Cheers (season 7)

Cheers (season 7)
Region 1 DVD
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	October 27, 1988 – May 4, 1989

The seventh season of Cheers, an award-winning American television sitcom, originally aired on NBC in the United States between October 27, 1988 and May 4, 1989. 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.

Background

This season premiered on October 27, 1988, after the longer period of reruns, indirectly led by the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike.^[1] At the time of premiere, Night Court moved to Wednesdays, prompting the new series Dear John to fill in the spot. Besides Cheers and Dear John, other series in the Must See TV Thursday lineup for the 1988–89 season were The Cosby Show, A Different World, and L.A. Law.^[2]

Season synopsis

After Evan Drake left for Japan at the end of the previous season, Rebecca tries to impress his replacement, but is fired in favour of Sam. Sam feels sorry for Rebecca and persuades the Lilian Corporation to put them jointly in charge. However, this does not last as the new head of the corporation is fired and replaced with a very young, but very rich man who falls for Rebecca, making her manager again. He proposes to her, sending Sam to Mexico to run a bar there when Rebecca pretends to be in love with him. Sam soon returns to Cheers and continues to make advances towards Rebecca, to no avail.

Rebecca's suitor is replaced as head of the Lilian Corporation by an older man, Mr Gaines, but Rebecca's plans to impress him go wrong when Woody dates his daughter Kelly, who is just as simple as he is. Frasier and Lilith are now married, and she becomes pregnant. Cliff finally gets a date - a trainee postal worker, Maggie O'Keefe. Carla and Eddie are further apart when he begins touring in an ice shows occur outside Massachusetts, while Norm begins a new career as a house decorator with a little help from the Cranes.

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 – 11 episodes Jay Thomas as Eddie LeBec – 2 episodes Jackie Swanson as Kelly Gaines – 3 episodes Richard Doyle as Mr. Gaines – 2 episodes

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title[3]	Directed by[3]	Written by[3]	Original airdate[3]	Rating / share
147	1	"How to Recede in Business"	James Burrows	David Lloyd	October 27, 1988	24.4 / 38[rat7 1]
Rebecca's life suffers a further disruption when Evan Drake's replacement makes Sam the new manager of Cheers.
148	2	"Swear to God"	James Burrows	Tom Reeder	November 3, 1988	21.8 / 33[rat7 2]
Sam makes a rash promise to God that he'll remain celibate if only someone else is the father of an old girl friend's baby.
149	3	"Executive Sweet"	James Burrows	Phoef Sutton	November 10, 1988	23.5 / 35[rat7 3]
Rebecca puts Sam off by telling him that from now on she'll only date men who can advance her career, and then she meets her younger-than-springtime new boss.
150	4	"One Happy Chappy in a Snappy Serape"	James Burrows	Cheri Eichen and Bill Steinkellner	November 17, 1988	21.4 / 31[rat7 4]
Sam goes to Mexico to open a new bar for the company, robbing Rebecca of her "fiance" and her only defense against the marriage proposal of her baby boss.
151	5	"Those Lips, Those Ice"	James Burrows	Peter Casey and David Lee	November 24, 1988	17.3 / 31[rat7 5]
Carla throws a jealous fit when she suspects that Eddie is fooling around with someone from the ice show.
152	6	"Norm, Is That You?"	James Burrows	Cheri Eichen and Bill Steinkellner	December 8, 1988	23.7 / 37[rat7 6]
Norm tries to hide the fact that he's become an interior decorator.
153	7	"How to Win Friends and Electrocute People"	James Burrows	Phoef Sutton	December 15, 1988	23.7 / 37[rat7 7]
Cliff drastically alters his personality after no one from the bar comes to visit him during his hospital stay with appendicitis. Sam gives Lilith driving lessons.
154	8	"Jumping Jerks"	James Burrows	Ken Levine and David Isaacs	December 22, 1988	20.6 / 34[rat7 8]
The gang decides to take up sky diving as a diversion.
155	9	"Send in the Crane"	James Burrows	David Lloyd	January 5, 1989	25.1 / 37[rat7 9]
Sam finds himself attracted to both an old girlfriend (Sandahl Bergman) and her grown daughter (Chelsea Noble) while Woody volunteers to be the clown at the boss' kid's birthday party Rebecca is planning.
156	10	"Bar Wars II: The Woodman Strikes Back"	James Burrows	Ken Levine and David Isaacs	January 12, 1989	25.4 / 38[rat7 10]
Cheers' gets another chance of losing a contest to their cross-town rivals at Gary's Old Towne Tavern; this time the contest is for "Boston's Best Bloody Mary."
157	11	"Adventures in Housesitting"	James Burrows	Patricia Niedzialek and Cecile Alch	January 19, 1989	22.7 / 34[rat7 11]
Rebecca offers to housesit for one of the company executives and calls on Sam and Woody for help when the man's beloved dog runs away.
158	12	"Please Mr. Postman"	James Burrows	Brian Pollack and Mert Rich	February 2, 1989	24.7 / 37[rat7 12]
Cliff's loyalties are tested when his new ladylove, a fellow postal employee, commits a rule infraction on his behalf.
159	13	"Golden Boyd"	James Burrows	Cheri Eichen and Bill Steinkellner	February 6, 1989	17.3 / 25[rat7 13]
Woody decides to steal Kelly, a rich snob's girl, away when the man humiliates him. This episode originally aired on Monday, February 6, 1989, at 10:00pm Eastern / 9:00pm Central.[4] The series' original timeslot was preempted by George H. W. Bush's live Presidential Address three days later (February 9, 1989) at 9:00 pm Eastern / 6:00pm Pacific.[5]
160	14	"I Kid You Not"	James Burrows	Teleplay: Rod Burton Story: Rick Beren	February 16, 1989	22.8 / 35[rat7 14]
Lilith and Frasier practice their parenting skills on Carla's precocious six-year-old son.
161	15	"Don't Paint Your Chickens"	James Burrows	Ken Levine and David Isaacs	February 23, 1989	23.3 / 35[rat7 15]
Rebecca tries to impress corporate headquarters by using her marketing skills to promote Norm's one man painting business and Sam tries to keep up with a sweet young thing wild about all kinds of sports.
162	16	"The Cranemakers"	Andy Ackerman	Phoef Sutton	March 2, 1989	24.3 / 37[rat7 16]
Lilith persuades Frasier to give up everything urban and move with her to a cabin in the wilds.
163	17	"Hot Rocks"	James Burrows	Ken Levine and David Isaacs	March 16, 1989	22.7 / 36[rat7 17]
Sam introduces everyone to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (guest appearance by Admiral William J. Crowe), an old fan, but Rebecca later believes the old man stole her diamond earrings.
164	18	"What's Up, Doc?"	James Burrows	Brian Pollack and Mert Rich	March 30, 1989	24.3 / 37[rat7 18]
Sam actually fakes a case of impotence to get close to a therapist Lilith and Frasier introduced to him.
165	19	"The Gift of the Woodi"	James Burrows	Phoef Sutton	April 6, 1989	22.2 / 36[rat7 19]
Woody's rich girl friend doesn't fully appreciate his inexpensive but heartfelt birthday gift and Rebecca transforms herself to further her career prospects.
166	20	"Call Me Irresponsible"	James Burrows	Dan O'Shannon and Tom Anderson	April 13, 1989	22.3 / 36[rat7 20]
Woody gets gambling fever and tension mounts as Carla waits for Eddie to surprise her on their second anniversary.
167	21	"Sisterly Love"	James Burrows	David Lloyd	April 27, 1989	20.8 / 34[rat7 21]
Sam tries to reconcile Rebecca and her sister Susan (Marcia Cross). Joan Severance was originally cast as Susan Howe. She and Sam were supposed to have a whirlwind romance, and Sam was supposed to propose marriage to her. Producers found this unsuitable for promiscuous Sam. Also, Severance had scheduling conflicts. Therefore, the character and the story were rewritten as one-time, and producers picked Marcia Cross.[6]
168	22	"The Visiting Lecher"	James Burrows	David Lloyd	May 4, 1989	20.8 / 33[rat7 22]
Rebecca accuses a respected authority on marital fidelity of making a pass at her. This episode originally intended to reprise Dr. Simon Finch-Royce, John Cleese's character, from the fifth season episode "Simon Says". However, Cleese was unavailable, so this episode was re-written in order to replace his character with Dr. Lawrence Crandall.[7]

Production

Writers and producers David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee left the series in March 1989 for an upcoming production company, which became Grub Street Productions.^[8][9]

Reception

This season landed on fourth place with an average 22.5 rating and 35 share as of April 20, 1989.^[10] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described the character of Rebecca Howe "annoying", and expressed pleasure at rumours that Joan Severance (originally set to play Susan Howe, a role eventually portrayed by Marcia Cross) could replace Kirstie Alley, contending that Shelley Long's departure in the fifth season was still affecting the series.^[11] Another syndicate columnist Joe Stein found the sixth and seventh seasons "good [yet] somewhat watered down", and found Rebecca not as "compelling" as her predecessor Diane.^[8] Conversely, Herb Caen of The San Francisco Chronicle praised this season, including the cast ensemble and their performances, but still missed departed characters Coach and Diane.^[12]

Todd Fuller of Sitcoms Online called this season "strong".^[13] David Johnson of DVD Verdict rated the story 90 percent and the acting 95 percent, praising its episodic approach and departure from story arcs, like Sam and Diane or Rebecca's failed attempts to win Evan Drake last season. He praised Alley as "a solid comic force" for her "over-the-top portrayal of neurosis".^[14] Jeffrey Robinson of DVD Talk gave this season three and a half stars out of five and its replay value four, calling it "good" and its episodes "fun and amusing."^[15] Current Film called this season a "strong roll" with "fine performances".^[16]

Accolades

In the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards (1989), this series won three Emmys for an Outstanding Comedy Series of 1988–1989, an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Woody Harrelson), and an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Rhea Perlman).^[17] In the 3rd Annual American Comedy Awards, Perlman was awarded as the Funniest Supporting Actress for her character Carla Tortelli.^[18]

DVD Release

Cheers: The Complete Seventh Season
Set Details[15]
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
November 15, 2005		May 18, 2009		April 27, 2009

Notes

1. Stein, Joe (October 24, 1988). "Prime-time battles finally begin in earnest this week". Evening Tribune (San Diego). p. C-4.
2. "Night Court tops Nielsens in Thursday time slot". The Daily Union (Junction City, Kansas). December 14, 1988. p. 12.
3. Bjorklund, pp. 375–389
4. "Monday's TV Programs". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 6, 1989. p. 13.
5. "Thursday's TV Programs". February 9, 1989. p. 17.
6. "Severance pay?". Los Angeles Daily News. April 25, 1989. p. L20. Record no. 8901190594. Under same article, "TV News & Notes - One Last Fling for Moonlighting", by Jim Benson.
7. "Why John Cleese never appeared on Cheers a second time". ...by Ken Levine. November 12, 2010.
8. Stein, Joe (March 3, 1989). "Defections to Hurt Cheers: 3 Writers, Producers to Leave". The Press-Courier. Copley News Service. p. 10.
9. "Obituaries: David Angell". The Telegraph. 13 September 2011.
10. Feder, Robert (April 20, 1989). "NBC, ABC and CBS keep losing viewers". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 61. Record no. CHI349816.
11. <surname illegible>, Gary (March 23, 1989). "Kirstie Alley may lose Cheers lead to `another woman'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 21.
12. Caen, Herb (March 23, 1989). "A Star Is Born". The San Francisco Chronicle. p. B1. Record no. 569588.
13. Fuller, Todd (November 9, 2005). "Cheers: The Complete Seventh Season". Sitcoms Online.
14. Johnson, David (November 15, 2005). "Cheers: The Complete Seventh Season". DVD Verdict.
15. Robinson, Jeffrey (November 15, 2005). "Cheers - The Complete Seventh Season". DVD Talk.
16. "Cheers: Season 7". Current Film.
17. Bjorklund, p. 461.
18. "American director's 1st film wins top prize at Cannes". Milwaukee Sentinel. May 24, 1989. pt. 1, pg. 3.

References

• Bjorklund, Dennis A. Cheers TV Show: A Comprehensive Reference (e-Book ed.). Praetorian Publishing. Retrieved June 27, 2012.

Ratings notes

Unless otherwise, the main source of Nielsen ratings is the newspaper Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. According to that main source, ratings of 1988-89 were based on 90.4 million households that have at least one television.

1. "Top 10: Oct. 24–30, 1988". November 2, 1988. p. 21.
2. "Top 10: Oct. 31–Nov. 6, 1988". November 9, 1988. p. 19.
3. "Top 10: Nov. 7–13, 1988". November 16, 1988. p. 33.
4. "The Ratings (Nov. 14–20, 1988)". The Dallas Morning News. November 24, 1988. p. 21C.
5. "The Ratings (Nov. 21–27, 1988)". The Dallas Morning News. December 2, 1988. p. 12C.
6. "Top 10: Dec. 5–11, 1988". December 14, 1988. p. 27.
7. "Top 10: Dec. 12–18, 1988". December 21, 1988. p. 25.
8. "Top 10: Dec. 19–25, 1988". December 29, 1988. p. 15.
9. "Top 10: Jan 2–8, 1989". January 11, 1989. p. 27.
10. "Top 10: Jan. 9–15, 1989". January 18, 1989. p. 24.
11. "Top 10: Jan 16–22, 1989". January 25, 1989. p. 19.
12. "Top 10: Jan. 30–Feb. 5, 1989". February 8, 1989. p. 27.
13. "Using this chart (Feb. 6–12, 1989)". USA Today. February 15, 1989. p. 3D.
14. "Using this chart (Feb. 13–19, 1989)". USA Today. February 22, 1989. p. 3D. Record no. 170085.
15. "Top 10: Feb. 20–26, 1989". March 2, 1989. p. 15.
16. "Top 10: Feb. 27–Mar. 5, 1989". March 8, 1989. p. 21.
17. "Using this chart (March 13–19, 1989)". USA Today. March 22, 1989. p. 3D.
18. "Top 10: Mar. 27–Apr. 2, 1989". April 5, 1989. p. 21.
19. "Top 10: April 3–9, 1989". April 12, 1989. p. 28.
20. "Top 10: April 10–16, 1989". April 19, 1989. p. 21.
21. "Top 10: April 24–30, 1989". May 3, 1989. p. 19.
22. "Top 10: May 1–7, 1989". May 10, 1989. p. 19.

External links

• Production order of Cheers (season 7) at Copyright Catalog
  • Click "Set Search Limits", select "Range", select "Motion Pictures" at "Item Type", type "1988" at left box and "1989" at right box, either hit "Enter" or click "Set Search Limits"
  • Then, after above step, search by title, type "Cheers", and hit "Enter" or click "Begin search"
• Cheers, season 7 at Internet Movie Database
• Cheers, season 7 at TV.com (printable version, recommended for users with only dial-ups)
• Cheers, season 7 at TV Guide