One for the Road (Cheers) to remain single, and 12 % had no opinion on this matter. Woody Boyd was voted a favorite by 18 % and had 12 % chance of a spin-off, and Norm Peterson was voted by 14 % and had 10 % chance of a spin-off. Newspapers counted down to the "Cheers" finale in different ways. "The Washington Post" covered the show's background. The "Star Tribune" published stories related to "Cheers", including one about local residents playing trivia games that paid tribute to the show and characters such as Cliff and Norm; the future of the fictional Sam Malone was addressed.
Television comedy 1980s when a new generation of stand-ups challenged what they saw as racist and sexist humour and revolutionised the form under the banner alternative comedy. In the US, stand-up comedy programs became popular on many cable television channels beginning in the mid-1980s, as such "brick wall" shows (nicknamed for the stereotypical use of a fake brick wall as a backdrop) were cheap to produce and air. Stand-up humour later had mixed fortunes on the small screen, often shunted away to the small hours or as part of a larger entertainment extravaganza. Improvisational comedy has recently been popular with television audiences