How & Why Wings Qualifies as a Cheers Spin-Off - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

mickeymouseclubfan · 07-10-2014, 12:42 PM

On a 1989 episode of "Cheers" titled "Death Takes a Holiday On Ice," Thomas Haden Church played a character named Gordie Brown, a slow-witted Hockey Player who broke the news to Carla Torelli (Rhea Perlman) that her then-husband, Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas), had been killed by an ice truck.

4 months later, Gordie was spun off into the 1990s sitcom "Wings," re-christened Lowell Mather and re-tooled as an Airplane Mechanic at Tom Nevers Field in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

In addition, several "Cheers" actors made recurring appearances as their "Cheers" characters, including George Wendt & John Ratzenberger as their characters Norm and Cliff; Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane (a year before his own "Cheers" spin-off "Frasier" premiered); and Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe (months before the 2-hour "Cheers" finale).

Ant-Lox · 07-08-2015, 03:40 PM

Thomas Haden Church's apperance is not really needed. Hell, John Mahoney appeared on Cheers as well.

And Peri Gilpen from Frasier appeared on Wings as a different character too.

The Kelsey Grammer and Norm and Cliff apperances are all that's needed to qualify it as a spinoff.

mickeymouseclubfan · 01-17-2016, 09:38 PM

According to this link at http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/…/9...1_wings-chara… Thomas Haden Church appeared on an episode of "Cheers" as Gordie Brown, a dim-witted Hockey Player who gave Carla (Rhea Perlman) the news her then-husband, Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas), had just been tragically killed.

Within 6 months, Gordie was spun off into the hit '90s sitcom "Wings," which lasted 7 seasons on NBC from 1990-1997.

On the "Cheers" spin-off "Wings," Gordie was re-tooled into an Airport Mechanic named Lowell Mather, a role Church portrayed for 5 seasons until leaving for his own sitcom, titled "Ned and Stacey," airing for 2 seasons on FOX from 1995-1997.

According to the link below, Church is quoted as saying "I went in for a three-day job and it turned into a six-year commitment," referring to his "Cheers" episode that "Wings" spun off from.

Besides Thomas, several other "Cheers" characters occasionally crossed over into "Wings," among them George Wendt & John Ratzenberger as Norm and Cliff, Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane (before "Frasier" became the 2nd hit "Cheers" spin-off, and the most successful, becoming the 3rd after the 1987 flop "The Tortellis"), and Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe.

07-10-2014, 12:42 PM	#1
mickeymouseclubfan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 05, 2013 Posts: 145	How & Why Wings Qualifies as a Cheers Spin-Off On a 1989 episode of "Cheers" titled "Death Takes a Holiday On Ice," Thomas Haden Church played a character named Gordie Brown, a slow-witted Hockey Player who broke the news to Carla Torelli (Rhea Perlman) that her then-husband, Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas), had been killed by an ice truck. 4 months later, Gordie was spun off into the 1990s sitcom "Wings," re-christened Lowell Mather and re-tooled as an Airplane Mechanic at Tom Nevers Field in Nantucket, Massachusetts. In addition, several "Cheers" actors made recurring appearances as their "Cheers" characters, including George Wendt & John Ratzenberger as their characters Norm and Cliff; Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane (a year before his own "Cheers" spin-off "Frasier" premiered); and Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe (months before the 2-hour "Cheers" finale).

07-08-2015, 03:40 PM	#2
Ant-Lox Cloud Watcher Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2004 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,824	Thomas Haden Church's apperance is not really needed. Hell, John Mahoney appeared on Cheers as well. And Peri Gilpen from Frasier appeared on Wings as a different character too. The Kelsey Grammer and Norm and Cliff apperances are all that's needed to qualify it as a spinoff.
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01-17-2016, 09:38 PM	#3
mickeymouseclubfan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 05, 2013 Posts: 145	A "Cheers" Spin-Off According to this link at http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/…/9...1_wings-chara… Thomas Haden Church appeared on an episode of "Cheers" as Gordie Brown, a dim-witted Hockey Player who gave Carla (Rhea Perlman) the news her then-husband, Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas), had just been tragically killed. Within 6 months, Gordie was spun off into the hit '90s sitcom "Wings," which lasted 7 seasons on NBC from 1990-1997. On the "Cheers" spin-off "Wings," Gordie was re-tooled into an Airport Mechanic named Lowell Mather, a role Church portrayed for 5 seasons until leaving for his own sitcom, titled "Ned and Stacey," airing for 2 seasons on FOX from 1995-1997. According to the link below, Church is quoted as saying "I went in for a three-day job and it turned into a six-year commitment," referring to his "Cheers" episode that "Wings" spun off from. Besides Thomas, several other "Cheers" characters occasionally crossed over into "Wings," among them George Wendt & John Ratzenberger as Norm and Cliff, Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane (before "Frasier" became the 2nd hit "Cheers" spin-off, and the most successful, becoming the 3rd after the 1987 flop "The Tortellis"), and Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe.