# Favourite characters from Cheers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [December 10, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297 "2022-12-10T16:05:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/1 "2022-12-10T16:05:10Z")
With the recent passing of Kirstie Allie, I thought it might be time to revisit our favourite characters from _Cheers_. (I’m sure we’ve had similar polls in the distant past, though the results have not survived the transition to Discourse.) **Poll 1:** Favourite main characters—select up to three. _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/1))_ **Poll 2: Coach or Woody?** _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/1))_ **Poll 3: Diane or Rebecca?** _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/1))_ **For discussion:** Who were your favourite recurring characters? There are far too many to put into a poll; you can see [Wikipedia’s list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cheers_characters#Recurring_characters) if you need to jog your memory. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/2 "2022-12-10T16:16:01Z")
As the OP I’ll start off the discussion. I started watching the show only after Nicholas Colasanto had died and Shelley Long had left, so I’m predisposed to pick Woody and Rebecca over Coach and Diane. But having since watched the entire series on home media a couple times, I’m happy to admit that the earlier characters were also quite good. My favourite character is and always has been Cliff Clavin. As a kid and an avid _Trivial Pursuit_ player, I could never understand why the other characters thought he was such a bore. Fun fact about Cliff that I just discovered after rewatching the series pilot: in his very earliest appearance, he’s not a mailman! He wears his usual blue uniform, but the US Postal Service insignia is replaced with some other logo. According to Wikipedia, he was originally written as a security guard. Also, according to [the pilot’s script](https://thescriptlab.com/wp-content/uploads/scripts/Cheers-Pilot.pdf), Cliff’s last name was originally Claben, not Clavin. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/3 "2022-12-10T17:01:46Z")
I fixed the poll as requested, but unfortunately that resets the poll. Hopefully the other 10 voters see they need to vote again. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/4 "2022-12-10T18:20:33Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > My favourite character is and always has been Cliff Clavin. As a kid and an avid _Trivial Pursuit_ player, I could never understand why the other characters thought he was such a bore. I chose Cliff, too. And I’ve sure you’ve seen it, but if not, you should see the episode “What is Cliff Calvin?” in which Cliff competes on _Jeopardy!_ with hilarious results. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/5 "2022-12-10T19:17:14Z")
Lisa Pantusso, Coach’s daughter, played by Alice Beasley. Pity she was in only one episode. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/6 "2022-12-10T19:22:08Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > I could never understand why the other characters thought he was such a bore. Because the “knowledge” he freely dispensed was usually BS. Everything he knew, he learned from his mother or what he read from his mailbags. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/7 "2022-12-10T19:28:35Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Lisa Pantusso, Coach’s daughter, played by Alice Beasley. Pity she was in only one episode. And it was a classic. Their scene together where they talked about her appearance was beautiful in every respect. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tAr7jsr0qZQ/hqdefault.jpg "Cheers -- Coach & His Daughter") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAr7jsr0qZQ) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/8 "2022-12-10T19:31:14Z")
It’s my favorite episode, and from very early in the series. They hit their stride very fast. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/9 "2022-12-10T19:59:44Z")
Loved that episode as well. For sheer silliness, the episode where Sam tries being a television sports announcer is one of my favorites, especially when he starts rapping about his g-g-g-groin injury. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2022, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/10 "2022-12-10T22:30:39Z")
I like Rebecca’s character better in her first couple of seasons, where she was still portrayed as a hard-driving Yuppie trying to climb the corporate ladder. After she was downsized into a whiny, helpless butt-monkey her character lost any appeal for me. By contrast, Diane Chambers actually became slightly more human as the series went along. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/11 "2022-12-11T12:40:01Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Because the “knowledge” he freely dispensed was usually BS. Yeah, but ten-year-old me didn’t know that. 🙂 He’s still my favourite character even now that I know he was often spouting nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/12 "2022-12-11T13:08:00Z")
I think his character morphed into a caricature over time. I thought he really did dispense actual facts during the early part of the show. But by the end, it was mostly BS. The SDMB would have served him well. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/13 "2022-12-11T14:02:04Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I like Rebecca’s character better in her first couple of seasons, where she was still portrayed as a hard-driving Yuppie trying to climb the corporate ladder. After she was downsized into a whiny, helpless butt-monkey her character lost any appeal for me. (…) Same here — I like a layer of competence in at least a few characters. A hefty dose of neuroses and self-doubt would have been good for Rebecca, since everyone in the show was flawed, but the writers went overboard. (And were were any of the characters free of serious flaws? Personally I found Lilith’s supposed quirks very appealing. Frasier’s biggest flaw might have been that he started hanging around Cheers all the time.) I also preferred Sam as a bar owner, rather than an employee, but can’t fault the show’s creators for shaking things up, ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/14 "2022-12-11T14:56:27Z")
So many lines from _Cheers_ continue to remain in the day-to-day usage amongst my friends. I thought _Seinfeld_ lines would stay with me forever, but they didn’t age well. Legendary show. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/15 "2022-12-11T18:37:12Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > > [@psychonaut](#): > > > > I could never understand why the other characters thought he was such a bore. > > Because the “knowledge” he freely dispensed was usually BS. Everything he knew, he learned from his mother or what he read from his mailbags. One of my favorite reactions to Cliff’s BS. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lbS2KSRUVHo/hqdefault.jpg "What Color Is The Sky In Your World") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbS2KSRUVHo) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/16 "2022-12-11T18:50:18Z")
Thank you, I hadn’t seen that in a long time. What high quality acting from both actors in the scene and what a well written moment. I did love Coach. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/17 "2022-12-11T19:57:33Z")
The first time I tuned into an episode of _ **Cheers!** _ back in '82, Cliff was talking about the bowels of a whale. I thought “Oh, my God, another dumb sitcom with lame jokes and a laughtrack!” and switched it off. Obviously, I didn’t get the joke. I’m glad I started watching again after I read some good reviews of the show. (FTR, I felt the same way about _ **Taxi** _, _ **Night Court** _, and _ **Seinfeld** _ at the beginning. Goes to show how wrong a person can be.) ---
**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:** [December 11, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/18 "2022-12-11T22:42:13Z")
The two best guest appearances on Cheers ever! Emma Thompson [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H9OVdUkrYCo/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgTSg1MA8=&rs=AOn4CLDSo6vv3QAc2JOZmnQVJ0hoTTDMbA "Cheers clips: Nanny G the first time") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9OVdUkrYCo) and John Cleese [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4qH0nEwhfcU/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHOBYACnASKAgwIABABGGUgXyhOMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBsdr_2PXIJikc6Jjrj8dUQeSQqtw "Cheers Clips: The great John Cleese") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qH0nEwhfcU) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/19 "2022-12-11T23:00:31Z")
Glynis Johns as Helen Chambers: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VEu6cCNUU94/maxresdefault.jpg "Carla Being Delicate") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEu6cCNUU94) Nancy Marchand as Hester Crane: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3z6zm6eSDGU/maxresdefault.jpg "Cheers "Frasier's Mother vs Diane"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z6zm6eSDGU) Nancy Cartwright (!) as Andy Schroeder’s girlfriend: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Xz48R-8bFU8/hqdefault.jpg "Nancy on Cheers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz48R-8bFU8) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297/20 "2022-12-11T23:09:23Z")
I much prefer Diane over Rebecca. And she was the source of one of my favorite exchanges from the series: Diane: Methinks thou doth protest too much Woody: Pardon me, Miss Chambers, shouldn’t that be “I think”? Diane: Not in your case, Woody [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-characters-from-cheers/976297.md?page=2)