Cheers - Season 5 will be released on DVD in a 4-disc set that's on tap to hit stores
May 17th. This is the season where Kelsey Grammer formally joined the regular cast as a name in the opening credits, with his long-running character Frasier Crane. His spin-off series,
Frasier, ought to see a 5th Season release on the same day, but Paramount hasn't made an announcement about that yet.
The fifth season of
Cheers also saw the return of Frasier's love interest, Dr. Lilith Sternin, played so admirably by Bebe Neuwirth. Jay Thomas arrives as Carla's love interest, hockey player Eddie LeBec. Dan Hedaya and Jean Kasem guest star as Nick (Carla's ex-husband) and Loretta Tortelli in the episode "Spellbound," which was followed that night on NBC by the broadcast debut of the pilot episode of
The Tortellis (don't count on that spin-off being part of this DVD set, though).
Other guest stars this season included Brent Spiner, Frances Sternhagen (her first of several appearances as Cliff Claven's mother), and an Emmy-winning performance by John Cleese (his first of 4 Emmy nominations, and his only win).
This season also marked the final year for Shelley Long as "Diane," which maybe leaves the way open for an interesting extra on this set. It was highly publicized at the time that the live studio audience witnessed a fake episode being taped, to hide the plot twist involved with Long's departure. It would be terrific if Paramount could include that footage on this DVD set as a bonus. We're just wishing, though...it's unlikely that this footage is still around, or in good enough condition to include. Here's hoping, however!
Cheers - Season 5 will be available by itself in a 4-DVD box set, or alternatively you can get all five seasons released up to that point in one big bundled collection, with all twenty discs in their individual digipaks. Here's a shot of the latter, and it gives you a great look at the cover for the 5th Season set. Enjoy, and stay tuned for more information just as soon as it's announced.
