Nostalgia Tour: Cheers

(This Hub is part of a series of nostalgic tours of shows from NBC's mid-season 1986-1987 "Must See TV" line-up, probably the greatest three-hour television time bloc ever. The rest of the series includes The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Night Court and L.A. Law.)

One of the longest-running television shows ever, Cheers is an enigma. The entire series took place almost entirely inside the namesake bar situated in Boston. Ted Danson's "Sam Malone" was "a perennial Peter Pan with no sense of maturity or obligation" (see the first clip below for that quote!). Its characters are perhaps among the most unique, memorable and real in all of television.

That verisimilitude is the enduring charm of the show. Cheers -- and its cast -- depict our bar, our friends, our conversations, our struggles, our joys and our lives. Each of us is a bit Sam Malone, a bit Norm, a bit Cliff, a bit Carla, a bit Woody, and the show challenges us to identify the best and worst of their characteristics in ourselves.

In addition, we certainly each have friends very much like them, as well. But, perhaps the most engaging element of the show is that Cheers felt like our bar, even a bit like our home. What drew each of the characters back there every day is what drew us to the TV set every night: that sense of loving comfort and familiarity (see the clip about Norm's stool below) that only our home and our family can provide. Cheers, as a TV show, gave us what we all crave in life: the place where we are not anonymous, where we are among family.

Enjoy your nostalgic tour of Cheers!

Do you have any favorite Cheers memories? List them below and/or link the clip!