One for the Road (Cheers)

Background

The television series Cheers follows the fortunes and inter-relationships of a group of Bostonians who meet regularly at "Cheers", their local bar. Sam Malone (Ted Danson), a ladies' man, former baseball player, and bartender, and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long), a college graduate student, and cocktail waitress, had on-and-off relationships throughout first five seasons of the program (1982–1987) until Diane left Boston to pursue a writing career in the season five finale, "I Do, Adieu" (1987). This was Shelley Long's last contracted appearance as Diane Chambers. Six years after the season five finale, the Sam and Diane storyline is resurrected with a special guest appearance by Shelley Long and then concluded during the third part of this final episode.

During season eleven there are many transformations before the finale. Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), another bartender at Cheers, is married to socialite Kelly Gaines (Jackie Swanson), expecting a child with her, and has been running to be a councilmember of the Boston City Council. Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) has gone through husbands and flings and is currently a single mother. Norm Peterson (George Wendt) is still semi-unemployed. Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) is still a postal carrier living with his mother. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) and Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) face marital problems, including Lilith's affair with another man. After her failed relationships with rich men in the past, the bar manager Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) and the plumber Don Santry (Tom Berenger) start dating each other in the preceding episode, "The Guy Can't Help It" (1993). Meanwhile, Sam faces up to his sexual addiction and begins to attend group therapy.

Plot

The episode ran for 98 minutes, including commercials, when it was originally broadcast. This episode was rebroadcast on August 19, 1993, but was trimmed to 90-minutes. In syndicated and online reruns, this episode was split into three parts, but the DVD release has the original, uncut version.

The episode begins with Frasier writing a campaign speech for Woody, who has trouble doing it himself. Rebecca rejects plumber Don Santry's (Tom Berenger) proposal accidentally because she is too excited to accept it, causing him to break up with her. Sam struggles with his sex addiction and wants to avoid watching Kim Alexis on television. Diane Chambers, making her first appearance on the series after six years, appears on television, accepting an award for outstanding writing of a television movie, surprising Sam. Diane calls Sam at the bar to thank him for the congratulatory telegram he sent earlier. Diane accepts Sam's invitation to return to Boston, but Sam reveals to Norm that he doubts her confirmation.

The following day, Cliff wants to be promoted by the head of the postal department, Marty Feldman, who often hires his own relatives rather than hard-working employees by merit, like Cliff. Frasier fails to correct Woody's grammar. Norm begs Woody to hire him as a city accountant. Rebecca arrives an emotional mess in the same dress she wore the previous day. Then Diane arrives with her "husband" Reed (Mark Harelik), surprising Sam. Sam uses Rebecca, who is grieving her love loss, as his pretend wife. At Melville's restaurant, when Don enters and re-proposes, Rebecca finally accepts in front of the others, ruining Sam's charade. After Rebecca and Don leave, Reed's partner Kevin (Anthony Heald) arrives to confront him for "cheating" with Diane, who clearly was not married. Now alone at the table, after Kevin and Don leave, Sam and Diane both come to terms with the fact they have no family of their own. Diane admits to Sam that she broke her promise to return to him after six months in the episode "I Do, Adieu" (1987). In fact, her manuscript was rejected by publishers but then became a television movie prompting her to stay in Los Angeles for six years looking for greater success. When Diane bids Sam farewell and is about to leave, he stops her and convinces her they should rekindle their relationship for old times' sake.

The next day Woody is elected councilman and then gives Norm a job with the city. Rebecca marries Don but secretly regrets it, feeling he is too good for her. Cliff is promoted to postal assistant supervisor after giving Marty gifts. Sam and Diane walk in and announce their engagement. His friends disapprove. Having enough of their disapproval, and going years without a family, Sam leaves the bar with Diane. On the plane, they begin to reconsider their decision to be together again. As the flight is delayed, they return to the airport terminal and amicably agree to part ways. Diane goes to Los Angeles, and Sam returns to Cheers to see his friends again. While Sam and his gang celebrate the reunion, Rebecca announces happily that Don has a job with the sewer department and leaves excitedly with the tickets for their honeymoon trip. After the rest of the gang head home, Norm stays behind and tells Sam that he knew he would return to Boston for his "one true love", saying: "You'll always come back to her." After Norm leaves, someone (Bob Broder) knocks on the door. Sam replies, "Sorry, we're closed", and turns off all the lights. (In the original broadcast, after the closing credits, the text reads "Thanks for having us over on all those Thursday nights." with the show's logo appearing.)

Production

Three hundred people attended the filming of the finale at Paramount Studios' Stage 25 in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 31, 1993, from 7:20 p.m. to 2:15 a.m. Because of Shelley Long's commitment to the CBS sitcom Good Advice, the finale's bar scene ending, where the series main cast gather as their own respective characters, was shot without her on Wednesday, April 7, 1993, after the penultimate episode, "The Guy Can't Help It", was filmed completely on the same day. However, the ending was concealed from the general public and the studio audience until the episode was first broadcast. Before her special guest appearance in this episode, Shelley Long's reprise as Diane Chambers was rumored in 1989 when she appeared with Ted Danson at the premiere of one of his movies, Cousins. A spokesperson for Paramount Television denied these rumors. Long appeared as herself for the 200th episode special in 1990, hosted by John McLaughlin, along with other surviving cast members at the time.

United States President Bill Clinton was invited to be part of the finale, but declined the offer. Brandon Tartikoff, former executive of NBC and former chief of Paramount Studios, and Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau appeared in the finale as uncredited bar extras. Bob Broder, agent for the show's creators, also made an uncredited appearance in the final moments of the show as the "man" who is told by Sam that the bar is closed.

Promotion

The final episode was promoted massively, including in the media, before its initial airing. NBC executives expected a rating of 65  percent of total television households. Sources on Madison Avenue estimated a Nielsen rating of 33–40s and a share of 50–70; one expected a rating of 37–38 and a share of 60. Each 30-second commercial for the original broadcast cost $650,000; the total number of commercials that aired on the initial broadcast was 25 to 30.

NBC and its affiliates, such as KNBC, promoted the finale's broadcast for a few weeks up to the day of the original airing on the network's news programs, such as Dateline NBC and Today. KTLA, a Los Angeles station that reran Cheers in syndication, played a variation of the show's theme song, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", during the week before the finale. Entertainment Tonight showed blooper reels of Cheers in the same week. Ratings of Season 11 episodes (1992–1993) were growing in the weeks prior to the finale.

Between April 1–4, 1993, the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press (now the Pew Research Center) surveyed 1,011 people by telephone. Sam Malone was voted a favorite by 26 % and had a 15 % chance of a spin-off. Answering a question as to who he should marry, 21 % voted Diane Chambers, 19 % voted Rebecca Howe, 48 % voted for Sam to remain single, and 12 % had no opinion on this matter. Woody Boyd was voted a favorite by 18 % and had 12 % chance of a spin-off, and Norm Peterson was voted by 14 % and had 10 % chance of a spin-off.

Newspapers counted down to the Cheers finale in different ways. The Washington Post covered the show's background. The Star Tribune published stories related to Cheers, including one about local residents playing trivia games that that paid tribute to the show and characters such as Cliff and Norm; the future of the fictional Sam Malone was addressed. The Deseret News asked its readers to send in their own fantasy finale endings before it was broadcast.

Critical reviews

Reviews of this episode at the time of its initial broadcast were mixed. John J. O'Connor from The New York Times called the episode "overly long and uncharacteristically labored" and considered its length "a miscalculation." Nevertheless, O'Connor wrote, "Things didn't turn absolutely soppy, but nearly." Tony Scott of Daily Variety praised the writing, yet he found the finale "overly long" and described the last 30 minutes as "limping." John Carman of the San Francisco Chronicle "liked the finale" and "was choked up at the end"; nevertheless, he found Shelley Long's special guest performance "disappointing" – her "cute pills" were past "their expiration date." Ann Hodges of The Houston Chronicle "found the conclusion fitting" but was not sad about the series' cancellation. One reader's letter in The Post-Standard pointed out the episode omitted mention of Coach Ernie Pantusso, one of original Cheers characters who died in 1985, and expressed disdain over this, even though the Geronimo picture was shown at the end to commemorate Coach.

The reviews in later years were mostly positive. In 1998, A. J. Jacobs of Entertainment Weekly graded this finale a B+, calling it "a satisfying nightcap" and "sharply written by the [Charles brothers]", with its final moments "classy as a flute of chilled Cristal." In 2006, Ron Geraci, author of the book The Bachelor Chronicles: A Dating Memoir, called it "raw and moving" and "significant." In 2007, Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly called it one of his "Five Best (pre-Sopranos) Series Finales." In 2007, Douglas Durden of The Richmond Times-Dispatch named it his fifth most favorite television finale of all-time. In 2009, the A.V. Club ranked it No. 3 in "10 American TV Series with Satisfying Endings" in the book Inventory. In 2010, Sharon Knolle of The Huffington Post was relieved to see the final onscreen romance between Sam and Diane end rather than conclude with their marriage. In the same year, Oliver Miller of The Huffington Post was heartbroken by Sam and Diane's on-screen "absurd protracted double-gut-punch break-up" in the episode. Claire Suddath from Time magazine called it one of top ten "anticipated" finales ever. In 2011, the finale was ranked fifth on the TV Guide Network special, TV's Most Unforgettable Finales. In 2014, IGN ranked it number six of the top ten Cheers episodes.

Ratings

The episode aired on NBC on May 20, 1993, at 9:22 p.m. instead of 9:30 p.m., the regular time for Cheers, as the episode was scheduled to run 98-minutes. The overall Nielsen rating was 45.5 (approximately 42.4 million households), 64 or 62 share, and the number of American viewers was either 80 million or 93 million. The broadcast in 29 major markets resulted an overnight 46.7 Nielsen rating (22 million households) and 62 share. In the Los Angeles area, the finale scored a 44.5 rating for (KNBC); in the Minneapolis–St. Paul market (KARE), a 54.8 rating and 72 share; in New York City (WNBC), a 45.6 rating; in the Hartford–New Haven (WVIT) area, a 48 rating and 63 share; and in Boston (WBZ-TV), the series' setting, a 54.1 rating.

The retrospective program, Cheers: Last Call!, hosted by Bob Costas, paid tribute to 11 years of Cheers and aired at 9:00 p.m. before the 9:22 p.m. finale. It received an overall 39.6 rating (36.9 million households); the Los Angeles rating was 40.0.

The finale reran on Sunday, May 23, 1993, from 7:22 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET with a Nielsen rating of 10.0. Cheers: Last Call!, which ran from 7:00 p.m. to 7:22 p.m. ET had a 7.4 rating. The finale reran again on Thursday, August 19, 1993, in a 90-minute format from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and received a 9.4 rating.

Accolades

At the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards (1993), Robert Bramwell won Outstanding Achievement in Editing for a Series (Multi-Camera Production). Shelley Long lost the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series to Tracey Ullman (Love and War). Tom Berenger lost the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series to David Clennon (Dream On). James Burrows lost the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing in a Comedy Series to Betty Thomas (Dream On)

Aftermath

Before and after the production of Cheers had ended, the cast had moved on to other stages in their careers. Shelley Long appeared on the CBS show Good Advice before this episode, and resumed her work there. Ted Danson appeared in Made in America, which opened in theatres soon after the episode aired. Kirstie Alley participated in the film Look Who's Talking Now.

Woody Harrelson appeared in Indecent Proposal, with Demi Moore and Robert Redford already showing in theaters, and appeared in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. George Wendt appeared in an off-Broadway play. John Ratzenberger appeared in Fox's Locals. Rhea Perlman took "a break" from acting for a while. Kelsey Grammer soon reappeared as Frasier Crane in the spinoff Frasier, set in Seattle, as the host of a new radio show with only occasional appearances of Lilith Sternin or their son Frederick during its 11-year run.

Before the first airing of this series finale, more than five hundred people, including the cast of Cheers (except Shelley Long, Kirstie Alley, and Bebe Neuwirth)) and politicians such as William M. Bulger and past State Governor William Weld, participated at an afternoon celebration on Beacon Street near the Bull & Finch Pub in Boston, to celebrate the series' ending. After the episode aired, the remaining cast appeared live on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in the Bull & Finch Pub. According to host Jay Leno, the cast was so intoxicated they were unaware that they were being interviewed live.

In 1997, one copy of this episode's script was donated by George Wendt to the Handel and Haydn Society, a Boston music institution. It contained the autographs of eight cast members, including of Shelley Long, Woody Harrelson, and George Wendt. On February 15, 1997, it was stolen from the Boston Four Seasons Hotel. The high bid for it at the benefit auction was $1,000 before it was stolen. About one week later, the stolen script, in a manila envelope, was left at a church; the Society then retrieved it. In March 1997, the autographed copy of the episode's script was sold to the Bull and Finch Pub (now Cheers Beacon Hill) for $10,000.