Shelley Long's departure: Good move, Bad move??? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 03-21-2002, 05:25 PM

I know there are some rabid Diane Chambers fans on this board. However, looking at the situation objectively, was it a good move for her? On one hand, a lot of her post-Cheers movies were box office flops. On the other hand, by leaving when she did she probably avoided a lot of type casting. What do you think?

Janice · 03-21-2002, 06:27 PM

I think Shelley Long leaving Cheers was a career mistake. She had a few hit movies, but it turned out she didn't have huge box office drawing power.
She should have rode out the Cheers wave and explored the big screen during the show's hiatus or when the show ended.
She took a shot and who can blame her. I guess we're all brilliant in hindsight. It seems some actors are meant for the small screen which isn't a bad thing at all. Others, for example, George Clooney and Bruce Willis make the transition to the big screen.
When the Soprano's is in season, I frequent the AOL Soprano chat room. Last year, there were rumblings of James Gandolfini leaving the show. I can't tell you how often a chat member would cite Shelley Long or David what's-his-name Caruso as examples of career suicide.
I wish she stayed on at Cheers for her career and for her fans. The show lost a lot of its luster after her departure. In my opinion, Kirstie Alley did not fill that void, although she was enjoyable.
I'm surprised she didn't become a TV movie star. She seems perfectly suited for those movies. I don't see enough of her.

Chocoholic · 03-21-2002, 06:48 PM

I personally think her leaving was good for the show (I'll take Rebecca over Diane any day!) but bad for her career.

Samsgirl xo · 03-21-2002, 09:03 PM

good for the show.. because idont believe cheers wouldve last that long.. and i love diane guys! the only thing different is that i think they shouldve got together in the end.. but a bad career move for her.. i mean s he sed she wanted to get away from tv yet i knew her mostly from the brady bunch movie.. a show about a TV show.. and you know whats scary? she played mrs. brady rather well!! lol

Brian Damage · 03-22-2002, 07:32 PM

From what I know, Shelley said she was happy with her decision to leave Cheers. Of course that could just be a cover up. As from a show standpoint, even though Alley did a bang up job as Rebecca, some of Cheers' early charm disappeared. Maybe the show was better off ending after Diane left. At the very least, it would've spared me the Robin Colcord years.

TJL · 03-22-2002, 11:18 PM

Was Shelly Long leaving Cheers a good idea?

I've got three words for you:

TROOP BEVERLY HILLS!!!

Samsgirl xo · 03-23-2002, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TJL
Was Shelly Long leaving Cheers a good idea?

I've got three words for you:

TROOP BEVERLY HILLS!!!

HAHAHA!! oh the hair... oh the wardrobe.. oh the personality.. oh the PLOT! lol

Central Perk · 03-24-2002, 11:12 AM

I don't really think it matters if she left or not I doubt if she stayed on the show longer she would've been a bigger star.

sammyanddiane · 03-25-2002, 08:13 PM

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm DEFINITLLY AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A BAD CHOICE FOR BOTH THE SHOW AND HER CAREER BEING THE BIG SAM AND DIANE FAN I AM,I also really like Shelley Long the actress and I don,t care for most of her movies and shows after cheers,while i will say that her movie career went down a very big hill though i see it as being it,I honestly don,t know if it would have lasted that long,i defintilly think it would have i should refraze that,but i don,t know if it would have been nearly close to being as highly popular as it was,however i do think it would have been remembered differantlly,well i do enjoy the rebbeca years,I still do agree every single way the show was better with her,she defintillys set cheers up as it was and created what wave her replacement Kirstie Alley was riding and they just picked up with that,but she did it well i will give her credit for that,but i guess people must have grown tired of dianes story,SINCE I REALLY REALLY HAVE TO SAY I THINK THEY PLAYED OUT THE ENTIRE SITUATION WITH SAM AND DIANE AS MUCH AS THEY COULD,but Diane was a very great love interest for sam and alot better and supieor i think next to rebbeca who was still pretty good at that,I think we the fans of Sam and Diane knew that there romance was playing out,but i agree somehow it could have been repaired,I guess the old premise was somewhat playing out,maybe i am wrong here,it was still a classic premise,but i think they needed a slightly differant situation to it,I STILL WOULD HAVE GIVEN ANYTHING SOMETIME IF IT HAD TURNED OUT THAT DIANE AND SAM WOULD HAVE GOTTEN MARRIED SOMETIME PREFERABLY DRUMROLL SHELLEY LONGS LAST SHOW,BUT EVEN EARILER WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD FOR ME,but i also agree alot was missing from cheers,it was more than simpally dianes character herself,when shelley long left alot of the of some great qualites and aphonphere and some others that were there when she was at CHEERS SHOW some of that magic and friendliess and fun and something about the characters defintilly themselves was missing,alot of what i liked about it had left and for awhile i see they managed somehow luckily to get a portion of it back,but not all of it,and i don,t think somehow CHEERS EVER GOT IT ALL BACK AND LOST IT SOMEWHERE LATER ON,but i don,t want to bash all any of kirstie alley years i DO ENJOY THEM,BUT NOT ANYWHERE NEAR LIKE THE DIANE ONES DEFINTLLLY I DID LIKE THE DIANE ONES ALOT BETTER IN MY OPINON,but i THINK CHEERS WAS A GOOD SHOW THROUGH IT,S ENTIRE 11 YEAR RUN,IT,S STILL AND WILL CONTINUE DEFINITLLY TO BE AN GREAT AND AMAZING SHOW,I LOVE CHEERS ALOT.while these are just some points on how i see,just my ideas,thanks LOL CHEERS!

Samsgirl xo · 03-25-2002, 08:16 PM

whoa! i just responded to it and u mu stve too and it loaded and your post was there! lol.,. like my pic guys?

Samsgirl xo · 03-25-2002, 08:17 PM

i agree sammyanddiane!

cheers81 · 03-29-2002, 10:50 PM

in my opinion she was better off staying with cheers, her only good movie was "Night Shift" which was not the best movie i have ever seen lol The rebecca years arent that good ,not the Diane spark though

Samsgirl xo · 03-30-2002, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cheers81
[BDiane spark though

[/B]

so true!

03-21-2002, 05:25 PM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Shelley Long's departure: Good move, Bad move??? I know there are some rabid Diane Chambers fans on this board. However, looking at the situation objectively, was it a good move for her? On one hand, a lot of her post-Cheers movies were box office flops. On the other hand, by leaving when she did she probably avoided a lot of type casting. What do you think?
	__________________ The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven: John 3:3 *Money Doesn't Buy Happiness...But I'd Rather Cry in My Private Jet*

03-21-2002, 09:03 PM	#4
Samsgirl xo I luv my hitachi vcr Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 14, 2002 Posts: 761	good for the show.. because idont believe cheers wouldve last that long.. and i love diane guys! the only thing different is that i think they shouldve got together in the end.. but a bad career move for her.. i mean s he sed she wanted to get away from tv yet i knew her mostly from the brady bunch movie.. a show about a TV show.. and you know whats scary? she played mrs. brady rather well!! lol Attached Images

03-22-2002, 11:18 PM	#6
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,591	Was Shelly Long leaving Cheers a good idea? I've got three words for you: TROOP BEVERLY HILLS!!!
	__________________ "I think I'll stroll up to the front to see how the shooting's going..." - Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce Read my blogs! http://centralparkamisguide.com/ http://dvdcriticscorner.com Visit me on Facebook!http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=641138880 Hey, I do the tweet thing too! http://twitter.com/TomLevier My shop of handmade items! http://www.etsy.com/shop/ColdGarageCreations

03-21-2002, 06:27 PM	#2
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	I think Shelley Long leaving Cheers was a career mistake. She had a few hit movies, but it turned out she didn't have huge box office drawing power. She should have rode out the Cheers wave and explored the big screen during the show's hiatus or when the show ended. She took a shot and who can blame her. I guess we're all brilliant in hindsight. It seems some actors are meant for the small screen which isn't a bad thing at all. Others, for example, George Clooney and Bruce Willis make the transition to the big screen. When the Soprano's is in season, I frequent the AOL Soprano chat room. Last year, there were rumblings of James Gandolfini leaving the show. I can't tell you how often a chat member would cite Shelley Long or David what's-his-name Caruso as examples of career suicide. I wish she stayed on at Cheers for her career and for her fans. The show lost a lot of its luster after her departure. In my opinion, Kirstie Alley did not fill that void, although she was enjoyable. I'm surprised she didn't become a TV movie star. She seems perfectly suited for those movies. I don't see enough of her.

03-21-2002, 06:48 PM	#3
Chocoholic Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 01, 2000 Location: Between a rock and a hard place. Posts: 11,235	I personally think her leaving was good for the show (I'll take Rebecca over Diane any day!) but bad for her career.

03-22-2002, 07:32 PM	#5
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	From what I know, Shelley said she was happy with her decision to leave Cheers. Of course that could just be a cover up. As from a show standpoint, even though Alley did a bang up job as Rebecca, some of Cheers' early charm disappeared. Maybe the show was better off ending after Diane left. At the very least, it would've spared me the Robin Colcord years.

03-24-2002, 11:12 AM	#8
Central Perk ~~~~~ Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 10, 2002 Posts: 4,553	I don't really think it matters if she left or not I doubt if she stayed on the show longer she would've been a bigger star.

03-25-2002, 08:13 PM	#9
sammyanddiane Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 28, 2001 Location: canada Posts: 427	hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm DEFINITLLY AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A BAD CHOICE FOR BOTH THE SHOW AND HER CAREER BEING THE BIG SAM AND DIANE FAN I AM,I also really like Shelley Long the actress and I don,t care for most of her movies and shows after cheers,while i will say that her movie career went down a very big hill though i see it as being it,I honestly don,t know if it would have lasted that long,i defintilly think it would have i should refraze that,but i don,t know if it would have been nearly close to being as highly popular as it was,however i do think it would have been remembered differantlly,well i do enjoy the rebbeca years,I still do agree every single way the show was better with her,she defintillys set cheers up as it was and created what wave her replacement Kirstie Alley was riding and they just picked up with that,but she did it well i will give her credit for that,but i guess people must have grown tired of dianes story,SINCE I REALLY REALLY HAVE TO SAY I THINK THEY PLAYED OUT THE ENTIRE SITUATION WITH SAM AND DIANE AS MUCH AS THEY COULD,but Diane was a very great love interest for sam and alot better and supieor i think next to rebbeca who was still pretty good at that,I think we the fans of Sam and Diane knew that there romance was playing out,but i agree somehow it could have been repaired,I guess the old premise was somewhat playing out,maybe i am wrong here,it was still a classic premise,but i think they needed a slightly differant situation to it,I STILL WOULD HAVE GIVEN ANYTHING SOMETIME IF IT HAD TURNED OUT THAT DIANE AND SAM WOULD HAVE GOTTEN MARRIED SOMETIME PREFERABLY DRUMROLL SHELLEY LONGS LAST SHOW,BUT EVEN EARILER WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD FOR ME,but i also agree alot was missing from cheers,it was more than simpally dianes character herself,when shelley long left alot of the of some great qualites and aphonphere and some others that were there when she was at CHEERS SHOW some of that magic and friendliess and fun and something about the characters defintilly themselves was missing,alot of what i liked about it had left and for awhile i see they managed somehow luckily to get a portion of it back,but not all of it,and i don,t think somehow CHEERS EVER GOT IT ALL BACK AND LOST IT SOMEWHERE LATER ON,but i don,t want to bash all any of kirstie alley years i DO ENJOY THEM,BUT NOT ANYWHERE NEAR LIKE THE DIANE ONES DEFINTLLLY I DID LIKE THE DIANE ONES ALOT BETTER IN MY OPINON,but i THINK CHEERS WAS A GOOD SHOW THROUGH IT,S ENTIRE 11 YEAR RUN,IT,S STILL AND WILL CONTINUE DEFINITLLY TO BE AN GREAT AND AMAZING SHOW,I LOVE CHEERS ALOT.while these are just some points on how i see,just my ideas,thanks LOL CHEERS!

03-25-2002, 08:16 PM	#10
Samsgirl xo I luv my hitachi vcr Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 14, 2002 Posts: 761	whoa! i just responded to it and u mu stve too and it loaded and your post was there! lol.,. like my pic guys?

03-25-2002, 08:17 PM	#11
Samsgirl xo I luv my hitachi vcr Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 14, 2002 Posts: 761	i agree sammyanddiane!

03-29-2002, 10:50 PM	#12
cheers81 Member First Time Poster Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: USA Posts: 1	in my opinion she was better off staying with cheers, her only good movie was "Night Shift" which was not the best movie i have ever seen lol The rebecca years arent that good ,not the Diane spark though