The Final Season commences with a devastating fire that all but destroys the eponymous Boston bar owned by Sam Malone. Shocking as it is to see Cheers nearly reduced to rubble, a lot of funny material comes out of it, not least the fact that manager Rebecca Howe is responsible for the blaze and can't quite bring herself to tell Sam. The episode's sophisticated ending sets the tone for the season, in which all the show's characters seem prepared to cut each other more slack than usual. Other tumultuous events include an extended separation between Frasier and Lilith when the latter chooses to live in an underground "eco-pod" with her new boyfriend, a break-up leading to a night of near-bliss for Frasier and Rebecca. Newlyweds Woody and Kelly transcend their struggles with religious differences (they're each members of minutely different Lutheran denominations), and Woody becomes an unlikely candidate for the Boston City Council. Meanwhile, Cliff takes a step toward adulthood by putting his domineering mother in a retirement home, while Norm takes his dream job as a taster in a brewery. Nothing much changes for acerbic waitress Carla, but she is certainly on hand to comment on everything, including Sam's overdue self-awareness about his sexual addiction. The final half-dozen or so episodes find Rebecca, much to her dismay, attracted to a working man instead of a millionaire, while Diane Chambers reappears in Sam's life at a particularly vulnerable moment for each. The series' finale is a corker, including a lovely last scene that ends with Sam uttering one of the best closing lines in television broadcast history. -