- 6 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00The Golden Age of Television
00:08I Love Lucy didn't just change American television, it invented American television
00:12Back when one screen brought everyone together
00:16Watching television was a family event
00:19The shows that shaped us
00:21The Brady Bunch was part of the American soul
00:24It's timeless
00:25The familiar faces
00:27Ralph Cramden was loved
00:29On The Honeymooners
00:30He was a presence
00:33The unforgettable moments
00:34Dynasty captured the essence of what the 1980s were about in America
00:38These are their stories
00:40Cheers is the pinnacle of how great the sitcom can be
00:43This is TV We Love
00:45It's 1982
00:51Ronald Reagan is the president
00:54The US was in a deep recession, high unemployment
00:57America's still in the Cold War
00:59And there's the war on drugs going on
01:02For relief, gym goers sweated out to Jane Fonda's workout
01:06And dance along to Michael Jackson's thriller
01:09And in that setting, a show premiered about an average Boston bar
01:15Cheers is one of the best sitcoms ever made
01:29You disgust me
01:30I hate you
01:32Are you as turned on as I am?
01:33More
01:33Cheers was just funny as hell
01:37I am running with scissors
01:39Because you're killing, killing
01:41I am too stupid to live
01:44But when Cheers premiered, it certainly was not the hit that we come to know it as
01:48Glenn and Les Charles were the creators of the show along with Jimmy Burroughs
01:55A few years before Cheers was developed
01:57Glenn and Les Charles and Jim Burroughs were working on another show on ABC Taxi
02:02And in 1982, NBC is in really, really bad third place
02:08Many people were predicting, in fact, that NBC was going to go out of business
02:11So this was a great opportunity for Glenn and Les Charles and Jim Burroughs to form their own company and create a show
02:17The quality of their work was so well known that they were able to secure a series order from NBC
02:23A 13-episode order blind before the show was even really created and put together
02:27And so they set out to create a setting that could be the core for the show
02:32We were really big fans at that time of Fawlty Towers
02:34And we'd kind of been thinking of the idea of a hotel
02:36But realize that even in a hotel, where do some of the most interesting scenes take place?
02:41The bar
02:42It occurred to us that very few shows had ever focused on bars
02:47It was a great place for people to meet there and they celebrate there
02:50And console themselves when they've had a tragedy
02:52And just a great focal point for human drama in common
02:55When they were deciding where to set their fictional bar
02:59The producers were thinking, well, sports bars are very popular
03:02So let's pick a city that has a real affinity for its sports teams
03:06And they fell in love with Boston as an idea
03:09Les Charles was in Boston doing research, looking at different bars
03:13And at the Ritz, the concierge said, there's a really great bar in Boston called Bull and Finch
03:20It's amazing
03:21And they went there and just knew immediately this is the feel and kind of bar that they wanted
03:26And what they came up with was Cheers
03:30The idea of Cheers is that it's owned by Sam Malone, an alcoholic and a former athlete
03:38He's the epitome of charisma, the ultimate playboy
03:42My mother told me to watch out for guys in bars
03:45Well, then let's get out of this bar so you don't have to worry
03:47And Diane is this hyper-educated, highly pretentious, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, talking constantly
03:55Back in college, I held a party where everyone came as their favorite Elizabethan poet
03:59I remember I chose Christopher Marlowe because I was deeply into Dr. Faustus at the time
04:04And the crux of the story is the attraction between Sam and Diane, who come from two different worlds
04:09And the way it affects the rest of the patrons and workers within the bar
04:13I've never met an intelligent woman that I'd want to date
04:16On behalf of the intelligent women around the world, may I just say
04:21And so when they were casting Cheers, they were looking particularly for pairs of Sam and Diane
04:29Initially, the character of Sam Malone was written to be a football player
04:33So the studio wanted Fred Dreyer because he was a former football player
04:38But the Charles Brothers and Burroughs really loved Ted Danson on Taxi
04:43This young woman came to me this morning with a hairdo that her high school must have found boring
04:47And I gave her this
04:49Ted Danson was an absolute gift from the gods
04:54Because it is so hard in Hollywood to find a leading man who is handsome and can do light comedy
05:02But the interesting thing is that Ted Danson is so unlike that character
05:09I never went to bars
05:11I never picked up somebody
05:13You know, if the woman was standing opposite me, buck naked
05:17I'd go, oh, for me?
05:20But he was able to pull it off
05:22And they had to rework that character
05:24Because he doesn't really have the build of a football player
05:27So they made him a relief pitcher for the Red Sox
05:31Which Ted Danson fits that build perfectly
05:34The producers were considering Julia Duffy as his possible Diane
05:38But we kept hearing from independent sources
05:41You got to see this new lady in town, Shelly Long
05:43She's perfect for your show
05:44And when Shelly was paired with Ted, I think that they could really see the spark
05:49Don't you ever hit me again
05:51Like hell
05:52They just enjoyed playing with each other
05:56They really took off
05:57And we, the three of us huddled and said
05:59There's no choice here
06:00And now they had to find the other main cast members
06:04Cheers assembled one of the all-time greatest ensemble casts in television history
06:11And they got Nicholas Colasanto, who played Coach, a beloved character
06:15A wonderful character, the bartender
06:16Coach is this beacon of just earnest naivete
06:21That I think the bar really needed
06:23And some of that innocence is explained by him having been hit in the head by some fastballs
06:28Well, sometimes I took one right in the old melon
06:30That's why he is that way
06:32But you need to be really smart to play a dumb character
06:36And that was Nick Colasanto
06:39And we wanted a volatile waitress
06:43As a contrast to Diane
06:44Does not suffer fools gladly
06:46And has had a very rough life
06:48And a chip on her shoulder as well
06:49And Rhea is not very much like Carla
06:58She's a little bit like Carla, but not very much
07:01She's a very nice lady and a lovely actress
07:05Rhea once said to us
07:07Carla's not mean, she's just honest
07:10Thank God I don't have an alcoholic personality
07:12You don't have a personality
07:14The character Cliff is so interesting because it didn't originally exist for the show in the original script
07:20John Ratzenberger, he came in originally to audition for the role of Norm
07:25And he left the audition
07:29Came back into the room
07:31And said, have you thought about having a know-it-all?
07:35You know, a real Boston know-it-all
07:37And he was just the man for that
07:41If a pig had thumbs in a language
07:42He could be trained to do simple manual labor
07:45You mean they'd be part of the workforce?
07:46Yeah, yeah
07:47They'd give you 20, 30 years of loyal service
07:49Then at the retirement dinner, you could eat them
07:51But the bar feels a little incomplete without Norm there
07:54Les Charles once worked as a bartender
07:56And the character of Norm is based on one of the regulars that he knew as a bartender
08:00And he was always there at closing time
08:01Having just one more beer
08:03And it was the same
08:04Very much like Norm we would get
08:06Every time the phone rings
08:07If that's my wife, I just left
08:09And then George Wendt was cast in that role
08:11And what made Norm's character so special
08:14Is he didn't look like a television star
08:17He didn't sound like a television star
08:19He looked like your neighbor
08:20And he looked like a guy, ultimately, you want to have a beer with
08:24And he has the fantastic entrances where everyone calls his name
08:29Afternoon, everybody
08:30Norm!
08:31Afternoon, everybody
08:32Norm!
08:34Afternoon, everybody
08:35Norm!
08:37That was it, Woody
08:38Last chance, I'm out of here
08:39That first season of Cheers
08:41The staff was very, very small
08:44It was Glenn and Les Charles
08:46Jimmy Burroughs
08:47And me and my partner, David Isaacs
08:50And that was it
08:50And we learned so much from the Charles Brothers
08:54The Charles Brothers are the best writing team I have ever seen
09:00And Jimmy knows how to deal with actors
09:04I had the great pleasure and privilege of working with Jimmy Burroughs
09:08So I understand firsthand what it's like to work with a director like that
09:12Who knows how to take what a performer is doing
09:17And giving them just the right note
09:20To take that comedy or that beat to the next level
09:25And he's a whiz with the cameras and the technical aspect of it
09:30And he was able to really create a terrific-looking show
09:36And the Cheers theme song, Where Everybody Knows Your Name
09:39Is one of the most classic openings to any TV show in history
09:44It was written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo
09:47The producers asked Portnoy and Hart Angelo to write the Cheers theme song
09:52And they submitted three songs and the third one they liked
09:55So they revised some of the lyrics and they settled on that, you know, catchy phrase
09:59Of Where Everybody Knows Your Name
10:00The first seven-note intro is instantly recognizable
10:04Making your way in the world today
10:07Takes everything you've got
10:09The story kicks off with Diane Chambers walking in to the bar
10:12With her professor boyfriend
10:14They're just stopping for a drink on their way to start their new life
10:18Thunder, this is crazy
10:19Diane, we're about to be married
10:21Married, congratulations
10:24But he abandons and dumps her there
10:26So she takes refuge in the bar and Sam gives her a job
10:29I do need a job
10:30And I'll find one
10:32And you can bet that it won't be waiting tables
10:35What are you qualified to do?
10:37Nothing
10:37Shelley Long is a fabulous actress
10:40And there's really great chemistry between her and Ted Danson
10:43Everyone knows that hate is not the opposite of love
10:46Indifferences
10:47Well, whatever you say
10:49I really don't care
10:50But they do also break from that for some really great moments
10:54Cheers?
10:56Yeah, just a sec
10:57Is there an Ernie Pantuso here?
10:59That's you, coach
11:00Speaking
11:01I saw the pilot of Cheers
11:03And I thought it was very funny
11:06But when Cheers premiered in September of 1982
11:09It certainly was not the hit that we come to know it as
11:12It was literally the least watched thing on all of television
11:15According to the Nielsen ratings
11:16It was a flop
11:18When Cheers first went on the air
11:27It failed
11:28Spectacularly
11:30In the ratings
11:31There were some weeks where it was literally the least watched thing
11:34On all of television
11:35We were saying
11:36What are we doing here?
11:38No one's watching this
11:40As someone who had to make a lot of decisions about programs
11:43That didn't do very well
11:45In their initial runs
11:47I don't know if a show like Cheers would succeed today
11:51If it had the ratings out of the gate in its first season
11:55That it did
11:56But even though we were not getting great ratings
11:59I just felt this was something special
12:02It was a show that we were incredibly proud of
12:06There was incredibly strong, smart writing
12:09But also phenomenal characters that you grow to love
12:13Ultimately, mine is Sam Malone
12:15The driving force of the show
12:16You know, I haven't seen Christy since Woodstock
12:20You were at Woodstock?
12:21A friend of mine told me to go down there
12:23Said it was a great place to pick up chicks
12:24I should have known you weren't there for the music
12:27There was music at Woodstock
12:29And Shelley Long is underrated for her physical comedy
12:33There's one episode where she was on a motorcycle
12:35And she comes in with this wind-swept hair
12:36And she just owns that moment when she enters the bar
12:39And Norm and Cliff are so funny
12:42I mean, it doesn't exactly take a Phi Beta Kappa to stick a brush in a bucket
12:46And slap it on the wall, does it?
12:47I mean, any monkey can do that, huh?
12:49Oh yeah, as opposed to the high level of skill and precision
12:51It takes to shove a postcard through a slot
12:53I love the episode, The Boys in the Bar
12:56Cliff hasn't had a date in quite some time
13:00Where there are a couple of gay guys in the bar
13:02Who make it known that they're there
13:03But they don't say who they are
13:04And it sparks paranoia among people like Norm and Cliff
13:07Oh yeah, Norm?
13:08Well, how come we've never seen this Vera
13:10You're allegedly married to, eh?
13:12Really smartly written
13:13Yeah, the guys I was talking about are still here
13:17Right, guys?
13:19Right!
13:20And Cheers would have people come in
13:23They weren't main characters of the show
13:24They were just people who came into the bar
13:26Paul Crepence was one of the bar flies at the stool
13:29And his one-liners became a fan favorite on the show
13:33You did good, kid, but I still think I got a more reliable system
13:36Yeah, I could really use one, what's yours?
13:39I just bet opposite whatever you pick
13:40Norm and Cliff were friends of mine
13:44So I was sort of part of their little subset
13:47And I did more than 50 episodes, ultimately
13:50So even though our ratings were terrible the first year
13:56At the time, the president of NBC was Grant Tinker
14:00Who was just a wonderful executive
14:04And he felt, you know, unless we have something better
14:08Then let's stick with this
14:10His feeling was, give them quality and they'll find it
14:15Most good shows, in my opinion, take more time to find an audience than not-so-good shows
14:22And also Cheers was definitely championed by TV critics and it won awards
14:27Shelley Long for Cheers
14:29And the winner is What's Here?
14:34I think that alerted a lot of people to
14:40Wow, this is a show that won the Emmy and I've never seen it
14:43And so people, having heard word of mouth that the show was good
14:46Started tuning in to Cheers and falling in love with it
14:48The moment I'm proudest of from season one is the last one
14:54It's the very last moment
14:57And that was when Sam and Diane finally kiss
15:02You disgust me
15:03I hate you
15:05Are you as turned on as I am?
15:06More
15:06That was just such a great moment
15:10Seeing Sam and Diane in mortal combat
15:16That ends in full-on mutual lust
15:21And the audience went nuts
15:25That moment is, I think, one of the great moments in the history of television
15:33It was the first show that had an actual will they or won't they
15:37The way Ted Danson and Shelley Long, the way their characters were written
15:41And the way they slowly came together after squabbling
15:47And it was perfect
15:48It certainly influenced many programs that came after it
15:53Sam and Diane as a will-they-won't-they couple
15:56Has become like a generic element of the sitcom
15:59Most TV shows before weren't terribly serialized
16:01Every episode was self-contained
16:03Because you never know if people have been able to watch the previous show
16:06And there's no means of ready access for them to go re-watch an episode that they missed
16:10But in the 1980s, that was like an act of trust in the American audience
16:14That they'd be able to follow this along
16:16Cheers really was a master class of how to keep your characters changing and evolving
16:22In ways that were new and did keep the audience wanting to see more
16:25And our ratings were vastly improved when the Cosby show premiered
16:32The Cosby show was a phenomenon
16:33And it brought lots of eyeballs to NBC on Thursday night
16:37So the Cosby show led into Family Ties, which led into Cheers, which led into Night Court, which led into Hill Street Blues
16:44And so Cheers was critical to the success of must-see TV in the 80s on NBC
16:51Hello, Sam
16:53And then Kelsey Grammer brought another whole level to that show
16:57I'm Dr. Fraser Crane. I'm sorry I startled you
17:00Kelsey Grammer initially was only supposed to be in three episodes
17:05I always thought of him as like a male Diane
17:08Marie pompous and overly erudite
17:11And it was interesting that early on the audiences did not like him
17:14Because he was coming between Sam and Diane
17:16But we saw that we had lightning in a bottle with this guy
17:21And just kept writing more and more
17:25There was not a line you could throw at him that he wouldn't elevate
17:29I am running with scissors
17:33And eventually was brought on as a full cast member
17:35Well, Sam, Diane and I really must be going
17:38But it looks like we'll be seeing each other again
17:40But during that period of time, Nick got sick
17:45He had certain heart issues
17:48And if you look at his last episodes, Nick does not look well at all
17:55You could see his health kind of declining
17:58He was getting skinnier
17:59The cast was told he has heart disease
18:02And it's, we don't know how long he'll have
18:04But it's not looking good
18:05And he died at the end of that season
18:10It really felt like the first time you lose a family member
18:17So, um, yeah, it was very sad
18:25It hit the cast really hard
18:27He was very beloved
18:28They were very close
18:30He was just a dear, dear man
18:32And meant a lot to us
18:34And especially to me
18:36He was one of my closest friends on the set
18:39Oh, Coach
18:40I'm gonna miss you
18:42How do you replace somebody like Coach?
18:46There are people who think that that was the end of Cheers
18:48After Nicholas Colosanto passes away
18:59The producers knew they would need a new regular
19:01That could work in the bar
19:03There wasn't any discussion of replacing the actor
19:05And just keeping Coach as is
19:07And just putting someone else in
19:08Or replacing him with a similar aged individual
19:12When we lost Nick, we knew we wanted youth on the show
19:16We wanted to go younger, the network thought that was a good idea
19:20And they had created the idea of this character
19:23That they were gonna name Woody
19:24He wasn't named after the actor
19:26That was the name that they already had in place
19:27Excuse me, my name's Woody Boyd
19:29I mean, how many Woodys have you met in your day?
19:34Woody Harrelson came in
19:36And there's just something special about him
19:39He brought all of that genuine, honest-to-goodness Indiana energy
19:47And we needed that energy, that innocence
19:49He was amazing
19:51I'm a friend of Coach, is he around?
19:53The producers chose not to do a specific episode about Coach's passing
19:58When Woody Boyd is introduced
20:01He comes to the bar to meet Coach
20:02And Sam just says
20:04There's a moment of somberness
20:16But if they just treat Coach's passing
20:17Happened in that interim
20:18For the people in the bar and for the viewers
20:20I don't remember him mentioning Woody
20:22Well, we never met
20:23We were kind of like pen pals
20:25You exchanged letters?
20:27No, pens
20:28And he just revitalized the whole show
20:31Not to mention, which he's just fall-down funny
20:34You got a spot right there
20:35Yeah, yeah, right
20:36You're not gonna make me look like a dope
20:38Woody really scratched a lot of the same itch that Coach did, though
20:42In terms of the naivete to the point of stupidity
20:45But every once in a while, I had something really sharp to say
20:48You know, when I left home, my father gave me some very sound advice
20:51Never trust a man who can't look you in the eye
20:54Never talk when you can listen
20:56And never spend venture capital on a limited partnership
21:00Without a detailed analytical fiduciary perspective
21:03It just adds to the comedy
21:05Because we're not used to that coming from Woody
21:07And Lilith is a brilliant character
21:10We wrote an episode for Kelsey
21:12And to start off that episode
21:14We were gonna see him on a bad date
21:16And that bad date was just gonna be
21:19A one-and-done appearance by Bebe Neuwirth
21:22I thought that we might have a drink or two
21:24Thereby lowering our inhibitions a bit
21:26And enabling us to go back to your place
21:28And have a physical encounter of some sort
21:30Well, we won't
21:31And there was that magic, there was that chemistry
21:35There was something we had never seen on the show before
21:37And so we thought, let's bring her back
21:40She just owns the screen when she is on there as Lilith
21:44Her line readings are so funny
21:46The way that she can imbue such kind of sardonic disdain into simple words
21:53If you ever open that gateway to hell you call a mouth in my direction again
21:57I'll snap off your extremities like dead branches and feed them to you at gunpoint
22:01There's a whole lineup of iconic cheers episodes
22:04I do love Thanksgiving orphans, that is a good one
22:06It's Thanksgiving, Carla
22:08That was a favorite
22:09We still get a lot of love for that
22:11Every November that rolls around
22:14It's a really funny episode
22:15Thank you, Carla
22:18Hello, everyone
22:20And the food fight is obviously iconic
22:24Kiss your butt, good boy
22:26And it does have the only appearance of Vera, sort of
22:33Norm's wife Vera is one of the most famous, never seen characters on television
22:37Where there'll be references to what this character is doing
22:40Norm's on the phone with Vera very often
22:43But they never cast a Vera
22:44And then you hear Norm welcoming Vera from off screen
22:48And Shelley Long throws a pie at Ted Danson and he dodges it
22:51And then an actress walks in with pie all over her face
22:56Everybody, this is Vera
22:58So we do kind of have Vera on screen for one brief moment there
23:03But we never see her face in the series
23:05Eventually, Cheers became one of the biggest shows on television
23:09And the show that everybody was talking about
23:12But Shelley Long decided to leave the show
23:16I was surprised because it was doing so well
23:21She was doing so well
23:22The show was obviously a hit
23:24She was very, very popular
23:26She had done five years as Diane Chambers
23:29Over 100 episodes
23:30And Shelley Long had a movie career
23:33And it was about to take off big time
23:36And also she did feel like the Sam and Diane Lan relationship
23:40We've done everything we can do
23:41They fought and then they got together
23:43And then they were together and then they broke up
23:45I mean, there's only so many ways you can do that
23:48But there was a lot of concern
23:51That the show would go in the tank without Shelley
23:55I mean, it's half of the core of the show
23:57Is going to be walking off
23:59So yeah, of course it would be
24:00It would be so scary to say what's next
24:03None of us knew what was going to happen
24:06The producers were hoping that Shelley Long
24:08Right until the last minute might have a change of heart
24:11So when they shot the fifth season finale of Cheers
24:15And they also shot a different ending to the scene
24:17Where Sam and Diane get married
24:18In case Shelley changed her mind
24:21Are you saying to me that you want to marry me?
24:23I do, are you saying you want to marry me?
24:25I do, and I'll pronounce you man and what?
24:27It was a way to keep spoilers from being revealed
24:30Had the word gotten out that it's definite that Sam and Diane break up
24:34It might have leaked out before the episode aired
24:36So after the in-studio audience left
24:41They continued filming a scene in which Sam and Diane
24:45Essentially just break up
24:47And Diane goes to fulfill her dream of writing a book
24:50And that was what aired
24:52Have a good life
24:54Ted Danson's delivery of that line is so fantastic
24:57It's like I'm getting choked up
24:59Just thinking about it
25:01Like he knows that she's gone
25:04And I felt that too
25:06I felt that too
25:08Yeah
25:10I've actually never said this
25:13Even out loud
25:15Certainly not on camera
25:16But I'm really sad they didn't get together in the end
25:19Everyone at Cheers was very worried
25:22When Shelly left
25:24She was so integral to the show
25:27For so many years
25:30That to lose Shelly
25:34We didn't know whether the show could survive that
25:38It was controversial
25:45When Shelly Long chose to leave Cheers
25:47It was truly I think
25:50One of the hardest decisions of my life
25:52There were a couple of TV critics who said
25:53That's it
25:54That's the end of Cheers
25:54And Shelly walked out the door
25:56Because everyone believed that Cheers was Sam and Diane
26:00It was the Sam and Diane show
26:01Sam and Diane
26:01How do you do a show with just Sam and no Diane?
26:04They didn't try to recast Diane
26:07And I think that was a good idea
26:08We wanted her to be a very different character
26:10We didn't want her to be just Diane Chambers 2.0
26:15And Kirstie Alley was just a breath of fresh air
26:22Get over here
26:24She's supposed to be with me
26:25Kirstie Alley everybody
26:28Kirstie's first day on the set
26:30Well I thought it would be awkward for everybody
26:32So I dressed like Shelly
26:33She was wearing a blonde wig like Shelly
26:37And we just knew like
26:41Okay
26:41Okay
26:42She's gonna be fun
26:44But it took us a while to really find how to write that character
26:50She's introduced this very serious confident woman
26:53That was really gonna put Sam in his place
26:55You know Mr. Malone
26:57We've known each other only seconds
26:58And I'm already tired of you
27:00We just couldn't figure out what the magic was and what the funny was
27:06And then one day Kirstie Alley showed us that she could swallow a cigarette
27:11And then push it back out of her mouth fully lit
27:14Hey, where's the pool table?
27:19Wrong room
27:20And we went, oh we can use that
27:26And more important than that
27:28She showed us that she could cry
27:31Maybe you could send me a postcard from the Caribbean
27:33And address it to me
27:35Oh I don't know
27:37The YWCA
27:39Skid Row
27:41And not since I think Lucille Ball
27:46Man, what a great cry
27:47Has there been a more wonderful
27:49And varied set of cries
27:53I am too stupid to live
27:56When the writers saw how well she could fake cry
27:59And how she could be really good at playing a mess
28:02They realized that's who she is
28:04We all just said, that's it
28:06Have this beautiful, seemingly together woman
28:11Be a complete and utter mess
28:15And she was really, really funny
28:17So Cheers was not slowed down by the loss of its leading lady
28:21And in fact, people amazingly gave Rebecca Howe a chance
28:25Talk about a stroke of luck
28:27But there is a group of people who feel
28:31After Diane, the show is terrible
28:34And then there's other people who came upon Cheers
28:38In the fifth, sixth, seventh season with Rebecca
28:42It just jump-started the series in a way
28:45It became less of a romantic comedy
28:49And we leaned more into the bar
28:53And all of the characters
28:56And their relationships
28:59Like Norm gets more of a soul episode
29:02Enough foreplay, let's be sheet meat
29:04I tell you that I was married
29:06Congratulations, let's celebrate with a roll in the hay
29:09And then Frasier and Lilith take off as, like, the main romantic couple
29:13Which is just comedic gold
29:16You know, I'm beginning to wonder if you're fit to carry my seed
29:18I'm beginning to wish you kept it
29:20My favorite episode that I wrote was Frasier's bachelor party
29:25And something really cool in that episode
29:28Frasier comes into the bar
29:32And he has a speech
29:33I was listening to a rock and roll station on my way over here
29:36And there was a passage in one of those tribal songs
29:40That I feel, uh, well is the keynote for this evening
29:44Everybody have fun tonight
29:47Everybody wang chung tonight
29:51And it, it, it got a really big laugh
29:55And my partner David and I loved writing Carla episodes
30:01Tell me the truth
30:02Well, my curse on you is gonna be
30:06Your tongue is gonna swell up so big
30:09You're gonna have to buy a seat on the plane for it
30:13How gullible does he think I am?
30:17Ken and David wrote the most episodes
30:19And they have really owned the whole Gary's bar rivalry
30:24There are sheep in my office
30:29Ah, cheers
30:30Where good times go to die
30:33We wrote all of the bar wars episodes
30:36What are you trying to say?
30:37Don't rip off the day!
30:42Those are where cheers goes to war with Gary's old town tavern
30:47And, uh, hilarity of course ensues
30:49As things get more and more ridiculous
30:51In the battle between the two
30:52We just shut down Gary's old town tavern
30:54On one of the busiest bar nights of the year
30:57At a certain point
30:59We were reaching
31:0034 million people
31:03Every Thursday
31:04Stunning
31:05The year we were number one
31:07Uh, was the year that Roseanne
31:10Goofed up the Star Spangled Banner in San Diego
31:13And it cost her just enough points in the ratings
31:22So that we were able to be number one
31:24But once we got it, we didn't let go
31:25But there were all kinds of problems going on
31:30Behind the scenes with Kelsey Grammer
31:31Kelsey is a very sweet man
31:35But he was troubled
31:36He was using drugs and stuff
31:38And that occasionally impacted his work
31:41And it did come to a head a couple of times
31:44Where producers were really concerned
31:46That he may either lose his life
31:48Or be incapable of continuing to work on the show
31:52Kelsey Grammer was fantastic as Frasier
32:02But his substance abuse issues
32:04And some of his other personal demons
32:06Became ongoing issues on Cheers
32:09But he also had a very tough life
32:12His father was murdered
32:13His sister was murdered
32:15His stepbrothers died in an accident
32:17And it seems like
32:19In trying to cope with some of this tragedy
32:21He had some unhealthy coping mechanisms
32:23As he tried to navigate that
32:25It's remarkable I survived some of that
32:27I might be asleep on one of the benches
32:29And the Cheers set
32:30And then when it was my turn
32:31I had to stand up and go do it
32:32The cast was very supportive
32:34And loved him
32:36And took that to heart
32:37And they respected his comedy acting ability
32:40I mean, I don't know if anybody was funnier
32:42On the show than Kelsey
32:44It just shows what a family
32:46They all were together
32:47On and off the show
32:49He's such an endearing person
32:51And so incredibly talented
32:52That they were willing to deal with that
32:54And from then on
32:56He really got it together
32:57He came to work
33:00To thick or thin
33:01And it was always great
33:03And the last three years of the show
33:05It was quite an experience
33:07The characters are all given their time to shine
33:09Let me buy you a beer
33:10The character work
33:14That was done
33:15On that show
33:16Is unparalleled
33:18That's what made the show
33:20You wanted to see what was going to happen
33:21To each of them
33:22You have activated
33:23The internal laser beam motion detector
33:25What's that mean?
33:29Oh, that's great
33:30Come over for a little action
33:31I'm stuck in the middle of Star Wars
33:33Lilith is pregnant
33:34Is one of the standout episodes
33:37I am mother
33:38My man's seed is nourished within me
33:40Touch my breasts, my friend
33:44I am lactating
33:45It's so different
33:46Than what we'd seen before
33:47From Lilith
33:48And you get Woody Boyd
33:49Entering into a relationship
33:51With Kelly
33:51Will you go out with me again?
33:53Well, sure
33:53Probably my favorite Woody scene
33:56Was singing
33:57Kelly, Kelly, Kelly
33:58Kelly, K-E-L-L-Y
34:01Why?
34:02Because you're Kelly, Kelly, Kelly
34:04Kelly, Kelly, Kelly
34:06Kelly, Kelly, Kelly
34:08Kelly, Kelly, Kelly
34:09Kelly of mine
34:11Mine, mine, mine
34:14And my character became more integral
34:16To the show
34:17Because they figured out
34:19What to do with him
34:20Ever since my wife left me
34:22I've been sort of desperate
34:23For female companionship, you know
34:25So there were storylines
34:26Created around me
34:28The episode in which
34:30There's a party
34:31At Cheers
34:32Carla made one of her
34:33Specialty drinks last night
34:35Things got out of hand
34:36And everybody got so drunk
34:38They forgot what happened
34:39Carla knew
34:40That she'd had sex with somebody
34:42But she couldn't remember
34:43Who it was
34:44Oh, Sammy
34:45Sammy, please
34:46Please
34:47Tell me it was you
34:48And then
34:49I come into the bar
34:51Hey, sexy
34:55That was very funny
34:58It was a glimpse
35:04Into my character
35:05That perhaps
35:06Could have been enlarged
35:07The next season
35:08But we didn't go
35:09To the next season
35:10Because
35:10Ted wanted to move on
35:12Ted felt
35:14That
35:15That was enough
35:17And
35:18It's hard to say
35:21That he was wrong
35:22We did
35:23Like 250
35:24Episodes
35:26Of Cheers
35:27So Ted Danson
35:28Was having this kind of
35:29Come to Jesus moment
35:30How much longer
35:31Do you want to play
35:32This character
35:32How many more stories
35:34Do you think the show
35:34Has in it
35:35Before it becomes repetitive
35:36And
35:37He was going through
35:38Some personal turmoil
35:39At the time
35:39He had infamously
35:40Had an affair
35:41With Whoopi Goldberg
35:42It ended his marriage
35:43And I think that
35:44Just a combination
35:45Of doing the same
35:46Old thing at work
35:47And having the rug
35:48Pulled out
35:48From your personal life
35:49Was the impetus
35:50Finally
35:51To end the show
35:52And I know
35:54They really
35:54Really
35:55Really
35:56Tried to
35:57Keep him
35:57They apparently
35:59Offered him
35:59Plenty of money
36:01If he was willing
36:01To come back
36:02But he kind of said
36:03I've done 11 years
36:04And this is probably
36:05The right moment
36:06For me
36:06To step off here
36:07They knew
36:08They couldn't continue
36:09The show
36:09Without Sam Malone
36:10It's
36:10It wouldn't
36:11Never be the same
36:12America's favorite
36:13Bartender
36:14Confesses the decision
36:15To stop starring
36:16In Cheers
36:16Was agonizing
36:18Danson says
36:19He's quote
36:19Not leaving Cheers
36:20As a career move
36:21That'd be a stupid
36:22Career move
36:23End quote
36:23I think everybody
36:24All the writers
36:25Jimmy and Glenn
36:26And Les
36:27Were concerned
36:29Because they knew
36:30How important it was
36:31To get that finale right
36:33The fans
36:35Were just sort of
36:37Skeptical
36:38And waiting to see
36:40What we would do
36:42And luckily
36:43They had a chance
36:44To really go out
36:45In style
36:46With the big return
36:47Of Shelley Long
36:48As Diane
36:49The producers knew
36:50They wanted Shelley Long
36:51For the series finale
36:52And it makes
36:54All the sense
36:55In the world
36:55For her to be back
36:56In the finale
36:57I was so happy
37:05To see Diane
37:05Come back
37:06In the series finale
37:07Of Cheers
37:08It's funny
37:09It's a little strange
37:11It's different
37:11Than it was before
37:12But it feels
37:13Very familiar
37:14There had been
37:14A lot of loose ends
37:15When she departed
37:16It was left
37:18On such a
37:19Tenuous note
37:20With her saying
37:21To Sam
37:21I'll be back
37:22In six months
37:23And him saying
37:24Have a nice life
37:25So it was
37:27A must see event
37:28For everyone
37:29And the ratings
37:30For the finale
37:30Were massive
37:31Over 80 million
37:33People tuned in
37:34To watch
37:35The ending of Cheers
37:36And it's such
37:37A nice plot line
37:38Is it really her
37:40Diane Chambers
37:41Has won an award
37:42And is in the news
37:43And is back
37:44On the radar
37:45Of the Cheers gang
37:47Terpsichore
37:48Goliath
37:49And Urania
37:50Are too soft
37:51To be heard
37:52Forgive me gals
37:54If I forgot someone
37:55God is it
37:56It was great
37:57To see Shelley Long
37:58Come back to the bar
37:59Looking wonderful
38:00Hello everyone
38:01The night
38:04That the show
38:05Aired
38:06All of us
38:07Were in Boston
38:08And we were
38:09At that Cheers bar
38:11Hey there's Woody
38:12The absent minded
38:13Bartender
38:14Walking the crowd
38:15And outside
38:17They had set up
38:18A large jumbotron
38:20And there were
38:21Like 20,000 people
38:23You would hear a joke
38:24And 20,000 people
38:26Laughing
38:27Can you do me
38:28One little favor please
38:30This isn't what
38:31You used to mean
38:32By favor is it
38:33And ultimately
38:34Sam and Diane
38:35Get back together
38:36Sam is going to
38:37Leave with her
38:38To go to California
38:39And sell the bar
38:41And be done with the bar
38:42And leave all his friends
38:44And while on the plane
38:45With Diane
38:46Both realize
38:47This isn't right
38:48This isn't gonna work
38:49And has to apologize
38:51To all his friends
38:52I'm sorry
38:53I'm sorry about blowing up
38:54Like that
38:54I hope you understand
38:56Where that was coming from
38:57Yeah it's alright
38:58Sam we understand
38:59I mean here you are
39:01Watched a ball player
39:02Alcohol problem
39:04Sex problem
39:05Lost your one true love
39:07Twice
39:07No apology necessary
39:09And it's just a beautiful moment
39:11When he turns the lights out
39:13And pulls the blinds down
39:15And tells that last set of feet
39:17Coming down the stairs
39:18Into the bar
39:19Sorry
39:19We're clothed
39:21It's poetic
39:22It was like
39:25Wow
39:26Eleven years
39:28And
39:29And it's over
39:31It's a lot of
39:32Hugging
39:33And crying
39:35And
39:35We realized
39:36It's our last
39:37Exchange together
39:38On Cheers
39:39And we were sad
39:41You know
39:41It was heavy
39:42And I cried
39:43And I cried that day
39:44Haven't even yet got to
39:46What happens
39:48After the show is over
39:49Live from the
39:51Bull and Pinch
39:51The Cheers Bar in Boston
39:53The Tonight Show
39:55With Jay Leno
39:56All the cast of Cheers
39:58Were at the Bull and Finch Bar
39:59In Boston
40:00Watching the final screening
40:01And then the cast
40:02Had to go do
40:03The Tonight Show
40:03Live
40:04Unfortunately
40:05The cast
40:06Showed up early
40:07For that taping
40:08And just started drinking
40:10And when you watch
40:11The footage of that
40:12Tonight Show
40:12They are hammered
40:14Cresty
40:15You know
40:15You are my best friend
40:17But we all need
40:18To say this to you
40:19Yes
40:19Jay Leno
40:23Is trying to wrangle
40:24This cast
40:25Into something
40:25That could possibly
40:26Make the air
40:27What's magic
40:27All right
40:28Damn it
40:29Can I get you
40:32All another drink
40:32It was like
40:33Oh my god
40:34This is such a train wreck
40:36You can feel
40:38The tension
40:39From Jay Leno
40:39As he's trying
40:40To corral these people
40:41Who are celebrating
40:43This decade plus
40:44Long accomplishment
40:44Of being on
40:46One of the most popular
40:47Shows in television history
40:48Chelsea you got a show
40:50Coming up right
40:50Yeah I have a show coming
40:51At the end of Cheers
40:53They decided to do
40:55Frasier as a spinoff
40:56Which was really
40:57A popular show
40:58And ran for 11 seasons
40:59You expect me to give up
41:00My study
41:00The place where I read
41:01Where I do my most
41:02Profound thinking
41:03I use the can
41:04Like the rest of the world
41:05And there's a very long
41:07Tale of influence
41:08That Cheers has had
41:09On so many shows
41:10That have come after
41:11Any show that came after
41:13That took place
41:14A lot in a bar
41:15Cheers gets credit for
41:16How We Met Your Mother
41:17Is a perfect example
41:18Swarmy
41:19And Cheers still gets referenced
41:21In media that's being
41:22Produced today
41:23Cheers
41:24Sam and Diane
41:26Guy and a girl
41:27On a TV show
41:29Dig each other
41:29But never say
41:30Because if I do
41:31The ratings would go down
41:32We now return to Cheers
41:33Norm
41:34And Peter
41:36Yay
41:36How's life in the fast lane
41:38Mr. Peterson
41:39Ruffin
41:39I can't find the on-ramp
41:41Woody
41:41He was talking to me Norm
41:43Quit stealing my punchlines
41:44You fat drunk
41:45So Cheers is a show
41:46That continues to be discovered
41:48Even by younger generations
41:50It's the pinnacle
41:51Of how great
41:52The sitcom can be
41:54And one of the greatest shows
41:55Of all time
42:02The sitcom can be
Be the first to comment