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Cheers
Season 4
Region 1 DVD
Starring	Ted Danson Shelley Long Rhea Perlman John Ratzenberger Woody Harrelson George Wendt
No. of episodes	26
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 26, 1985 (1985-09-26) – May 15, 1986 (1986-05-15)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 3Next → Season 5
List of episodes

The fourth season of Cheers, an American television sitcom, originally aired on NBC in the United States between September 26, 1985, and May 15, 1986, as part of the network's Thursday lineup. This season marks Woody Harrelson's television debut as Woody Boyd after Nicholas Colasanto, who portrayed Coach Ernie Pantusso, died during the previous season. 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.

Background

During the previous season, 1984–85, after two years of struggling with low ratings, rapid schedule changes, and failed series, NBC's Thursday night lineup (years before the Must See TV promotional slogan was developed) consisted of, in time slot order starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern / 7:00 p.m. Central: The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, and Hill Street Blues, and became a ratings success for the network. The 1985–86 Thursday schedule was similar to the previous season's and was still a success.

Cast and characters

• Ted Danson as Sam Malone — bartender, owner, retired Red Sox relief pitcher
• Shelley Long as Diane Chambers — snobby waitress, the moral compass of the bar staff and patrons
• Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli — waitress, divorced mother of six. Gives birth to Ludlow, named after his father Dr. Bennett Ludlow, Frasier's mentor.
• John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin — postal carrier and virginal, loquacious bar know-it-all
• Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd — small town Indiana bar-tender, hired by Sam to fill-in for the coach's absence.
• George Wendt as Norm Peterson — a semi-unemployed accountant, a childless husband
• Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane (recurring) - jilted psychiatrist

  In remastered prints of "Cliffie's Big Score", seen on DVD and later syndication, Grammer's name appears in the opening credits, although he does not appear in the episode.

During the previous season, Sam went to Italy to stop Frasier and Diane's wedding. This season, he fails to do so, and returns to Boston. Several months later, Frasier comes to the bar to announce that Diane jilted him at the altar, made love to other men, and is now in a convent, located one hour away from Boston. Sam retrieves Diane from the convent and rehires her as a bar waitress. After having lost everything, including his career, Frasier frequently visits the Boston bar, Cheers, for drinks and then slowly degenerates into alcoholism. He recovers, then begins another psychiatric job, distancing himself from Sam and Diane's relationship. Sam then begins a relationship with the city councillor Janet Eldrige (Kate Mulgrew). Tired of being part the triangle with Sam and Diane, Janet breaks up with Sam. In the season's finale, during a telephone call, Sam proposes to an unidentified woman.

Episodes

Production

During filming of the series' third season, Nicholas Colasanto, who portrayed regular character Coach Ernie Pantusso, died of a heart attack. Rather than recast the character, Coach was written out. In the season's premiere episode, "Birth, Death, Love and Rice", it was revealed that the character of Coach had died, although no explanation was given. As a replacement for Coach, the show's producers created a new character, Woody Boyd, "an Indiana farm boy" who becomes a bartender in the bar of big city Boston, portrayed by Woody Harrelson. Before Cheers, Harrelson was an understudy in a Broadway play, Biloxi Blues, and made his film debut in Wildcats, which was released to theaters in February 1986.

Reception

In the 1985–86 season, Cheers was scheduled at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) / 8:00 p.m. (Central) against CBS's Simon & Simon and ABC's The Colbys, which replaced Lady Blue, which moved to Saturdays in mid-November 1985. On December 26, 1985, the series gained 33 percent in the Nielsen ratings from the previous season. As of January 29, 1986, it became one of top three rated series among females, along with the other two Must See TV sitcoms, The Cosby Show and Family Ties. As of April 23, 1986, it scored an overall 23.7 rating and a 35 share, putting it into fifth place in the 1985–86 season.

Despite disdaining the Sam-and-Diane romance, and considering this series a typical sitcom in earlier seasons, television critic Rick Sherwood praised the fourth season as the "funniest most intelligent" since the debut season.

The fourth season ended with the cliffhanger of Sam Malone calling and proposing to an unknown individual. A telephone survey polled callers regarding who they thought that recipient was: politician Janet Eldridge or Sam's on again/off again girlfriend Diane Chambers. Nearly 140 picked Diane, and almost 60 picked Janet. Those who voted for Janet were not fans of Janet; rather, they expected the love triangle to continue in the next season. A few of the callers polled considered Janet as "funny and appealing". The rest thought Janet was wrong for Sam.

Jeffrey Robinson of DVD Talk perceived this season as neither as great nor as strongly rewatchable nor as hilarious as earlier seasons, but worth watching, especially for fans. Robinson found its shows "episodic". Adam Arseneau of DVD Verdict described it as "impeccable and golden", with 95 percent on the story and 94 on acting. The critics deemed the introduction of a new character, Woody Boyd (even if not well-developed and well-integrated), the growing prominence of Frasier Crane, and the supposedly one-time character Lilith Sternin, who becomes a recurring character in later seasons, as highlights of the fourth season. However, they found the unexplained death of Coach Ernie Pantusso to be one of the season's low points.

Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed praised this fourth season as well-aged and still "fresh", especially after mostly omitting "topical humor" and developing characters. Robert David Sullivan ranked "I'll Gladly Pay You Tuesday" (1985) at number 36 in his list of top 100 favorite sitcom episodes.

Accolades

All cast members, except newcomer Woody Harrelson and actor Kelsey Grammer (whose character Frasier Crane appears recurringly this season), were nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards in 1986. Only Rhea Perlman won her own Emmy Award, as an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The episode "Fear Is My Co-Pilot" earned the following crew an award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or Special: Michael Ballin, Robert Douglass, Douglas Grey, and Thomas J. Huth.

Shelley Long was awarded the Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series by Viewers for Quality Television in 1986 for her performance throughout the whole season. Long also won a Golden Globe in 1985 as the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy Series for her performance in 1985.

DVD Release

The fourth season is available on DVD, with four discs in the set. On February 1, 2005, the entire season was released to Region 1 DVD with four discs in the set. Unlike DVD releases of earlier seasons, the season four set lacks special features, such as interviews and outtakes.

Notes

References

Specific

1. Jory, Tom (May 11, 1983). "Taxi, Fame Get the Ax as NBC Announces Fall Lineup". Lexington Herald-Leader. Kentucky. p. D5. Record no: 8301230394. (registration required)
2. "Buffalo Bill Returns Dec. 15". The Miami Herald. December 2, 1983. Record no: 8304060082.
3. Ed Bark (April 28, 1985). "NBC's Season Is the Cos for Celebration - Bill Cosby's show rescues the network from the bottom of the TV ratings pile". The Dallas Morning News. p. 1C.
4. "Schedule Changes, Ratings Reveal Magic of Cosby". Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. United Press International. March 7, 1986. p. P-8.
5. ^ Bjorklund, pp. 327–341 "Season Four: 1985–1986".
6. Jones, Jack (February 13, 1985). "N. Colasanto; Played Coach Role in Cheers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
7. Keets, Heather (February 11, 1994). "Coach's Last Call". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
8. Dawidziak, Mark (February 14, 1985). Akron Beacon Journal. Ohio. page 1, section D (Life Style). {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) Record no. 8501050953.
9. Weinraub, Bernard (October 20, 1992). "Hit Series' Producers Must Scramble to Fill A Dead Actor's Role". The New York Times.
10. "New Cheers bartender brings fresh outlook to show". The Gazette. Montreal. Associated Press. December 24, 1985. p. C13.
11. Maslin, Janet (February 14, 1986). "The Screen: Wildcats, with Hawn". The New York Times.
12. "Lady Blue moving to 9 p.m. Saturday, beginning Nov. 16". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. October 18, 1985. p. D10. Record no. 8502060781.
13. "Growing Pains Dumps Most of Its Creative Leaders". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. December 26, 1985. p. D8. Record no. 8502170048.
14. Boyer, Peter J. (January 29, 1986). "Prime-time Soaps Are Taking a Bath". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. C6. Peter J. Boyer worked for The New York Times at the time of publication. Record no. 8601030104.
15. Feder, Robert (April 23, 1986). "NBC peacock soars in rating triumph". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 41. Record no. CHI54818.
16. Sherwood, Rick (October 31, 1985). "'Cheers' is back in fine, funny form". The Gainesville Sun. p. 9A.
17. Carter, Bill (September 25, 1986). "Diane gets the cheers in this readers' survey". Reading Eagle. p. 45.
18. ^ Robinson, Jeffrey (January 27, 2005). "DVD Video Review: Cheers: The Complete Fourth Season". DVD Talk.
19. ^ Arseneau, Adam (February 9, 2005). "DVD Verdict Review - Cheers: The Complete Fourth Season". DVD Verdict.
20. Meyers, Nate (February 1, 2005). "Cheers: The Complete Fourth Season (1985-86)". Digitally Obsessed.
21. Sullivan, Robert David (June 11, 2012). "Top 100 sitcom episodes of all time, No. 36: "I'll Gladly Pay You Tuesday", Cheers". Robert David Sullivan at Typepad.
22. Bjorklund, p. 459.
23. Schwed, Mark (June 10, 1986). "'Quality' group picks its top shows". The Miami Herald. United Press International. p. 6C. Record no. 8602150637.
24. "Golden Globe awards list". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. January 28, 1985. p. 2.

General

• Bjorklund, Dennis A. Cheers TV Show: A Comprehensive Reference (e-Book ed.). Praetorian Publishing. Retrieved June 27, 2012. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Ratings sources

According to the Daily Breeze, a newspaper from Torrance, California, the 1985–86 ratings are based on 85.9 million households with at least one television.

1. Arar, Yardena (October 2, 1985). "NBC leaps toward ratings rooftop". Los Angeles Daily News (Valley ed.). p. 17. Record no. 8501010144.
2. Rothenberg, Fred (October 10, 1985). "NBC'S undefeated so far in ratings season". The Orlando Sentinel (3 Star ed.). Associated Press. p. E2. Record no. 0330360228. "Woody Goes Belly Up" tied with primetime soap opera Dynasty on the week of October 7–13, 1985.
3. Rothenberg, Fred (October 23, 1985). "Series, sports, sexy movies puts NBC on top". Daily Breeze. Torrance, California. Associated Press. p. G5. Record no. 0000068236.
4. Rothenberg, Fred (October 31, 1985). "World Series Pitches ABC to Top of TV Ratings". The Orlando Sentinel (3 Star ed.). Associated Press. p. E2. Record no. 0340170018.
5. "Cosby Still No. 1". Daily Breeze. November 6, 1985. p. F7. Record no. 0000070094. San Francisco Chronicle erroneously typed '24.5' rating instead of 24.1.
6. "North and South wins". Daily Breeze. Associated Press. November 14, 1985. p. C4. Record no. 0000071039.
7. Rothenberg, Fred (November 20, 1985). "Kane & Abel miniseries opens strong for CBS in Nielsen poll". Daily Breeze. Associated Press. p. F7. Record no. 0000071955.
8. "Comics/TV". The Miami Herald. November 28, 1985. p. 11F. Record no. 8504050518.
9. "Perry Mason wins ratings case for NBC". Daily Breeze. December 4, 1985. p. F5. Record no. 0000073756.
10. Rothenberg, Fred (December 11, 1985). "Cosby,Monday Night Football score". Daily Breeze. Associated Press. p. D9. Record no. 0000074696.
11. Rothenberg, Fred (December 18, 1985). "NBC wins week - Mary comes in 31st". Daily Breeze. Associated Press. p. D8. Record no. 0000075609.
12. Rothenberg, Fred (December 28, 1985). "Cosby rerun still good enough for first". The Orlando Sentinel. Sentinel Communications Co. Associated Press. p. E2. Record no. 0340900075.
13. Rothenberg, Fred (January 16, 1986). "Sunday Night Movie pushes CBS to No. 1". Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 14E. Record no. 8601030977. "Take My Shirt... Please?" tied with a news program 60 Minutes on the week of January 6–12, 1986.
14. Rothenberg, Fred (January 23, 1986). "Mafia Princess an NBC Hit; Cosby sets another record". The Orlando Sentinel. Associated Press. p. E3. Record no. 0190270204.
15. Rothenberg, Fred (January 30, 1986). "Nielsen tally shows NBC ahead of the pack". The Orlando Sentinel. Associated Press. p. E3. Record no. 0190370163. The week of January 20–26, 1986, included the Super Bowl XX.
16. "Cosby Show leads". San Francisco Chronicle. February 5, 1986. p. 13, "News" section. Record no. 215788. "Cliffie's Big Score" tied with hourlong drama, Highway to Heaven. In the San Francisco area, the episode scored a 23.2 rating.
17. "Cosby still leads ratings". Daily Breeze. February 12, 1986. p. D6. Record no. 0000082617.
18. Rothenberg, Fred (February 20, 1986). "Theatrical movies surprise in ratings". Daily Breeze. Associated Press. p. C4. Record no. 0000083673.
19. Rothenberg, Fred (February 27, 1986). "CBS wins its second battle of miniseries". Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 6E. Record no. 8601130372.
20. Rothenberg, Fred (March 5, 1986). "NBC edges CBS in ratings". Daily Breeze. Associated Press. p. D6. Record no. 0000085244.
21. Rothenberg, Fred (March 19, 1986). "Even repeat comedies score well". Daily Breeze. Associated Press. p. D7. Record no. 0000086942.
22. "CBS and NBC share top honors in the weekly ratings race". The Orlando Sentinel. Associated Press. March 27, 1986. p. E2. Record no. 0210130008.
23. Barr, Robert (April 3, 1986). "Oscar show ratings low, still help ABC". Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 8E. Record no. 8601200516.
24. Rothenberg, Fred (May 8, 1986). "All networks winners in May sweeps battle". Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 7E. Record no. 8601270789.
25. "Nielsen Top 20". Daily Breeze. May 14, 1986. p. D4. Record no. 0000094316.
26. Rothenberg, Fred (May 21, 1986). "Duffy in shower leads soaps assault". Daily Breeze. Associated Press. p. D8. Record no. 0000095213.

External links

• Production order of Cheers (season 4) at Copyright Catalog
  • Click "Set Search Limits", select "Range", select "Motion Pictures" at "Item Type", type "1985" at left box and "1986" at right box, either hit "Enter" or click "Set Search Limits"
  • Then, after above step, search by title, type "Cheers", and hit "Enter" or click "Begin search"
• Cheers, season 4 at Internet Movie Database
• Cheers, season 4 at TV.com (printable version, recommended for users with only dial-ups)
• Cheers, season 4 at TV Guide

v t e Cheers
Seasons	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Episodes	"Give Me a Ring Sometime" "Coach's Daughter" "The Boys in the Bar" "Showdown" "Thanksgiving Orphans" "I Do, Adieu" "Home Is the Sailor" "The Gift of the Woodi" "What Is... Cliff Clavin?" "Woody Interruptus" "One for the Road"
Characters	Sam Malone Diane Chambers Coach Ernie Pantusso Carla Tortelli Norm Peterson Cliff Clavin Frasier Crane Woody Boyd Lilith Sternin Rebecca Howe
Spin-offs and related series	The Tortellis Wings Frasier revival series Cheers (Spanish TV series)
Other	Awards "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" Sam and Diane Cheers Beacon Hill "Fear of Flying" (The Simpsons)
Category

• Cheers seasons
• 1985 American television seasons
• 1986 American television seasons