Cheers (season 8)

Cheers (season 8)
Region 1 DVD
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	26
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 21, 1989 – May 3, 1990

The eighth season of Cheers, an award-winning American television sitcom, originally aired on NBC in the United States between September 21, 1989 and May 3, 1990. The show was created by director James Burrows and writers Glen and Les Charles under production team Charles Burrows Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Television.

Season synopsis

Rebecca begins to fear she will die alone and has erotic dreams about Sam, and just as she is about to pursue these dreams, the English billionaire Robin Colcord, dazzles Rebecca which leads to them dating. Later she finds out he has another girlfriend, and so the two women compete for his affections. Eddie is killed by saving a fellow team member, by pushing him out of the way of an oncoming ice vehicle, but is hit by it himself. At his funeral, Carla learns that Eddie had a secret wife, with whom he had a child. Norm gets a stalker in the form of his secretary, who believes he fired her because he is attracted to her. Lilith finally gives birth to little Frederick, while Frasier is not there, but Sam is! Cliff appears on jeopardy and loses all his money on the last question, for making a stupid remark. Robin lends Sam, Norm, Cliff and Carla his yacht to enter a race, but has a bomb on board. Woody meets Kelly's mother who performs sexual advances towards Woody. Lilith writes a new book for women, which becomes a success, based on why some men are bad for women, which she based on Sam. Rebecca realizes that Robin has used her to gain access to the company's accounts and becomes unsure as to whether she should turn him over to the police.

Cast

Ted Danson as Sam Malone Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane George Wendt as Norm Peterson

Recurring characters Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin Roger Rees as Robin Colcord Jackie Swanson as Kelly Gaines (3 episodes)

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Ratings / share / viewers / rank
169	1	"The Improbable Dream, Part 1"	James Burrows	Cheri Eichen and Bill Steinkellner	September 21, 1989	24.1 / 39 / 36.4 mil. / #3[rat8 1]
Just as Rebecca fears for her sanity because of the erotic dreams she's been having about Sam, multi-millionaire Robin Colcord sweeps her off her feet.
170	2	"The Improbable Dream, Part 2"	James Burrows	Cheri Eichen and Bill Steinkellner	September 28, 1989	24.3 / 39 / 36.1 mil. / #3[rat8 2]
Rebecca quickly forgets about Sam after she agrees to go to California with Robin Colcord.
171	3	"A Bar Is Born"	James Burrows	Phoef Sutton	October 12, 1989	22.4 / 37 / 33.6 mil. / #3[rat8 3]
Sam is upset that he has no real goal in life so he is driven to open up another bar of his own, which isn't very easy on the eyes.
172	4	"How to Marry a Mailman"	James Burrows	Brian Pollack and Mert Rich	October 19, 1989	24.7 / 38 / 37.2 mil. / #1[rat8 4]
The young woman Cliff turned in for stealing a Post Office vehicle returns from Canada with an offer that literally blinds Cliff.
173	5	"The Two Faces of Norm"	Andy Ackerman	Eugene B. Stein	October 26, 1989	24.1 / 39 / 35.7 mil. / #3[rat8 5]
Norm invents a strict curmudgeon of a partner to boss around his easygoing paint crew while Sam goes crazy with concern after selling his precious 'Vette.
174	6	"The Stork Brings a Crane"	Andy Ackerman	David Lloyd	November 2, 1989	24.4 / 37 / 37.6 mil. / #3[rat8 6]
Lilith goes into labor as Cheers celebrates its centennial. Guest appearance by Mayor Raymond Flynn.
175	7	"Death Takes a Holiday on Ice"	James Burrows	Ken Levine and David Isaacs	November 9, 1989	24.3 / 38 / 36.2 mil. / #2[rat8 7]
Carla learns that Eddie led a secret life when a second widow shows up at his funeral.
176	8	"For Real Men Only"	James Burrows	David Pollock and Elias Davis	November 16, 1989	24.0 / 37 / 36.1 mil. / #4[rat8 8]
Frasier and the guys cringe over plans to attend his son's circumcision while Rebecca struggles to throw an interesting retirement party for a very dull corporate employee.
177	9	"Two Girls for Every Boyd"	James Burrows	Dan O'Shannon and Tom Anderson	November 23, 1989	16.5 / 31 / 28.4 mil. / #13[rat8 9]
Woody has trouble with the love scenes (with Lisa Kudrow) for his first starring role and the guys have a beard-growing competition. (In this episode, Frasier tells patrons that his father was neglectful and a busy scientist before he died. (This later turns out to be a lie, as reveal in the Frasier episode "The Show Where Sam Shows Up".)
178	10	"The Art of the Steal"	James Burrows	Sue Herring	November 30, 1989	25.4 / 40 / 37.1 mil. / #2[rat8 10]
Rebecca and Sam are trapped overnight in Robin Colcord's deluxe security apartment while the gang passes the time playing Monopoly.
179	11	"Feeble Attraction"	Andy Ackerman	Dan O'Shannon and Tom Anderson	December 7, 1989	24.2 / 38 / 36.2 mil. / #2[rat8 11]
Norm fires his secretary, who sees it as proof that he's wildly attracted to her and Rebecca becomes obsessed with a surprise hidden in the desk Robin gave her.
180	12	"Sam Ahoy"	James Burrows	David Lloyd	December 14, 1989	22.5 / 36 / 33.3 mil. / #2[rat8 12]
Robin lends Sam and the gang his yacht race in a regatta, but the motley crew discovers a bomb in the refrigerator, right next to the beer.
181	13	"Sammy and the Professor"	James Burrows	Brian Pollack and Mert Rich	January 4, 1990	24.2 / 36 / 35.8 mil. / #1[rat8 13]
Carla faces an audit while Rebecca's idol, her business school professor, makes an investment in Sam.
182	14	"What Is... Cliff Clavin?"	Andy Ackerman	Dan O'Shannon and Tom Anderson	January 18, 1990	24.7 / 37 / 37.7 mil. / #1[rat8 14]
Cliff appears on the game show Jeopardy! when it comes to Boston. Sam attempts to find out who lifted his little black book of girlfriend's names.
183	15	"Finally! Part 1"	James Burrows	Ken Levine and David Isaacs	January 25, 1990	25.0 / 37 / 37.9 mil. / #3[rat8 15]
Tonight might be the night that Rebecca and Robin finally get together, despite Sam's presence.
184	16	"Finally! Part 2"	James Burrows	Ken Levine and David Isaacs	February 1, 1990	22.7 / 34 / 33.4 mil. / #2[rat8 16]
The aftermath of their get together isn't all she hoped it would be, when Rebecca finds Robin with another woman.
185	17	"Woody or Won't He"	Andy Ackerman	Brian Pollack and Mert Rich	February 8, 1990	22.8 / 35 / 34.5 mil. / #2[rat8 17]
A mechanical bull gets the better of Cliff while Woody tries to deal with the romantic advances of his girlfriend's mother.
186	18	"Severe Crane Damage"	Andy Ackerman	Dan O'Shannon and Tom Anderson	February 15, 1990	23.3 / 35 / 35.2 mil. / #2[rat8 18]
Lilith goes on a talk show to promote her new book about men who are bad for women and takes along her prime example-Sam.
187	19	"Indoor Fun with Sammy and Robby"	Andy Ackerman	Phoef Sutton	February 22, 1990	23.6 / 36 / 35.8 mil. / #1[rat8 19]
Rebecca dreams of a perfectly romantic day with Robin. Robin on the other hand has dared Sam to a series of adolescent challenges.
188	20	"50–50 Carla"	James Burrows	David Lloyd	March 8, 1990	23.4 / 36 / 34.4 mil. / #2[rat8 20]
Carla and Eddie's other widow Gloria become best buddies but the friendship is threatened when Carla learns the two-timer left $50,000 in insurance and Woody worries about a nude scene when he's cast in a revival of Hair.
189	21	"Bar Wars III: The Return of Tecumseh"	James Burrows	Ken Levine and David Isaacs	March 15, 1990	22.1 / 35 / 32.6 mil. / #1[rat8 21]
Sam and the gang team up to get back at Gary when it appears as if the Olde Towne Tavern had a role in Tecumseh's disappearance. In this episode Fraiser claims that both his parents are dead, this is later revealed to be a lie in the Frasier episode "The Show Where Sam Shows Up".
190	22	"Loverboyd"	James Burrows	Brian Pollack and Mert Rich	March 29, 1990	23.8 / 38 / 35.5 / #2[rat8 22]
Norm becomes the designated driver for Cheers while Woody is a little less than pleased when Kelly heads to Europe for school.
191	23	"The Ghost and Mrs. Lebec"	James Burrows	Dan Staley and Rob Long	April 12, 1990	19.7 / 33 / 30.1 mil. / #2[rat8 23]
Carla calls for an exorcism at Cheers after seeing Eddie's ghost. Rebecca goes on television to complain about a defective product, not knowing who actually owns the company that makes it.
192	24	"Mr. Otis Regrets"	Andy Ackerman	Ken Levine and David Isaacs	April 19, 1990	21.9 / 35 / 32.9 mil. / #1[rat8 24]
In an attempt to find out what Robin's new girlfriend is like, Rebecca asks Sam to oversee she and Robin at an outing, while Sam continues to try and get Rebecca into bed. Woody gets a female response to his ad for a roommate.
193	25	"Cry Hard"	James Burrows	Dan O'Shannon and Tom Anderson	April 26, 1990	21.2 / 34 / 31.8 mil. / #2[rat8 25]
Rebecca is taken by surprise when she finds out Robin had used her personal corporate account to gain information about the company. She must now face the tough decision of whether or not she wants to turn him in to the authorities.
194	26	"Cry Harder"	James Burrows	Teleplay: Cheri Eichen, Bill Steinkellner and Phoef Sutton Story: Bill Steinkellner	May 3, 1990	21.1 / 33 / 30.8 mil. / #3[rat8 26]
After Sam turns Robin in, he is rewarded with an offer to buy back Cheers at the price of one dollar. Robin proposes to Rebecca but flees the country, only to quickly return and find out she and Sam have been fooling around.

Critical reception

Season 8 received a 91 out of 100 on metacritic, meaning critical acclaim.^[1] Jeffrey Robinson of DVDTalk said that "it offers 26 episodes of hilarity." He felt the episodes were well written with hilarious dialogue, and decently crafted storylines.^[2] W.L. Swarts gave the season a mixed review, saying "It’s a tough thing to keep a show fresh for years on end, but Cheers season 8 is still good." But says "it falls back on some standards."^[3]

DVD release

Cheers: The Complete Eighth Season
Set Details[2]
22 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 1		Region 2		Region 4
June 13, 2006		August 6, 2012		April 27, 2009

References

1. "Cheers - Season 8 Reviews". Metacritic. 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
2. "Cheers - The Complete Eighth Season : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
3. "W.L. Swarts Reviews The Universe: Leaning Average, Cheers Season Eight Is Still Fun!". Wlswarts.blogspot.co.uk. 2012-12-21. Retrieved 2013-08-16.

Ratings sources

According to many newspapers, including the main source USA Today, the 1989–90 Nielsen ratings are based on 92.1 million households that have at least one television.

1. September 27, 1989. Record no. 214331.
2. October 4, 1989. Record no. 215742.
3. October 18, 1989. Record no. 218595
4. October 25, 1989. Record no. 220074.
5. November 1, 1989. Record no. 221508.
6. November 8, 1989. Record no. 222932.
7. November 15, 1989. Record no. 224364.
8. November 22, 1989. Record no. 225766.
9. November 29, 1989. Record no. 226865.
10. December 6, 1989. Record no. 228257.
11. December 13, 1989. Record no. 229628.
12. December 20, 1989. Record no. 230948.
13. January 10, 1990. Record no. 234602.
14. January 24, 1990. Record no. 237376.
15. January 31, 1990. Record no. 239189.
16. February 7, 1990. Record no. 240525.
17. February 14, 1990. Record no. 241948.
18. February 21, 1990. Record no. 243308.
19. February 28, 1990. Record no. 244938.
20. March 14, 1990. Record no. 247753.
21. March 21, 1990. Record no. 249195.
22. April 4, 1990. Record no. 252035.
23. April 18, 1990. Record no. 254889.
24. April 25, 1990. Record no. 256312.
25. May 2, 1990. Record no. 257677.
26. May 9, 1990. Record no. 259054.