In its sixth season, Cheers introduced its second major--and most significant--cast change. Following the events of season 5, Sam (Ted Danson) returns from his aborted around-the-world boat trip to find the old gang gone, Carla (Rhea Perlman) and Woody (Woody Harrelson) wearing uniforms more fit for a barbershop quartet, and a tough new boss who reportedly "eats live sharks for breakfast." The new boss, Rebecca (Kirstie Alley, probably best known at the time for her appearance in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and later to anchor such series as Veronica's Closet and Fat Actress), grudgingly hires back Sam, but has him positively befuddled with her resistance to his masculine wiles. She's not as tough as she seems, however, getting weak in the knees at the thought or sight of her corporate boss, Evan Drake (Tom Skerritt).

After the Diane debacle, the irony of the sixth season is that wedding bells are in the air. Carla is on the verge of hitching up with her Boston Bruins boyfried, Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas), until a string of bad luck threatens to tear apart the "two most superstitious people in the world." Then Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) is the victim of a prank that turns serious when he decides to dump live-in psychologist-lover Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) in order to "pursue the fair Rebecca." Other events of the season include Sam as a rapping sportscaster, Sam and Woody being sold in a charity auction, Woody entering a romance with an older woman while dressed up as Mark Twain, and another showdown with Gary's Old Town Tavern. Cheers missed Shelley Long, but it remained a high-quality show; her career missed Cheers infinitely more. --David Horiuchi

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 04/10/2007

The departure of Shelley Long from Cheers was a difficult hurdle to overcome, and her departure certainly left some shoes that needed filled. In retrospect, however, it seems like it was for the best. Kirstie Alley joins the cast in Season 6 as Rebecca Howe, a corporate brown-noser who ends up managing the bar because she can't seem to cut it at the corporate level. Sam, of course, is attracted to her, but the nature of his pursuit is different then it was with Diane, and is therefore fresh and not repetitive.

Cheers, in fact, does just fine without Diane. By Season 6 Frazier and Lilleth are regulars on the show, and the cast just seems balanced. Norm and Cliff continue to entertain, Carla continues to make her wisecracks, and Woody continues to play the dumb country bumpkin. Sam continues to womanize, though he's getting older now, and Rebecca and the Cranes bring an eclectic mix of personality into the already dynamic cast. The impressive thing about Cheers is that it made it Eleven seasons and yet remained fresh and exciting through almost all of it. This season features some hilarious episodes, and certainly some of the most memorable. It also features a stint by Tom Skerritt as Evan Drake, the corporate bigwig Rebecca is in love with. All in all this is a great season.

I am an absolut Cheers fan und can not wait until Season 7 is avalable.
The show is great. Good quality.

This was another fine season for Cheers with the addition of Rebecca. This addition changed the story line for Cheers and propelled the series to new heights as the focus was no longer on the Sam-Diane relationship. This allowed for the supporting cast to become more rounded. BTW, has anyone heard of a possible release date for season 8?

The sixth season of Cheers saw the second major cast change in the history of the show. Only two years after Woody Harrelson's Woody Boyd replaced the beloved Coach, played by Nicholas Colasanto, Kirstie Alley stepped into the large shoes left by the departure of Shelley Long as season six began.

As a youngster, I didn't begin watching Cheers until the later years, thus I only remember Cheers with Rebecca, not Diane Chambers. Watching the first five seasons on DVD truly helped me appreciate the amazing chemistry between Ted Danson's Sam Malone and Long's Chambers. Surely everybody knew it would be tough to have that chemistry again, but viewers stuck with the show and it continued to be one of the top comedy shows on the air.

As the season begins, we find Woody and Carla (Rhea Perlman) still working at Cheers, but wearing goofy green and white striped shirts, as Sam has sold the bar to a large corporation and taken off on his boat after Diane left him. Norm (George Wendt), Cliff (John Ratzenberger) and Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) still inhabit their favorite watering hole, despite the changes.

However, after his boat sinks, Sam returns to Cheers, looking to go back to the glory days he enjoyed in his bar. Instead, he has to return first as a relief bartender, then as a full time bartender under the watchful eye of the new boss, Rebecca Howe.

Kirstie Alley truly shined in the role of Rebecca. Her neurotic and nervous behavior is absolutely perfect and she is able to get a great chemistry with Sam right away. It is obvious that Sam is into Rebecca, and the more she stays away, the harder he works to get to her. Rebecca's ridiculous crush on her boss (Played by Tom Skeritt) is a great story line and her constant snubbing of Sam makes for great television moments.

Of course Danson is still strong as former Major Leaguer Sam. He finds it humbling to return to the bar a broken man and takes the part time gig as a way to get back into the place that for so long, was his home. He eventually returns to the Sam viewers knew and loved, playing practical jokes on Gary's Old Towne Tavern and dutifully chasing every woman in Boston.

As Carla, Perlman is an entertainer. In this season, Carla is pregnant. Her and her new husband Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas) welcome the baby and Carla also finds out that she is going to be a grandmother. Her constant barbing of Cliff is a riot and she takes to putting down Rebecca just as she did Diane for the previous five years.

Ratzenberger and Wendt, as Cliff and Norm, are the greatest barflies in the history of television. While neither will admit it, they are probably each other's best friends. Their crazy ideas and "interesting" conversations are what anyone would hope to find if they walked in to a random bar in the 1980s.

Harrelson continues his portrayal of the innocent Indiana farmboy turned bartender. Woody is one of the best character's on the show, simply because he is so simple and sees things as only black and white. HIs turn as Mark Twain in a local theater production is quite amusing.

Kelsey Grammer joins the regular cast as Dr. Frasier Crane, a psychologist who tends to spend too much time in Cheers. He brings a touch of upper class to the bar, yet at the same time, can fit right in with the guys. This season we get to know the love of his life, Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) a little better, and the insight into that relationship provides a number of story lines.

Once again, as has been the case with the last few seasons, the one downside to this set is the lack of extras. Surely with the success that this show had, there must be some interviews and such that could be put together. I guess we'll just have to wait for other seasons to see if something comes along.

I'm always amazed at all the hoopla over Diane leaving. Good riddance, I say. Rebecca had so much more depth. Diane was just snooty and boring, and she had bad hair. Rebecca is hysterical, especially in the initial episodes, and the greater liberties with plotlines were very welcome, especially the Robin Colcord episodes.