What if Shelly Long doesn't leave Cheers?

Cheers had its moments in the Post Long Era, but I thought it jumped the shark. Sam was a cool guy. Famous enough ex player, successful pub owner, and an ability with the ladies rivaled only by the Fonz.

Then he loses the bar, acts a like a goof, and endlessly chases a girl, who admittedly was attractive, but hat the personality of a totem pole. The show was still decent and did produce a few more gems. But the initial energy had faded a bit.

A classic finale though.

 

The same could be said about Kirstie Alley's post-Cheers career... she's hardly a "big star." At least Shelley Long has never resorted to reality TV.

 

I don't care what anyone says but I actually enjoyed - and still enjoy - a lot of Shelley's movies. Irreconcilable Differences, The Money Pit, Outrageous Fortune, Hello Again and Troop Beverly Hills are all films I love watching. Some of them have become popular on home video and cable over the years, and some have developed a cult following (like Troop Beverly Hills which features Carla Gugino and Jenny Lewis in early roles).

As was said earlier, she was terrific in the Brady Bunch movies. She was also good in Robert Altman's Dr. T. and the Women which got her some good reviews. Long never seemed to be able to get her career back on track after leaving Cheers. But I applaud her for trying. It wasn't like she starred on Cheer for a year and left like David Caruso. She did spend five years on the show. I can't blame her for trying. She had a decent run of films, albeit a short movie career.

 

She was on Modern Family again this week.

Love the Money Pit.

 

What, no love for ‘Caveman,’ where she played opposite Ringo Starr? It was a surprise moderate hit, as I recall, and a pre-Cheers success for Shelley, if not great art. (The production was also where Ringo met his future wife, Barbara Bach.)

 

shelley is adorable in pre-cheers nightshift.
money pit is awesome

 

It's crazy how different the Rebecca years and the Diane years are

 

Kirstie Alley's role was much smaller than Shelley's. Rebecca never dominated the show like Diane did. The supporting characters got a lot more screen time when Shelley Long left.

 

Yep, and that is why it was arguably funnier without Long. Instead of it usually being the Sam and Diane Show, everyone got to shine on a regular basis.

 

Agreed that the show became funnier in the post-Diane years. Despite that I still prefer the Diane years over the Rebecca years though the Sam/Diane story can get a bit dull at times.

 

It was great when Rebecca's cool character totally fell apart. Kirstie Alley really came into her own during those scenes.

 

I thought Shelly Long was wonderful in the part of Diane, and was disappointed when she left. But then, I also thought that the writers did a brilliant job of bringing Kirstie Alley into the fold. She was great as well.

So with that in consideration, I think that if the writers were able to manage a continual and interesting tension between Sam & Diane, I'd say that Long would have done well, largely because the cast, premise, and chemistry of the show was very strong. But it's really impossible to say in hindsight.

 

Meh. To me the most regrettable loss of a main character was Damien Lewis leaving 'Homeland'. That show never recovered.

 

I loved Sam and Diane, but even I was getting sick of the will they/won't they thing by season five.

Even though Shelley Long's career didn't probably go the way she hoped, I still think she did the right thing quitting the show when she did. For herself and the show.

 

Yeah, but they did, so I'm not quite sure that's the point.

It all still comes to "what ifs". What if Sam's attention was drawn to another, astonishing woman that genuinely rivalled Diane? What if Diane ran into a handsome, intellectual guy that didn't exhibit the neurotics of Frazier? Then throw in the dynamics of an incredible supporting cast. As I implied, anything was possible.

 

I think Shelley had just had enough. She’d be 37/38 when she left and it was now or never re having a movie career.

 

Fully agreed. I don't think they ever would have had Sam and Diane marry and then focus a lot on their home life - the show was about the bar. The show had hardly any scenes that appeared outside the bar. If Sam and Diane ever married it probably would have been in the series finale. Nobody wanted scenes of them in their home arguing over changing diapers, or how to restore Sam's fastball (in bed).

 

Absolutely nothing to do with the actress or show mentioned in the title which is what this thread is about.

 

Well, they did have them marry in an alternate scene, just in case Shelley had decided to renew her contract. How that would have played out, I don't know. Maybe they would have gotten divorced between seasons 5 and 6.

 

Nice to see her in Modern Family again the other week. Sadly, her role in the show is rather thankless and seems designed to just make her the butt of everyone’s jokes..

 

Given how often they would break up and got back together this seems very plausible.

 

Probably would have had more of the Brain v. Doofus theme. Diane wants to watch a ballet on PBS but Sam is watching GLOW or some other wrestling. Diane wants to visit London but Sam wants Disney World. All the while Fraser is hovering in the background as are Sam's bevy of babes fan club.

 

I hate to say it but I can't stand the Carla themed episodes

Absolutely brutal to sit through

 

One of my favorite scenes

 

What if Shelly Long doesn't leave Cheers?

Carla goes to prison for murder.