"One for the Road" is the final episode of the American television series Cheers. It was the 271st episode of the series and the twenty-sixth episode of the eleventh season of the show. It first aired on NBC on May 20, 1993, to an audience of approximately 42.4 million households in a 98-minute version, making it the second-highest-rated series finale of all time behind the series finale of M*A*S*H and the highest-rated episode of the 1992–1993 television season in the United States."NBC wins May sweeps; Cheers ratings No. 2 all-time." Toronto Star May 30, 1993, SU2 ed: C4. Web. January 6, 2012. Margulies, Lee. "TV Ratings: Surprise! 'Cheers' Finale Powers NBC to Top." Los Angeles Times May 26, 1993. Web. January 6, 2012. In Los Angeles in 1993, "each rating point [equaled] 49,657 households." The 98-minute version was rebroadcast on May 23, 1993, and an edited 90-minute version aired on August 19, 1993.
According to estimates by NBC, the finale was watched by 93 million viewers, almost 40% of the US population at the time.
In this episode, Shelley Long reprised the role of Diane Chambers, a character who is reunited with her former on-off love interest Sam Malone after six years of separation. Rebecca Howe continues her relationship with plumber Don Santry. Frasier Crane helps Woody Boyd write Woody's political speech. A semi-unemployed Norm Peterson wants a city job. Cliff Clavin wants a promotion from the Post Office.
The episode was filmed between March 31 The source does not detail the "penultimate episode." and April 7, 1993.
Synopsis Background The television series Cheers follows the fortunes and inter-relationships of a group of Bostonians who meet regularly at "Cheers", their local bar. Sam Malone (Ted Danson), a ladies' man, former professional baseball player, and bartender, and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long), a college graduate student and cocktail waitress, had on-and-off relationships throughout the first five seasons of the program (1982–1987) until Diane left Boston to pursue a writing career in the season five finale, "I Do, Adieu" (1987). This was Shelley Long's last contracted appearance as Diane Chambers. Six years after the season five finale, the Sam and Diane storyline is resurrected with a special guest appearance by Shelley Long and then concluded in the final episode.
During season eleven there are many transformations before the finale. Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson), another bartender at Cheers, is married to socialite Kelly Gaines (Jackie Swanson), expecting a child with her, and has been running to be a councilmember of the Boston City Council. The waitress Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) has gone through two husbands—her first marriage ended with divorce before the series began, and she became widowed in her second—and is a single mother of eight. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) and Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) face marital problems, including Lilith's affair with another man. After her failed relationships with rich men in the past, the bar manager Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) and the plumber Don Santry (Tom Berenger) start dating each other in the preceding episode, "The Guy Can't Help It" (1993). Meanwhile in that episode, Sam faces up to his sexual addiction and begins to attend group therapy. Norm Peterson (George Wendt) is still semi-unemployed. Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) is still a postal carrier living with his mother.
The episode ran for 98 minutes, including commercials, when it was originally broadcast.Stevenson, Jennifer L. "Cheers Last Call! Series: Entertainment" Tampa Bay Times May 20, 1993: 8B. Print. This episode was rebroadcast on August 19, 1993, but was trimmed to 90 minutes. In syndicated and online reruns, this episode was split into three parts, but the DVD release has the original, uncut version.
Plot The episode begins with Frasier writing a political speech for Woody, who has trouble doing it himself. Rebecca accidentally rejects Don Santry's (Tom Berenger)Tom Berenger's character Don Santry first appeared in the previous episode, "The Guy Can't Help It". proposal because she is too excited to accept it, causing him to break up with her. Diane Chambers appears on television, accepting an award for outstanding writing of a television movie, surprising Sam. Diane calls Sam at night to thank him for the congratulatory telegram he sent earlier and accepts Sam's invitation to return to Boston, but Sam doubts that she will actually come.
The following day, Diane arrives with her husband Reed (Mark Harelik). Shocked, Sam eventually uses Rebecca, who is grieving over her breakup, as his pretend wife. At Melville's restaurant, when Don enters and re-proposes, Rebecca finally accepts, ruining Sam's charade. Then Reed's actual partner Kevin (Anthony Heald) arrives to confront him for "cheating" with Diane. Now alone at the table, Diane admits to Sam that she broke her promise to return to him after six months in the episode "I Do, Adieu" (1987). Indeed, she had to convert her rejected finished manuscript into a screenplay, prompting her to remain in Los Angeles for six years for greater success. Sam and Diane both admit having been incompatible together and having no family of their own. When Diane bids Sam farewell, he stops her from leaving and convinces her to restart their relationship for old times' sake.
The following day, Woody, now elected city councilman, gives Norm a job with the city. Rebecca marries Don but secretly regrets it, feeling he is too good for her. Cliff is promoted to postal assistant supervisor after bribing the head of the postal department with gifts. Sam and Diane walk in and announce their engagement. His friends disapprove; however, having enough of going years without a family, Sam leaves the bar with Diane. On the plane, they begin to reconsider their decision to be together again. As the flight is delayed, they amicably agree to part ways. Diane returns to Los Angeles, and Sam returns to Cheers to see his friends again.
While Sam and his gang celebrate the reunion, Rebecca announces happily that Don has a job with the sewer department and leaves for their honeymoon. After the rest of the gang head home for the night, Norm briefly stays behind (for one last onscreen beer of the series) and they talk about how love and happiness can come from having a family or from simply doing what you love in a place that you love. As he heads for the door, Norm tells Sam that he knew he would return to Boston for his "one true love," and that "you'll always come back to her." Sam asks what he means, but Norm just smiles and says "Think about it, Sam." After Norm leaves, Sam looks around the empty bar and says to himself, "I'm the luckiest son of a bitch on earth," before he tells someone (Bob Broder) knocking on the door, "Sorry, we're closed." He walks over and straightens a picture of GeronimoSee #Critical reviews. hanging on the back wall, and then exits into the corridor toward the billiard room and the back door. The final shot of the series is of Cheers seen from the street at night.
Cast
Main cast Ted Danson as Sam Malone Kirstie Alley as Rebecca Howe Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin George Wendt as Norm Peterson Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane
Guest cast Shelley Long as Diane Chambers Tom Berenger as Don Santry Mark Harelik as Reed Manchester Anthony Heald as Kevin Kim Alexis as herself Mike Ditka as himself Mitchell Lichtenstein as Waiter Lena Banks as Stewardess
Recurring cast Jackie Swanson as Kelly Boyd Paul Willson as Paul Krapence Tim Cunningham as Tim Steve Gianelli as Steve Alan Koss as Alan Philip Perlman as Phil Peter Schreiner as Pete
Production
Three hundred people attended the filming of the finale at Paramount Studios' Stage 25 in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 31, 1993, from 7:20p.m. to 2:15a.m. Because of Shelley Long's commitment to the CBS sitcom Good Advice, the finale's bar scene ending, where the series main cast gather as their own respective characters, was shot without her on Wednesday, April 7, 1993, after the episode "It's Lonely on the Top" was completely filmed out of sequence on the same day. However, the ending was concealed from the general public and the studio audience until the episode was first broadcast. Before her special guest appearance in this episode, Shelley Long's reprise as Diane Chambers was rumored in 1989 when she appeared with Ted Danson at the premiere of one of his movies, Cousins. A spokesperson for Paramount Television denied these rumors. Long appeared as herself for the 200th episode special in 1990, hosted by John McLaughlin, along with other surviving cast members at the time.
The series's creators Glen and Les Charles co-wrote the series finale, and James Burrows directed it. Despite what Les Charles considered the basic story intended to resolve the Sam and Diane story arc, the producers expanded the length of the finale, longer than a typical Cheers episode, to accommodate the network NBC's demands for more commercials. The total number of 30-second commercials that aired on the initial, original broadcast was 25 to 30, each of which cost $650,000..The March 5, 1993, edition of Reading Eagle reported that the budget of each 30-second commercial was estimated $600,000, according to NBC insiders. Later articles report, otherwise, that each was $650,000 estimate.
United States President Bill Clinton sent the crew his message saying that he wanted to appear in the finale, so the Charles brothers wrote a segment where Clinton supposedly appeared. However, when the filming of the episode started, Clinton decided to cancel his own appearance. Brandon Tartikoff, former executive of NBC and former chief of Paramount Studios, and Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau appeared in the finale as uncredited bar extras. Bob Broder, agent for the show's creators, also made an uncredited appearance in the final moments of the show as the man who is told by Sam that the bar is closed.
Promotion The final episode was promoted extensively, including in the media, before its initial airing. NBC executives expected a rating of 65 percent of total television households.Stevenson, Jennifer L. "`Cheers' finale? Not so fast – and not so hot Series: Entertainment." St. Petersburg Times [St. Petersburg, Florida] May 22, 1993, City ed.: 8B. Print. Sources on Madison Avenue estimated a Nielsen rating of 33–40s and a share of 50–70; one expected a rating of 37–38 and a share of 60.
NBC and its affiliates, such as KNBC, promoted the finale's broadcast for a few weeks up to the day of the original airing on the network's news programs, such as Dateline NBC and Today. KTLA, a Los Angeles station that reran Cheers in syndication, played a variation of the show's theme song, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", during the week before the finale. Entertainment Tonight showed blooper reels of Cheers in the same week.Rosenberg, Howard. "Three `Cheers' and a Lot More After All the Hype, How Can Everybody Not Know Their Names?" Los Angeles Times May 20, 1993: F1. ProQuest. Web. January 23, 2012. . Ratings of Season 11 episodes (1992–1993) were growing in the weeks prior to the finale.Du Brow, Rick. "Will Cheers Top MASH, Dallas Ratings?" Los Angeles Times May 15, 1993, Library ed: F11. Print.