There’s never been a more successful spin-off than Cheers, the spin-off was nothing like the main show and its uniqueness enabled it to last over a decade before its conclusion.
As the two series had such a stark contrast in their presentation, there are separate fans for both shows, with many not ever even having seen Cheers. In case you are a Cheers fan and aren’t sure if you want to watch Frasier, or you’re a Frasier fan who wants to take pride in your fandom of choice, here are 10 things that Frasier did better than Cheers.
Smarter Jokes
The point behind Cheers was that it was an escape over to a place where you meet your friends and make stupid jokes. To that effect, the show’s jokes comprised of either slapstick humor, or just jokes that were plainly understood.
Frasier switched this up by employing the sophistication of characters like Frasier and Niles, and most jokes were based on their snobbishness, with a lot of puns, clever deliveries, and jokes set up in advance that would land like a brick at the proper time to deliver the comedy. It was a wittier way to present the show, making the Frasier jokes more memorable.
Continuity
Cheers loved to ignore stuff we’d seen in previous episodes in order to have jokes applicable in a later one. For instance, we saw Diane and Carla make up many times, only for them to become enemies once more the next episode; there were several other cases like this.
On Frasier, you could be certain that established ground would remain that way and storylines we didn’t even like, such as Roz and Frasier hooking up or Frasier being attracted to a woman who liked his mother, would still be referenced later on so that watching these episodes actually meant something. There was even a whole 11-year sort of flashback episode in the last season where we saw the actors dress up exactly how their characters looked like in the particular season we were flashing back to.
Firmer Relationships
Although everyone at Cheers had a lovely time with each other, you got the sense they never met one another outside of the bar. Each time a character stopped coming to the bar and returned, everyone would greet them as if they hadn’t met since their departure.
Since Frasier was around his family the whole time on his show, we got to see these people form firmer relationships. It was great to watch too, as we could be certain these guys could count on each other even if there was a great distance between them - it made the camaraderie come across as natural.
Family Aspect
To elaborate on the previous point, on Frasier we got to see where Frasier came from. This lacked severely on Cheers, as we had no clue what everyone’s background was like; save for Carla, whose family was used only as a joke.
The show also furthered this by having Frasier strengthen his relationship with his father and brother. We saw him actually have a real relationship with them after their original dynamic had been nothing but getting on one another’s nerves. Frasier showed that you don’t need friends if you’ve got family.
More Fleshed Out ing Characters
Norm’s characterization was that he was a slacker. Cliff was a moron who made facts up. Carla was a jerk who liked belittling people. And on and on we can go about character traits. Cheers, being an ensemble show, settled upon keeping the ing characters tied to their most popular trait rather than have more to them than met the eye.
On Frasier, we have so much to consider where Niles, Daphne, Roz, and Martin are concerned, as we went behind just their quirks. For instance, Niles generally comes across as a dweeb who was always paranoid; by the end of the show, he had shown tenacity, bravery, and fierceness - all this because the show spent more time fleshing his character out.
Longevity
All right, we’re aware both shows ran for eleven seasons so they’re even in number of years on-air, but our point here is that Frasier managed to stay the same length despite having a minimal cast and not as much potential for material.
After all, there was nothing in the premise other than Frasier working at a radio station and living with his father, but the show never felt old. Cheers had to rely on a change of environment midway after Diane left and Rebecca came in. It also needed new characters to feel fresh, and we saw the inclusion of Woody, Lilith, Frasier, and other side characters.
Character Development
Can you name anything about Carla, Norm, or Cliff that was very different from how they started out in 1982 to how they were in 1993? Heck, did you think they were different when you saw them on Frasier in 2002? Nope, they remained exactly the same.
On the other side, Martin, Daphne, Niles, and Roz were nothing how they were in the beginning of Frasier, and we were happy to see them progress in their lives and change their personalities as they went on. Even Frasier developed well, as we saw him confront his issues with relationships and give love a chance in the series finale.
Closing Scenes
This is an easy one in the favor of Frasier, seeing as Cheers didn’t have an end credit scene; however, even if you consider the scene before the credits, Frasier still did it better. We’d have a silent joke where the theme song played, making the end credit scene a smartly executed brick joke that closed out a subplot from the beginning of the episode.
On Cheers, the final scene would only close out the main story, and would end generally without warning; this would be funny, sure, but it would also make you feel wanting more rather than feeling fulfilled.
A Better Frasier
On Cheers, Frasier generally made up the numbers for the cast rather than have something particularly interesting about him. Our perception of him was mainly that he was a smart guy among fools who also acted like a fool for the most part.
When we were around him on his own show, this was where we saw Frasier for being capable of being more than a “too smart for his own good” character. His fat cat attitude, penchant for sherry drinking, and among other antics were supplemented by his general willingness to help, and love for his family. Had there not been Frasier, then we would have a radically lower opinion of the character based on Cheers.
A Better Intro (Arguably)
Okay, now this might be a very arguable topic, seeing as Cheers’ theme song is timeless and still resonates within people to this day, but Frasier might get the win on this point based on just how catchy and creative its theme song is.
Seriously, go on ahead and check the lyrics for the song and you’ll find out just how insightful it is over the format of the show. There are several interpretations as to what Kelsey Grammer is singing about (yes, that’s his voice) when he says “Scrambled Eggs”, and just the playfulness of the tune is catchy enough for it to be ringing in your ears for hours.