Over the past year or so, my wife and I have watched an episode of “Cheers” almost every night. Recently, we finished the series, which holds up surprisingly well.

There are fewer cringe-y moments than you’d expect for a show that began its run nearly 40 years ago. (They are definitely there.) On the whole, though, this is not a mean-spirited show, and the writing is still very funny. Here are some of the notes I took while we watched

Physics in the “Cheers” universe does not behave as it does in our world. If you want to have a private conversation, you can move three feet away from other people and they will never hear you

People almost never pay for their drinks at Cheers. This is good because customers rarely get a full pour of beer. By contrast, the bartenders pour a third of a bottle of liquor into most cocktails. Also, drinks are on the house all the time. Usually Sam buys

Every episode begins with one of the cast members saying “Cheers is filmed before a live studio audience.” The best ones, in our opinion, are by Carla, who adds an “Ay!” before the phrase. It’s fun to guess who will deliver the line before you press play

Just my opinion, but Cliff Claven’s best barside “fact” was that he had calculated the numerical values of presidents’ last names, divided them by the year of their election and concluded that Reagan would be beaten by someone named Yelnick McWawa:

There are a lot of weird episodes, but I believe the strangest one is Season 5, Episode 13, during which:
• Sam proposes to Diane, who says no
• There’s a fantasy sequence where he imagines getting the chair for her murder
• Then he chases her out of the bar
(cont.)

• We learn he’s been arrested and charged with assaulting her
• Diane comes to court wearing a neck brace and using a cane. It transpires that she tripped and hurt herself but pressed charges to mess with him
• Sam proposes to her in court, and they decide to get married -fin-

Another crazy episode in season 11:
• Norm and Cliff get so drunk they get butt tattoos. The shop mixes them up so Norm’s says “I love the US Post Office” and Cliff’s says “I Love Vera”
• Carla sleeps with regular castmember Paul
• Sam reveals to Carla that he wears a rug

Starting with Season 5, episode 26, we start to hear the truncated theme song, which the show sometimes employed to sneak in a little extra time per episode. It mashes up the “You want to be" and "You want to go" lines into a frankencouplet, and I'm sorry but I find it jarring

After Sam sells Cheers and his boat sinks, the regulars conspire to get him a job at the bar by inventing a drink called a “Screaming Viking.” “Do you want the cucumber bruised?” Woody asks one patron who orders it

On Season 6, Episode 2, Sam raps on television, and it’s spectacular. “G-g-g-groin injury.” Woody loves it. In the same episode, Sam appears with a ventriloquist’s dummy

My favorite character is Lilith. She was often used to absorb insults from the other characters, but Bebe Neuwirth’s incredible comic timing got her pounds of laughs out of lines like “Darling you’re the love of my life, and even I don’t have erotic dreams about you”

There are lots of Donald Trump references, usually involving Rebecca, who had the Trump board game and was always trying to marry someone with his kind of money. She gets close with the rich scoundrel Robin Colcord but ends up marrying a plumber played by Tom Berenger

The writers seemed to really have it in for Rebecca, who for the last season or so had no job responsibilities--other characters joke about this often. Most of her storylines involve her utter humiliation

I finally found the answer to one mystery: Why do Sam and Woody cut citrus in a very particular way? As this gentleman explains, it was an old-fashioned way of cutting lemon rind for twists:

Other mysteries remain: Why does Carla wear such crazy earrings? Why does everyone joke about how little money Woody gets paid and why does no one do anything about it? What’s the deal with the cigar box that says “SUGGESTIONS,” which Rebecca carries for most of the last season?

Continuity with “Frasier” is not seamless. In Season 8, Episode 9, Frasier says his dad was a dead scientist. John Mahoney appears in Season 11 as a jingle writer. Peri Gilpin also appears that season as a Boston Herald reporter who interviews Woody during his City Council run

The 200th episode is a special where the cast members, including Shelley Long, gather for a panel discussion hosted by John McLaughlin. Why? Why? WHY???

I’ll finish with a couple of my favorite quotes. Everyone has a favorite George Wendt post-”Norm!” exchange, and here is mine:
Woody: "Hey, Mr. Peterson, is Jack Frost nipping at your noise?"
Norm: "Yeah. Now let’s get Joe Beer nipping at my liver."

Classic Cliff quote: “As we say down at the post office, ‘Here’s looking up your address!’”

And finally:
Esther Clavin (Cliff’s mom): ”Woody. That’s the name of a man whose mother raised him well.”
Woody: “Really? I looked it up and it said ‘Treelike.’”