tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7035511374966943268..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Should Sam & Diane have gone off together in the end? By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75696876800695609182021-09-04T21:29:33.107-07:002021-09-04T21:29:33.107-07:00I think Diane should have returned to Boston as a ...I think Diane should have returned to Boston as a writer, taken a position as a Professor at BU, married Sam. They were supposed to have matured. Sam was getting older. Diane would have matured and accepted Sam as a good friend, loving and gentle person. It could have ended with the gang at Cheers living it out like nothing had changed. That would have been a better ending. The show was too male centered. Sam needed Diane and Diane needed Sam.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22351535260977685882021-05-11T12:54:02.770-07:002021-05-11T12:54:02.770-07:00I'm thoroughly enjoying watching season 1 at t...I'm thoroughly enjoying watching season 1 at the moment. I don't think I really got to watch that season when I first tuned in in the 1980s. Oh my gosh all the episodes in season one are both so human and so funny (nd yet its public reception then was unsure). Both Sam and Diane are also very caring and respectful to each other despite the tension of the differences between them. This was a couple that I can see getting together at the end. I don't really remember the other seasons that well, but I wonder if the writers deliberately upped the toxicity level between the two characters in order to sustain a perceived need to sustain comedic interest in the show. It's too bad if they couldn't find a way to sustain the qualities of season 1.<br /><br />The season 5 finale will always be an always finale for me. It did leave things kind of open, which is nice. It was definitely sad to see them part and the dream sequence is what I would still hope for in the end for the two characters. But there is also something so real about "have a good life" that can't be touched.Togu Oppusunggunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74920359560255005792020-12-31T15:28:16.838-08:002020-12-31T15:28:16.838-08:00Agree 100%Agree 100%Dreamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15126329796471624914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40553741801254157092020-12-19T05:49:06.974-08:002020-12-19T05:49:06.974-08:00This is one of the few shows (maybe the only show)...This is one of the few shows (maybe the only show) I've watched til the end, which conclusion is hard to stomach. Although the entire show is funny, the post-Diane years saw the characters become cartoon versions of themselves, instead of the real people they had set out to be. I rewatch the first five seasons often but always with a bitter taste in my mouth. <br /><br />Diane and Sam were opposites, yes. But we watched them for five years trying to get their relationship right, and when they finally do, they don't. I do realize this had to do with Shelley Long wanting to leave the show, but if it's true that this was known before Season 5 (or early into it), did the writers really have to have them almost get married to then have them part for such a ridiculous reason? She went to Maine to write a book. Isn't Maine like 4 hours away from Boston? Was she going to be secluded? Locked away? She left with such hope for their future still, that it's crazy to think they wouldn't keep in touch or that Sam thought that was enough reason for it to be final. They had us watch Diane fight for Sam to the point of annoyance, how is it realistic to think she would give up for the reason she did? And don't get me started on how, despite poor Diane finally getting validated for her writing talent, the writers still managed to make her a loser who couldn't even succeed at that. Leaving Cheers and Sam for nothing, in the end. <br /><br />In a way, I am glad Shelley left. Diane was the first to turn cartoonish in Season 5. The writing for the character in that season became so uneven I felt I was watching two different people throughout the episodes. Diane was still Diane in episodes like Everyone Imitates Art, Spellbound, Dr Weinstein. But we would completely lose sight of the character we knew in episodes like Chambers Vs Malone and A House is Not a Home. So if that was the way it would go for Diane in season 6, I'm glad the character left before it would be completely ruined. In spite of the not very realistic reason for her departure I do thank Glen and Les Charles for giving us back the real Diane in the last episode. I did feel I was seeing season 1 Diane again as I watched it. It was heartwarming.<br /><br />Like others have said, it was cheating the audience to bring Diane back and not have them end up together. A repetition of the season 5 finale, but not nearly as well written. I'd rather stick with the season 5 finale for Sam & Diane, if I have to see them part, rather than acknowledge the season 11 finale ever happened. Both for the dismissal given to Sam & Diane, and for the fact that Sam ended up alone with his bar, surrounded by friends who, by the end of the series, were as mean to each other as could be and none of them people I'd like to ever hang out with.sofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10083057971211110334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69419567552539151772020-12-04T10:14:22.464-08:002020-12-04T10:14:22.464-08:00Not sure why everyone says Cheers was still as fun...Not sure why everyone says Cheers was still as funny after Diane left. It was nowhere near the same level of humour and quality. After Diane left, Sam's character became an utter clown. He lost all of his coolness with his every second line being "I'm sorry". Frankly, he came pathetic and unfunny in the last 6 years of Cheers, constantly trying to show how he was still a ladies man, whereas the the Sam of old never had to do that it, he lived it. Even the way he dressed with the high waisted pants of a senior showed how he had lost all of his machismo. Moreover, the guy was constantly chasing Rebecca when there was really no motivation for it, she didn't like him the way Diane and Sam secretly liked each other from the start. Cool Sam Malone does not fail with a woman as he did with Rebecca time and again. After Diane left, the only really funny part to Cheers was in fact the banter between Frasier and Lilith. All other parts of the show just became slapstick, cheap laughs and had lost the poetry of how it was when Diane was around, especially the first 3 seasons. Brucenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28174532950840392772020-12-04T10:13:38.441-08:002020-12-04T10:13:38.441-08:00Not sure why everyone says Cheers was still as fun...Not sure why everyone says Cheers was still as funny after Diane left. It was nowhere near the same level of humour and quality. After Diane left, Sam's character became an utter clown. He lost all of his coolness with his every second line being "I'm sorry". Frankly, he came pathetic and unfunny in the last 6 years of Cheers, constantly trying to show how he was still a ladies man, whereas the the Sam of old never had to do that it, he lived it. Even the way he dressed with the high waisted pants of a senior showed how he had lost all of his machismo. Moreover, the guy was constantly chasing Rebecca when there was really no motivation for it, she didn't like him the way Diane and Sam secretly liked each other from the start. Cool Sam Malone does not fail with a woman as he did with Rebecca time and again. After Diane left, the only really funny part to Cheers was in fact the banter between Frasier and Lilith. All other parts of the show just became slapstick, cheap laughs and had lost the poetry of how it was when Diane was around, especially the first 3 seasons. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65358764536999726082020-04-13T05:06:26.936-07:002020-04-13T05:06:26.936-07:00I could definitely live with that ending! I could definitely live with that ending! Jason J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07635180148431766119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17776795797183760322020-01-15T22:18:10.090-08:002020-01-15T22:18:10.090-08:00They should have let Sam and Diane have a happy en...They should have let Sam and Diane have a happy ending they deserved it. As a matter of fact, I think they should do one last episode where they finally marry I would pay to see that.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12668570713170186296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14384924196201615422019-09-08T06:42:44.844-07:002019-09-08T06:42:44.844-07:00I totally agree with Dana!!!I totally agree with Dana!!!Dreamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15126329796471624914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35459322309990790462019-08-31T23:45:15.972-07:002019-08-31T23:45:15.972-07:00I loved every season. Every episode!!! Fantastic w...I loved every season. Every episode!!! Fantastic writing. The one-liners were the best! (Karla's were the funniest)<br />I do admit I felt let down a little by the ending.<br />I understand the idea of a Casablanca ending... well except. Ilsa was already involved with someone. Rick knew he was a good guy and it would have been wrong for him to take her away.<br />Sam and Diane both were unattached after 6 yrs and I really thought that was the whole reason they were single that long. That they waited for each other. Why bring her back just to drop that bomb on us?! Just to have rug pulled out from under us! I was fully invested in that show. The characters. Definately Sam and Diane.<br />I kept holding out that at the very end she would be standing in the doorway of the bar. He sees her...they lock eyes. <br />She says "Maybe were not right for each other. Maybe we are. It's gonna take work Sam...but I really wanna try".<br />The both share a smile.<br />Then he turns out the last light as he looks around the bar lovingly and says "She's my first love Diane. I can't leave her. I'm not going to California with you".<br />She says..."Noooo, I'm staying here. With you. If you'll have me Sam. I didn't like California anyway".<br />Then he looks around the bar for the last time and says...<br />"Ya know what? I'm the luckiest man in the world". <br />As they walk out of the bar arm in arm, Diane says "How I've missed you and this place. By the way...you wouldnt happen to be hiring?"<br /><br />What happens after that doesn't matter to the viewers. It's closure!!! But I'm a dreamer!! <br /><br />Dreamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15126329796471624914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60769527930439298972019-07-01T15:38:36.472-07:002019-07-01T15:38:36.472-07:00To me Cheers is still the best sitcom ever written...To me Cheers is still the best sitcom ever written and all of the cast were absolutely stellar.<br /><br />When the show started to be shown here in the UK on channel 4 in February 1983 i became hooked right from the first episode as were most of my college friends at the time.<br /><br />From the warm friendly setting of the bar, to the mixture of lovable "misfits" who made up the bar regulars from Norm to Cliff, Carla, Sam ,Diane & of course "Coach" , to the witty and sarcastic banter exchanged between them which i found kind of unique at that time for an American comedy show. I will confess up until Cheers i had virtually never seen a USA sitcom where the humour seemed so British in terms of sarcasm and the fact that just like here in Scotland the more you like someone the more sarcastic you are to them.<br /><br />However what had me (and all my family) glued to the television on a Friday night at 10pm week after week, was the absolutely sizzling chemistry between Shelley Long & Ted Danson as Sam "Mayday" Malone & Diane Chambers. To this day i have still to see a better "romantic" on screen partnership where the sexual chemistry between the two leads was electrifying, even though they appeared so mismatched n many ways everyone i knew was rooting for them as they were our "Sam & Diane".<br /><br />While i agree it would not have been realisitic to have Diane turn up with at the last minute and for the two to just waltz off happy into the sunset, i do think it was one of the few mistakes the writers ever made in terms of trying to put a definitive conclusion to their relationship. Think about it even though they hadn't laid eyes on each other for 6 years, the minute they did their passion and feelings reignited. To me they could never see each other for 20 years and it would still have been the same, their love, lust, passion (whatever you want to call it) for each other was so great that you could never really say that they were over for good, which is the mistake the last episode made in trying to imply this.<br /><br />As for them not being right for each other, while in many ways they were polar opposites in some ways they just clicked, as Frasier once said they were emotional infants (big kids) at heart and sometimes when their romance was going well they looked so happy together. I would also argue that when it came to relationships they both were complete misfits and if you look at the entire run of Cheers then it was clear they weren't suited a for a relationship with anyone and that whoever ended up with either of them would probably have a really difficult time trying to appease their egos. At least with each other they knew each other's flaws inside out and yet despite that they still yearned and pined for each other, case in point being Sam tenderly keeping all of Diane's love letters locked away despite protesting he had no feelings for her anymore.<br /><br />I loved the entire Cheers run and is some ways Diane leaving the show did give it a new lease of life and kept things fresh, however even though Cheers was just as funny without Diane and i actually came to quite like Rebecca, for me it never quite had that totally unmissable feeling when Sam & Diane were together, as Frasier said in episode 1 of series 5, when he is tempted to choke Diane when massaging her neck"That's what i always loved about the two of you it's beautiful,you and Sam are magic " followed by the classic " I should have killed her when i had the chance " lol.<br /><br />In my mind at some point perhaps when Sam finally on reaching old age and selling Cheers, the two of them ended up together at last :-).paolonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59337612488426383332019-06-11T09:49:29.176-07:002019-06-11T09:49:29.176-07:00It's TV, it doesn't have to be realistic. ...It's TV, it doesn't have to be realistic. I always wanted them to end up together. Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05979645491410414094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63502772977511751352019-03-27T18:35:52.642-07:002019-03-27T18:35:52.642-07:00In our simple life love play a major role in it, g...In our simple life love play a major role in it, going through a heartbreak can course you to lose focus, being in love doesn’t means that there will not be challenges or argument but it take a mature minds to handle the situation, if you are having issues in your relationship or going a break up, you can simply contact Dr Ekpen for solution he will help you bring love back into your relationship. Contact him via ekpentemple@gmail.com or whatsapp +2347050270218. Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13113192659213764907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10236334516189873042018-03-16T20:31:19.313-07:002018-03-16T20:31:19.313-07:00They should have ended up together! I'd say, D...They should have ended up together! I'd say, Diane should have come back to the bar, and the final shot should have been Carla screaming.Dana5570https://www.blogger.com/profile/02630693666526705021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26585611609111793852018-01-17T16:06:45.439-08:002018-01-17T16:06:45.439-08:00Sam and Diane should have ended up together. Why b...Sam and Diane should have ended up together. Why bring back Shelley Long just to end it the same way as season 5? Complete waist of time. Very disappointing way to end an amazing show.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17295480263748431309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44141531884786901742018-01-17T13:55:18.000-08:002018-01-17T13:55:18.000-08:00I understand why many fans believe the show ended ...I understand why many fans believe the show ended the right way but I completely disagree. Just about every character on this show progressed in some way. Sam needed to grow up and move on with his life and I thought Diane was a great influence on him, made him a better person. You kept seeing images of Sam having a son and he talks about having a family. If you don't further that it's cheating the audience. And why bother bringing Shelley Long back? Just to tease us? I felt cheated. The star character ended the way he was introduced. What's the point? Yes, I agree it's bitter sweet. I loved this show but I was really disappointed with not having this couple ride into the sunset together.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17295480263748431309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22583470321269219582017-10-23T19:26:37.808-07:002017-10-23T19:26:37.808-07:00Some of the best couples I know are polar opposite...Some of the best couples I know are polar opposites. Best marriages,too, so the argument Sam and Diane were too different to make it work is a lame copout excuse. The series should have ended with them together. The characters were written smart enough to realize they never would have loved anyone else as much.Calasadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14590454682051154726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53694508904206489152017-08-16T12:44:57.321-07:002017-08-16T12:44:57.321-07:00It always just seemed like a big screw you to Shel...It always just seemed like a big screw you to Shelley Long. The only reason they weren't together throughout season one through five is so you would have a show. A conflict. Even Coach and Woody (our innocents, yet all knowing) tell us the two belong together. At least bring her back into the circle of losers in a way that -while maybe not defining what her and Sam's relationship will be- will be ambiguous for her future. Perhaps she is jilted again and the her final moment is the pregnant pause wondering if the cycle will continue with her coming back to work at the bar (and naturally continuing her topsy/turvy relationship with Sam. They were two of the most electric sitcom characters in history and still feel the ball was dropped with such a dour (and definitive) ending.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24129819349224430662017-07-26T22:59:34.217-07:002017-07-26T22:59:34.217-07:00I just finished binge-watching this entire series....I just finished binge-watching this entire series. I couldn't be more disappointed. The end of season 5 brought me to tears and the only reason I continued watching was the hope that they would get back together. I wanted the finale to be what he imagined at the end of season 5 but now it was real. I feel like everything I watched was a huge waste and it left me feeling very empty. The only reason to bring her back after all that time was to get our hopes up. For the life of me I can't understand why they would bring her back and go into detail about how after 6 years neither one of them could move on with anyone else because basically they were each other's true love but then not end up together. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I agree with the people that said the writers were doing a big FU to all of the fans. I wish I never would have watched this show.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34602405690412109412017-05-04T08:57:05.386-07:002017-05-04T08:57:05.386-07:00I agree with Misha as well. I also think that it w...I agree with Misha as well. I also think that it was a real lousy thing to do to bring Shelley Long back for the final episodes just to essentially end it the same way it did in season 5. It makes me wonder honestly if there was STILL some annoyance at her leaving in season 5......and I agree that it was kind of a villainous portrayal. She eventually was one of the gang so why the painting her so?<br />Joe Blow is right--it is always awful to watch season 5 knowing how it going to end and then the show finale--it's heart wrenching. On the flip side there are episodes in season 5 that highlight how some episodes with them together were just as enjoyable as apart and those are the episodes that the final could have been patterned after. <br />Oh hell why couldn't they ALL have been sitting there together and then finished with Sam and Diane locking up together? CLOSURE. We ALL needed it and they were and are still my favorite tv couple. That kind of chemistry isn't something you dump in the end.<br />As for everyone saying it would never work in real life and they never really worked anyway---I don't watch tv to have a dose of reality, I watch it for the stories and the transportation and diversion it creates for me FROM real life. In real life most of us marry our Frasiers and never even try to go for the real love of our lives. They didn't need to marry even, but they could have gotten back together and it would have tied everything together. They ALWAYS broke up, it would have been nice to see it finally work because the actors were there and it was the end anyway.<br /><br />I read this somewhere and feel exactly the same:<br /><br />"Agreed -- it was very sad, but it was definitely more satisfying than if they had broken up for the umpteenth time. And I liked how Sam mentioned Diane, not by name, in the first Kirstie Alley episode. This is when "Cheers" still had heart. Then, after Alley's first season, the producers changed, and so did the show -- much more gag-oriented, less emotional depth, and never as clever (or at least not as often).<br /><br />"Cheers" is really two shows under the same title -- a romantic comedy for the first five years with Diane, and an ensemble centering around the bar for the last six years. For the first five years, the premise is that Sam and Diane really DO belong together, but the second phase of the show makes Diane the butt of bad jokes. Unfortunately, the finale was true to the second premise of the show, not the original, and Sam and Diane did not end up together. This was even more disappointing than Diane's departure, IMHO.SeasonCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44106492598548965292017-05-04T08:54:14.740-07:002017-05-04T08:54:14.740-07:00I agree with Misha as well. I also think that it w...I agree with Misha as well. I also think that it was a real lousy thing to do to bring Shelley Long back for the final episodes just to essentially end it the same way it did in season 5. It makes me wonder honestly if there was STILL some annoyance at her leaving in season 5......and I agree that it was kind of a villainous portrayal. She eventually was one of the gang so why the painting her so?<br />Joe Blow is right--it is always awful to watch season 5 knowing how it going to end and then the show finale--it's heart wrenching. On the flip side there are episodes in season 5 that highlight how some episodes with them together were just as enjoyable as apart and those are the episodes that the final could have been patterned after. <br />Oh hell why couldn't they ALL have been sitting there together and then finished with Sam and Diane locking up together? CLOSURE. We ALL needed it and they were and are still my favorite tv couple. That kind of chemistry isn't something you dump in the end.<br />As for everyone saying it would never work in real life and they never really worked anyway---I don't watch tv to have a dose of reality, I watch it for the stories and the transportation and diversion it creates for me FROM real life. In real life most of us marry our Frasiers and never even try to go for the real love of our lives. They didn't need to marry even, but they could have gotten back together and it would have tied everything together. They ALWAYS broke up, it would have been nice to see it finally work because the actors were there and it was the end anyway.<br /><br />I read this somewhere and feel exactly the same:<br /><br />"Agreed -- it was very sad, but it was definitely more satisfying than if they had broken up for the umpteenth time. And I liked how Sam mentioned Diane, not by name, in the first Kirstie Alley episode. This is when "Cheers" still had heart. Then, after Alley's first season, the producers changed, and so did the show -- much more gag-oriented, less emotional depth, and never as clever (or at least not as often).<br /><br />"Cheers" is really two shows under the same title -- a romantic comedy for the first five years with Diane, and an ensemble centering around the bar for the last six years. For the first five years, the premise is that Sam and Diane really DO belong together, but the second phase of the show makes Diane the butt of bad jokes. Unfortunately, the finale was true to the second premise of the show, not the original, and Sam and Diane did not end up together. This was even more disappointing than Diane's departure, IMHO.<br />SeasonCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45469398089732720812017-02-28T19:08:28.330-08:002017-02-28T19:08:28.330-08:00I agree with misha I agree with misha Carinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22924432766633161522016-10-11T18:08:01.070-07:002016-10-11T18:08:01.070-07:00I might be too late to truly enter this debate, bu...I might be too late to truly enter this debate, but I just finished Cheers and I'm supremely disappointed that they didn't get together in the end. It appeared that, Sam and Diane's differences aside, their core problem throughout seasons 1-5 was that they were attached to the lives they were used to, and were scared of giving them up (Sam keeping the black book, Diane letting that sleazy artist paint her against Sam's wishes, Sam's constant lying, etc.).<br /> I felt that Sam, at least, had grown out of the skirt-chasing phase of his life and was ready to move on to have a family. It seemed like that's what seasons 10-11 were all about. <br />Sam and Diane may have been different types of people, but they were able to be vulnerable with each other and challenged each other in both good and bad ways, not to mention how intensely attracted to each other they were. I feel that it would've been far healthier for Sam to marry a woman he loved even though they liked different forms of entertainment rather than for him to be a recovering alcoholic/sex addict that decides his true love is being a single guy in a bar. That undid all of his growth as a character and resolved nothing. It made the whole show pointless. A nice ride, but pointless. Mishanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41439098917686121602016-05-02T04:11:36.899-07:002016-05-02T04:11:36.899-07:00Sam and Diane reduced to "chalk and cheese wi...Sam and Diane reduced to "chalk and cheese with a good sex life." Man, that is harsh, Johnny Walker. I've never even heard that expression (must be a British thing). They were "lightning in a bottle" (James Burrows), they were Tracy and Hepburn, and they had much more than a good sex life. Half the people who said they should have ended up together (and even some who didn't) used the word "magic" in describing their relationship. You don't walk away from that and "end up much happier with someone else."Diane D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74572868080026892702016-05-02T04:09:03.904-07:002016-05-02T04:09:03.904-07:00Heh. I just lived through four years of that.
Heh. I just lived through four years of that. <br /><br />donaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03336032631356999367noreply@blogger.com