Rewatching the show again while I’m on the bike. Just finished Season 5.
The season finale is probably the saddest of the series. The old married couple dancing in the dark + Sam watching Diane walk up the stairs at Cheers are heartbreaking. “Have a nice life.”
In my mind, that’s the series finale. The show was never as good, and had a sadder tone after Shelley Long left.
- Sam loses the bar, and for the first time in his life has to work for somebody.
- Sam never remarries, never has another serious relationship, and he even fails to get Rebecca pregnant. By the end of the show, he’s a charming but washed bachelor.
- Reading through Reddit history, many Diane’s line went to Frasier after she left and he became a much bigger part of the show. I guess we don’t get Frasier without Shelley Long’s departure, but it still saddens me.
- Sumner is the true villain of the show. Gary was a delightful foil, not a villain. Sumner broke Diane’s heart, and then returns out of thin air 5 years later to break up Sam and Diane.