I was looking over a "Where are they now?" feature our friends at AOL put together on the cast of Cheers, and a few of the mysteries of the long-running sitcom classic came to mind. These were head-scratchers big and small that made me wonder if the writers are the most clever geniuses ever to man a word processor (it was the '80s, after all) or, like in most sitcoms, consistency of story was the first thing to go if a good joke came up in the writers' room.I guess I should just go over to Ken Levine's blog and ask him, since he wrote for the show for many years. But if I did that, I wouldn't get paid for it. So, after the jump are the biggest Cheers mysteries, starting with the biggest and most obvious one:
What did Vera Peterson look like? For eleven years, we heard Norm talk about his battle ax of a wife. Or at least that's the impression he gave of her. After a while, though, we started to realize that either Norm was just a lousy, inattentive husband that sat on his corner stool at Cheers all day, or he loved Vera and was devoted to her more than he let on to his boozing buddies. Either way, we never really saw what she looked like. Oh, she showed up on-camera once, in the classic "Thanksgiving Orphans" episode, but mashed potatoes covered her face after the hunger-induced food fight the gang got into at Carla's house. In that episode, Vera was played by George Wendt's real life wife, Bernadette Birkett -- she's on the right in this recent picture -- so that may give you an idea. My feeling was that she was much more lovely than Norm described. Oh, and she was the most patient wife on the planet.
What exactly was Rebecca's job? I'm not talking about when Ms. Howe first got to Cheers; I'm talking about what she did after her "sweet baby," Robin Colcord, skipped the country after framing her for embezzling the funds of the bar's corporate owners. After Sam got the bar back as a reward for turning Robin in to the corporation, he took pity on the oft-rejected Rebecca and gave her a job. Ostensibly it was as the bar's manager, but we know that Sam was in charge. So, for the last three years of the series, all we saw Rebecca do was walk around with a cigar box full of receipts, if that. Every so often, one of the characters would ask what Rebecca did around the bar, and no one would know how to respond. If they didn't know, how were we ever going to figure it out?
Why did Cliff wear white socks with everything? The short answer, I guess, is "because he was a dork who had no idea how to dress." But, come on... the guy would wear white socks with a suit! I even think he once wore them with a tuxedo! Of course, for extra funny, he'd always wear the cuffs of his pants at "flood" length, showing everyone a gleaming view of his sweat socks. But even the biggest loser knows that you don't wear white socks with a suit... am I right?
When did Frasier have any time to see patients? Remember, the Frasier Crane of Cheers was in private practice. And, instead of sipping sherry with Niles in his apartment every night, he hunkered down three stools over from Norm with either a beer or a scotch in hand. He seemed to be there only slightly less than Norm, and even more than other stool jockeys like Paul. So, here's the big question: when did he ever get time to see patients? And, when he did see them, weren't they dismayed by the scotch that was perpetually on his breath? Maybe Lilith was the one who made all the money in that household...
When did Cheers close? Think about it: it was a huge bar in the heart of downtown Boston. It more than likely closed at around two in the morning almost every single day (at least that was the way it was until recently in Boston, from what I've read and heard). We often saw Norm, Cliff, Frasier, and company stagger out of the bar after Sam or Coach or Woody told people that it was last call. So riddle me this: did these middle-aged men have such severe drinking problems that they stayed at a bar until two in the morning instead of going home to their families or, God forbid, getting some sleep before going to work the next day? I can barely last past midnight most nights I'm out, and I'm still in my thirties. It leads me to believe that Cheers closed at a more human hour of 11 or midnight, but that might have cost them a lot of business.
Any other mysteries you can think of? Let me know in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-07-2008 @ 1:38PM
Hank said...
Cliff could wear white socks because he is quite the thespian. (ref)
What day of the week was it at Cheers, anyway? I mean, I look at it as perpetually Friday night, unless they mentioned a specific date. So in that case, not going home until last call is perfectly all right.
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4-07-2008 @ 2:05PM
Bill said...
You never really know what day of the week it is, so anytime Frasier's in the bar and the sun's out, it could be a Saturday afternoon. And every time they drag the regulars out at closing time, it could be Friday or Saturday night (though I like to think Norm would be there til 2am on a Tuesday, too).
As for Rebecca, I think the same thing could be said of a lot of people's managers... not necessarily the cigar box of receipts, but I certainly know a lot of people who can't imagine what exactly their boss does.
And finally, I'm pretty sure we also saw Vera's legs on a seperate episode, crying on the stairs outside the bar (because she was fired as the hat check girl at Melville's, I think?).
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4-07-2008 @ 2:46PM
Joel Keller said...
Bill, you're right about Vera's legs. I figured someone would mention it. But the only time we saw above her legs was in that Thanksgiving episode, I think.
4-07-2008 @ 2:12PM
Peanut said...
Frasier once mentioned on Cheers that his parents were both dead. Of course, he explained that later on Frasier. The show Frasier was really good with continuity.
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4-07-2008 @ 2:16PM
RobynS8971 said...
I think Cheers closed at a earlier hours, because it reallay was an extension of Melville's, and most restaurants close at 10ish. 11 PM sounds good, Frasier can get a good night's rest ebfore he saw patients int eh normal dr. time of 9-11 and 1:30 to 5!
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4-07-2008 @ 2:39PM
Ken Levine said...
I will attempt to answer these tomorrow in my blog -- http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/
Ken Levine
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4-07-2008 @ 2:47PM
Joel Keller said...
Thanks, Ken. I look forward to reading it!
4-07-2008 @ 2:54PM
Illuminati said...
I was always perplexed at the Melville's/Cheers situation.
Can you ever think of another business situation where two completely different establishments with seperate owners shared the same building, and encouraged customers to frequent the other establishment? Obviously Cheers had no food, kitchen, or cook. If you had reservations at Melville's, you waited at Cheers. I swear in one episode they went to dinner at Melville's and had drinks. Did Melville's have a bar? Wouldn't someone eventually buy the other person out?
My head hurts. I need a beer.
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4-07-2008 @ 3:29PM
MERVE-THE-PERVE said...
I think Sam gave her that job just to keep her around so he could score with her.
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4-07-2008 @ 4:00PM
Mike Bell said...
These would be my speculations...
#1 - Vera looked like her father, but she had her mother's eyes.
#2 - Food and Beverage Manager (But it was really a bogus mob position).
#3 - Any other color made his ankles look too wimpy.
#4 - The patrons and staff of cheers were his "clients" (see #5 below).
#5 - It never closed. Cheers was actually Hell, Frasier was Lucifer. Actually, Lilith was Lucifer. She just let Frasier think he was.
Other possibility - Since characters from St. Elsewhere appeared on the show, it's logical to presume that everything about cheers happened in the mind of that autistic kid at the end of their run.
Possibility three - Bob Newhart had another weird dream.
Possibility four - Cheers is another Dharma station.
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4-07-2008 @ 4:37PM
Miles said...
"It leads me to believe that Cheers closed at a more human hour of 11 or midnight, but that might have cost them a lot of business."
You do realize Frasier, Cliff and the rest of those savages pretty much got wasted from 5pm ( when they probably got off from work) until 11pm every single day. Not to mention the rest of the customers. They had plenty of cash coming in from customers, its just that Sam when through so many rubbers he had to get bought out by that corporation .
Once Rebecca started "working" for him he knew she was on the pill and could save a couple bucks on the condoms he used on all those random women he used to hook up with.
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5-10-2008 @ 5:41PM
Jonathan Gibson said...
yes, but remember when fraizers mom was on a episode of cheers. remember in fraizer she was already killed off and she was married to fraizers dad.
4-07-2008 @ 4:47PM
Frank said...
did these middle-aged men have such severe drinking problems that they stayed at a bar until two in the morning instead of going home to their families or, God forbid, getting some sleep before going to work the next day?
You haven't lived in Boston, have you?
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4-07-2008 @ 5:02PM
RN said...
Heh heh.. thanks for the chuckle.
All really good points!
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4-07-2008 @ 5:41PM
MERVE-THE-PERVE said...
You forgot about how much was Norm's tab by the time the series finale aired? I think some college professor mentioned how much it was but I forgot. I think it was almost 20 grand.
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4-07-2008 @ 6:30PM
Pete said...
Here's a mystery: "Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?"
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4-07-2008 @ 6:52PM
Karen said...
Ok, THAT? made me laugh out loud. That scene was HILARIOUS.
4-07-2008 @ 6:58PM
Joel Keller said...
Ah, Ken's link led you to his discussion of one of my favorite Cheers scenes ever. Here's the direct link for the rest of you:
http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2008/04/cliff-clavin-on-jeopardy.html
4-07-2008 @ 8:41PM
Chent said...
Wasn't there an episode with Vera where Norm had to wrestle some guy for her, each got the other in some kinda head or leg lock, and they ended up getting tired and falling asleep? I thought they at least showed the back of her body, but it's been awhile since I've seen that. It could be the Thanksgiving episode that Joel Keller mentioned earlier for all I know!
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4-07-2008 @ 8:45PM
CJM said...
Norm and Wally (his school chum) wrestled for Vera, but she wasn't in the episode. Norm won, but still wasn't in a hurry to get home after.