"Cheers" Death Takes a Holiday on Ice (TV Episode 1989) Poster

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8/10
Death Takes a Holiday on Ice (#8.7)
ComedyFan20108 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Carla gets a call that Eddie was part of a horrible accident on his Ice show and is now dead. There is a funeral and during the funeral there is another horrible revelation: Eddie was married to another woman! Carla is devastated and the two try to figure out whom he loved more. Carla ends up "winning".

So apparently Jay Thomas was fired because he called Rhea Perlman ugly. If this is true, good. He wasn't hot stuff himself. Tired of man believing they should have women who are much hotter than themselves and not noticing their own looks issues. Although I am not too sure it is true. I read it was either Eddie or Lilith who would be the one to keep and Lilith is an obvious choice. Her character was perfect.

The episode is pretty good! I didn't expect Eddie to die so it was pretty much a big surprise. And the idea with the second widow who is so much like Carla is great. Also nice how they managed to make a death episode so humorous! Lots of laughs even though a nice character died, maybe it also helped that he wasn't the main one. There was less attachment.
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7/10
Pushing Good Taste
Hitchcoc31 August 2019
When Eddie dies a hero, a funeral is held and lo and behold a second wife shows up. I just felt kind of uncomfortable watching this. Carla's existence is so checkered with bad decisions. She makes up for it by being abrasive and unfriendly to everyone around her. Things degenerate to hair pulling and threats. Not my favorite episode. Standard sitcom fodder.
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9/10
Pushing the Envelope the full length of the Rink! Hey Schultz ain't that called Icing?
redryan6429 January 2009
MUCH like the old one and two reel comedy shorts, the Sitcom can draw on the familiarity of their audience in order to create a laugh-friendly atmosphere. This should NOT be confused with a 'Smoke Free Work Place', but is just important to a shows' ratings.

WHENEVER Sam, Norm, Dianne, Cliff or whoever comes on the screen, we are predisposed to laughter; being that we know these characters as well as our own family. Just the very same way that Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, Langdon, Laurel & Hardy, the 3 Stooges, Marx Brothers, et al, are known by their audiences, so too are the established characters in the weekly sitcoms. The better the series, the more successful the show the more familiarity we have.

THAT explains the highly successful runs of classic series such as BARNEY MILLER, TAXI, CHEERS, COACH; not to mention the standards like I LOVE LUCY, THE HONEYMOONERS, HAPPY DAYS, AMOS 'N' ANDY and HEY MULLIGAN! (Just kidding about the last one!) CHEERS (Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions,1982-93) was particularly successful in this area; owing their popularity to both the main setting of the bar as well as the cast of regular participants in the festivities. Hence if Woody, Coach, Frazier, Liith or any others come to center stage, we already know their personalities and are spared any unnecessary exposition. The comic situations flow forth, naturally and with both speed and vigour.

TAKING for example, today's lucky victim/reviewee, 'Death Takes a Holiday on Ice', which came along in the shows eighth (8th) season; we have the table set long before the gags start a flowing. Not only that, but by this time the production knows their audience as well as themselves. Furthermore, as far as how far they could go with the funny business, they had been pushing the envelope ever since the show premiered in 19??.

THIS night was it was Carla's turn in the spotlight and she (Rhea Perlman) made the most of it. Trading on her character's personality, energy and foibles, a situation featuring the demise of her estranged hockey player of a husband is concocted. In lesser hands, such a story line would seem both contrived and decidedly unfunny.

BUT in the hands of the CHEERS Production team, the subject of a death that is rendered more complex with the introduction of certain complications that are introduced at the wake by the sudden appearance of one Gloria LeBec (Anne De Salvo) who lays some real surprises on the hard-boiled Carla.

THE Charles/Burrows/Charles team does an excellent job of handling what is called 'Black Humor'; not being that sort of comedy originating from Black Comedians, but rather humor which has a serious or grim subject matter as its base. Death, war, failure and Love Lost are all potential subjects for Black Humor.

WE can only rate this particular episode a the very top rung of CHEERS multi-season successful run.

POODLE SCHNITZ!!
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