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Farewell to Kirstie Alley and So Long to This Blog (for now, at least)

  The amazing Kirstie Alley... Hello to anyone who can find this blog through the murky mystery algorithm! The bad shoulder alluded to in the last post or two has only gotten worse so I've had to cut back on computer time and focus my writing on other areas, which means I'm calling it a day on this blog. For now at least. I like to finish what I start so this is a major bummer, but I hope you enjoy the in-depth first season coverage you can still find here. Apologies for some dead links on the videos...really wishing I'd captioned them all for some context. But I can't quit without giving props to Kirstie Alley. This blog goes on (and on) at length about Shelley Long's screwball genius and I would've heaped praise on Alley, too, had it lasted long enough. She had an impossible task joining the well-established cast of TV's top comedy, and she somehow pulled it off in style. Cheers went on to flourish for six more seasons post-Long, and no small part of that ...
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Yet another disruption--Apologies!

Hey! If anyone's checking in and wondering why I've dropped the ball after a steady run through season one...I have a bad shoulder which makes typing tough. And no physio during Corona makes me a very sore man. Had I foreseen this, I'd have gotten a dictation program (and a mic--I'm a dinosaur), but I wanted to assure folks my passion for Cheers runs unabated, and this blog will return! Stay safe out there. Much love, Kev
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Season Two Ep 1 Power Play

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Diane: Sam, it's so filthy. Sam: Oh, no-no, it doesn't have to be! Not if we care about each other.  Diane: No, I mean my apartment!  Welcome back for Season Two! After season one's finale, it looks like Sam and Diane are set to seal the deal, but the course of true love never did run smooth. Actually, the bar's Sam's 'true' love, but Diane runs a very close second! Besides the consummation of our leads' long-simmering love affair, we also get to leave Cheers for the first time ever in this episode. It's impressive how much mileage they got out of just three main sets--the bar, pool room, and Sam's office--in season one. Diane wants everything to be perfect for their first time, while Sam's not so picky. Since Sam's sullied every hotel in most of Massachusetts, that option's out. And Diane doesn't even want to see Sam's bed post before becoming another notch in it, so Diane's apartment's the first location...
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Vacation (Feb. 17/20)--back soon!

Hey! I'm taking this break between seasons 1 and 2 as a brief blog break (say that three times fast) while I catch up on a couple other projects. But I'll be back by the end of March at the latest, and here's three great links for Cheers fans in the meantime: https://cheerstocarla.com/category/carlas-nikes/ http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/ https://open.spotify.com/show/7dBX3Eim9fb6SmXmWRKyaJ Cheers!
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Season One Ep 21/22 Showdown Part One & Two

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Coach: How you doin', Norm? Norm: Coach, I'm on top of the world...it's a dismal spot in Greenland somewhere. Finally! The best will-they-won't-they? in TV history rewards our patience in this season finale penned by co-creators, Glen & Les Charles. Hardly anyone waits to hook up on TV today, so it's nice to see Cheers play the long game; when all those sparks between Sam & Diane finally ignite, it's exhilarating! And hilarious. Opposites attract, but one major trait they both share is the stubborn pride that fuels their flirty fights. Sam's pride takes a hit when his brother Derek comes to town and sweeps Diane (and the whole bar) off her feet, which opens the door for both Sam and Diane to really examine their feelings. Before Norm's unseen wife, Vera, became a running joke, the Charles brothers employ a similar device with Sam's bro. Derek's more succesful than Sam--he's not just a lawyer, but an International Lawyer, he si...
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Season One Ep 20 Someone Single, Someone Blue

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Coach: What'll it be, Norm? Norm: Fame, fortune, fast women... Coach: How 'bout a beer? Norm: Even better. David Angell's second Cheers script doesn't hit the highs of his first, but Pick a Con...Any Con is an all-time classic, so it's tough to top. Angell's setup here is much more typical of contrived '80s sitcom conventions. Someone Single, Someone Blue has Diane's mother, Helen (Glynis Johns) drop the bombshell that Diane must marry within 24 hours. If she doesn't, as stipulated in Diane's dad's will, Helen will lose her share of his estate. Why would he make such a ridiculous demand? Well, it seems he feared his gawky bookworm daughter with the facial tic might never marry, so he made it a condition of his will that Diane would be married within ten years to the day of his passing. And why would Helen not have given Diane more than 24 hours notice? Helen explains, "You know how time flies when you're having...grief"....
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Cheers Season One Ep 19 Pick a Con...Any Con

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Diane: What are the stakes? Sam: If I win, I get to go to bed with you. Diane: What if I win? Sam: You get to go to bed with me. Diane: Forget it. Sam: I understand. You, ah, you'd rather earn it. I can't sum up this episode better than gonzo_83 does in their imdb user review: "It's like The Sting but way cooler. I don't think I've ever seen a better constructed plot in a TV show than this episode." Word! The late great David Angell delivers an all-time classic with his first Cheers script. I might change my mind as I revisit more episodes, but Pick a Con...Any Con is currently my favourite Cheers episode of all time, working just as well for me at a jaded forty-three as it did when I was six. And the way the Matryoshka doll-style con within a con also cons the viewer? Genius! This is the kind of quality script that makes other writers seriously reconsider their vocation. Harry Anderson's two prior appearances as mercurial flimflam man, Har...
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