Robert Tilton
10-03-2001, 08:12 PM
From the NY Daily News:
'Cheers' Fans Belly Up
For Uncut Marathon
Tune in to Nick at Nite's week-long marathon of "Cheers" Sunday through Friday, and you'll see that classic NBC sitcom in a way you haven't seen it in years — and, after next week, may not for many years more.
The prime-time marathon, running each night from 9 o'clock to 2 o'clock, presents selected episodes as a celebration of the show's addition this month to the Nick at Nite lineup.
Each night of the marathon is devoted to a different core character from the 1982-93 series, and all shows are digitally remastered. What's different, though, is that the shows in that six-day marathon — and only then — will air uncut and without any computerized time compression.
Play It Again, Sam: Ted Danson, Shelly Long and the rest of the cast of 'Cheers' can be seen again in the Nick at Nite marathon. To make room for more advertising spots when a show goes from network TV to reruns on local broadcast stations or cable, production companies routinely trim scenes.
Another more subtle way to trim seconds from a show's running time is to use computer editing to shorten the pauses between lines of dialogue and speed up entrances and exits, and often speed up the entire tape slightly.
Even Nick at Nite and sister cable network TV Land, where a reverence for classic TV is well-established, present compressed or edited versions of most shows.
But when the "Cheers" acquisition was announced in July, and former cast members complained about the edited versions of the show in syndication,
Nick at Nite executives decided to present a marathon with the chosen episodes unaltered.
It will be the first time those Paramount-produced shows have been offered in such pristine form since since their initial broadcasts on NBC — and former cast members George Wendt and John Ratzenberger, who played bar buddies Norm and Cliff, are thrilled by the prospect.
"I notice the time compression," Wendt said in July. "They don't really cut anything they think is essential, but the timing is off, and then the reactions are off, and it's all — it's just not as good."
"Comedy is played between the words," Ratzenberger chimed in. "And if there is no 'between the words,' there's hardly any comedy left."
So watch closely, and tape religiously. Nick at Nite is dividing the marathon into theme nights. Sunday at 9, it's Sam Sunday; then comes Diane Monday (which opens with the series pilot), Frasier Tuesday, Woody Wednesday, Rebecca Thursday, and Norm and Cliff Friday.
That's a lot of happy hours — complemented by fresh interviews with most "Cheers" alumni.
Each night of the "Cheers" marathon, it should be noted, will begin with a memorial slate honoring David Angell, writer-producer of "Cheers" and co-creator of "Frasier," and his wife, Lynn. The Angells were passengers aboard one of the hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center.
'Cheers' Fans Belly Up
For Uncut Marathon
Tune in to Nick at Nite's week-long marathon of "Cheers" Sunday through Friday, and you'll see that classic NBC sitcom in a way you haven't seen it in years — and, after next week, may not for many years more.
The prime-time marathon, running each night from 9 o'clock to 2 o'clock, presents selected episodes as a celebration of the show's addition this month to the Nick at Nite lineup.
Each night of the marathon is devoted to a different core character from the 1982-93 series, and all shows are digitally remastered. What's different, though, is that the shows in that six-day marathon — and only then — will air uncut and without any computerized time compression.
Play It Again, Sam: Ted Danson, Shelly Long and the rest of the cast of 'Cheers' can be seen again in the Nick at Nite marathon. To make room for more advertising spots when a show goes from network TV to reruns on local broadcast stations or cable, production companies routinely trim scenes.
Another more subtle way to trim seconds from a show's running time is to use computer editing to shorten the pauses between lines of dialogue and speed up entrances and exits, and often speed up the entire tape slightly.
Even Nick at Nite and sister cable network TV Land, where a reverence for classic TV is well-established, present compressed or edited versions of most shows.
But when the "Cheers" acquisition was announced in July, and former cast members complained about the edited versions of the show in syndication,
Nick at Nite executives decided to present a marathon with the chosen episodes unaltered.
It will be the first time those Paramount-produced shows have been offered in such pristine form since since their initial broadcasts on NBC — and former cast members George Wendt and John Ratzenberger, who played bar buddies Norm and Cliff, are thrilled by the prospect.
"I notice the time compression," Wendt said in July. "They don't really cut anything they think is essential, but the timing is off, and then the reactions are off, and it's all — it's just not as good."
"Comedy is played between the words," Ratzenberger chimed in. "And if there is no 'between the words,' there's hardly any comedy left."
So watch closely, and tape religiously. Nick at Nite is dividing the marathon into theme nights. Sunday at 9, it's Sam Sunday; then comes Diane Monday (which opens with the series pilot), Frasier Tuesday, Woody Wednesday, Rebecca Thursday, and Norm and Cliff Friday.
That's a lot of happy hours — complemented by fresh interviews with most "Cheers" alumni.
Each night of the "Cheers" marathon, it should be noted, will begin with a memorial slate honoring David Angell, writer-producer of "Cheers" and co-creator of "Frasier," and his wife, Lynn. The Angells were passengers aboard one of the hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center.