Editing Cheers (section)

==Themes==
Nearly all of ''Cheers'' takes place in the front room of the bar, but the characters often go into the rear pool room or the bar's office.<ref name=why>{{cite news|title=Why 'Cheers' Looks Sharp Each Week|work=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/03/30/why-cheers-looks-sharp-each-week/|access-date=October 30, 2010|date=March 30, 1986|archive-date=July 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723001508/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-03-30/entertainment/8601230357_1_ted-danson-kiss-les-and-glen-charles|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Cheers'' does not show any action outside the bar until the first episode of the second season, which takes place in Diane's apartment.

The show's main [[Theme (narrative)|theme]] in its early seasons is the romance between intellectual waitress Diane Chambers and the bar's owner, Sam Malone, a former [[Major League Baseball]] [[pitcher]] for the [[Boston Red Sox]] and recovering alcoholic.<ref>''Television Heaven'' (2002)(2006). [https://web.archive.org/web/20020826054040/http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/cheers.htm ''Cheers''&nbsp;– A Television Heaven Review]</ref> After Shelley Long (Diane) left the show, the focus shifted to Sam's new relationship with [[Rebecca Howe]], a neurotic corporate ladder climber.

Many ''Cheers'' scripts centered or touched upon a variety of [[social issues]], albeit humorously. As ''Toasting Cheers'' puts it, "The script was further strengthened by the writers' boldness in successfully tackling controversial issues such as alcoholism, homosexuality, and adultery."<ref name=Bix>Bjorklund, p. ix</ref>

Social class was a subtext of the show. The "upper class"—represented by characters like Diane Chambers, [[Frasier Crane]], and [[Lilith Sternin]]—rub shoulders with middle- and working-class characters Sam Malone, Carla Tortelli, Norm Peterson, and Cliff Clavin. An extreme example of this was the relationship between Woody Boyd and a millionaire's daughter, [[List of recurring characters in Cheers|Kelly Gaines]]. Many viewers enjoyed ''Cheers'' in part because of this focus on character development in addition to plot development.<ref name="chardevelop"/>

[[Feminism]] and the role of women were also recurring themes throughout the show, with some critics seeing each of the major female characters portraying an aspect as a flawed feminist in her own way.<ref name=fem>Dr. Caren Deming. "Talk: Gender Discourse in ''Cheers''!", in ''Television Criticism: Approaches and Applications'' edited by Leah R. Vande Berg and Lawrence A Wenner. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1991. 47–57. The essay is co-authored by Mercilee M. Jenkins, who teaches at San Francisco State University.</ref> Diane is a vocal feminist, and Sam is the epitome of everything she hates: [[promiscuity]] and [[chauvinism]] (see "[[Sam and Diane]]").

Homosexuality was dealt with from the first season, which was rare in the early [[List of years in television|1980s on American television]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Becker|first=Ron|title=Gay TV And Straight America|url=https://archive.org/details/gaytvstraightame0000beck|url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=Rutgers University Press|location=New Brunswick (N.J.)|isbn=978-0-8135-3689-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/gaytvstraightame0000beck/page/5 5]}}</ref> In the first-season episode "[[The Boys in the Bar]]" (the title being a reference to the [[The Boys in the Band (play)|play]] and subsequent movie ''[[The Boys in the Band (1970 film)|The Boys in the Band]]''), a friend and former teammate of Sam's [[Coming out|comes out]] in his autobiography. Some of the male regulars pressure Sam to take action to ensure that Cheers does not become a [[gay bar]]. The episode won a [[GLAAD Media Award]], and the script's writers, [[Ken Levine (screenwriter)|Ken Levine]] and David Isaacs, were nominated for a [[Primetime Emmy Award]].

[[Substance use disorder|Addiction]] also plays a role on ''Cheers'', almost exclusively through Sam. He is a recovering alcoholic who had bought a bar during his drinking days. Frasier has a notable bout of drinking in the fourth-season episode "The Triangle", while Woody develops a gambling problem in the seventh season episode "Call Me Irresponsible". Carla and other characters drink beer while pregnant, but nobody seems to mind.