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.
Home Is the Sailor (Cheers) the Sailor" scored a 28.4 rating and was third placed in the list of top ten shows that were tuned-in by households on the week of September 21–27, 1987. This episode earned its writers Glen and Les Charles an Emmy Award nomination for an Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series in 1988 but did not win. In 1997, it was ranked No. 45 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. In 2014, "IGN" ranked it as number two of the top ten "Cheers" episodes. "Screaming Viking", a fictional made-up cocktail seen in this episode, became an actual cocktail.