History Headscratchers / Cheers

** It wasn't that she ''couldn't'', per se--so much as she ''wouldn't''. Sumner acts as if it's impossible--but his reasoning is that Diane would be far too occupied with her relationship with Sam to do something as major as "write the Great American Novel" in her spare time. While on its face a rather absurd notion...the fact that Diane herself admitted she hasn't continued on her book since she first came to Cheers ''seems'' to give at least ''some'' credibility to Sumner's argument--at least, enough so that Sam's vision of his future with Diane has her as never having finished the book.

* Why couldn't Diane write while being married? I am not an expert, I admit, but it's hard to understand why you need to be single for a work which can be done at home, anytime.

* Why couldn't Diane write while being married? I am not an expert, I admit, but it's hard to understand why do you need to be single for a work which can be done at home, anytime.

** Most of those sixteen hours and those six-seven days, however, the place isn't going to be ''that'' busy, and in any case, based on my hazy memories of watching it the place for the most part seemed like one of those quiet little places that has busy patches from time to time but otherwise mostly gets by from a relative handful of regulars In reality, of course, it's so that they wouldn't have create redundant characters or pay more money to cast a lot of recurring actors or extras to portray characters who weren't necessary for the story just to fill up the bar-staff.

** On the contrary, the bar opens at 10 and closes at 2 AM -- that's 14 hours a day, 6-7 days a week. Even if the bar is only fully staffed during peak hours, it's hard to imagine 4 employees being enough.

** She may also have gone back to school. At one point she says she's very close to getting a master's degree, then adds that he's close to a whole number of master's degrees. The implication at least in the first few seasons is that she keeps changing to different degrees, never completing them. So part of the problem seems to be that she can't settle on what she wants to pursue, which would continue on a personal level even after completing a degree.

* Convenience. The bar doesn't really need more than two or three members of staff at any one time, but having more staff than he needs allows Sam the flexibility to come and go as he pleases - which could be important if he spots a hot girl he likes. He extends the same benefit to his employees.

* The staff of ''Cheers'' apparently consists only of four people: two bartenders (including Sam, the owner) and two waitresses. Yet in many episodes one or two of these people just leave the bar in the middle of their shift for a long time, sometimes for the rest of the day, and the remaining staff doesn't seem to have any problems running the bar. Why did Sam hire three other people to work there in the first place, since clearly they aren't all needed? Or why not have the two waitresses and the two bartenders work in alternate shifts?

* The staff of ''Cheers'' apparently consists only of four people: two bartenders and two waitresses. Yet in many episodes one or two of these people just leave the bar in the middle of their shift for a long time, sometimes for the rest of the day, and the remaining staff doesn't seem to have any problems running the bar. Why did Sam hire three other people to work there in the first place, since clearly they aren't all needed? Or why not have Carla and Diane, and Woody/Coach and himself work in alternate shifts?

* What happened to Lillian Huxley, the English waitress Sam hired to replace Diane in the 3rd season episode "The Bartender's Tale"? She isn't seen or mentioned in the next few episodes, and after that Diane returns to her old job, which apparently was vacant. Where did Lillian go?

* The staff of ''Cheers'' apparently consists only of four people: two bartenders and two waitresses. Yet in many episodes one or two of these people just leave the bar in the middle of their shift for a long time, sometimes for the rest of the day, and the remaining staff doesn't seem to have any problems running the bar. Why did Sam hire three other persons to work there in the first place, since clearly they aren't all needed? Or why not have Carla and Diane, and Woody/Coach and himself work in alternate shifts?

* The staff of ''Cheers'' apparently consists only of four people: two bartenders and two waitresses. Yet in many episodes one or two of these people unexpectedly leave the bar for a long time, sometimes for the rest of the day, and the remaining staff doesn't seem to have any problems running the bar. So why did Sam hire three others to work there in the first place?

** I have indeed met a bar owner/operator who was a recovering alcoholic.