History Series / Cheers

** Diane [[ExploitedTrope exploits]] this in "Power Play", in retaliation for Sam's kicking in her door. After asking him to wait for her to SlipIntoSomethingMoreComfortable, she soon steps out of her bedroom in a ''very'' [[ShesGotLegs short-cut nightie]], basically playing the part of an InnocentFanserviceGirl... while sweetly telling Sam that she's just called the police. It sinks in a second later.

* ArmorPiercingSlap: A running gag in early seasons involves Diane slapping Sam when he goes "too far" in some way, leaving him a little disoriented and hopefully a little wiser. (Overlaps with GetAHoldOfYourselfMan in Season 2's "Where There's A Will".) After their big Slap-Slap-Without-The-Kiss in the Season 2 Finale (where Sam [[DoubleStandard actually dares to]] [[WouldHitAGirl slap her right back]]), this weapon of Diane's basically fades away, as their breakup in that episode made it [[DudeNotFunny just not that funny anymore...]].

* IsThatWhatTheyreCallingItNow: In "Everyone Imitates Art," Diane compares the discovery that a poem of hers has just been published to "The first time I ever"--''[blush/squirm/nervous smile]''--"rode a bicycle...."
** Sam calls her out on this a few minutes later, after further excitement leads Diane to quite literally throw herself at him:
---> '''Sam:''' You wanna go to my place, and, um... ride a bike?

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] with this memorable exchange between Sam and Diane in "Woody Goes Belly Up", where they actually [[DiscussedTrope discuss]], in nostalgic tones, the time they first "made love":
--> '''Sam:''' It was... it was great, wasn't it?\\
'''Diane:''' ''[warm smile]'' It was wonderful.\\
'''Sam:''' Yeah -- I think we gave new meaning to the word "cookin'!"\\
'''Diane:''' Sometimes I thought it would go on forever. \\
'''Sam:''' Hey -- I came pretty darn close a couple times -- didn't I?\\
'''Diane:''' ''[laughing]'' That's ''not'' what I meant.... You were wonderful.\\
'''Sam:''' Yeah, you were pretty wonderful, yourself.\\
'''Diane:''' It can be so wonderful, can't it, Sam?\\
'''Sam:''' You bet.
** Well, the idea's pretty much emphasized all throughout their interactions with one another (verbal or physical).

* ThatsWhatSheSaid: Invoked by Sam in Season Two's "Where There's A Will," when Diane tells the rich man who wrote a napkin-will pledging money to the ''Cheers'' gang (that is declared by Tom the law student to be legally invalid) that the gang want him to repeat his wonderful gesture. [[GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex "She", of course, is Diane.]]

* InformedFlaw: Diane and Rebecca both make jokes about Sam being profoundly stupid, but Sam generally displays an average intelligence. He's definitely crass in his attitudes towards women, and a man of simple tastes (babes, baseball, Film/TheThreeStooges), but appears to be in no way dumb. Contrast him with Coach and Woody, who actually do say dumb things all the time. If anything, he is generally more sensible than either Diane or Rebecca (especially after flanderization set in.

* InformedFlaw: Diane and Rebecca both make jokes about Sam being dumb, but Sam is rarely portrayed as being stupid. He's definitely crass in his attitudes towards women, and a man of simple tastes (babes, baseball, Film/TheThreeStooges), but not usually dumb. Contrast him with Coach and Woody, who actually do say dumb things all the time.

** [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Woody doesn't get it, asking]], [[LiteralMinded "Wouldn't that be Mrs. Apollinaire?"]] Diane begins to explain the reference, but changes her mind--presumably because of the trope's UnfortunateImplications....

** Diane comes across as a little hypocritical in the final sequence of Season Two's "Fortune And Men's Weights." There, after having gone to an art show with a male companion, she (guiltily) tries her hardest to downplay any UnfortunateImplications when she confesses to Sam, insisting it was just "as friends"--despite her admitting to letting the man ''kiss'' her. She then gets miffed at how hard Sam takes it. Of course, earlier in the season ("Old Flames"), Diane freaked out over Sam going out with another woman and apparently kissing her.

* {{Corpsing}}: Al Rosen, as barfly Al, often laughs at his own punchlines. He is so dead-on with his crusty delivery, however, ''other'' cast members often corpse along with him.

* DenserAndWackier: * The show started out as a fairly slow-paced, relaxing, yet witty sitcom. With a lot of the plots in the early seasons being fairly grounded, and most episodes only taking place within the bar. As the series went on however, and especially after Diane left the show, the plots got increasingly more absurd, the jokes per minute increased in numbers, and started to include plenty of sight gags. The show's change in tone is best exemplified in the Season 10 finale ''An Old Fashioned Wedding'', it's essentially a screwball comedy with jokes moving at a breakneck speed and an utterly ridiculous plot.

* BigNo: In the final scene of Season 5's "Diamond Sam", when it FINALLY registers with Carla that Sam and Diane are engaged. Carla freezes, [[LargeHam throws her head up]], [[UpToEleven her body shuddering like mad]], [[SkywardScream and...]].

* KansasCityShuffle: '''Anything''' involving Harry the Hat. Also a few "Bar Wars" episodes. Taken UpToEleven on the final Bar Wars which involved Harry The Hat. Then there's "Pick a Con... Any Con", in which Harry is called in to deal with another con man grifting Coach, which turns into long con piled on long con.

** Also [[PlayingWithATrope played with]] [[UpToEleven six ways to Sunday]] with Carla and John Allen Hill. By day, they insult each other (and try their hardest to one-up each other's insults) on a seemingly regular basis. By ''night''...

* RatedMForManly: Sam, naturally--but also Jack Dalton, an OldFlame of Diane's who shows up in "Fear Is My Co-Pilot," who takes it UpToEleven (which Sam himself [[LampshadedTrope lampshades]] to Diane on the plane, later). He and Sam even face off in a macho bout of arm-wrestling. Though Dalton eventually wins, Sam gives him a good run for his money--[[WomenPreferStrongMen with Diane non-verbally admiring in the background.]]

* AbsoluteCleavage: Rebecca in "Hot Rocks".

** One is called "An Open Grave." Carla mixes this one up for her and Diane in "Truce And Consequences," for their [[VitriolicBestBuds night-long heart-to-heart]]. When Carla gives a shocking "reveal" [[spoiler: that Sam is the father of her youngest kid (She later turns out to have made this up, of course)]], [[INeedAFreakingDrink poor Diane grabs the pitcher and chugs it down to calm herself]], with Carla looking on wide-eyed:

Sorry, we're closed.

* LongRunners: 11 seasons. Probably the only scripted TV series to both qualify for this honor and have a SpinOff that qualifies for this honor.

-->-- "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by '''Gary Portnoy''', the show's iconic ThematicThemeTune

-->'''Carla''': I've got it! I've got it!
-->'''Diane''': What, you've actually managed to conjure up something besides yet ANOTHER illegitimate child?
-->'''Carla''': Ooooh, a completely unprovoked personal attack...I like it!

-->'''Rebecca:''' What's (Anthony) doing?
-->'''Gino:''' Time.

-->''(On Sam and Diane's feelings toward each other, in front of Diane's mother)''
-->'''Carla:''' Admit it, he's got you ''steaming'' [[TooMuchInformation under the silks!]]
-->'''Diane:''' ''(Bolts up; clearly counts to ten)'' This ''happens'' to be my ''mother''!
-->'''Carla:''' Well, that's why I'm being ''delicate''!

''Cheers'' can be neatly divided into the Diane years (Seasons 1-5) and the Rebecca years (Seasons 6-11) - in the transition from Diane to Rebecca, the show's production company Creator/{{Paramount}} Television also changed its logo (in fact, other than ''Entertainment Tonight'', it was the last Paramount production from its "Blue Mountain" era still producing new episodes). During the first five seasons, the Sam-Diane romance was the central theme. Their relationship was the most over-elaborate in television history, until [[Series/{{Friends}} Ross and Rachel]] came into the picture. After an acrimonious breakup at the end of Season 2, Sam had a relapse of his alcoholism while Diane voluntarily committed herself and fell in love with her psychiatrist, Dr. Frasier Crane (Creator/KelseyGrammer), who returned with her to Boston to help Sam kick the bottle. However, Diane's feelings for Sam had not gone away, and between Seasons 3 and 4, she left Frasier at the altar and, after trying to find herself through first hedonism, then asceticism, returned to her old job at Cheers. After Nicholas Colasanto died of a heart attack in 1985, [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Coach was likewise written out as having died between seasons]], and in Season 4, he was replaced by his friendly but naive young penpal, Woody Boyd (Creator/WoodyHarrelson) of Hanover, Indiana. Meanwhile, just as Diane had moved on from her broken engagement to Frasier by re-kindling her romance with Sam, so Frasier found an unlikely new love in fellow psychiatrist Dr. Lilith Sternin (Creator/BebeNeuwirth) in Season 5; they married in Season 6 and became parents to a son, Frederick, in Season 8.

''Cheers'' can be neatly divided into the Diane years (Seasons 1-5) and the Rebecca years (Seasons 6-11) - in the transition from Diane to Rebecca, the show's production company Creator/{{Paramount}} Television also changed its logo. During the first five seasons, the Sam-Diane romance was the central theme. Their relationship was the most over-elaborate in television history, until [[Series/{{Friends}} Ross and Rachel]] came into the picture. After an acrimonious breakup at the end of Season 2, Sam had a relapse of his alcoholism while Diane voluntarily committed herself and fell in love with her psychiatrist, Dr. Frasier Crane (Creator/KelseyGrammer), who returned with her to Boston to help Sam kick the bottle. However, Diane's feelings for Sam had not gone away, and between Seasons 3 and 4, she left Frasier at the altar and, after trying to find herself through first hedonism, then asceticism, returned to her old job at Cheers. After Nicholas Colasanto died of a heart attack in 1985, [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Coach was likewise written out as having died between seasons]], and in Season 4, he was replaced by his friendly but naive young penpal, Woody Boyd (Creator/WoodyHarrelson) of Hanover, Indiana. Meanwhile, just as Diane had moved on from her broken engagement to Frasier by re-kindling her romance with Sam, so Frasier found an unlikely new love in fellow psychiatrist Dr. Lilith Sternin (Creator/BebeNeuwirth) in Season 5; they married in Season 6 and became parents to a son, Frederick, in Season 8.

''Cheers'' can be neatly divided into the Diane years (Seasons 1-5) and the Rebecca years (Seasons 6-11). During the first five seasons, the Sam-Diane romance was the central theme. Their relationship was the most over-elaborate in television history, until [[Series/{{Friends}} Ross and Rachel]] came into the picture. After an acrimonious breakup at the end of Season 2, Sam had a relapse of his alcoholism while Diane voluntarily committed herself and fell in love with her psychiatrist, Dr. Frasier Crane (Creator/KelseyGrammer), who returned with her to Boston to help Sam kick the bottle. However, Diane's feelings for Sam had not gone away, and between Seasons 3 and 4, she left Frasier at the altar and, after trying to find herself through first hedonism, then asceticism, returned to her old job at Cheers. After Nicholas Colasanto died of a heart attack in 1985, [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Coach was likewise written out as having died between seasons]], and in Season 4, he was replaced by his friendly but naive young penpal, Woody Boyd (Creator/WoodyHarrelson) of Hanover, Indiana. Meanwhile, just as Diane had moved on from her broken engagement to Frasier by re-kindling her romance with Sam, so Frasier found an unlikely new love in fellow psychiatrist Dr. Lilith Sternin (Creator/BebeNeuwirth) in Season 5; they married in Season 6 and became parents to a son, Frederick, in Season 8.

* ClipShow: The "200th Anniversary Special," which has John [=McLaughlin=] (of the syndicated political show ''The [=McLaughlin=] Group'') hosting a panel discussion with the show's cast, writers, and producers, interspersed with clips from earlier episodes.

*** Followed about half a second later with Diane saying "Norman."

* EightDeadlyWords: Invoked by Diane when she tried to prove Frasier and Lilith's hateful jabs at each other were masking attraction by bringing up Wiesel's quote, "The opposite of love is not hate. It's indifference." Sam replied he didn't really care one way or another.