Cheers season 5 explained

Season Number:5
Bgcolour:
  1. 81e393
Starring:Ted Danson
Shelley Long
Rhea Perlman
John Ratzenberger
Woody Harrelson
Kelsey Grammer
George Wendt
Num Episodes:26
Network:NBC
Episode List:List of Cheers episodes

The fifth season of Cheers, an American television sitcom, originally aired on NBC in the United States between September 25, 1986, and May 7, 1987. This season marks the departure of Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, bringing an end to the Sam and Diane relationship (although Long would return for the series finale). The show was created by director James Burrows and writers Glen and Les Charles (as Charles Burrows Charles Productions), in association with Paramount Television.

Background

After two seasons of struggle with low ratings and schedule shifts[1] [2] NBC's Best Night of Television on Television 1984–85 Thursday lineup, consisting of (from 8 pm Eastern) The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court and Hill Street Blues, was a ratings success.[3] After two years with the same lineup, the crime series Hill Street Blues moved to Tuesdays in November 1986 to compete with Moonlighting, while the court series L.A. Law moved from Fridays to Hill Street Blues former slot.[4] [5] In April 1987 Nothing in Common replaced Night Court, which had moved to Wednesdays.[6]

Before the season began, a telephone survey asked callers whom they thought Sam was calling in the last episode of the previous season: politician Janet Eldridge or his on-and-off girlfriend, Diane Chambers. Nearly 140 picked Diane, while almost 60 chose Janet. Callers who voted for either woman expected the love triangle to continue during this season, or felt that Sam and Diane should live happily ever after.[7]

Cast and characters

Notes

The first episode of the season reveals that it was Diane whom Sam had called;[8] his proposal was rejected because Diane thought he was on the rebound from Janet. After rejecting a number of other proposals during the season, Diane accepts Sam's proposal after a judge compelled him to propose once more. Diane's ex-fiancé, Sumner Sloane, tells her one of his colleagues was impressed with her manuscript and forwarded it to a publisher. At their much-anticipated wedding, just before saying "I do" Sam and Diane receive the news that the publisher will give Diane a large advance to finish her book. They cancel the wedding, and Diane promises she will return in six months after finishing the book. Not knowing it is for the last time, Diane leaves Boston (and Cheers) behind.

Episodes

Specials

Production

In January 1986, Shelley Long, who portrayed waitress Diane Chambers, announced her plans to leave the series when her contract would end, shortly before the beginning of the start of the sixth season.[9] [10] In December, she decided to leave her role as Diane to concentrate on her film career and family,[11] [12] while Ted Danson signed a contract for the next season (1987 - 1988) as Sam Malone.[13] Rather than have them marry,[8] the producers decided to separate Sam and Diane in the season finale and permanently end their romance.[13] With Long's departure, the producers decided to find a female-lead replacement with a different appearance from Long's.[11] They would also change Sam's character to one which was "more carefree" and "more of a goof-off", exploring his bachelorhood.[11]

Three endings were filmed for the season finale, "I Do, Adieu", because it was possible that Long might decide to stay: 1) Sam and Diane become married; 2) Diane accepts an offer to finish a novel; 3) not revealed by the producers.[14] [15] The alternate ending in which Sam and Diane get married aired on May 27, 1998, as part of a 90-minute Fox special produced by the Paley Center called Behind the Laughs: The Untold Stories of Television's Favorite Comedies: A Museum of Television and Radio Special.[16]

Reception

The series regularly aired on Thursdays at 9 pm ET (8 pm CT). As of April 22, 1987 Cheers was in third place, with an average 27.2 rating (23.8 million households) and an average 41 share.[17] [18] As of October 1, 1986, revenue from each commercial break was $230,000.[19]

At the time of the original broadcast, Kathy Carlisle of the Los Angeles Times felt that Sam and Diane should have been married at the end of the season.[20] On the other hand, Monica Collins of USA Today called Diane a friendless, "snitty, selfish snob" and was relieved to see her leave the series.[21]

Jeffrey Robinson of DVD Talk later found this season a great improvement over the previous season and "highly recommended" its DVD set, rated its content four-and-a-half stars out of five and its replay value four out of five. Robinson found Woody Boyd improved over the previous season, and Diane's departure poorly-written but "sad".[22] Adam Arseneau of DVD Verdict graded this season 96 percent and the acting 95. He found the humor well-aged, and praised Frasier and Lilith's storyline. Arseneau called Sam and Diane "slightly silly" this season, but found Diane's departure "heartbreaking". He rated "Cheers: the Motion Picture" and "Dinner at Eight-ish" his all-time favorite episodes of the series.[23]

Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed! graded this season's style "A−" and substance an "A", for memorable moments such as the season-finale wedding. He praised Lilith's appearances, finding her "poorly handled" since she appeared in only two episodes this season. He praised the humor as well-aged, not topical (apart from references to then-President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Union) and "rarely forced".[24] TV Guide ranked "Thanksgiving Orphans" number seven on its "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time" list.[25] The A.V. Club highlighted its food fighting scene as one of notorious moments of the episode.[26] IGN called "Thanksgiving Orphans" the fourth best Cheers episode and topped the season finale "I Do, Adieu" in the list.[27] The Guardian television critic Stephen Kelly panned the writing of "Chambers vs. Malone", which Kelly considered "one of the worst episodes."[28]

Accolades

In 1987, John Cleese won an Emmy as Outstanding Guest Performer in a Comedy Series for playing Simon Finch-Royce in "Simon Says" (1987). Michael Ballin, Bob Douglass, Doug Gray and Thomas J. Huth received Emmys for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series for the season premiere, "The Proposal" (1986).

DVD release

The season is available on DVD in a four-disc box set. Like the prior season's DVD release, the set lacks special features such as outtakes and commentary.[22]

Cheers: The Complete Fifth Season
Set Details
  • 26 episodes
  • 4-disc set
  • 1:33:1 aspect ratio
  • English – Stereo
  • Closed captioning (Region 1)
  • Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Norwegian, Spanish (Region 2)
Release Dates
Region 1Region 2Region 4
May 17, 2005November 27, 2006January 11, 2007

Notes

References

First-run ratings notes

According to the 15 May 1987 article from The Argus-Press, the 1986-87 ratings were based on 87.4 million households with at least one television set. Unless otherwise, the sources were of the newspaper Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

External links

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Notes and References

  1. News: D5. Jory, Tom. May 11, 1983. Taxi, Fame Get the Ax as NBC Announces Fall Lineup. Lexington Herald-Leader. Kentucky. Record no: 8301230394.
  2. News: Buffalo Bill Returns Dec. 15. December 2, 1983. The Miami Herald. Record no: 8304060082.
  3. News: NBC's SEASON IS THE COS FOR CELEBRATION - Bill Cosby's show rescues the network from the bottom of the TV ratings pile. April 28, 1985. The Dallas Morning News. 1C. Ed Bark.
  4. Web site: Boone. Mike. The Gazette. December 3, 1986. Montreal. Gemini's in trouble... we'll just have to tune in Cosby. F-8.
  5. News: Hill Street Blues switching to Tuesdays to fight Moonlighting and boost L.A. Law. C10. The Windsor Star. Associated Press.
  6. News: April 6, 1987. New Shows Seek Favor in TV's Tryout Season. The New York Times. Belkin. Lisa.
  7. News: 45. Diane gets the cheers in this readers' survey. September 25, 1986. Carter. Bill. Reading Eagle.
  8. September 19, 1997. Sam Asks Diane For Her Hand. Kelley. Adam. Entertainment Weekly.
  9. News: 5C. January 10, 1986. San Jose Mercury News. Knight-Ridder Newspapers. Cheers Co-Star Plans Exit. Record no. 8601030491.
  10. News: 2D. April 5, 1986. Wilmington Morning Star. Tipoff: Shelley Long....
  11. News: 1C . Harmetz, Alijean . Changes on tap at Cheers . . 23 September 1987 . July 8, 2012 . Google News Archives.
  12. News: Serve it yourself, Sam: Diane on her way out from Cheers . The Gazette. 17 December 1986.
  13. News: Writers scramble to change 'Cheers' . Harmetz, Alijean . 5C . The Ledger. 23 September 1987 . July 8, 2012 . Google News Archives.
  14. News: The Ledger . 2A . Actress Shelley Long makes last Cheers appearance . 7 May 1987 . Sunrise . July 8, 2012 . Google News Archives.
  15. News: The Best TV Show That's Ever Been . GQ . October 2012 . September 27, 2012 . Raftery, Brian.
  16. News: Watching an Alternate-Universe 'Cheers' That Shelley Long Never Left . Splitsider.com . February 2013 . August 25, 2014 . Ess, Ramsey . https://web.archive.org/web/20140826114831/http://splitsider.com/2013/02/watching-an-alternate-universe-cheers-that-shelley-long-never-left/ . August 26, 2014 . dead .
  17. News: We Look Back At The Top TV Shows of 1987. May 31, 2008. Zap2it - TV by the Numbers. 2013-02-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20130316020424/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2008/05/31/we-look-back-at-the-top-tv-shows-of-1987/3984/. 2013-03-16. dead. This source says that the season scored an average 27.5 rating.
  18. News: TV NEWS: (Television ratings). Daily Breeze. April 22, 1987. D4. Torrance, California.
  19. News: Bark. 1F. NBC rates big bucks for commercials. October 1, 1986. The Dallas Morning News. Ed.
  20. News: Carlisle, Kathy. TV Times, p. 7. (Headline Missing). Los Angeles Times. May 24, 1987. .
  21. News: D-1. May 8, 1987. Collins, Monica. Three Cheers! It's Diane's last call. https://archive.today/20130131202345/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/55678260.html?dids=55678260:55678260&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT. dead. January 31, 2013. USA Today. April 4, 2012.
  22. Web site: Cheers - The Complete Fifth Season. Jeffrey. Robinson. May 17, 2005. DVD Talk.
  23. Web site: DVD Verdict. July 6, 2005. Cheers: The Complete Fifth Season. Arseneau. Adam.
  24. Web site: Digitally Obsessed!. Cheers: The Complete Fifth Season (1986-87). June 16, 2005.
  25. Book: TV Guide Book of Lists. 2007. Running Press. 978-0-7624-3007-9. 184.
  26. Web site: Erik . Adams . Phil . Dyess-Nugent . Molly . Eichel . Ryan . McGee . 1 . November 20, 2013 . A Cheers family Thanksgiving ends in a big mess . The A.V. Club . March 17, 2016 .
  27. Web site: Cliff . Wheatley . 2014-05-30 . mdy . Top 10 Cheers Episodes . IGN .
  28. Web site: Stephen . Kelly . mdy . 2018-05-28 . When good TV goes bad: how Frasier Crane destroyed Cheers . The Guardian . December 30, 2018 .