Wasted Second Chance There's a lot to love about this show. Sam (Ted Dawson) is a dog, but he knows it, and he also shows occasional sincerity and an unquestionable love for his friends. Carla (Rhea Perlman) is enjoyably mischievous. Norm is dangerously close to being a one-note character, but George Wendt successfully keeps him lovable for eleven seasons. John Ratzenberger's Cliff Clavin character is simultaneously annoying and likable.
It's understandable a series may lose a lead from time to time, and Cheers mostly does a good job replacing early favorites. Shelley Long's (Diane) ill-advised departure to go try to be a movie star, and Nicholas Colasanto's (Coach) real life death gave way to Kirstie Alley's Rebecca Howe character and Woody Harrelson's Woody Boyd.
It turns out Woody is a fantastic character, as simple and lovable as was Coach, but also surprisingly wise at times. He is well written and artfully performed, delivering some of the most truly laugh out loud moments in the show. Rebecca, on the other hand, is a loathsome train wreck. There is nothing at all redeemable about her incessant whining, and Alley doesn't do anything but amplify what's been poorly written. The series would've been better without her.
What was truly mind-boggling, though, was their bringing Diane back for the last three episodes, put her and Sam back together one last time, only to have them break it off. Again. This completely invalidates the couple's realization they needed each other, and makes worthless the emotional investment of the viewer. If Long doesn't come back, that's one thing. But having her there and the possibility of a happy ending for her and Sam, only to blow it up? That's Sitcom Writer Malpractice.