The First Episode of Cheers Cut a Recurring Character and They Never Returned

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The First Episode of Cheers Cut a Recurring Character and They Never Returned

The pilot episode of Health featured a regular customer and recurring character named Mrs. Littlefield, who was never seen again. It's common practice for characters to be cut from a TV show after the pilot. The point of a pilot episode is to figure out what works and what doesn't in a potential series before committing to making more episodes and going for a full season. Pilot episodes are becoming a thing of the past in the streaming era, but they're an important part of the process.

Brooklyn Nine-NineHitchcock and Scully's iconic double act was originally a triple act; in the pilot, they were introduced alongside a police officer named Detective Daniels, who was never seen again. Between SeinfeldIn Jerry's pilot episode and the rest of Season 1, sardonic waitress Claire was replaced by Jerry's sardonic ex-girlfriend Elaine. It's not uncommon for a pilot to feature a major character who mysteriously disappears in Season 1 Episode 2. Health cut a character named Mrs. Littlefield after the pilot episode.

The first episode of Cheers included Mrs. Littlefield, but she was cut from the show

The creators decided she didn't fit the tone of the show

The pilot episode of Health“Give Me a Ring Sometime” features most of the fan-favorite characters, from Sam to Diane to Norm to Cliff, but there is one character who never returned. A regular customer named Mrs. Littlefield was introducedplayed by Margaret Wheeler. She was characterized as a terribly racist elderly wheelchair user with unpleasant behavior. His scenes were filmed as part of a preliminary version of the pilot, but the creators decided to cut her from the episode entirely.

They felt that Mrs. Littlefield did not fit in with the rest of the group. Health cast or the tone of the series. Health was a light-hearted show about bar staff and patrons who find a kinship with each other, and that's what made audiences love the show and stick with it for over a decade. Having a mean old racist around went against that. The writers had to rewrite the next few episodes to excise Mrs.but it was definitely worth it.

Looks like Cheers was better off without Ms. Littlefield

Mrs. Littlefield was not a good fit for the ensemble


A promotional image of the cast of Cheers

It seems Health'The creators made the right decision by cutting Mrs. Littlefield from the series. Having a despicable racist in the bar every episode would have made the show unnecessarily uncomfortable. What did you do Health such a great TV show was the cozy feeling the audience got when they tuned in to spend time in that bar with those lovable characters; Mrs. Littlefield would have ruined that. Filling each episode with ugly racial commentary would also have detracted from the show's timelessness, like Major Fawlty Towers.

Health

One of the best-known American comedies of the 1980s and 90s, Cheers is set primarily in Boston at the Cheers bar and features a cast including Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Pearlman, Kelsey Grammer and George Wendt. Danson's Sam Malone serves as the bar's owner, and the episodes depict the lives of Cheers employees and customers during the bar's operating hours. The series ran for 11 seasons and spawned popular spin-off shows like Frasier.

Release date

September 30, 1982

Seasons

11

Directors

James Burrows, Andy Ackerman

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