Cheers (TV Series) Fortune and Men's Weight (1984) User Reviews

The Machine

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 14 August 2019]

The Coach gets talked into ordering a weight machine that gives out fortune cards. Soon everyone is living their lives based on these little fortunes. Carla is a master at convoluted thinking, interpreting things she sees on the little cards. This machine proves somewhat dangerous in the end.

"Talk To Big Wigs!"

[pedroedro · 7/10 · 10 September 2019]

In this episode the Coach orders a weight machine that gives out information of the future, the so called "fortune cards". This episode is interesting for me because it really shows how people see these kind of premonitions of the future, if somebody tells you you are gonna do this or something in specific is gonna happen to you, people soon behave towards that behaviour or happening. The crew at Cheers begin to take fortune cards and relate everything that happens to that, like Cliff falling from the stairs, when the card told him to speak to god, Norm getting back together with Vera when the card said his problem was gonna be solved, there´s even one costumer that takes a card saying "careful with your belongings" or something like that and he doesn't find his wallet, just to find it imeadtly after that . The most sound example of this , however, comes in the very end. The episode does a good job early on because we see Diane taking a card that says some kind of romance disappointment was gonna happen but they quickly ignore that card, but in the end in a somewhat bizzarre outcome, even for Sam and Diane standards, Diane confesses to Sam to having a guy over the previous morning, and that she really liked him, even thought that was barely anything wrong about it, perhaps a little kiss. Then it turns into a discussion about who gets to quit first the relationship, I don't quite know how to feel about this ending, it's very strange, and in the last minute there's another fortune that comes out, and it reads "Machine's Empty, Buy Some More Fortunes" . I thought that ending was spot on, because (I may be reaching here, as Carla does in this episode) but the message "Buy some more" it comes off as "believe some more" like it's telling them , they make they own fortune, it was clever. An interesting episode nonetheless. 7/10 ******* Peter Shelby

Fortune and Men's Weight (#2.17)

[ComedyFan2010 · 7/10 · 8 May 2014]

The bar has a fortune telling machine and Clara is sure that it really predicts the future. Everyone tries it and she finds to connect the happenings of their days to the fortune predicted. Diane isn't convinced but when she gets her fortune that says that relationship will have trouble she is worried and tells Sam that she went out with a male friend. It was all innocent but Sam is still upset and it causes fight.

The episode has fun moments, especially Clara and her big worried about the machine.

The final fortune was very funny as well.

Another "Bar Story"

[dgplatt-60121 · 9/10 · 9 March 2024]

This is yet another episode that plays out like an O Henry story, with a touch of the supernatural. Coach buys a fortune-telling scale from a mysterious salesman (described as a cross between Abraham Lincoln and... Hitler) and the regulars all have their interactions with it.

The writers do a great job of weaving the scale into the two main story arcs of the season. The scale's fortunes influence Norm's love life, getting him back with Vera. They have a much more profound effect on Sam and Diane, as Diane ends up confessing to going on a date with another man.

This is also a pretty funny episode, with Cliff's pratfalls, Carla's superstitious freakout, and Coach's obtuseness ("It's got to be some kind of mistake. Why would I buy a crate?") And then there's barfly Al Rosen, finally getting a line on the show. It's one word, but it's a doozy, and if you look closely even the cast can't keep a straight face.