Cheers is a popular sitcom about the employees and patrons of a Boston bar called Cheers. The show ran for eleven seasons and was also the foundation for the popular series Frasier. Cheers is without a doubt, a solid comedy. The show has some very wonderful characters and plenty of funny stories to tell. For more details about this series, please refer to my reviews of season three, season four, season five, and season six.

The seventh season begins where the last season ended. The love of Rebecca's life, Evan Drake, left to Japan and took with him several of the company's big wigs. Devastated, she isn't quite sure how to proceed. In the season premiere episode "How To Recede In Business" Rebecca realizes she isn't in a bad position after all. Despite her boss left her, he did take a good number of the suits that were placed above her. Rebecca's now that much closer to becoming an executive. Unfortunately for Rebecca things aren't going to turn out the way she'd like them too. Instead of a promotion, the new boss Mr. Stone gives control of the bar back to Sam. When he ran it, the bar was more profitable. Soon Rebecca's world goes upside down and the way she handles it is quite funny. On the flipside, Sam finds that running a bar according to corporate SOP is a little too much.

From this episode we see a growing trend that was hinted at in the last season. Rebecca is power hunger and desires to be a successful business woman. She means to go up the corporate ladder, no matter the costs. To this end, she tells Sam she will only date men who can further her career. That is, until she meets one of the new executives in the two part episode "Executive Sweet (1)" and "One Happy Chappy In A Sappy Serape (2)". After a scandal, Mr. Stone was arrested by the FBI and replaced with one Martin Teal. After his first encounter with Rebecca, he decided that she was what he wanted. While powerful and definitely someone who could help Rebecca climb the corporate ladder, she refuses to date him because he is so young and short. The story gets quite funny when Rebecca gets Sam to play her pretend boyfriend to keep Martin away. What makes this so fun is the irony of the situation and how Sam reacts. The season also includes several other episodes and side stories with Rebecca attempting to kiss corporate butt to further her career.

Continuing the theme of the big corporate types, the episode "Golden Boyd" has Rebecca hosting a party for one of the company executives. She has Sam and Woody serve as bartenders. There Woody is humiliated by a rich yuppie and decides to steal his girlfriend Kelly Gaines. Woody manages to succeed in making the boyfriend jealous, but he finds out he has actual feelings for Kelly and she for him. They start dating in this season and continue throughout the rest of the series. She isn't a character I ever liked a lot. She is about as smart as Woody and together they can be a little too much. Fortunately, she plays a very minor role and it isn't that bad when she's around.

"Norm, Is That You?" is probably the funniest this season has to offer. In it, Norm reveals that he has a knack for arranging things in a room. While painting Frasier and Lilith's apartment, he helps them setup their living room after a mish-mash with a frou frou interior decorator. Frasier and Lilith were so impressed with Norm's uncanny ability for interior decorating that they recommend him to some rich snobby friends. When Norm first meets them, he falls under the impression that he has to act gay to get the job decorating with them. So he does and eventually his lies find him back to Cheers. Very funny.

Another fun story involving Frasier and Lilith is "I Kid You Not". In this episode Frasier and Lilith befriend Carla's six year old son, who turns out to be intellectually mature for his age. They take the boy to the opera and out to a fancy dinner, where they find out that while the boy is not as well-to-do as they had thought, he is still Carla's child. It's a fun and embarrassing time for Frasier. This episode also marks the beginning of their son Frederick. Continuing with silly Frasier stories, in "The Cranemakers" Frasier and Lilith become convinced they should shed every trace of modern society and live simple. Bad idea Fraiser.

This season also has some great episodes about dating, or at least attempts at dating. In "Sisterly Love", Rebecca's sister Susan comes to visit. The two have a rivalry, where they enjoy taking what the other has. Sam finds out about this and tries to take advantage of the situation. In "The Visiting Lecher", a well respected marriage counselor hits on Rebecca and denies it. He makes Rebecca look the fool and she will stop at nothing to get the truth out in the open. "What's Up, Doc?" has Sam chasing after Frasier's fellow female psychiatrist. In an effort to woe her, Sam tells her that he is impotent. Then in "Please Mr. Postman" Cliff finally gets a girlfriend.

Overall this season of Cheers has some fun episodes. While they are fun and amusing, they are not quite as strong as some of the previous seasons. Still, it was a good season. Rebecca is more in tune with the rest of the cast and it is really hard to notice she wasn't there just a couple of seasons ago. This is a must buy for fans of series and those just looking to laugh.

Episode Guide
1. How To Recede In Business
2. Swear To God
3. Executive Sweet (1)
4. One Happy Chappy In A Snappy Serape (2)
5. Those Lips, Those Ice
6. Norm, Is That You?
7. How To Win Friends And Electrocute People
8. Jumping Jerks
9. Send In The Crane
10. Bar Wars II: The Woodman Strikes Back
11. Adventures In Housesitting
12. Please Mr. Postman
13. Golden Boyd
14. I Kid You Not
15. Don't Paint Your Chickens
16. The Cranemakers
17. Hot Rocks
18. What's Up Doc?
19. The Gift Of The Woodi
20. Call Me Irresponsible
21. Sisterly Love
22. The Visiting Lecher

The DVD

Video:
This DVD release is presented in its original television aspect ratio 1.33:1 full frame color. The quality isn't top notch. The picture looks a little dirty, with a trace of grain. This isn't a problem associated with video compression, but more or less, it is due to the transfer's source medium. Overall, the quality isn't great, but it still shouldn't ruin your viewing experience. Considering its age, it does look quite good.

Audio:
This DVD release is provided with a very standard audio track, English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The quality is fairly good, providing the show with a relatively clear and crisp audio track. The audio is very flat, but that is mainly due to content, as the majority of the show is spoken dialogue. Overall, it is more than adequate for this presentation. This release also supports closed-captioning.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this DVD release.

Final Thoughts:
Season seven acts as another fun set of episodes where the cast gets into some goofy situations. The character's antics and neurotic behaviors meld together and turn some fairly normal situations into a laugh-fest. The content will not disappoint fans of the series and newcomers should be drawn to this show easily.