# Chekov's Vodka: OR Alcoholics on TV shows who don't relapse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** liquor-alcohol\ **Created:** [July 6, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573 "2017-07-06T00:15:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/1 "2017-07-06T00:15:52Z")
Inspired by this topic: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=830314](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=830314) It seems that anytime a character on a show gets set up as an alcoholic early on, it’s pretty much guaranteed they are going to relapse eventually. Are there any shows where the character never relapses? Assuming the show lasted long enough to give them a chance. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/2 "2017-07-06T00:26:07Z")
I don’t recall Lennie Briscoe or Donald Cragen on the various L&O incarnations ever relapsing, but granted I’ve missed a few episodes here and there. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/3 "2017-07-06T00:30:33Z")
I could be wrong about this, but I believe Leo McGarry in _The West Wing_ fits the bill. He’s established as a recovering alcoholic in episode 4 of the first season, and unless I’ve forgotten somewhere along the line, he gets through almost the entire 7 season run without relapsing (it’s not the complete series because actor John Spencer died during that final season). _The West Wing_ does get around that relapse issue, sort of, by showing Leo in a flashback falling off the wagon prior to the start of the series … so Spencer (a recovering alcoholic himself) got a big relapse scene to act in and the show got to portray the fallout of such an event. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/4 "2017-07-06T01:34:51Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I don’t recall Lennie Briscoe or Donald Cragen on the various L&O incarnations ever relapsing, but granted I’ve missed a few episodes here and there. I’m probably misremembering but didn’t Lenny get drunk in the episode where Jill Hennessey’s character died in the car crash? I’m trying to remember if Sam Malone ever relapsed on “Cheers”… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/5 "2017-07-06T01:42:54Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I don’t recall Lennie Briscoe or Donald Cragen on the various L&O incarnations ever relapsing, but granted I’ve missed a few episodes here and there. Lenny Briscoe spectacularly fell off the wagon. Claire Kincaid took the wheel to drive him home and was killed when their car was struck by a drunk driver. Herb Tarlek on _WKRP in Cincinnati_ started out as someone who would have a few drinks at lunch with a client, to drinking enough that it interfered with his work. Then he quit, and in an episode later on he mentions that he wouldn’t join the staff in their toast, because he “has a problem.” > [@](#): > > I’m trying to remember if Sam Malone ever relapsed on “Cheers”… When he and Diane broke up. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/6 "2017-07-06T01:45:11Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/7 "2017-07-06T02:40:52Z")
I only saw a few episodes, but did John ever relapse in “The John Larroquette Show”? I recall one episode where he shot a bottle of booze. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/8 "2017-07-06T03:02:39Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Lenny Briscoe spectacularly fell off the wagon. Claire Kincaid took the wheel to drive him home and was killed when their car was struck by a drunk driver. Yeah, that’s also the episode where Rey has an affair with Jennifer Garner. Both events are referenced occasionally in later episodes. I always thought it was rather unfair for Lennie to blame himself for Claire’s death. And McCoy showed signs of guilt in later eps, too. Neither one of them really did anything wrong. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; totally the other driver’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/9 "2017-07-06T03:17:02Z")
George Segal starred in a short-lived series called _Murphy’s Law_ in the late 1980s. His character was a recovering alcoholic, but I’m not sure if they showed a relapse or would have if the series continued. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/10 "2017-07-06T03:28:45Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Yeah, that’s also the episode where Rey has an affair with Jennifer Garner. Both events are referenced occasionally in later episodes. I always thought it was rather unfair for Lennie to blame himself for Claire’s death. And McCoy showed signs of guilt in later eps, too. Neither one of them really did anything wrong. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; totally the other driver’s fault. The issue was that she came to get Briscoe (either he called her, or she was worried about him- can’t recall). If he had not stated drinking she wouldn’t have needed to drive Briscoe home. That’s the root of his guilt. What about Sam Malone from _Cheers_? He ever relapse? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/11 "2017-07-06T03:42:24Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > What about Sam Malone from _Cheers_? He ever relapse? kunilou already mentioned it, but for more details, Sam relapses at the beginning of Season 3, following the end-of-season-2 breakup of him and Diane. Frasier Crane, making his debut as Diane’s former therapist and new boyfriend, helps Sam recover by the second episode. Sam comes _close_ to relapsing in the first-season episode “Endless Slumper”. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/12 "2017-07-06T03:50:23Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > The issue was that she came to get Briscoe (either he called her, or she was worried about him- can’t recall). If he had not stated drinking she wouldn’t have needed to drive Briscoe home. That’s the root of his guilt. Oh, I remember. I just mean that his drinking wasn’t really directly involved in the accident. She’d be just as dead if she gave him a ride home after drinking ginger ale. If he’d had another drink before they left, the drunk would have driven through the intersection long before they got there. Wrong place, wrong time. That said, guilt doesn’t always follow a rational analysis like that. We all ask ourselves what we could have done differently, even for things we couldn’t have known would matter at the time. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/13 "2017-07-06T05:52:23Z")
A first season episode _Hill Street Blues_ revealed Captain Frank Furillo was a recovering alcoholic who still attended AA meetings. I don’t believe he ever fell off the wagon during the series’ run. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/14 "2017-07-06T07:34:54Z")
Not a TV show, but Sam Vimes in the Discworld stories never relapsed. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/15 "2017-07-06T07:55:07Z")
I don’t recall seeing Captain Stubing drunk on _The Love Boat_. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/16 "2017-07-06T10:37:21Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > A first season episode _Hill Street Blues_ revealed Captain Frank Furillo was a recovering alcoholic who still attended AA meetings. I don’t believe he ever fell off the wagon during the series’ run. I don’t remember the circumstances, but he did relapse. He told his ex-wife that “he’d gone for a walk”, which was apparently code for “out drinking” (she said something about it having been a long time since he’d done that). Then they had him at an AA meeting where he announced it had been one day since he’d had a drink. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/17 "2017-07-06T14:30:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Not a TV show, but Sam Vimes in the Discworld stories never relapsed. In fact, he keeps a half-empty bottle of gin in the bottom drawer of his desk, specifically so that he can not drink it. Vimes’ rules for himself are a bit odd, but he follows them exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/18 "2017-07-06T14:39:08Z")
The names escape me right now but I’m sure I watched a couple of British detective shows where they never fell off. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/19 "2017-07-06T16:36:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In fact, he keeps a half-empty bottle of gin in the bottom drawer of his desk, specifically so that he can not drink it. Vimes’ rules for himself are a bit odd, but he follows them exactly. Does he? I don’t recall that. I remember that he had a deeply ingrained habit he couldn’t break of reaching down for his bottle. One day he discovered that someone had actually planted a bottle of whiskey there, expecting him to relapse. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573/20 "2017-07-06T16:59:15Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I only saw a few episodes, but did John ever relapse in “The John Larroquette Show”? I recall one episode where he shot a bottle of booze. IIRC, he didn’t but his sponsor (played by David Crosby) did. “My sponsor _needs a sponsor?!_” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chekovs-vodka-or-alcoholics-on-tv-shows-who-dont-relapse/790573.md?page=2)