In 1982, a legend was born. Nearly forty years later, tourists in Boston visit the sights and sounds captured on-screen at Cheers. We'll never forget the iconic first season that started the romance between Sam and Diane, and the love we have for Coach, Norm, Cliff, and Carla is real.
Those heartfelt moments and deep discussions are carefully balanced by barroom humor. Though not every joke works in 2020, many jokes we missed in Season 1 are real treasures. Here they are: the good, the bad, and the hilarious.
We're Glad We Missed It (Episode 22)
Cheers existed in a different era of television humor. This joke is one you're glad you missed the first time. Frustrated that his brother has taken the bar by storm, Sam tells the gang, "Hey, hey, what happened to all the interesting talk around here, huh"
The joke is easy to miss, but once you catch it, you can't forget the unwanted insult! Sam has a bad track record for this type of thing. Luckily, there are plenty of heartwarming moments on Cheers to balance quips we didn't need.
11 Hours With Norm (Episode 20)
Another great one-liner from Norm happens in "Someone Single, Someone Blue." Diane's mother will lose her dead husband's fortune if Diane does not get married, Glen has already sung the Bonanza theme song, and Norm is desperate for work. When Diane tells Coach, Cliff, and Norm that her "mummy doesn't like bars," Norm replies, "Well, bars can be very sad places. Some people spend their whole lives in a bar. Just yesterday, some guy sat right here next to me for 11 hours." It doesn't get much more "Classic Norm" than that.
Boston Barmaids (Episode 18)
The funniest running joke comes from Cliff. Here's how it plays out: when trying to persuade Diane to stay in the Boston Barmaids contest, Sam tells her, "Come on, this is not degrading. I mean, in Boston, this is considered a very, very big honor, Diane." Cliff chimes in: "Oh yeah, yeah. Hey, Di, it's really big, you know. It's not as big as mail carrier of the year, of course, but it's up there." A patron then gives Cliff a hard time, asking if they give mail carrier of the year to "a postman or a pigeon."
Cliff angrily tells the patron, Paul, not to joke about the US Postal Service. After Norm calms Cliff down, Cliff says, "I'm sorry, Norm. I just don't know what came over me." Cliff asks who people come to when they want a letter fast. Paul's answer? "Federal Express." Cliff gets fired up again but eventually apologizes: "It's just that, you know, the Sears catalog came out this week, and it puts kind of a strain on me."
Carrying The Torch (Episode 17)
When Sam and Diane must find dates for one another, Sam doesn't think Diane will take it seriously. He's cocky and believes she wants to go out with him. Diane follows through and finds Sam a date (Gretchen), so Sam panics and grabs the first guy he sees in the billiards room. This "date," Andy, has just served time in prison for manslaughter. It's a joke at Diane's expense, but the ending is equally momentous and funny.
Diane tells Sam, "I didn’t realize you were carrying such a torch for me." Sam won't confess, so Diane says, "Sam, If you’ll it that you are carrying a little torch for me, I’ll it that I’m carrying a little one for you." Sam sweetly answers, "Well, I am carrying a little torch for you." The joke is on Sam when Diane retorts, "Well, I'm not carrying one for you." The best part? Norm cuts off their bickering with, "Please, please do you think I’d behave like this in your home?"
You Can't Flush Them (Episode 14)
Diane’s family cat, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, es away. While everyone is sympathetic, they return to their regularly scheduled programming and ignore Diane. Diane becomes upset that no one has tried to understand her unique "sensibilities" when she's worked to appreciate theirs. Diane mopes around, so Carla calls her Vampira and tells her to get back to work. The two talk about losing pets. Carla mentions the goldfish and parakeets lost among her large brood of children. Diane: "Cats are different." Carla: "You can’t flush them."
Jukebox (Episode 11)
This is an inside joke with the cast and crew of Cheers, but a worthy one that we certainly missed the first time! We meet Kevin, the chaste man who is about to become a monk. Kevin decides to let loose a little for some last-minute fun. He's picked the ideal setting for his good time. Towards the end of the episode, he approaches the bar's piano jukebox and says, "I’m having the time of my life, Sam. I don’t ever want it to end." Sam tells Kevin that the jukebox "doesn’t even work!" That’s true. The jukebox on set actually did not work.
But then, Kevin inserts his money into the jukebox and it plays a piano rag, despite the fact that it hasn’t worked for twenty years in the context of the show. Kevin thinks he’s healed the piano, Carla thinks it’s a miracle, Diane thinks it’s a sign for what Kevin should do with his life, and Norm thinks Kevin should go into piano repair.
What's Up (Episode 9)
There’s only one guy on Cheers who is met with a hearty chorus of his own name each time he walks in. Perhaps he is the inspiration for the theme song? Norm is famous for his one-liners whenever Sam and friends greet him. Sometimes, they go by so quickly that you miss them. On a rather cold day in Boston, Norm walks in and is asked, “What’s up?” He answers, “My nipples. It’s cold out there.” Doesn't get much more blunt than that.
Chunky Bar (Episode 6)
While it didn't garner the highest volume of laughs from the studio audience, this joke is interesting. As with many of Coach’s silly responses, this one is an innocent, serious reply. Diane’s friend Rebecca Prout (brilliantly played by Julia Duffy) comes into the bar looking for Diane. Coach takes it as a compliment that Rebecca finds conversation with him to be "an exercise in futility." Rebecca explains that she and Diane shared a suite at Bennington. Sweet ole Coach thinks he and Rebecca have something in common and says, "Sam and I shared a Chunky Bar in Cleveland." Not only is the thought of Sam and Coach in Cleveland funny, but the reference to the Chunky Bar is delightfully obscure. The now-vintage candy bar can actually be bought online for as much as $30!
Brandee With Two E's (Episode 2)
Coach: "What’s your name?"
Brandee: "Brandee. With two E’s."
Coach: [Looks at brandy bottle] "Brandee with two E’s? A big company like this, they spelled it wrong."
Coach is one of the best parts of the early seasons of Cheers. When Sam’s flavor of the day spells her name, Coach thinks that brandy of any kind is spelled with "two E’s." The joke carries on when Sam pulls Diane away to chide her for insulting his interest in Brandee. They are arguing in the billiards room when Cliff’s pool buddy holds up his beer and says, "Beer, with two E's!"
What's Donne Is Done (Episode 1)
Ah, Diane, the jilted bride of Sumner Sloane. In Diane’s first interaction with Sam, she's still with Sumner, and the two are to fly to Barbados for their wedding. We heard Sumner tell Sam, "I looked up from my Proust, she had her nose in her Yeats." The average viewer is likely to miss or forget Diane’s subsequent memory of Sumner: "What he actually said was, ‘Come with me and be my love, and we will some new pleasures prove.’" Diane explains to Sam, "That’s Donne." Sam says, "I certainly hope so." Finally, Diane clarifies: "No. John Donne, the poet."