To me, bringing back Shelly Long was a mistake here. Most people had tired of Shelly during her first stay on the series. Now, to bring her back and put her & Sam back to exactly where they both had been years before was an error. When Long was replaced by Kristy Allie, it had put fresh life in the show. If this had been more than one last episode, CHEERS fans would have rebelled.
This show got high ratings due to the hype around it, but my feeling is that maybe CHEERS should have ended without bringing back Long. At least it ended. The lone person who comes to the door of the bar after Sam has closed it for the last time is a symbol of where this show went. A lot of the characters had a long mostly uneventful conversation about the meaning of life at the bar before Sam closed it.
Historic Note - After this ended, most of the cast was on a live Broadcast of The Tonight Show starring Jay Leno from Bull & Finch Bar in Boston. To me, this was the best episode ever of Jay Leno's Tonight Show and was better than the actual last call.
