Critical reviews Reviews of this episode at the time of its initial broadcast were mixed.
John J. O'Connor from
The New York Times called the episode "overly long and uncharacteristically labored" and considered its length "a miscalculation." Nevertheless, O'Connor wrote, "Things didn't turn absolutely soppy, but nearly." Tony Scott of
Daily Variety praised the writing, yet he found the finale "overly long" and described the last 30 minutes as "limping." John Carman of the
San Francisco Chronicle "liked the finale" and "was choked up at the end"; nevertheless, he found Shelley Long's special guest performance "disappointing" – her "cute pills" were past "their expiration date." Ann Hodges of The
Houston Chronicle "found the conclusion fitting" but was not sad about the series' cancellation. One reader's letter in
The Post-Standard pointed out that the episode did not explicitly mention
Coach Ernie Pantusso, one of the original
Cheers characters who died in 1985, and expressed disdain over this but was pleased to see the
Geronimo picture (which Coach's portrayer Nicholas Colasanto had always kept in his dressing room and was added to the set after his death) shown at the end. The reviews in later years were mostly positive. In 1998,
A. J. Jacobs of
Entertainment Weekly graded this finale a B+, calling it "a satisfying nightcap" and "sharply written by the [Charles brothers]", with its final moments "classy as a
flute of chilled
Cristal." In 2006, Ron Geraci, author of the book
The Bachelor Chronicles: A Dating Memoir, called it "raw and moving" and "significant." In 2007, Dalton Ross of
Entertainment Weekly called it one of his "Five Best (pre-
Sopranos) Series Finales." In 2007, Douglas Durden of The
Richmond Times-Dispatch named it her fifth most favorite television finale of all-time. In 2009,
the A.V. Club ranked it No. 3 in "10 American TV Series with Satisfying Endings" in the book
Inventory. In 2010, Sharon Knolle of
The Huffington Post was relieved to see the final onscreen romance between Sam and Diane end rather than conclude with their marriage. In the same year, Oliver Miller of
The Huffington Post was heartbroken by Sam and Diane's on-screen "absurd protracted double-gut-punch break-up" in the episode. Claire Suddath from
Time magazine called it one of the top ten "anticipated" finales ever. In 2014,
IGN ranked it number six of the top ten
Cheers episodes.
Ratings The episode aired on NBC on May 20, 1993, at 9:22 p.m. instead of 9:30 pm, the regular time for
Cheers, as the episode was scheduled to run 98-minutes. The overall Nielsen rating was 45.5 (approximately 42.4 million households), 64 or 62 share, and the number of American viewers was either 80 million or 93 million. NBC estimates that the finale was watched by 93 million viewers, almost 40% of the US population at the time. In the Los Angeles area, the finale scored a 44.5 rating (KNBC); in New York City (
WNBC), a 45.6 rating; in the Hartford–New Haven (
WVIT) area, a 48 rating and 63 share; and in Boston (
WBZ-TV), the series' setting, a 54.1 rating. The retrospective program
Cheers: Last Call!, produced by NBC (not the series producers) It received an overall 39.6 rating (36.9 million households); the Los Angeles rating was 40.0.
Accolades At the
45th Primetime Emmy Awards (1993), Robert Bramwell won Outstanding Achievement in Editing for a Series (Multi-Camera Production). Shelley Long lost the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series to
Tracey Ullman (
Love and War).
Tom Berenger lost the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series to
David Clennon (
Dream On).
James Burrows lost the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing in a Comedy Series to Betty Thomas (
Dream On)
Aftermath Before and after the production of
Cheers had ended, the cast had moved on to other stages in their careers. Shelley Long appeared on the
CBS show
Good Advice before this episode, and resumed her work there. Ted Danson appeared in
Made in America, which opened in theatres soon after the episode aired. Kirstie Alley participated in the film ''
Look Who's Talking Now'', with only occasional appearances of Lilith Sternin or their son Frederick during its 11-year run. However, Frasier would eventually return to Boston for a visit, along with his brother
Niles and father
Martin (played by
David Hyde Pierce and
John Mahoney, respectively). Before the first airing of this series finale, more than five hundred people, including the cast of
Cheers (except Shelley Long, Kirstie Alley, and Bebe Neuwirth) and politicians such as
William M. Bulger and then-
Governor of Massachusetts William Weld, participated at an afternoon celebration on Beacon Street near the
Bull & Finch Pub in Boston, to celebrate the series' ending. In 1997, one copy of this episode's script was donated by George Wendt to the
Handel and Haydn Society, a Boston music institution. It contained the autographs of eight cast members, including Wendt, Shelley Long, and Woody Harrelson. On February 15, 1997, it was stolen from the Boston
Four Seasons Hotel. The high bid for it at the benefit auction was $1,000 before it was stolen. About one week later, the stolen script, in a
manila envelope, was left at a church; the Society then retrieved it. In March 1997, the autographed copy of the episode's script was sold to the Bull and Finch Pub (now
Cheers Beacon Hill) for $10,000. George Wendt died at age 76 on May 20, 2025, the 32nd anniversary of the episode's original air date. ==Notes==