bringing life into Rebecca Howe and making Rebecca a sympathetic "loser" who is full of ideals but lacks success, and her bringing more physical comedy than Shelley Long did. Steve Craig from the University of North Texas in 1993 considered Rebecca a parody of femininity for rejecting Sam's advances and attempting to marry a tycoon. Columnist Faye Zuckerman in 1991 praised Rebecca's "broad range of talents" as a character. Bill Simmons, who wrote for ESPN in 2002, considered her one of his two least favorite characters, along with Lilith Sternin. In 2006, Lance Mannion in his Typepad blog said Rebecca wanted to be "part of a world the gang at Cheers could never join. To be part of the gang, she would have to give up her too high opinion of herself, just as Diane had to." Mannion praised Kirstie Alley for physical comedy and her comical scenes with Ted Danson in the series. Josh Robertson of Complex website in 2013 included Rebecca and Sam at number 13 on his list of "The 25 Most Sexual Sitcom Couples of All", said Rebecca "may not have been as good for the comedy on Cheers, but she was way more attractive than Diane". Screen Rant critic Simone Torn in 2019 wrote that Rebecca's transformation from "a smart, goal-oriented businesswoman" to "a poorly-written woman who only cared about frivolous matters" has been one of "[ten] things from Cheers that have not aged well." Torn further wrote that Rebecca "became a gold-digger and an active complainer who was more cartoonish in nature[.]" This role earned Kirstie Alley a Golden Globe Award in 1991 as the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Series. It also earned her an Emmy Award in 1991 as an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Notes References Craig, Steve. "Selling Masculinities, Selling Femininities: Multiple Genders and the Economics of Television." The Mid-Atlantic Almanack 2 (1993): 15–27. Internet Archive Wayback Machine. 1–21. Web. January 14, 2011. Harmetz, Alijean. "Changes on tap at `Cheers'." The Ledger [Lakeland, FL] September 23, 1987: 1C+. Google News. Web. January 27, 2012. Original The New York Times article External links Television characters introduced in 1987 Cheers characters Fictional characters from San Diego Fictional waiting staff Fictional female businesspeople American female characters in television Crossover characters in television