Those of you out there on the internet who have a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) already know the many benefits that this little device brings to its owner. The ability to record movies and televisions shows when you are not going to be home is amazing and really helps to keep viewers up to date on their favorite little pieces of pop culture. For example, I remember using the DVR to record Smallville while I was teaching last fall (and I expect to do it again this fall).

However, this entry is about another, older show than Smallville. In fact, it’s about one of the best shows in television history – Cheers! I’ve been using the DVR to record episodes of Cheers on the Hallmark Channel which air at 2:00am. Lord knows why Hallmark is airing episodes of this show at such an unGodly hour, but with a little bit of an assist from my DVR, I’ve been able to record and watch a whole bunch of episodes starting at some point in season two through the beginning of season six – which is where Hallmark is in the progression of the show.

Watching the show, though, there is a clear difference between the Shelley Long years and the Kirstie Alley years. First of all, I should note that I am currently watching a portion of the show that was taped during a time when Kirstie Alley wasn’t a maniac. In fact, she still had some of her looks back in the day so she’s not so bad on the eyes. Still, though, it’s like watching an entirely new show now that Long is gone. The storyline takes a dramatic change and it’s like the end of season five is completely forgotten. It’s a bit weird.

Now it turns out that this WGN America station began airing episodes of Cheers last night starting with the first two episodes. My DVR tells me that they’re going to air two episodes each Sunday night in the order that they were originally aired. Between WGN America and the Hallmark Channel I’ll be able to watch the entire series – for free – which is great!

Another benefit of utilizing the DVR…