Fan Favorites: The Best of Cheers

The phenomenon of "fan favorites" always seems a bit dubious to me, just another marketing strategy. But CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount recently conducted a Facebook poll on seven of its popular classic programs (Cheers, Happy Days, Frasier, The Odd Couple, Hogan's Heroes, The Honeymooners, and MacGyver) to determine what would be included on these Fan Favorite DVD releases. These are no-frills editions for only the most casual viewer (each of these shows is readily available in complete seasons and/or series editions), so if you already own the previous, and more complete, releases--this really adds nothing to the discussion. These bargain priced entries, therefore, might appeal to newer viewers who wish to sample a program or to someone who just wants a few episodes of their favorite show for those rainy days with nothing better going on.

However, as the number of episodes and which ones are not being provided (as of 2/28/12), I thought I'd give a rundown to the interested parties about what is included on each DVD set.

Cheers: In Dolby Digital English Stereo with English SDH subtitles
(1) Give Me a Ring Sometime (Pilot: Season One, Episode 1): A jilted Diane meets the Cheers crew for the first time and Sam, despite his better instincts, offers her a job.
(2) Diane's Perfect Date (Season One, Episode 17): Sam and Diane agree to set up blind dates for one another and disaster ensues.
(3) Pick A Con, Any Con (Season One, Episode 19): This won the Facebook poll as favorite episode. When Coach is swindled, the crew hatch a plan to get his money back.
(4) Abnormal Psychology (Season Five, Episode 4): A pushy Diane works to put Frasier and Lilith together.
(5) Thanksgiving Orphans (Season Five, Episode 9): A Thanksgiving potluck is held at Carla's new home.
(6) Dinner At Eight-ish (Season Five, Episode 20): When Sam and Diane are invited to a dinner party with Frasier and Lilith, the evening becomes a night of psychological warfare.
(7) Simon Says (Season Five, Episode 21): Sam and Diane find out they are mismatched after a couples counseling session.
(8) An Old Fashioned Wedding Parts 1 & 2 (Season Ten, Episode 25 and Episode 26): It's the Wedding Day of Woody and Kelly and the crew offers its services for a night of secrets and revelations.

Of course, I love Cheers. It is easily one of the best shows on television and these are some very good episodes. However, I think the show in context will always be stronger than randomly selected episodes. KGHarris, 2/12.

I agree with the reviewer who said this is easily one of the best shows on television. I will add that it's the best past present and future, and there are a lot of good shows out there. I already own the seasons so I just want to tell those who may purchase this what I think of what is included. While these are all good episodes, I think the thanksgiving episode rates as one of the top ten episodes of all time (according to tv guide) as it is well remembered. I do think these are really good episodes but it seems to be too Diane-Centric, there are a lot of great episodes from the Rebecca Era. Cheers is one of the few shows to lose a main character and then find someone equally as good but totally different, and then successfully continue the show for six more years. One of My favorites is where Sam thought he got a girl pregnant and he swore to God if it wasn't his he would give up sex for two months. When the bar caught fire was a good one too, though a bit more darker drama/comedy than usual. I would probably cut out a few of these episodes in order to add those. My opinion though, as I am a collector and a completist, is that if you are new to Cheers or only caught some of the episodes in passing and you are curious as to whether you should buy the seasons, this is a great way for you to get inducted in a really awesome show. The writing/directing and acting are above par. After working on Mary Tyler Moore, Taxi etc, they hit the ground running with Cheers, they are the best team for this type of comedy. You had your main stars, but the supporting cast were awesome, and always got great lines. This is a show that if you watch it from start to finish you are rewarded with lots of in-jokes, even if you don't watch every episode you probably would enjoy it without knowing all the details of previous episodes, but my opinion is that you should buy season one and start from there, it just gets better and better, and even though the leading lady changed, you won't care. You'll be sad that part of this family has left but you'll love the new additions. Kirsty Alley was at her best with this show. She was beautiful and had perfect comedic timing. She was Sam's equal in many ways, she was one of the boys. And all of the cast members who came for brief story arcs leave a great impression. It's like the director/writers and producers could do no wrong. And in the end you felt like you were part of the bar, like you were a regular and it really was a crazy but safe place to go every thursday night. You really felt welcome and you really felt like everyone knew your name. I love this show and recommend it to everyone. But, this is a great place to start and a hell of a lot of fun, if you enjoyed these episodes then watch the seasons because there are plenty more episodes that are as funny if not funnier. So take a look, and then find a seat and stay awhile...we're always glad you came.