Cheers season 8

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Cheers
Season 8
Region 1 DVD
StarringTed Danson
Kirstie Alley
Rhea Perlman
John Ratzenberger
Woody Harrelson
Kelsey Grammer
George Wendt
No. of episodes26
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 21, 1989 (1989-09-21) –
May 3, 1990 (1990-05-03)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 7
Next →
Season 9
List of episodes

The eighth season of Cheers, an 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.

At the 1990 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards, this season won three Emmys: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Ted Danson), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Bebe Neuwirth), and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or Special. It also won the Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Kirstie Alley) at the 1991 48th Golden Globe Awards.

Background

This season premiered on September 21, 1989, and aired on Thursdays at 9:00 pm Eastern / 8:00 pm Central. Besides Cheers, other series in NBC's Thursday night lineup for the 1989–90 season were The Cosby Show, A Different World, Dear John and L.A. Law. In January 1990, Dear John was shifted to Wednesdays, and the newer sitcom Grand took its spot.[1]

Cast and characters

  • Ted Danson as Sam Malone, a womanizing bartender and ex-baseball player. While he still pursues many women, he fails to impress especially classier ones. He continues his efforts to buy back Cheers, which he sold to its current owner, the Lillian Corporation, in the sixth season.
  • Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe, a corporate bar owner and manager. Since her debut in the sixth season, she has struggled to be noticed by her superiors at the Lillian Corporation. This season, she has been dating an English multimillionaire, Robin Colcord. He owns her company's competitor and plans to take over Lillian Corporation.
  • Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli, a waitress and mother of eight children, including five from her first marriage. Her current husband, Eddie LeBec, dies in an accident while saving someone. She then learns that he committed bigamy by marrying another woman who is pregnant with twins, while he was still married to Carla.
  • John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin, a postal carrier and loquacious, barfly know-it-all.
  • Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd, a dim bartender. He dates a less-than-bright rich woman named Kelly Gaines, whose family disapproves of him.
  • Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane, a psychiatrist now married to Lilith. Their son Frederick is born during this season.
  • George Wendt as Norm Peterson, an accountant and a house painter.

Recurring characters

  • Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin, a psychiatrist now married to Frasier. She gives birth to their son Frederick.
  • Roger Rees as Robin Colcord, an English multimillionaire. He dates his love interest Rebecca, who works for his competitor Lillian Corporation, and a couple other women simultaneously. He uses her to take over his competitor but then realizes that he loves her very much.
  • Jackie Swanson as Kelly Gaines, a less-than-bright rich woman. She dates bartender Woody despite her family's disapproval. Swanson reprises her role as Kelly in three episodes this season.

Episodes

See also: List of Cheers episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateRatings/share/
viewers/rank
1691"The Improbable Dream, Part 1"James BurrowsCheri Eichen and Bill SteinkellnerSeptember 21, 1989 (1989-09-21)24.1 / 39 / 36.4 mil. / #3[rat8 1]
1702"The Improbable Dream, Part 2"James BurrowsCheri Eichen and Bill SteinkellnerSeptember 28, 1989 (1989-09-28)24.3 / 39 / 36.1 mil. / #3[rat8 2]
1713"A Bar Is Born"James BurrowsPhoef SuttonOctober 12, 1989 (1989-10-12)22.4 / 37 / 33.6 mil. / #3[rat8 3]
1724"How to Marry a Mailman"James BurrowsBrian Pollack and Mert RichOctober 19, 1989 (1989-10-19)24.7 / 38 / 37.2 mil. / #1[rat8 4]
1735"The Two Faces of Norm"Andy AckermanEugene B. SteinOctober 26, 1989 (1989-10-26)24.1 / 39 / 35.7 mil. / #3[rat8 5]
1746"The Stork Brings a Crane"Andy AckermanDavid LloydNovember 2, 1989 (1989-11-02)24.4 / 37 / 37.6 mil. / #3[rat8 6]
1757"Death Takes a Holiday on Ice"James BurrowsKen Levine and David IsaacsNovember 9, 1989 (1989-11-09)24.3 / 38 / 36.2 mil. / #2[rat8 7]
1768"For Real Men Only"James BurrowsDavid Pollock and Elias DavisNovember 16, 1989 (1989-11-16)24.0 / 37 / 36.1 mil. / #4[rat8 8]
1779"Two Girls for Every Boyd"James BurrowsDan O'Shannon and Tom AndersonNovember 23, 1989 (1989-11-23)16.5 / 31 / 28.4 mil. / #13[rat8 9]
17810"The Art of the Steal"James BurrowsSue HerringNovember 30, 1989 (1989-11-30)25.4 / 40 / 37.1 mil. / #2[rat8 10]
17911"Feeble Attraction"Andy AckermanDan O'Shannon and Tom AndersonDecember 7, 1989 (1989-12-07)24.2 / 38 / 36.2 mil. / #2[rat8 11]
18012"Sam Ahoy"James BurrowsDavid LloydDecember 14, 1989 (1989-12-14)22.5 / 36 / 33.3 mil. / #2[rat8 12]
18113"Sammy and the Professor"James BurrowsBrian Pollack and Mert RichJanuary 4, 1990 (1990-01-04)24.2 / 36 / 35.8 mil. / #1[rat8 13]
18214"What Is... Cliff Clavin?"Andy AckermanDan O'Shannon and Tom AndersonJanuary 18, 1990 (1990-01-18)24.7 / 37 / 37.7 mil. / #1[rat8 14]
18315"Finally! Part 1"James BurrowsKen Levine and David IsaacsJanuary 25, 1990 (1990-01-25)25.0 / 37 / 37.9 mil. / #3[rat8 15]
18416"Finally! Part 2"James BurrowsKen Levine and David IsaacsFebruary 1, 1990 (1990-02-01)22.7 / 34 / 33.4 mil. / #2[rat8 16]
18517"Woody or Won't He"Andy AckermanBrian Pollack and Mert RichFebruary 8, 1990 (1990-02-08)22.8 / 35 / 34.5 mil. / #2[rat8 17]
18618"Severe Crane Damage"Andy AckermanDan O'Shannon and Tom AndersonFebruary 15, 1990 (1990-02-15)23.3 / 35 / 35.2 mil. / #2[rat8 18]
18719"Indoor Fun with Sammy and Robby"Andy AckermanPhoef SuttonFebruary 22, 1990 (1990-02-22)23.6 / 36 / 35.8 mil. / #1[rat8 19]
18820"50–50 Carla"James BurrowsDavid LloydMarch 8, 1990 (1990-03-08)23.4 / 36 / 34.4 mil. / #2[rat8 20]
18921"Bar Wars III: The Return of Tecumseh"James BurrowsKen Levine and David IsaacsMarch 15, 1990 (1990-03-15)22.1 / 35 / 32.6 mil. / #1[rat8 21]
19022"Loverboyd"James BurrowsBrian Pollack and Mert RichMarch 29, 1990 (1990-03-29)23.8 / 38 / 35.5 / #2[rat8 22]
19123"The Ghost and Mrs. Lebec"James BurrowsDan Staley and Rob LongApril 12, 1990 (1990-04-12)19.7 / 33 / 30.1 mil. / #2[rat8 23]
19224"Mr. Otis Regrets"Andy AckermanKen Levine and David IsaacsApril 19, 1990 (1990-04-19)21.9 / 35 / 32.9 mil. / #1[rat8 24]
19325"Cry Hard"James BurrowsDan O'Shannon and Tom AndersonApril 26, 1990 (1990-04-26)21.2 / 34 / 31.8 mil. / #2[rat8 25]
19426"Cry Harder"James BurrowsStory by : Bill Steinkellner
Teleplay by : Cheri Eichen, Bill Steinkellner and Phoef Sutton		May 3, 1990 (1990-05-03)21.1 / 33 / 30.8 mil. / #3[rat8 26]

Specials

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
S05"Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration"John Landis, James Burrows (Cheers Sketch)Joe Guppy, Nancy T. Harris, Joie Albrecht, and Scot GarenFebruary 4, 1990 (1990-02-04)
S06"The Earth Day Special"James Burrows (Cheers segment)Armyan Bernstein, Richard Baskin, Various WritersApril 22, 1990 (1990-04-22)

Production

In November 1989 actor Roger Rees told news agency Knight-Ridder Wire about Robin Colcord, the character whom Rees portrayed:

They needed a fillip, to give them a boost, someone to drive Sam [Malone] crazy. Robin's there to be dashing, sexy, irritating. He's not as charming and nice as he appears to be at first sight. He's sort of the villain of the piece. He's a megalomaniac millionaire. He's got an airline and a helicopter fleet. It's very much Donald Trump.[2]

In January 1990, actor Rees said that he had not based "the character on anyone", despite "speculation that Colcord was a British version of Trump", wrote Phil Kloer of Cox News Service.[3]

Critical reception

Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly graded the season an A–, calling it "still awfully funny". He praised the supporting characters but criticizing the development of Sam Malone and Rebecca Howe.[4] Jeffrey Robinson of DVDTalk rated the season's content three-and-a-half stars out of five and its replay value four out of five.[5]

Accolades

At the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards (1990), this season won three Emmys: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Ted Danson), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Bebe Neuwirth), and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or Special.[6] Before his eighth nomination and Emmy win, Danson had seven consecutive Emmy nominations for the role of Sam Malone, and a nomination for his leading role in a 1984 television film Something About Amelia.[7] Danson also won a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy) at the 47th (1990)[8][9] and 48th Golden Globe Awards (1991).[10][11] The 1990 season also won the Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Kirstie Alley) at the 48th Golden Globe Awards (1991).[10][12]

DVD release

Cheers: The Complete Eighth Season
Set Details[5]
Release Dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
June 13, 2006 August 6, 2012 April 27, 2009

References

  1. ^ "NBC premieres comedy tonight". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Bluefield, West Virginia. The Associated Press. January 18, 1990. p. C-4 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  2. ^ Winfrey, Lee (November 17, 1989). "Roger Rees: From Bard to Cheers". The News Herald. Panama City, Florida. Knight-Ridder Wire. p. 26D from The Entertainer pullout section (week of November 17–23, 1989) – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  3. ^ Kloer, Phil (January 28, 1990). "Roger Rees hard to figure on Cheers". The Lowell Sun. Lowell, Massachusetts. p. 16 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  4. ^ Tucker, Ken (June 15, 1990). "Cheers review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Robinson, Jeffrey (June 18, 2006). "Cheers – The Complete Eighth Season review". DVD Talk. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  6. ^ "Complete list of winners". The New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Associated Press. September 17, 1990. p. A-8 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  7. ^ "L.A. Law, Tracey Ullman big winners at Emmy Awards". The Associated Press. September 17, 1990. p. A-8 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  8. ^ "Born on the Fourth of July dominates Golden Globes". The News Herald. Panama City, Florida. January 22, 1990. p. 3A – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  9. ^ "Winners & Nominees 1990—Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Horn, John (January 21, 1991). "Dances with Wolves takes 3 Golden Globes". The Lowell Sun. Lowell, Massachusetts. The Associated Press. p. 12 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  11. ^ "Winners & Nominees 1991—Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "Winners & Nominees 1991". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved March 11, 2019.

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.
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