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Episode guide

Essential Cheers Episodes

NBC, 1982 to 1993

Our 8 character guides for Cheers point to 35 key episodes across 9 seasons. Of those, 6 turn up in two or more guides, so they come first, followed by every episode in air order.

Season and episode numbers follow the original broadcast order.

The essentials(6)

Episodes that matter to more than one character, the most shared first.

  1. Season 1, Episode 1

    "Give Me a Ring Sometime"

    In 3 guides
    • Sam Malone: Sam meets Diane Chambers when her fiance abandons her at Cheers, and he hires her as a waitress.
    • Diane Chambers: Abandoned at Cheers by her fiance, Diane takes a job as a waitress.
    • Norm Peterson: Norm is already settled on his stool when the series begins.

  2. Season 11, Episode 26

    "One for the Road"

    In 3 guides
    • Sam Malone: Diane returns in the series finale, and Sam chooses the bar over a new life with her.
    • Norm Peterson: In the series finale, Norm is the last friend at the bar with Sam.
    • Rebecca Howe: Rebecca marries Don in the series finale.

  3. Season 1, Episode 22

    "Showdown, Part 2"

    In 2 guides
    • Sam Malone: Months of bickering with Diane boil over into their first kiss in the season one finale.
    • Diane Chambers: Diane and Sam's constant arguing finally ends in their first kiss.

  4. Season 5, Episode 26

    "I Do, Adieu"

    In 2 guides
    • Sam Malone: Sam's wedding to Diane is called off when she leaves Boston to pursue her writing.
    • Diane Chambers: Diane leaves Boston on her wedding day to pursue her writing career.

  5. Season 6, Episode 1

    "Home Is the Sailor"

    In 2 guides
    • Sam Malone: Sam returns from his failed sailing trip to find Cheers under new ownership and manager Rebecca Howe in charge.
    • Rebecca Howe: Rebecca arrives as the new corporate manager of Cheers and hires Sam back as a bartender.

  6. Season 8, Episode 26

    "Cry Harder"

    In 2 guides
    • Sam Malone: Sam gets his bar back after exposing Robin Colcord's scheme against the corporation.
    • Rebecca Howe: Robin Colcord's scheme against the corporation is exposed, and the bar goes back to Sam.

Every key episode by season(35)

Season 1(3 episodes)

  1. Season 1, Episode 1

    "Give Me a Ring Sometime"

    An essential, in the guides for Sam Malone, Diane Chambers, and Norm Peterson. Read the notes

  2. Season 1, Episode 3

    "The Tortelli Tort"

    • Carla Tortelli: Carla's temper lands the bar in trouble when she attacks a customer.

  3. Season 1, Episode 22

    "Showdown, Part 2"

    An essential, in the guides for Sam Malone and Diane Chambers. Read the notes

Season 2(1 episode)

  1. Season 2, Episode 21

    "I'll Be Seeing You, Part 1"

    • Diane Chambers: Diane and Sam's season-long relationship begins to fall apart.

Season 3(1 episode)

  1. Season 3, Episode 1

    "Rebound, Part 1"

    • Diane Chambers: Back from a stay in a sanitarium, Diane asks her new psychiatrist friend, Frasier Crane, to help a backsliding Sam.

Season 4(3 episodes)

  1. Season 4, Episode 1

    "Birth, Death, Love and Rice"

    • Woody Boyd: Woody arrives from Indiana looking for Coach and becomes the new bartender.

  2. Season 4, Episode 10

    "The Barstoolie"

    • Cliff Clavin: Cliff reconnects with the father who abandoned him as a child.

  3. Season 4, Episode 17

    "Second Time Around"

    • Lilith Sternin: Lilith meets Frasier on a date that the regulars are sure is a disaster.

Season 5(5 episodes)

  1. Season 5, Episode 9

    "Thanksgiving Orphans"

    • Norm Peterson: The gang shares Thanksgiving at Carla's house, and Vera makes her nearly faceless appearance.

  2. Season 5, Episode 13

    "Chambers vs. Malone"

    • Diane Chambers: After a string of rejected proposals, Diane finally says yes to Sam.

  3. Season 5, Episode 16

    "Never Love a Goalie, Part 1"

    • Carla Tortelli: Carla starts dating Bruins goalie Eddie LeBec, the great love of her life.

  4. Season 5, Episode 20

    "Dinner at Eight-ish"

    • Lilith Sternin: Lilith and Frasier are now living together, and a dinner at their home goes badly off the rails.

  5. Season 5, Episode 26

    "I Do, Adieu"

    An essential, in the guides for Sam Malone and Diane Chambers. Read the notes

Season 6(4 episodes)

  1. Season 6, Episode 1

    "Home Is the Sailor"

    An essential, in the guides for Sam Malone and Rebecca Howe. Read the notes

  2. Season 6, Episode 4

    "Little Carla, Happy at Last: Part 2"

    • Carla Tortelli: Carla and Eddie get married despite the chaos of her family.

  3. Season 6, Episode 6

    "Paint Your Office"

    • Norm Peterson: Norm works off his bar tab by painting Rebecca's office and finds a new trade.

  4. Season 6, Episode 7

    "The Last Angry Mailman"

Season 8(4 episodes)

  1. Season 8, Episode 6

    "The Stork Brings a Crane"

    • Lilith Sternin: Lilith gives birth to Frederick in a taxi after a false alarm.

  2. Season 8, Episode 7

    "Death Takes a Holiday on Ice"

    • Carla Tortelli: Carla mourns Eddie and learns at his funeral that he had a second wife.

  3. Season 8, Episode 14

    "What Is... Cliff Clavin?"

    • Cliff Clavin: Cliff dominates Jeopardy! until a disastrous Final Jeopardy! answer.

  4. Season 8, Episode 26

    "Cry Harder"

    An essential, in the guides for Sam Malone and Rebecca Howe. Read the notes

Season 10(6 episodes)

  1. Season 10, Episode 1

    "Baby Balk"

    • Rebecca Howe: Rebecca and Sam try to have a baby together, with predictably awkward results.

  2. Season 10, Episode 9

    "Head Over Hill"

    • Carla Tortelli: Sent to humiliate John Hill, Carla ends up sleeping with him instead.

  3. Season 10, Episode 10

    "A Fine French Whine"

    • Woody Boyd: Woody prepares to propose to Kelly, but a crisis with Henri gets in the way.

  4. Season 10, Episode 20

    "Smotherly Love"

  5. Season 10, Episode 24

    "Heeeeere's...Cliffy!"

    • Cliff Clavin: Cliff is convinced a joke he sent in will air on The Tonight Show.

  6. Season 10, Episode 25

    "An Old-Fashioned Wedding"

    • Woody Boyd: Woody and Kelly finally get married in a chaotic ceremony.

Season 11(8 episodes)

  1. Season 11, Episode 1

    "The Little Match Girl"

    • Rebecca Howe: Rebecca's last cigarette sets the bar on fire.

  2. Season 11, Episode 3

    "The King of Beers"

    • Norm Peterson: Norm lands the job of his dreams as a beer taster.

  3. Season 11, Episode 5

    "Do Not Forsake Me O' My Postman"

    • Cliff Clavin: Cliff's girlfriend Margaret returns to Boston pregnant, and Cliff has to decide where he stands.

  4. Season 11, Episode 6

    "Teaching with the Enemy"

  5. Season 11, Episode 7

    "The Girl in the Plastic Bubble"

    • Lilith Sternin: Lilith leaves Frasier to live with Pascal in an underground eco-pod.

  6. Season 11, Episode 21

    "Woody Gets an Election"

    • Woody Boyd: Frasier's experiment puts Woody on the city council ballot, and he wins.

  7. Season 11, Episode 25

    "The Guy Can't Help It"

    • Rebecca Howe: Rebecca falls for Don Santry, the plumber fixing the bar's pipes.

  8. Season 11, Episode 26

    "One for the Road"

    An essential, in the guides for Sam Malone, Norm Peterson, and Rebecca Howe. Read the notes

Seen them all? Test yourself with the Cheers trivia quiz, or meet the Cheers characters.

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