ter made the Y-shaped smoke trail left in the disinte-
grating shuttle’s wake one of the most widely seen
and troubling images of the decade.
A special commission, appointed by President
Ronald Reagan, attributed the accident to a design
flaw in the seals on the solid-rocket booster engines.
The commission found engineering reports, dated
prior to the shuttle’s first flight, that indicated weak-
ness in this design, and the commission concluded
that NASA’s decision-making process was seriously
flawed.
Following theChallengerdisaster, NASA grounded
the remainder of the shuttle fleet while the risks
were assessed more thoroughly, design flaws were
identified, and modifications were developed and
implemented. This delayed a number of important
NASA missions, including the launching of the Hub-
ble Space Telescope and the Galileo probe to Jupi-
ter. It also represented a serious blow to NASA’s rep-
utation, coloring the public perception of piloted
spaceflight and affecting the agency’s ability to gain
continued funding from Congress.
Further Reading
Jensen, Claus.No Downlink: A Dramatic Narrative
About the Challenger Accident and Our Time. New
York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1996. An account
of theChallengerdisaster and the investigation to
determine its cause.
Lieurance, Suzanne.The Space Shuttle Challenger Di-
saster in American Histor y.Berkeley Heights, N.J.:
Enslow, 2001. Describes the effect of the disaster
on American space efforts; suitable for younger
readers.
Penley, Constance.NASA/Trek: Popular Science and
Sex in America. New York: Verso, 1997. Includes de-
tailed feminist critiques of the media representa-
tion of Christa McAuliffe and of NASA’s response
to theChallengerdisaster.
Vaughan, Diane.The Challenger Launch Decision:
Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. A
575-page account of the steps leading to the deci-
sion to launchChallenger.
George J. Flynn
See also Halley’s comet; Science and technology;
Space exploration; Space shuttle program.
Cheers
Identification Television comedy series
Date Aired from September 30, 1982, to May 20,
1993
Cheerswas one of the most awarded serial situation come-
dies of the 1980’s and by the end of its run became NBC’s
longest-running sitcom.
Cheerscentered on an ex-relief pitcher and recover-
ing alcoholic, Sam Malone (played by Ted Danson),
who ran a neighborhood bar in Boston. It featured
an ensemble cast playing a quirky assortment of pa-
trons and employees, who included female love in-
terest and waitress Diane Chambers (Shelley Long),
acerbic waitress Carla (Rhea Perlman), and bar-
tender Coach (Nicholas Colasanto). The patrons
Norm (George Wendt) and Cliff (John Ratzenber-
ger) were featured in running gags throughout the
run of the show. The series was created by Glen
Charles, James Burrows, and Les Charles, each of
whom had a hand in bothTaxiandThe Mar y Tyler
Moore Show, also critically acclaimed sitcoms.
Cheerswas first aired by the National Broadcasting
Company (NBC) on September 30, 1982. The show
initially had low ratings and was almost canceled in
its first season. Network executives gave the show an-
other chance, however, and by 1984 it was at the top
of the ratings thanks to quality writing, character de-
velopment, and the excellent performance of the
cast. The show kept viewer interest with a romantic
subplot between Sam and Diane for the first five sea-
sons, until Shelley Long left the show and was re-
placed by Kirstie Alley, who played Rebecca Howe.
Other cast changes included the addition of a new
bartender, Woody (Woody Harrelson) after the un-
expected death of Nicholas Colasanto and the addi-
tion of patron Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) in
season three.
The show ranked among the top ten shows in the
weekly Nielsen ratings for seven of its eleven seasons
and often earned the number-one spot in a given
week.Cheersused flashbacks and referred to previ-
ous episodes to establish a serial nature that gave it a
soap-opera feel at times. It also employed season-
ending cliffhangers, which was rare for sitcoms at
the time. The show was also somewhat unconven-
tional for the 1980’s, since it was far from politically
correct; Sam was a womanizer, Rebecca was search-
ing desperately for a rich husband, and much of theThe Eighties in America Cheers 197