Reception
I don't think we ever entertained that idea of Sam and Diane going off together. It seemed like going backwards a little. I'm not sure if that big of a portion of our audience would have been happy with it here were people who loved Shelley, but a lot of people liked Rebecca better, or thought Diane was bad for Sam, and so on.
Les Charles, GQ magazineReviews of this episode at the time of its initial broadcast were mixed. John J. O'Connor from The New York Times called this episode "overly long and uncharacteristically labored" and considered the originally-broadcast length of this episode "a miscalculation." Nevertheless, O'Connor wrote, "Things didn't turn absolutely soppy, but nearly." Tony Scott from Daily Variety praised the writing, yet he found the finale "overly long" and the last 30 minutes "limping."
John Carman from San Francisco Chronicle "liked the finale" and "was choked up at the end"; nevertheless, he found Shelley Long's special guest performance "disappointing" and "cute pills" past "expiration date." Ann Hodges from Houston Chronicle "found the conclusion fitting" but was not sad about the series's cancellation. One of readers' published letters from The Post-Standard pointed out this episode's omittance of Coach, one of original Cheers characters who died in 1985, and expressed disdain toward such omittance, even when Geronimo picture was shown at the ending.
Reactions were mixed in local Sacramento bars about the episode's ending. Some called its ending a "perfect way to end the popular series." Others either called it "dull or weak" or were not pleased with the final breakup of Sam and Diane.
The reviews in later years drew more attention, mostly positive. In 1998, A. J. Jacobs from Entertainment Weekly graded this finale a B+, called it "a satisfying nightcap" and "sharply written by ," and considers 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 from Entertainment Weekly called it one of his "Five Best (pre-Sopranos) Series Finales." In 2007, Douglas Durden from Richmond Times-Dispatch named it his fifth most-favorite television finales of all-time. In 2009, the A.V. Club ranked it No. 3 in "10 American TV Series with Satisfying Endings" of the book Inventory.
In 2010, Sharon Knolle from The Huffington Post was relieved to see final onscreen romance of Sam and Diane short-lived rather than concluded with marriage. In the same year, Oliver Miller from The Huffington Post was heartbroken by Sam and Diane's on-screen "absurd protracted double-gut-punch break-up" in this episode. Meanwhile, Claire Suddath from the Time magazine called it one of top ten "anticipated" finales ever. In 2011, the finale was ranked fifth on the TV Guide Network special, TV's Most Unforgettable Finales.
Read more about this topic: One For The Road (Cheers)
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