The fact that Cheers never dealt with Nick Colasanto's death has been discussed on this board before. After watching an episode of Barney Miller, it's got me peeved again.
When Jack Soo, who played Detective Nick Yemana, died of cancer, they devoted an entire show in his honor.
All cast members spoke, as themselves, and introduced clips illustrating Jack Soo's best work. It was an emotional tribute, and kudos to the folks at Barney Miller who had the heart and the class to pay tribute to the man.
I love Cheers, but I'll never get my mind around the fact that Coach's death was just glossed over.
Hanging his Indian painting in the bar doesn't cut it with me. He deserved a proper, dignified send-off.

I completely agree. It has always peeved me how they just brushed off his death with a simple, "I'm sorry to hear about the Coach." from Diane, and a lost little Woody traipsing to the bar in search for Coach, and all he received was a, "I guess you haven't heard... he's passed on." What kind of tribute is that?! They made the whole ordeal seem so insignificant, and he played a big part in the first four years of Cheers. It was just so wrong. He was there one day, and not the next.

Coach was a lovable character, and many fans took to him. He deserved a decent farewell... the fans didn't receive the closure they needed.

That's one of the only major complaints I have about Cheers in general. That one and their defacing of Lilith's character. *sigh* But I digress. No, I don't! How dare they make Lilith cheat on Frasier! That was so out of character... it gave the impression that people just deal with their marital problems by screwing the first person that comes their way. Ugh... it pisses me off to no end that they took the storyline in that direction! (Can you tell I was just watching Teaching with the Enemy? LOL)

I can't further this topic. It's too distressing. TV show or not... it's just wrong! LOL

Originally posted by Dr. Lilith Sternin

That's one of the only major complaints I have about Cheers in general. That one and their defacing of Lilith's character. *sigh* But I digress. No, I don't! How dare they make Lilith cheat on Frasier! That was so out of character... it gave the impression that people just deal with their marital problems by screwing the first person that comes their way. Ugh... it pisses me off to no end that they took the storyline in that direction! (Can you tell I was just watching Teaching with the Enemy? LOL)

I can't further this topic. It's too distressing. TV show or not... it's just wrong! LOL

Very true. Lilith's character had strong moral and ethical values. Her infidelity was indeed out of character. It was weak writing, and really a cheap shot. I imagine Bebe wasn't too wild over the storyline either. She spent years creating this complex, sometimes quirky, but always decent character--all to be turned into a cheating spouse. Yeah, that was lousy. They could have written her off the show by having her accept a job out of state. Their marriage could have ended amicably. This would have preserved the dignity of Lilith's character.
Furthermore, I wasn't wild that she slept with Niles on Frasier. I think it was in poor taste. :rolleyes2

I think Coach's send off was poor as well. Only die hard Cheers fans got the whole thing with the picture of Geronimo. Casual fans who may have missed an episode here or there must have been completely confused?!?

As far as Lillith is concerned, I've never been able to look at her character the same way after she hurt Frasier the way she did. When she slept with Niles and defended herself afterwards, that was the final straw. The writers really made her into a cold hearted b**** that only cared about her own feelings. It's a shame!

*bump*

I agree with everyone here, they should have at least dedicated that episode to his memory and/or waited until the following week or two to tie the loose ends between Sam and Diane and introduce Woody. At least they mentioned him in a few other season 4 & 5 eps...

Yes, it was very poorly done. I waited for more sincerity from the characters but nope.

I feel that they should have done an episode like Newsradio did for the character Bill McNeil. The whole episode was about the characters remembering which sort of translated into the cast remembering Phil Hartman. Cheers should have done an episode all about Coach and maybe talk about going to his funeral.

I agree, Coach was one of the most loved characters on Cheers. He was the most reliable character for laughs in those 3 seasons. Coach also had the most dramatic and emotional scene in the series in "The Coach's Daughter." So they should have had a tribute to Nick Colasanto. Maybe it would've gotten in the way of their story arc with Diane and Frasier in Europe, but he deserved to be remembered.

Originally posted by Dr. Lilith Sternin
I completely agree. It has always peeved me how they just brushed off his death with a simple, "I'm sorry to hear about the Coach." from Diane, and a lost little Woody traipsing to the bar in search for Coach, and all he received was a, "I guess you haven't heard... he's passed on." What kind of tribute is that?! They made the whole ordeal seem so insignificant, and he played a big part in the first four years of Cheers. It was just so wrong. He was there one day, and not the next.


You said it better than I ever could.

I wish Cheers had really devoted time to Coach's passing. He was such an integral part of the show.

I love Woody, but Coach was the center of the show.

I agree, Nick Colasanto/Coach definitely deserved a tribute episode, I think it's sad that he never got one. It was nice of them to have the Geronimo picture as a memory though.

Its been explained why they didn't go into the Coach's death.

They didn't want to interfere between the love triangle between Frasier, Sam and Diane.

and besides I think the cast really missed him and would've been heartbroken to do a tribute episode. That was the one cast member everyone liked, and true he should've got a proper sendoff in the fourth season. Whenever the cast even mentioned Coach in a script, you can tell they were just holding tears in. Although he didn't get a good sendoff which he did heartfeltedly deserve, in the fourth year, let me refresh everyone's memory of this scene in the final part of the series finale:


Sam said "Sorry, We're Closed", and shortly after the series came to an end. However, he did some stuff around the bar just like he did in the pilot. In the 1st pilot scene, he was coming into the front room from the back room, and in the finale in the final series scene he walked from the front to the back room, basically signifying that he would basically move on from there. Before he walks back, he walks over to the Geronimo picture, and touches it briefly, which in my opinion, in that scene explained the series.

pat

Its been explained why they didn't go into the Coach's death.

They didn't want to interfere between the love triangle between Frasier, Sam and Diane.

and besides I think the cast really missed him and would've been heartbroken to do a tribute episode. That was the one cast member everyone liked, and true he should've got a proper sendoff in the fourth season. Whenever the cast even mentioned Coach in a script, you can tell they were just holding tears in. Although he didn't get a good sendoff which he did heartfeltedly deserve, in the fourth year, let me refresh everyone's memory of this scene in the final part of the series finale:


Sam said "Sorry, We're Closed", and shortly after the series came to an end. However, he did some stuff around the bar just like he did in the pilot. In the 1st pilot scene, he was coming into the front room from the back room, and in the finale in the final series scene he walked from the front to the back room, basically signifying that he would basically move on from there. Before he walks back, he walks over to the Geronimo picture, and touches it briefly, which in my opinion, in that scene explained the series.

pat


Why would doing one special tribute show interfere with the Frasier, Sam & Diane love triangle??? I would be a special show - then they just continue on with the regular plot line.

I think he definitely deserved a special to honour him. And they're actors - actors often work through their grief - especially if they know its done to honour somebody. As I recall, he died during hiatus - all the more reason they would have had time to come to grips with their feelings and be able to do a special - you don't think the actors who worked with Jack Soo weren't feeling the pain? You could see it in their eyes when they toasted him with their coffee mugs.

For whatever lame reasons the writers and producers had, I think they really cheated him by just that picture. They didn't even mention that tribute in the show - it came out during one of the special retrospectives - or in entertainment magazines - not the show itself which it should have been.

I think the producers took "one too many on the noggin'" rather than the character of Ernie!!

I agree with both of you, but thats what the productions staff did purposely and its old news. I think that the final scene made up for it, it was short, and definately sweet. Who needs words with the power of that scene? Although maybe not fully did it make up for it. I think an out-of-character tribute would've been in better taste, personally.

pat

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That's one of the only major complaints I have about Cheers in general. That one and their defacing of Lilith's character. *sigh* But I digress. No, I don't! How dare they make Lilith cheat on Frasier! That was so out of character... it gave the impression that people just deal with their marital problems by screwing the first person that comes their way. Ugh... it pisses me off to no end that they took the storyline in that direction! (Can you tell I was just watching Teaching with the Enemy? LOL)

I can't further this topic. It's too distressing. TV show or not... it's just wrong! LOL

I think Lilith's dumping of Frasier was appropriate. Bebe Niurwirth had developed Lilith very well over the years that she was part of the show. it was her performance of the role that catapulted her to the opening credits. Lilith went from a nerdy stick in the mud to a confident, sophisticated and sexy woman. Frasier, at this point, could no longer keep up and so it was appropriate that she would leave her husband, who had by this point become a barfly.

The writers bringing her back, only to have her reseparate from him was kinda goofy. It woulda been more appropriate, especially for the spinoff, for there to have been no reconciliation at all.

however, on Frasier, the writers really gave lilith a kick in the ass and i have to agree that it was horrible that she did Niles. i mean WTF! r u kiddin me? bebe shoulda flatly said no and none gone thru with those episodes. they made her out to be a bitch on frasier and then when she was needy for frasier... F that! the Frasier writers really f'd it up. lilith deserved much better than that.

i feel that bebe grew lilith so well, that lilith could have headed a spinoff herself. perhaps as the leader of an ongoing psycology project that employed wacky doctors and college students. but alas her character was reamed for the 11 years following Cheers.

I was watching the special features of season 3 on how Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman and George Wendt talked about Nick Colastanto, and it seems to this day that they are still heartbroken over it. Both Danson and Perlman seemed to do everything to hold back from crying in their interviews. Watching the episodes where Coach didn't appear (when Nick died), you can tell that they were grieving when Coach was mentioned, particularly the family reunion opening in one of the episodes. In the season four premiere, Danson and Long in talking of Coach in their scenes looked very hard for them. I did like that Sam toasted Coach at Thanksgiving, and the episode where Coach's niece shows up and starts dating Woody had nice memories shared of Coach. He should have gotten a proper send off, I agree, but I like the symbolism of the Geronimo picture. It's a very touching thing to see that Coach's spirit is in every episode following his death.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Freakzilla
I agree, Coach was one of the most loved characters on Cheers. He was the most reliable character for laughs in those 3 seasons. Coach also had the most dramatic and emotional scene in the series in "The Coach's Daughter." So they should have had a tribute to Nick Colasanto. Maybe it would've gotten in the way of their story arc with Diane and Frasier in Europe, but he deserved to be remembered.

I heard/read once that NBC aired that episode shortly after Nicholas Colasanto passed away, in tribute to him. The final season where Sam adjusts the picture of Geronimo was nice, but not very many people knew it was in tribute to Coach.
Yep, they did indeed rerun that episode during season 4 as a tribute to Coach, and to me, it really encapsulated the character just as well as a "clip show" would have.

I agree with yall. Coach should've had a decent memorial for him and the fact that Lilith should've remain faithful to Frasier throughout the series.

I could never really get into Cheers but I remember the death of the coach and I agree that they should have done an entire episode tribute to him. I was really disappointed with the way they acknowledged Stanley Kammel's sudden death on "Monk". At least they mentioned that he had a heart attack. But he played Monk's psychiatrist, which is a huge part of the show, IMO. I was heartbroken over his death, but they just did a regular episode (meaning that a murder was committed and the crime was solved), and then had Monk briefly touch Stanley's picture at the end.

As for Lillith, I didn't know that she had cheated on Frasier. I liked her character for the most part, but I agree with you all. Didn't Frasier start airing the next fall after Cheers "closed"? If they were going to have her cheat on him at all, it should have been at the beginning of the series; like maybe the first few episodes and then he could have moved to Seattle and done his radio show.

Sorry for getting offtopic: there for a minute. I'm still bitter about the way they handled the death on "Monk".

Andrea

Yeah I think they sort of missed out on it. I'm sure if the writers could go back in time they would do more.
That said, to me it really did seem like his Death did effect the actors on the show. I think their emotions were totally real in all the interviews they did. And I'm sure it was tough.
I did get teary eyed on the last episode when Sam touched the photo. It was a nice "we never forgot you" moment.