Cheers
A Cultural History
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- 39,99 €
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- 39,99 €
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A fascinating look at one of the greatest shows of all time.
For eleven seasons, Cheers was a critically acclaimed program, ultimately earning more than 100 Emmy nominations and securing 28 wins, including 4 for best comedy series. One of the most popular shows of all time, the series centered on a group of Boston, Massachusetts locals who gathered to drink and socialize. Bar owner Sam Malone was the de facto leader of the group and boss to Carla Tortelli, Coach Ernie Pantuso, Woody Boyd, and Diane Chambers, Sam’s on-again, off again paramour. Regular patrons Norm Peterson and Cliff Claven completed this ersatz family, later joined by Frasier Crane; his wife Lilith; and Rebecca Howe, a new foil for Sam. Cheers not only provided laughs, it revolutionized American sitcoms with its long-running stories and famous will-they-won’t-they relationship of Sam and Diane.
In Cheers: A Cultural History, Joseph J. Darowski and Kate Darowski offer an engaging analysis of the show, providing insights into both the onscreen stories and the efforts behind the scenes to shape this beloved classic. The authors examine the series as a whole but also focus on the show’s key characters, narrative arcs, and many themes, ranging from alcoholism to adultery. This volume also provides close looks at how set design, class issues, and gender roles informed the series throughout its run.
Also included is an opinionated compendium of every episode, highlighting the peaks and dips in quality across more than a decade of television. Cheers: A Cultural History will appeal to the show’s many fans and bring back beloved memories of the place where everybody knows your name.
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If readers do not already believe the sitcom Cheers (which ran from 1982 to 1993) was a monumental television comedy, this book will do little to convince them. A serviceable survey by the Darowski brother-and-sister team (who cowrote a history on the Cheers offshoot Frasier) on a show "about alcoholics who are never drunk," it wastes little time on context or production war stories. Instead, after a preamble on how the self-described "Jew and two Mormons" (director James Burrows and writers Glen and Len Charles) pitched a faltering NBC a surrogate family workplace sitcom in the vein of The Dick Van Dyke Show, the authors embark on a season-by-season recap. Relying heavily on quotes from other critics and bland assertions such as calling it "one of the greatest television shows of all time," the Darowskis mostly dish out generalizations. There are the odd gems, such as a collection of the best "Norm" lines and a comparison of lovably daft bartenders Woody and Coach ("for both characters there is no subtext, only text"). But except for those moments, and the odd consideration of issues such as how Sam Malone's womanizing comes across in the #MeToo era, there is not much here to keep readers' attention. This thin account of a hugely popular TV show disappoints.
