Cheers: The Complete Series

Back years ago, when my TV was still connected to the outside world, I used to watch the syndicated reruns of Cheers at 11PM, just as something to watch and wind-down by. It was never my favorite show- but it was always watchable; entertaining; and made ya laugh. In recent years, I'd been hearkening back to memories of watching Cheers, and wishing that I had the series on DVD- but alas! In the past, the price of the series on DVD was just too high to justify. Naturally, when I saw this complete series set offered for under 60 bananas on Amazon, I grabbed it- and I'm glad that I did!In my opinion, this show's appeal lies in the fact that it can make you laugh out loud quite often; and just transport you to a different world, apart from the current reality- which is what entertainment is supposed to do; but which most modern forms fail to achieve. And while I often don't like clichéd story arcs- I have to say that with Cheers, the Sam and Diane romantic story arc was very well done, and even keeps ME interested! And the beauty of it is, instead of concentrating on that one arc, the producers wisely just kept it as one aspect of the show, while giving equal weight to the other characters. Well-done!And, much like Three's Company, this is also one of those rare shows which is good right from the very beginning. It hits it's stride right off the bat in episode one; and the characters are already fully developed. A rare feat, successfully pulled off only by the real veterans of good TV comedy!I see some other reviewers complaining about the packaging. Personally, I have no problem with the packaging. It is more than adequate for storage and normal use; the DVDs are easy to access; and my mailman even dropped the box on the ground from his car, while trying to hand it to me while i was on my tractor- and it did it no harm.All in all, I am very glad that this series is now available in it's entirety for such a low price; and that the packaging is not bulky or gawdy, like some shows which come in novelty packaging!If you're looking for good old-fashioned entertainment to just sit and watch and relax to at night; which will take your mind off of reality and make you laugh...this is it! (I don't know what it is- even though in real-life i despise bars, and would never patronize one- there is something very comforting about this show!)

Once in a while, a TV series will catch lightning in a bottle, with an interesting premise, intelligent writing, and a stellar cast. "Cheers" was one of those series. Sam "Mayday" Malone (Ted Danson) is the charismatic owner of the bar. He is a former Boston Red Sox relief pitcher and a recovering alcoholic. Mostly, he is an aging babe hound whose life revolves around chasing and bedding women. Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) is an over-educated, sophisticated snob who is abandoned by her fiancé at Cheers. Without a job or marketable talent, Diane reluctantly becomes a cocktail waitress at Cheers. The Sam and Diane relationship became the central focus of the show for the first five seasons. The strength of the show was proved when Diane left, and was replaced by Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley). Rebecca brought a new dynamic to the series as the bar's manager, and the excellent quality of the episodes continued for the remainder of the series. Another one of the main characters was the beloved and befuddled Ernie "Coach" Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto). Unfortunately, Nicholas died during the third season. He was replaced in the fourth season by Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), a naïve, befuddled bartender from Indiana. As the writers explained in one of the bonus features, Woody's character was written as the son of Coach's character.Rounding out the cast was wisecracking cocktail waitress Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman), barstool-and-beer loving Norm Peterson (George Wendt), know-it-all mailman Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger), psychiatrist in need of therapy Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), and clinical, cold-as-ice Lilith Sternin-Crane (Bebe Neuwirth). Such was the popularity of "Cheers" that when "Frasier" became a TV series, many of the Boston bar's characters made guest appearances. All 270 "Cheers" episodes from Seasons 1-11 are packed onto 45 discs in two separate boxes. Unlike other box sets I have purchased in the past, there were no defective discs in this box set. I did notice that the commercial promos for the final season's episodes looked very dark. Occasionally, brief shots in some episodes also looked very dark, when compared to the rest of the scene. All of the bonus features, such as profiles of characters, a trivia game, and a blooper reel, are included in the first three seasons. The last episode of "Cheers" was preceded by a pre-game show hosted by Bob Costas. In addition, it was followed by a special "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, broadcast live from the Bull & Finch Pub in Boston. Unfortunately, neither of those are included in the box set as bonus features. In addition, no episodes with commentaries from cast members and/or writers are included. All in all, despite what it's lacking, it’s well worth owning this box set for all that it includes - every episode from one of the greatest TV sitcoms of all time!

This is a show that starts off rocky and gets better. The part I didn't like: the male characters spend 90% of the time slobbering over women, talking about sex, and treating women like objects. The main character, Sam Malone, is a womanizer and prides himself on how many women he can conquer. The other main character, Diane Chambers, is the most obnoxious person I've ever seen in a sitcom. She's a pretentious waitress who thinks she's better than everyone else. She never shuts up and likes to use big words to sound more important.Now for the good parts. Despite Sam's womanizing, he's a great guy and former professional baseball player. The conflict between him and Diane is funny because she exasperates him.Carla, the waitress, loathes Diane and has great zingers for her and the lazy guys who hang out at the bar. She's pretty much a hound herself when it comes to pursuing men. She gets pregnant at the drop of a hat, and her kids are juvenile delinquents. Scenes when her scuzzy ex-husband comes to the bar are some of the best episodes.The series gets better as it goes along and introduces new characters, like Dr. Frasier Crane, a psychiatrist who needs as much help as his patients. There'sRebecca Howe, who wants nothing more than to marry rich. She embarrasses herself by falling all over wealthy men. Then she gets sloppy when it doesn't work out, which is often. I'm talking about drinking, crying, smoking, not changing her clothes, and ignoring personal hygiene. It's hilarious.The main characters include Cliff Clavin, the mailman who takes so much pride in his uniform and his job you'd think he was in the military. He hangs out at the bar regaling everyone with stupid trivia. Norm Peterson, is Cliff's best friend and resident alcoholic, who practically lives at the bar, complains about his wife, and is always trying to get free beer. He and Cliff get into all kinds of trouble because they're goofballs with dumb ideas.Woody Harrelson plays Woody Boyd, a goofy country bumpkin who comes to Boston to fulfill his dream as a bartender. His stories about Hanover, Indiana, give you the impression everyone who lives there married their first cousins.You also get to enjoy cameos of acters and actresses who appeared on the show before they became famous. Towards the end you'll come to love the characters, except for Diane. (I never stopped hating her.) This series had one of the best final episodes I've ever seen. I didn't cry, but definitely felt misty-eyed.

Relive one of the best series on TV. 45 awesome discs covering every episode seasons 1 to 11 (labeled as the Final Season). For me, I had missed the Shelly Long (Diane) years and all the famous "extras" on practically every episode. Almost every disc in Seasons 1-6 is loaded with additional "Special Features" such as conversations with the actors, gag reels, behind the scenes, making of and other extras.The packaging: Comes in two hard plastic cases with the discs in library style cd storage (see picture). The inner case is not attached to the outer plastic case. On the inside of both cases is the listing of each season, disc and episode. One minor (brief temporary hissy fit...Opened Seasons 1-6 case and pulled out what should have been season 1 disc 1 to immediately watch and realized I was watching season 8 disc 4. All the discs were in the wrong cases...none of them were in the correct case, they were all mixed up. Had to pull out all of them and properly order. Minor irritant but popcorn and wine while sorting eased the pain).The discs: Excellent quality recording,sound and clarity. There were no inaudible or excessively loud discs. Some of the early discs you had to select each episode, but for some reason later in the season the option to "Play All" was included.Shipment arrived in a few days and was exactly as described by the seller. Definitely worth the price if you are a Cheers Fan!

It is an excellent TV series and I have long waited to purchase it. Amazon price and S&H were US$ 75.93, but adding importation and comercial taxes due that were US$ 72.22, I paid a total of US$ 148.15. I noticed that the DVD covers were different than the ones referred by the top reviewers (two big convenient plastic cases as the Frasier complete set I purchased before). I wrote Amazon about this fact, they replied promptly, as usual, informing that a new set will be shipped at no cost, no need to return the product due to the complications involved. Good, some days later I received EXACTLY the same product (8 plastic cases, not the 2 big ones I referred to). I have been an Amazon satisfied customer for about 20 years. The customer support is very good but I think it lacks sometimes a "close up and fine tuning eye" to the client's arguments. More about the product quality, I paid those huge local taxes because the product is excellent.

This "Cheers" collection is 11 seasons of comedic genius! There are few series where the characters are so well developed that they continue to grow and evolve, becoming more interesting with each passing year. I cannot begin to express how wonderful it is to watch these episodes again. They are 25 minutes of pure gold! It stands the test of time and will always set the standard for true comedy.One must not forget it was "Cheers" that gave birth to the character of Frasier, making this series a prerequisite to truly understanding all facets of "Frasier" and its 11 season run... The added bonus, we get to catch up with our favorite "Cheers" characters as well!Set observations: My Seasons 1 through 3 DO NOT have the "play all" feature. I'm not sure if this is true for all seasons 1-3. Two of the DVD set sleeves were a bit worn from what I assume was excessive handling over time and the last season's case was cracked in a few places. I again assume rough handling. All discs are perfect. -- However, I can't complain too much since I did snag the set for $80... For that amount of money, it's tolerable, but that's just my opinion.Enjoy the collection! :)

I watched Cheers religiously when it first came out in 1982. It was on TV when I got married, when our kids were born, and when they went off to school. On re-watching the series, I've gotten a chance to see many episodes that I missed the first time around.The comedy is some of the greatest ever written or acted. To add to this, each episode has multiple components. First, before the intro credits, is a one-minute skit. This is followed after the intro commercials with the main body of the show, which has a main plot and usually one or more secondary plots, giving the show a great complexity that you don't find in most sitcoms.For me, Seasons 1 through 4 are are the best. Season 5 has some over-reaching piling-on on Dianne (Shelley Long), especially by Sam (Ted Danson). The last episode of Season 5, which shows a "what could have been" scene between Sam and Dianne 30 years later had they been married, is by far the saddest sitcom episode that I've ever watched. Seasons 6 through 11, with Rebecca instead of Diane, are great also.This is my brief take on the characters. Ted Danson as Sam - the first season is his best. The director must have asked him to start playing a more stereotypical dumb jock starting in Season 2, which was too bad because he is a very good actor. Dianne is played beautifully by Shelley Long. Norm is funny but a bit one dimensional. Cliff is great - perhaps the most underrated character. Carla is great although sometimes too repetitively obnoxious to Dianne. Frazier is great, as is Lilith. Coach and Woody are both great. Rebecca is very good but can sometimes be a bit annoying.One issue that I had is that the characters don't develop or evolve much - for the most part -over the course of the show. Nobody has kids (except Carla who has too many, and Frazier). Nobody gets married (except for Frazier and Woody). Most characters are in the same situation at the end of Season 11 as they were at the beginning of their first season. The final mega-episode of Season 11 is extremely sad - with Sam and Dianne almost getting back together as Shelley Long makes a return appearance. Personally, I was pulling for them to reunite.Overall, this Complete Series was very well put together with interviews for each season. It includes every episode ever done, all 275.There is some really great comedy here, some of the absolute best ever done. The fact that this level of performance was sustained over 11 seasons is amazing. If you take this series one episode at a time, almost all episodes are 5 stars, and none are below 4 starts. I took one star off for the series as a whole, bringing it down to 4 stars, because of the humor sometimes getting a bit nasty for my taste, and also because Sam and Diane never get back together again, neither and the end of Season 5, or at the end of Season 11. Of course, if Sam and Diane had gotten together at the end of Season 5, Seasons 6 through 11 might never have occured. But getting together at the end of Season 11 would have been "high art". I realize that's just my personal preference on these points, and it doesn't take away from my overall enjoyment of this remarkable show.

Loved this show when it was on. Always talked about this show with My son who wasn't even born when this series ended whenever we saw one of the regulars in a movie or show. When I received it we intended to watch an episode a day but ended up on a serious binge watch watching all 270 episodes and extras from the 11 seasons in about 3 1/2 weeks. Video and audio look and sound great. No problems with any of the discs. Wanted to buy this for awhile but price was always around 100 dollars, when I saw the price I ordered it immediately.

Ordered these for my boss. They said they would come within so many days paid over £100 for them. Weeks passed on they didn't come. I had to chase them up they were in Germany! I had to pay extra to get them in the end it cost me about £150 for this. When I got them they were the wrong region. But managed to change my tv

First off, I would like to say the Set comes exactly as it is shown on Amazon.caIt is all the seasons 1-11 put together in a plastic wrapping with the Cheers Sticker on the front. Some of the seasons come in a wider fold out style case, and some come in a more slim hard plastic case style(non fold out)One commenter said that some seasons only contain 1 disc, which is simply not TRUE. Each season comprises of 4 separate discs with all the episodes from each season, and they are packaged securely inside the cases. Upon getting my Cheers Set I carefully took out each disc and inspected them one by one and they were perfect with no scratches or anything.Anyhow, this was on my Amazon.ca Wish List for the last 2 years and I was waiting for the price to come down...and it did.Cheers is simply one of the greatest sitcoms ever created, and the fact that it went on for 11 successful seasons goes to show how loved the show was among millions of people.Even though Cheers is an Adult Sitcom, I fell in love with it as a child and remember waiting for new episodes to air on TV even when I was only 10 years old.Time to pull up a stool beside Cliff and Normy and have a few beers.Cheers

The Series is great...purchased it as a gift for my daughter'b birthday! We were both very disappointed regarding the packaging. It appears on Amazon as a gift set, boxed set, unable to determine whether the set is a lengthy DVD season, (4 per season) or (1 disk per season)...that wouldn't have mattered as much as receiving a combination of seasons, some 4 disks per seasons, other 1 disk per season. This makes a huge difference regarding presentation and later on for storage. So to reiterate, the Packaging is misleading because of the way the series is being marketed on Amazon.Cheers! :o)

Excellent comedy! Color sound and picture were excellent! Arrived on time and in perfect condition. Packaged well for protection. Product as described.

No complaints. It's just a LOT of Cheers. I probably should have watched season 2 before deciding if I really needed to own the entire series.