Season 1

In Season 1, we are introduced to Diane Chambers, at the same time she is introduced to the Cheers bar. "Singin' the blues when the Red Sox lose" was used during the first two seasons.

"Simple, really. You can't go back to the professor for work. I need a waitress, you need a job. You like the people here; you think that they like you... and the phrase 'magnificent pagan beast' has never left your mind." - Sam, explaining to Diane why she wants a job at Cheers.

Summary of Main Events

Diane and her finace, Sumner Sloan, stop in at Cheers for a drink. We learn that Sumner is a respected professor and Diane his teaching assistant. They are laden with luggage and on their way to catch a flight to Barbados, where they plan to be married. But, Sumner wants to get an antique wedding ring for Diane that his ex-wife has, and he wants to make a call to his ex to retrieve the ring. Sumner leaves Diane in Sam's company while he leaves to see his ex.

Diane does not initially want to talk to Sam, or anyone else at the bar. She wants to be left alone, and asks Sam not to tell anyone she is getting married. But as the bar's employees and regulars come in one by one (Coach, then Carla, then Norm), they become curious about the stranger at the end of the bar. Sam lets it slip when she goes to the restroom, and Diane becomes annoyed with the extra attention.

The regulars tell Diane who Sam is - a former major-league relief pitcher that once had a promising career, but drank himself out of baseball. We also learn, as Diane does, that Carla is a divorcee, that Coach "just isn't all there", and Norm not the best husband in the world.

Sumner returns, with apparant second thoughts about marriage to Diane. Diane manages to talk him into going again, but a phone call from Sumner's ex and he is gone again. Diane senses the trouble, and sits at the bar worrying. As the night wears on, and Cheers empties out, Sumner does not return

Diane, upset, confides in Sam her fears that Sumner is gone for good. When Sam responds by calling Sumner a "goof", Diane's ego is aroused and she defends him. When Sam blurts out that Sumner has probably flown off to Barbados with his ex, Diane is shocked and refuses to believe it - and Sam almost immediately regrets saying it. But a phone call to the airline confirms Sam is right.

Possibly out of pity, and probably also out of some romantic interest, Sam offers Diane a job at Cheers, which Diane initally laughs off. Sam points out that not only has she lost her fiance, but also her job. But she accidentally discovers an ability to remember drink orders, and realizing that she has no other immediate prospects, she accepts the job.

Through the season, attraction between them begins to build, and Sam freely begins to flirt with Diane. Diane shrugs this off for the most part but she does typically smile at it. Sam first attempts to kiss Diane in "Sam at Eleven", on a spur of the moment after he feels washed up and Diane tries to lift his spirits - but Sam was met with some resistance. He tried again in "Let Me Count the Ways" after an extended comforting hug when Diane was upset over losing her childhood pet cat, Elizabeth, and again he was brushed off.

As the emotions between them begin to swell, it begins to get notice around the bar. Carla starts to mock the two even on occasion. Neither Sam nor Diane would completely admit the feelings, though - both always had a guard up that mostly prevented anything more than flirting and teasing.

Their effect on each other was not entirely positive. Prior to Diane, Sam was satisfied dating simple women. After he met her, he grew dissatisfied. In "Sam's Women", he said that he had started viewing all his favorite old flames as dumb. Diane, on the other hand, insisted that any intelligent woman would see right through Sam's charms - but she promptly proves that she herself can't.

Things started coming to a head by the end of the season. In "Someone Single, Someone Blue", Diane asks Sam to briefly marry her, in order to satisfy an odd clause in her father's will that threatens to enpoverish her mother if she does not marry. Diane's mother is desperate for the wedding to happen; she even threatens to kill herself if it does not take place. Diane insists to Sam that the marriage is in name only, and only for a few days, and Sam agrees on those conditions. However, during the wedding, when Sam glances at an attractive woman entering the bar and Diane takes exception, it leads to such a row that Diane's mother calls it off, preferring a fate she feared more than death to watching the two argue.

The event that forced the two to face reality, though, happened in the season ending two-part episode, "Show Down". Sam's apparantly perfect brother Derek comes to Cheers for a visit, reawakening in Sam long-buried feelings of inadequacy he had. When Derek invites Diane on a date, Diane, noticing Sam is uncomfortable with Derek, asks Sam if that would be okay. Sam, while admitting to himself his feelings for Diane were driving him crazy, refuses to admit them to her. Instead he offers mixed messages, which upsets Diane, who wanted a clear yes or no from Sam.

Diane continues to see Derek, and the relationship deepens quickly. When he invites her to Paris, Diane finds herself forced into a decision, since she is unable to let go of her own feelings for Sam. Not being sure what to do, she decides to go into Sam's office and talk to him privately, with the intention of provoking him into admitting or denying he has feelings for her. When she is unable to still get the clear response she wants, she tries to force the matter.

Sam finally admits he wants Diane to stay, and Diane responds that she prefers Sam to Derek. But when both fail to admit anything further to each other, a big argument ensues where they tear each other down, which gets the whole bar's attention. The argument opens up the floodgates, and it ends suddenly with a passionate kiss.

In other main events from Season 1:

Carla becomes pregnant with her fifth child. She initially tries to clain Marshall Lipton is the father, but later admits it's her ex-husband Nick's child, conceived in a moment of weakness.
Norm loses his job as an accountant, when defending Diane from his boss's advances. He spends the rest of the season looking for work and running up a bar tab.

Episodes

Cheers Season 1 Episodes
Episode	Title	Airdate
1	Give Me a Ring Sometime	30 Sept 1982
2	Sam's Women	7 Oct 1982
3	The Tortelli Tort	14 Oct 1982
4	Sam at Eleven	21 Oct 1982
5	Coach's Daughter	28 Oct 1982
6	Any Friend of Diane's	4 Nov 1982
7	Friends, Romans, Accountants	11 Nov 1982
8	Truce or Consequences	18 Nov 1982
9	Coach Returns to Action	25 Nov 1982
10	Endless Slumper	2 Dec 1982
11	One for the Book	9 Dec 1982
12	The Spy Who Came in for a Cold One	16 Dec 1982
13	Now Pitching, Sam Malone	6 Jan 1983
14	Let Me Count the Ways	13 Jan 1983
15	Father Knows Last	20 Jan 1983
16	The Boys in the Bar	27 Jan 1983
17	Diane's Perfect Date	10 Feb 1983
18	No Contest	17 Feb 1983
19	Pick a Con... Any Con	24 Feb 1983
20	Someone Single, Someone Blue	3 Mar 1983
21	Show Down, Part 1	24 Mar 1983
22	Show Down, Part 2	31 Mar 1983

Actors

Cast Members

Ted Danson as Sam Malone
Shelley Long as Diane Chambers
Nicholas Colasanto as "Coach" Ernie Pantusso
Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli
George Wendt as Norm Peterson

Recurring Characters

John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin (22 episodes)
Jack Knight as Jack (7 episodes)
Paul Vaughn as Paul (6 episodes)
Alan Koss as Alan (4 episodes)
Harry Anderson as Harry "The Hat" Gittes (3 episodes)
Mark King as Marshall Lipton (2 episodes)
Thomas Babson as Tom (2 episodes)
Tim Cunningham as Tim (2 episodes)

Cameo Appearances

DVD Release

The first season of Cheers was released on Region 1 DVD 20 May, 2003. It contained all 22 aired episodes, although not in the order they aired. A Region 2 version was released 24 November 2003, and a Region 4 version came out 15 January 2004.

Release Information

Studio: Paramount Home Video
Release Type: Season Boxed Set
Release Date: (Region 1) 5/20/2003
Release Date: (Region 2) 11/24/2003
Release Date: (Region 4) 1/15/2004
Number of Discs: 4
Number of Episodes: 22
Running Time: 539 mins

Audio/Video Information

Video: Full Frame (1.33:1)
Audio: English - Stereo
Subtitles: Closed Captioned (Region 1)
Subtitles: Danish, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish (Region 2)

Features

Setting The Bar: A Conversation With Ted Danson: An interview with Danson on his memories on getting the job, his thoughts on his own character, and his recollections of working with the actors and creators of the show. It also contains clips and still photos from the show.
Love at First Fight: Opposites Distract: A series of clips focusing on Sam and Diane's relationship in the first season.
Coach Ernie Pantusso's "Rules Of The Game": Clips showcasing Coach's character.
I'll Drink To That: Stormin' Norm-isms: A clip show of Norm's quips.
"It's A Little Known Fact..." Cheers Trivia Game: A multiple choice quiz consisting of twelve questions, based on the first season. After the viewer enters their guess, a clip plays telling them whether they are right or wrong.