addition that comes to mind. Looks like the show has an edge over.

If some part of the show is skippable, I think it's the Diane years.


I am a Diane fan but am a Rebecca fan as well. When people think about Cheers, the iconic representation will always be Sam and Diane. That is just how it has been over the years.

Mmmmh probably yes, but I think that anyway the show did great without her.

Mmmmh probably yes, but I think that anyway the show did great without her.
It absolutely did. The writers intended to make the show about the bar. And after Rebecca arrived, they were able to keep their intention.

I got kind of tired of Rebecca as the show went on, but getting rid of Diane did seem to shake things up a lot. I was pretty impressed though by how consistent the show was, up until the very end. Most shows get old in about half the time.

After the Robin Colcord storyline ended, you can argue that Rebecca never really had a decent storyline again. In fact, it seemed like she got pushed a supporting character as opposed to a leading one. Then again, perhaps Rebecca was actually funnier in small doses and she did have some great episodes in final season (i.e. burning down the bar, failing to get the bar license renewed, etc).

I've just started watching Cheers last week, i'm currently on season 2. Diane is alright, She can get annoying sometimes, i'm looking forward to the other seasons with the new Characters.

http://www.looper.com/60157/actor-replacements-made-tv-show-better/

Cheers

Ask a roomful of Cheers fans which seasons were better—the Diane years or the Rebecca years—and you'd better be prepared for a shouting match, if not an all-out brawl. Cheers struggled through some difficulties in the ratings (http://www.tvparty.com/80nbc3.html) during its first season, but by 1987, it was one of the top three shows (http://splitsider.com/2013/02/watching-an-alternate-universe-cheers-that-shelley-long-never-left/) on TV. When Shelley Long decided to leave the series after five seasons, some wondered (http://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/20/arts/television-can-kirstie-alley-keep-the-cheers-bar-open.html?pagewanted=all) if it spelled doom. (Hint: it didn't.) If you're one of those fans who can't stand the character of Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley), we have some good news—a rare video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWjOiNx-WXk) of the alternate version of season five's finale exists, in which Sam and Diane actually do tie the knot.

Cheers would go on for six more seasons, with Ted Danson and Kirstie Alley playing out a very different love/hate dynamic than the one between Danson and Long. Despite the differences, it soon became clear that audiences loved the new formula just as much (or more) than the old: Cheers continued to be a ratings topper for the next six seasons, with a massive 93 million people (http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/22/arts/a-repeat-of-cheers-finale.html) tuning in for the series finale.

Read More: http://www.looper.com/60157/actor-replacements-made-tv-show-better/?utm_campaign=clip

http://www.looper.com/60157/actor-replacements-made-tv-show-better/

Shelly Long leaving after Season 5 when you really get down to it, was actually probably the best thing to happen to the show. From what I understand, the creators were worried about the show's longevity if she stayed and Sam and Diane did end up married. It's likely the show would've gotten stale.

But being able to bring in Kirstie Alley allowed them to do a sort-of soft reboot of the show. The supporting cast were given a lot more to do. The dynamic between Sam and Rebecca was completely different from Sam and Diane. They were allowed to do more interesting and fun stories without being tied down to storylines involving Sam and Diane being married and possibly starting a family.