The Best and Worst Holiday Episodes of Cheers

Introduction

In its 11 seasons on the air, Cheers did several holiday-themed episodes, but some of them were better than the others. NBC's prized sitcom started out with barely any viewers despite its interesting premise and brilliant cast. It was on the brink of cancelation, but thanks to its quality storytelling, the network stuck with it, and luckily, with a little bit more time, the public eventually found out about it. This resulted in a magnificent run, which survived several cast members exiting, not to mention changing TV landscape. When Cheers ended, it was both revered by critics and loved by the viewers.

Cheers' Ill-Gotten Gaines

Being on the air for 11 years, Cheers had no scarcity of time doing holiday-themed episodes. From Christmas to Halloween, Sam Malone's pub and its patrons loved to celebrate anything, especially if it gave them more reason to drink. While all of them had Cheers' storytelling hallmarks, not all of them were made equally.

Let's dive into the ranking of Cheers' holiday episodes, from the worst to the best, and explore the impact of each episode on the beloved characters and the holiday themes they encompass.

The Worst Holiday Episodes

Towards the end of its run in 1992, Cheers did 'Ill-Gotten Gaines,' which put the focus on Woody Harrelson's Woody Boyd. The pub's naive and idealistic bartender found himself being stealthily coerced by Mr. Gaines into signing over power of attorney over his assets. However, the executor changed his mind after Woody caught him cheating with his brother's wife. This all played out during Thanksgiving, which was relegated to a B-plot as everyone decided to spend it at the bar, aside from Woody. This could have been any other Cheers episode, however, considering the lack of focus on the holiday.

Just a little bit over a year before 'Ill-Gotten Gains,' Cheers season 9, episode 18 'Sam Time Next Year' tackled Sam's longstanding tradition of spending Valentine's with Lauren at a specific Vermont ski lodge. A freak accident, however, hampered the ritual, after he found himself injured due to a bad fall. Still, he forced the situation by having Woody drive him. There was really nothing romantic about the episode, despite being a Valentine's Day-themed outing. If anything, it only highlighted how Sam continued to refuse growing up until the end of the series.

Cheers' Sam Time Next Year

Cheers' finale is widely regarded as one of the best, but its last Christmas episode isn't the same. In Cheers season 11, episode 11, 'Love Me, Love My Car' from 1992, Sam was surprised by a stunning woman named Susan asking about his old Corvette. The previous buyer of the car had died, leaving her clueless about what to do with it. Instead of simply helping her, Sam concocted a scheme to get her to return the Corvette to him. He eventually got it back, but only because Susan learned about his plan, resulting in her getting mad at him. Realizing his mistake, Sam felt guilty about the whole thing. As a holiday episode, this one didn't have enough cheer to be considered a great one. Granted that it was a great episode scrutinizing Sam's manipulative ways, but that could have been done in a regular outing. It's especially disappointing, considering that it was the final Christmas-themed episode for the beloved sitcom.

Cheers' Love Me, Love My Car

The Best Holiday Episodes

Regarded as one of the best episodes of Cheers, season 5, episode 9, 'Thanksgiving Orphans' is so memorable for several reasons. In it, the people at Cheers were talking about Thanksgiving plans, when Carla revealed that she would be alone for the holiday. Diane then took it upon herself to wrangle everyone, who didn't have any plans as well, to share a meal at Carla's house. What started as seemingly a proper dinner ended with a chaotic food fight, which remains to be one of the best scenes in the show.

Cheers' Thanksgiving Orphans

Shelley Long's Diane Chambers left Cheers at the end of season 5. Before that, however, she and Sam were planning for their future together in light of their nearing wedding. That included Diana finding the perfect starter house for them to buy. The home was being sold by an elderly couple, who couldn't seem to move on from it after 40 years of inhabiting it. They reminisced on all the holidays that they spent in it, which gave Diane the idea to stage their last one before they left it. Much of Diane and Sam's relationship involved a lot of bickering and fighting. However, at this point in Cheers, it showed that they were serious enough with each other to buy a house together. It allowed fans to imagine them actually growing old together, just like the former owners of their house. The episode, however, was bittersweet, considering that it wasn't a secret that Long was due to leave the show after season 5.

Cheers' A House is Not a Home

During 1987's Christmas Eve at the bar in Cheers season 6, episode 12, 'Christmas Cheer,' Sam and Carla were annoyed that Rebecca was forcing them to work. However, the perpetual playboy changed his demeanor when he learned that his new boss got presents for her employees. This sent him on a last-minute gift-hunting escapade in an effort to save face and impress her. Despite being the secondary holiday plot, however, Cliff and Norm's arc in this episode was arguably more intriguing. In his bid to win a trip to Disneyworld, Cliff joined the Post Office's canned food drive, while underemployed Norm was working as Santa at a department store.

The cast of Cheers at the bar during Christmastime