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Alcoholism in Cheers
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The belief of most of the Unites States used to be that alcoholics were mean spirited, good-for-nothing, lazy, wretched men who liked to fight frequently and swear in excess. With the stereotypical television drunkard being homeless, a gambler, or just a plain loser, this myth was perpetuated. The myth was perpetuated until Cheers came along. It gives unrealistic portrayals of alcoholics in politically correct and friendly ways. The alcoholics never hurt anyone or say anything offensive in the Cheers universe, and this is how the viewing audience is beginning to view alcoholism as a whole; not as a disease, but as a source of lighthearted humor. They are wrong, very wrong. The audience sees the cast of Cheers drink their sorrows away on every episode. The bar patrons and servers do not react in a realistic way to the alcohol that they’ve been imbibing. They neither feel it’s affects immediately nor do they ever exhibit the signs of either an alcoholic or even a lifetime drinker. All of the characters appeal to a certain part of the viewing audience and are easy to form a strong connection with, and thus influence the entranced viewer. Exposing the characters for what they would be like if they existed in the real world and not just a sitcom will lend valuable insight to the television viewers and allow them to see that even their cute alcoholic prime-time role-models should have problems too: Problems that are conveniently never mentioned in the scripts or brought into a realistic perspective by the writers. The above problem will be discussed mostly in the following format: A brief description of the actual character should suffice to lend familiarity to the reader who knows little about Cheers. Examples of that characters behavior will be included with episode identification to show instances where the character exhibits those particular traits. After that there will a section explaining what problems and basic personality changes the character’s alcoholism would cause him/her in the real would, and taking that into account the previously discussed examples of behavior and how the real-world problems caused by an addiction to alcohol would cause them to react differently. Heather L. Hundley wrote a critique concerning The Naturalization of Beer in Cheers. She discussed Cheers role in causing beer drinking to be considered a normal part of the day. Instances were cited where beer was treated as casually, if not more so, than water in this sitcom. She went a long way towards proving that a flippant attitude towards beer was the cause of the problem that will be discussed here. It will soon be seen that a casual attitude towards alcoholism in the entire show is the problem itself. The show ran for eleven award-winning years and broke more than one record. It is set in a Boston bar named Cheers whose exterior is the Bull Finch, a real life Boston bar. The series began with five regular characters in the first season and ending with seven regulars in the last season. Only three of the characters made it thought the entire run of the series which makes a total of ten regulars in Cheers. Almost all of them can be viewed as having an addiction to alcohol for one reason or another. They may not always be seen with a drink on screen, but the complications arising from their problems are easy to find. Nicholas Colasanto played ‘Coach’ Ernie Pantuso for Cheers first three seasons. He was a kindly old man who ran a tidy bar but was awful at giving advice. Coach always has a smile on his face, and is rather oblivious to all the problems going on around him while still managing to be a convincing father figure. He used to coach Sam when he was playing baseball, but is now happy to take orders from him. He isn’t senile, but has a very childlike approach to most problems. He is too shy to confront his daughter about her sleazy fiancé (October 28, 1982) and needs an inspiring pep talk from the others to get the courage. In "And Coachie Makes Three" (January 19, 1984) he doesn’t let Sam and Diane have any time alone so they try, unsuccessfully, to set him up with a girl. The character of Coach appeals to older men, mostly those who are retired, by being well liked and capable in a job. In the real world he would probably be bitter because Sam is now his boss. The series never deals with anything concerning the coach’s drinking. He is seen with drinks, but no mention is ever made of the obvious damage that it is doing his liver and kidneys. If he was a true to form ex-baseball manager his drunk side would have more dominance over his personality.
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