Script-of-the-Week: Cheers - Give Me A Ring Sometime FIRST EPISODE

by Glen and Les Charles (45 pages)

Awards:Emmy(1983)Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series

Points of Interest:

Pacing: Quick. Jokes and characterizations are set up in one or two beats. I didn’t understand a couple of jokes that sere dated.

Screen Visibility: Minimal, even though it’s the first episode -- visualization for the screen is apparently not an issue.

Formatting: Standard for the time, but likely dated for todays requirements.

Recommendation: For writers who want to learn about opening a sit-com. By the end of this first episode, all the information we need to know about the characters has been introduced. The characters stayed this way for the full 11 year run of the show.