(Power Rankings sum up: Each week, we’ll pick a television show and rank the actors/actresses/contestants/correspondents/etc. based on what they’ve done after the series ended (unless we’re ranking a current series, in which case we’ll have to bend the rules). Preference will be given to more recent work, but if the work was a long time ago, but much more important/relevant, that will be factored in as well)
RIP Nicholas Colasanto. That said, let’s go.
9. George Wendt (as Norm Peterson) – Wendt, along with Rhea Pearlman and Ted Danson, was one of the only three actors to appear in every single episode of Cheers. It’s a good thing, because it’s been a pretty brutal stretch afterwards. He got his own starring vehicle in the George Wendt Show in 1995 where he was a mechanic with a radio show, but after its failure, he didn’t get much else, except occasional TV movies and guest appearances. He showed up in a couple of episodes of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.
8. Rhea Pearlman (as Carla Tortelli) – she appeared in the film adaptation of Matilda, a 1996 short-lived sitcom called Pearl where she starred a middle-aged woman going back to college, and another failed series called Kate Brasher, starring Mary Stuart Masterson in 2001. She most recently appeared in a few episodes of Hung and an episode of Wilfred.
7. Shelley Long (as Diane Chambers) – after leaving almost halfway through Cheers’ run, Long didn’t really take full advantage. She appeared in Troop Beverly Hills, Frozen Assets, and a couple of Brady Bunch movies. She showed up in Dr. T and the Women, and most recently featured as Ed O’Neill’s ex-wife in Modern Family.
6. Bebe Neuwirth (as Lilith Sternin) – Neuwirth, outside of Cheers, may best be known for her theater work, most notably Chicago, where she originated the role of Velma Kelly in the mid-90s revival, and won a Tony (with a couple of Emmys for Cheers, she’s halfway to the EGOT). She co-starred in Oliver Platt one season series Deadline in 2001, and showed up in a few episodes of David Morse series Hack. She also starred in attempted Law & Order spin-off Trial by Jury, which lasted a season, and appeared in a dozen episodes of Frasier. Amusingly, her wikipedia also contains the sentence, “ She is not easy in groups, and the thought of a cocktail party where she must meet a lot of new people strikes terror in her soul.” which is clearly a case of “citation needed”.
5. John Ratzenberger (as Cliff Clavin) – Ratzenberger’s main claim to fame post-Cheers is his appearance in every single Pixar film, sometimes in bigger roles than others. His bigger roles include Hamm, the piggy bank, in the Toy Story films, and Mack the Truck in the Cars movies. He appeared in Dancing with the Stars, Season 4. He also appeared in a few episodes of 8 Simple Rules.
4. Kirstie Alley (as Rebecca Howe) – Alley had the unenviable task of replacing Shelley Long in Cheers, but performed admirably for six seasons, winning an Emmy. In the mid-90s, she appeared in some lackluster movies, including Village of the Damned, It Takes Two, and For Richer or Poorer, along with being part of the ensemble in Woody Allen’s Deconstructing Harry. In 1997, she started the first of three seasons as the star of Veronica’s Closet, in which she portrayed the head of a lingerie company. The series met with middling reviews and ratings, but earned her an Emmy nomination. She appeared in one season of sitcom Fat Actress in 2005, and now is starring in her own reality show, Kirstie Alley’s Big Life, about her attempts at weight loss. She also appeared in Season 12 of Dancing With the Stars in 2011.
3. Kelsey Grammar (as Frasier Crane) – this is mostly predicated on one role, in fact, the same role that he played for 9 seasons on Cheers, that of Frasier Crane. Frasier, his spin-off, in which his character moved back to Seattle, lasted for 11 seasons and was a critical and commercial success, earning Grammer four Lead Actor in a Comedy Emmys for his work. Since Frasier, his career has suffered a bit, as his two attempts at new sitcoms, 2007’s Back to You with Patricia Heaton and 2009’s Hank both failed quite miserably. His second most famous role is probably an animated one – the villainous Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons. Grammer has appeared 12 times as Sideshow Bob in such classic episodes as Cape Feare and Sideshow Bob Roberts and he won an Emmy for the role in 2006. He also appeared as Beast in X-Men: The Last Stand, and as himself in a 30 Rock.
2. Woody Harrelson (as “Woody” Boyd) – the only Cheers cast member to become a bona fide film star, Harrselson is continuing to bank major film roles. Immediately after Cheers, he starred in White Men Can’t Jump, Indecent Proposal and Natural Born Killers, cementing his status as a movie lead. He followed these with Money Train, Farrelly brothers comedy Kingpin, and The People vs. Larry Flynt, for which he gained serious critical acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He played supporting roles in Wag the Dog and EDtv, closing out a very successful 1990s. The first half of the ‘00s was a bit slow for Harerlson, as he took no films roles until 2003, though he appeared in a few episodes of Will & Grace. After taking these couple of years off, he had supporting roles in Anger Management and After the Sunset. In 2007, he had a small but important role in No Country for Old Men, and in 2009, he earned another Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actor for The Messenger. He most recently starred in Zombieland, and appeared in Friends with Benefits. He’ll be in a Zombieland sequel and in teen book adaptation Hunger Games.
1. Ten Danson (as Sam Malone) – His first attempt at a sitcom after Cheers was the unsuccessful Ink with his wife Mary Steenburgen. He then starred in an acclaimed adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels, in minseries form. For a remarkable six seasons, he starred in Becker, featuring him as a pain-in-the-ass doctor who cares deep down inside. After another failed sitcom called Help Me Help You, Ted Danson began a string of successes which hasn’t abated yet. He started appearing in Curb Your Enthusiasm as himself, and has appeared in a number of episodes. He became a regular in the first season of Damages, playing the villainous Ken Lay clone Arthur Frobisher, who appeared in several episodes of the second and third seasons as well. In addition to that, he appears in HBO’s Bored to Death as magazine editor George Christopher, a serial womanizer and pot-smoker. Although the entire show is great, Danson may be the highlight. If all this weren’t enough, Danson will be starring in CBS procedural giant CSI in this upcoming season.
Television, the Drug of the Nation 
Leave a Reply