Cheers: Dark comedy?

[Sharop]

I've read several people's thoughts on various message boards that Cheers is something of a "dark" comedy, and wondered if anyone agreed with that analogy. While I can understand why someone would think that - I guess their reasoning is that quite a lot of the characters seem to be losers/misfits, or at least past their prime of life, and also the fact that it's set in a bar - I still wouldn't call it a dark comedy.

Even my mother, who is quite a big fan of Cheers, once remarked that it was a little sad (not sad in the insulting sense, sad in the "feel sorry for" sense) that for most of the characters, the bar seemed to be their whole life. But I didn't think so, because the characters, for the most part, seem to remain perfectly happy. Mostly they're content to be with their friends, and although Carla in particular comes across as very bitter about her life in general, I wouldn't say she's miserable. For Norm, Cliff, Frasier and, later, Paul, Cheers is a place to have a drink, a laugh, and talk with their friends. I don't see what's dark or miserable about that. Sam, Carla and Woody seem to be happy working there. Rebecca has her downs throughout the show, but I think, all in all, she was happy working at Cheers. even though she seemed to want to go on to better things.

I can see why people would think that it might have been better for characters such as Norm to not live in a bar so much, but it seems to me that they were mostly very happy in the bar. I can't see Cheers as a dark comedy myself; it comes across to me as the exact opposite. Sorry to sound a bit like a six-year-old, but it's a happy, friendly face. An escape from real life, I guess you could say. And I know I always feel happy when I watch it.

But what does everyone else think?

[CheersChild4life]

It is so not a dark comedy!!! I used to be a sad person and 'cheers' made me happy, so a dark show wouldn't make me happy. If that makes any sense. Ok anyway I totally don't think it's a dark show!!

[Sharop]

^ Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I agree with you. I can understand why some people might see it differently, but I myself couldn't regard Cheers as a dark comedy.

Having said that, though, I don't think that even so-called dark comedies could make me feel miserable. The key word is comedy, so the main point is to make the viewer laugh. From what I've seen, I think dark comedies tend to be satires, usually dealing with some political issues that the people behind the show feel are wrong (am I correct?) and Cheers certainly doesn't come across as political to me.

[Norm's Stool]

While I wouldn’t say it’s a completely “dark” show, I can understand the point of view of those who say it is so. Cheers never was the kind of feel-good comedy such as The Cosby Show or Growing Pains, just to name a few, that were so common in the eighties. On the contrary, it was closer to the Seinfeldian “don’t hug, don’t learn” philosophy, especially during the Rebecca years. That said, it doesn’t mean the characters didn’t evolve; lots of things happened to them during the show’s eleven-year run, and they made them evolve for sure (and to me, Cheers is definitely a character-driven show), they were just not evolving according to any moral values, so to say. It’s not that they weren’t all basically good guys, they were just not doing nice gestures to each other all the time (although many times they did, especially during the Diane years), and there were times when a nice gesture was the least you could expect from them (e.g. no one goes to see Cliff when he’s sick with appendicitis in How to win friends and electrocute people, Carla’s bitterness, Frasier's cynicism, Sam's fixation about sex, etc.). It was our expecting the worst of them that made many of the jokes work and that’s why I love them. So, Cheers is not what I would call a dark show, but not entirely “white” either.

[Brian Damage]

It is by no means a dark comedy. Yes, it had some dark moments like Diane leaving, Eddie Lebec dying, Lilith cheating and leaving Frasier, but overall the comedy was light hearted.

[peter may]

no its not a dark comedy, its pretty upbeat actually, the set on the otherhand I always thought was a bit dark and dreary

[SpunkiiMonkii7078]

I don't think it's a dark comedy. I don't care for dark comedies, and I love Cheers!!!!

Jessica

[lex_luthor]

ive just got into cheers alot lately im 19 and from england and i love the show to bits just brought the season 1 and season 2 dvd 3rd and 4th are on the way whens season 5 come out in uk??
just yesterday i had to walk out my room for 20mins to cool myself down from one of norms jokes
classic
the show has its darkish type attitude moments but they dont dominate the show.... i mean... life has its moments of dark times... the sun doesnt always shine does it....

[troopoleon8897]

I don't think it's dark. also you said people look at the charaters as sad or past their prime but in real life they're are tons of people that are like the cheers gang... I'm Probally as Annoying as cliff, I tell stupid and annoying jokes and facts and I always have to be right so....

[lex_luthor]

good avatar troop
lost just started in uk
and that guys weird but wise what his story??
he reminds me of an old retired lex luthor

[Mikado]

Just read Norms stools post, pretty much says it all, IMHO ^^^

[slackermonkey]

I think "Cheers" certainly is a dark comedy, but in a less obvious way than what we usually define as dark comedy.

It's not dark in terms of subject matter per se, but thematically. All of these characters are stuck with the choices they made in life, and don't really have much outside of the bar. Like the thread starter said (I forget the name and don't really feel like scrolling down), it has a somewhat somber tone to it in the background. It's not very noticeable, mostly because the lighter, comedic tone overrides the somberness, but if you pay close attention you can see traces of dark comedy.

[Darkhaven80]

I think it's basically realistic (well, besides a few points), and that this kind of raw realism isn't always shown, so some people may percieve it as a dark comedy as sorts. Bottom line is real life is sad and traumatic; I think they tried to show that in the show.

[Janice]

I don't think it was a total dark comedy, but I wouldn't classify it as light-hearted either (like Full House, Fresh Prince, Home Improvement...). Most of the characters were spinning their wheels in life. The show could have been called The Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

[TALLguyinKY]

Originally Posted by Sharop

Rebecca has her downs throughout the show, but I think, all in all, she was happy working at Cheers. even though she seemed to want to go on to better things.

Hmmm, I wouldn't say she was "happy" working at Cheers. I would say she was "making the best of a bad situation", since she was always aspiring to leave there. Since she's the Born Loser type, it doesn't really fit to make her happy with her life. I think she would do things like get excited about trying to eat healthier, get the others to eat healthier, get lots of publicity for Cheers' 100th birthday, etc. because she had to try and find happiness in something, no matter how simple, lol. So when she got a kick, she really went all out trying to be happy about it.

That's my take, anyway.