History YMMV / CHEERS

** Shortly before Robin walks into her life, Rebecca bemoans to Sam that the rich, ambitious, upwardly mobile men she deserves to be courted by aren't exactly beating down a door and queuing up to go out with her. She specifically mentions UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump as an example of the sort of man who is exactly right for her. Even more hilarious when you realize that Creator/KirstieAlley, who played Rebecca, voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.

** Cliff's appearance on ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' is firmly dated to when it was shot (late 1989) and aired (January 1990) due to the set design (even at the time, the set was frequently renovated between seasons), the musical cues (the synth-heavy intro was dumped and a mix emphasizing the percussion debuted in 1991), the sound design (most of the "classic" sound effects have now been replaced), and Alex's appearance (the mustache is still present, and his hair is salt-and-pepper, not to mention thicker and wavier than it is today).

** Norm Peterson is extremely popular amongst fans for being essentially a hard drinking man. The fact is, by ANY rational definition, Norm Peterson is an alcoholic who ignores his wife, is unemployed most of the series, and essentially drinks on a tab he has no intention of paying. He’s outright BANNED from other bars because he won’t pay, several episodes have heavily hinted that his tab is so large that if he got around to it Cheers would be the wealthiest bar in Boston, and at one point, even SAM loses his patience with Norm not paying his tab when Norm comes into money.

** This is quite a hard one, as the theme tune "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" isn't played in full with the show, but one of the lines of the full song is "and your husband wants to be a girl." While this is still sometimes said about trans women, it's a far less acceptable attitude towards them these days.

** Creator/ThomasHaydenChurch appears in "Death Takes a Holiday on Ice" as another member of the ice show. A studly blond Creator/KevinConroy appears in the same episode.

** Creator/WoodyHarrelson plays a character who winds up in the audience of ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' both in the episode "Who Is Cliff Clavin?" and a few years later, in the film ''Film/WhiteMenCantJump''.

** Frasier's segment of "Cheers: The Movie" has him trying to reassure the Boyds about psychiatry, only for his efforts to be undermined by someone committing suicide right behind him, with Frasier's only response being ''annoyance''.

** Al, played by Al Rosen. He first appeared exclaiming "Sinatra!" in one episode, and was such a hit with the writers, he was given more and more punchlines by the writers. If not for his advanced age and deteriorating health (which ultimately claimed his life in-between Seasons 8 and 9), he would almost certainly have become a main cast member. He was later referenced in ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' episode ''Cheerful Goodbyes'' when Cliff told Phil, "You've always been there for me, Al", and Phil retorted, "I'm Phil. Al's been dead for fourteen years, you dumb son of a bitch!"

** Late in season 11, Sam and Rebecca have a conversation where they bring up the divorce of Prince Charles, Duke of Wales, and Diana Spencer, with Rebecca telling Sam she considered Diana's situation a win. This was only a few years before Diana's death.

** In the first part of the tenth season, Sam and Rebecca have a character arc in which they attempt to have a baby. (This was an attempt to [[RealLifeWritesThePlot incorporate Kirstie Alley's pregnancy into the show]].) The arc ends when Sam and Rebecca realize they're not ready to be parents and Sam imagines the son that will never be fading away. It's rather sad on its own, but it gets sadder when you remember the real reason the arc was abandoned: Alley had miscarried.
*** The would-be son insists that Sam will have him one day. However, the show ends with Sam single and a later guest appearance on ''Frasier'' even derails a possible wedding he intended to have.

*** Another Woody Harrelson example, in the Season 9 episode ''Rat Girl'', Woody, taunting the dieting Rebecca, glows about how much he loves snowballs and shoves one into his mouth whole. In the movie ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'' Woody's character is frustrated when he comes across a truck carrying only Snowballs on his search for a Twinkie - refusing to settle due to a hatred of coconut.

* HollywoodHomely: In an early episode, Carla's son Gino is mentioned as looking "goofy," with Sam being equal parts amused and insulted that Carla chose him out of all her kids to be Sam's supposed son in a prank she was pulling on Diane. When we actually see Gino much later in the show's run, he looks completely normal. Possibly justified by the time span involved, and Gino just growing up to be much better-looking than when he was a kid.

** Creator/KateMulgrew was a romantic partner for Sam in a three episode {{Cliffhanger}}.
*** While [[Series/{{ALF}} Max Wright]] appears in the same story arc as a campaign opponent that Diane and Frasier helped.

** Creator/ThomasHaydenChurch appears in ''Death Takes a Holiday on Ice'' as another member of the ice show.
*** A studly blond Creator/KevinConroy appears in the same episode.
** Creator/DiedrichBader appeared as a [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] waiter in episode ''Sammy and the Professor''.
** Creator/LisaKudrow appears as a young, dark haired community theater actress in the episode ''Two Girls for Every Boyd''.

--->'''Security guard:''' ''(having arrested Cliff and checked him in a database, with a resigned tone)'' And get this: He's a postal worker.

** One episode has the idea that Frasier and Lilith plan to raise their not-yet-born child in a gender neutral fashion, which is portrayed as them being out-of-touch snobby intellectuals (which, in fairness, they totally are), but is something more common in the 2010s.

** Creator/HarryAnderson was Harry the Hat as a recurring character in the first few seasons. At the time, he was best known as a prop comic. His appearances ceased once he snagged the lead role in ''Series/NightCourt'' (although he returned as a guest on occasion, including in the last season). Harry was also an ActorAllusion for Anderson, who was also an expert at confidence swindles and taught audiences about it during his standup act.

* InformedAttractiveness: Carla.

** Harry Anderson was Harry the Hat as a recurring character in the first few seasons. At the time, he was best known as a prop comic. His appearances ceased once he snagged the lead role in ''Series/NightCourt''(although he returned as a guest on occasion, including in the last season). Harry was also an ActorAllusion for Anderson, who was also an expert at confidence swindles and taught audiences about it during his standup act.

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: everyone can have their moments but Carla and Norm take the cake.

* CriticalResearch Failure: There is absolutely ''no way'' a sports bar in Boston wouldn't know the nickname of the [=UConn=] sports teams, the Huskies, especially since they're traditional rivals with Boston U in NCAA basketball.

* NewerThanTheyThink: While the show will always be synonymous with the 1980s, it continued to air into the Clinton administration.

* {{Flanderization}}: Sam went from being a somewhat meatheadish dude who had canny instincts despite his BookDumb qualities to a genuinely dumb guy who has trouble comprehending anything more complicated than a Film/TheThreeStooges short, Diane got aggressively more uptight and prudish as the show went on, and Rebecca went from her initial appearance as a competent businesswoman to a lovesick gold-digger and ultimately into a NervousWreck who collapsed in self-loathing at the slightest pretext. Carla's promiscuity and abrasiveness, Norm's sedentary nature, Woody's naivete, and Cliff's general dysfunction were all increased and exaggerated over the course of the show.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Diane. To her fans, she's the biggest sweetheart, TheCutie, and something of TheWoobie. To her haters... well, let's say TheScrappy, and leave it at that.

** Radio/GlennBeck had one appearance, in "Severe Crane

** Radio/GlennBeck had one appearance, in "Severe Crane Damage".
* TheScrappy: ''Cheers'' is a bit of a unique example. Because all the characters are intentionally written to be troubled people, many fans of the show can be fit into their own personal category of their preferred Scrappy. To go into detail about every character would take up a page in and of itself.