The best match of actress and role ever

No one could have played Diane the way Shelley Long did. She was brilliant in the part and made Diane one of the indelible sitcom characters long with Archie Bunker and George Costanza.

Her chemistry with Ted Danson was unbelievable. Sparks flew from the screen when the fought.

By the fifth year, it was clear the writers were struggling to figure out what to do with Sam and Diane and it became less focused. It was actually good that she left. Cheers turned into something else after she was gone, and it was never the same. But there was just no way to continue Diane Chambers in the circumstances the writers and written.

When she came back for the finale it wasn't good. She'd forgotten how to play Diane, and it was kind of depressing.