Editing Rebecca Howe (section)

==Reception==

===Popularity===
According to a telephone survey of 1,011 people by the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press (now [[Pew Research Center]]) conducted on April 1–4, 1993, Sam Malone was a favorite of 26% and Rebecca was a favorite by 6%. Twenty-one percent said Sam should marry Diane Chambers, 19% said he should marry Rebecca, 48% wanted him to stay single, and 12% had "no opinion" on this matter.<ref name="Gazette survey">Mills, Kim I. "TV viewers glad Sam stayed single." ''[[The Daily Gazette|The Sunday Gazette]]'' [Schenectady, NY] May 2, 1993: A3. ''Google News''. Web. January 21, 2012 [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UpYxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RuEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1185%2C331083]. The margin of error in the survey was ±3, according to the polls. In this web source, scroll down to see its headline.</ref><ref name="Morning Call survey">Leefler, Pete. "Show Piles Up Viewer Cheers." ''[[The Morning Call]]'' [Allentown, NY] May 2, 1993: A01. Web. January 17, 2012. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120724214649/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mcall/access/92139221.html?dids=92139221:92139221&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT]. {{subscription required}}</ref> When asked which character should be spun off, 15% voted for Sam, 12% voted for [[Woody Boyd]] ([[Woody Harrelson]]), 10% voted for [[Norm Peterson]] ([[George Wendt]]), and 29% voted no spin-offs.<ref name="Morning Call survey"/> 2% of those questioned said [[Frasier Crane]] ([[Kelsey Grammer]]){{mdash}}whose own spin-off ''Frasier'' debuted in September 1993{{mdash}}should have his own show.<ref>"Mixed Reaction to Post-Seinfeld Era." ''Pew Research Center for the People & the Press''. ''[[Pew Research Center]]'' May 10, 1998. Web. February 10, 2012 [http://www.people-press.org/1998/05/10/mixed-reaction-to-post-seinfeld-era/]</ref>

According to a 1993 article from ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine, newspaper columnist [[Mike Royko]] chose Diane to marry Sam, novelist [[Jackie Collins]] picked Rebecca, actress [[Zsa Zsa Gabor]] chose both as Sam's potential partners. Tennis player [[Martina Navratilova]] found Sam too good for either of them. Novelist and archaeologist [[Clive Cussler]] said [[Carla Tortelli]] ([[Rhea Perlman]]) was "Sam's best bet."<ref>{{cite web |last=Lipton |first=Michael A. |title=Lights Out at Sam's Place |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |date=May 24, 1993 |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20110481,00.html}}</ref>

=== Critical reaction ===
A syndicated television columnist from Chicago in 1989 said that in her second season on the show, Rebecca was "nothing more than an annoying presence on a program otherwise populated with lovable wackos".<ref>{{cite news|title=Kirstie Alley May Lose ''Cheers'' Lead to 'Another Woman'|page=21|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gtBRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6971%2C7023079|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|date=March 23, 1989|access-date=July 17, 2012}} First name of author is Gary, but surname is illegible in this online edition.</ref> Bill Carter of ''[[The New York Times]]'' in April 1990 said Rebecca was "hard-on-the-outside-mush-on-the-inside".<ref>{{cite news|title= TELEVISION; The Tonic That Keeps 'Cheers' Bubbling Along|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 29, 1990|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/29/arts/television-the-tonic-that-keeps-cheers-bubbling-along.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm|access-date=August 16, 2010 | first=Bill | last=Carter}}</ref> J.D. Reed of ''People'' magazine in October 1990 called her a "neurotic overachiever".<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Tears Behind the Cheers|issue=17|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20113460,00.html|volume=34|date=October 29, 1990|access-date=July 26, 2012|author=Reed, J.D.|journal=[[People (magazine)|People]]}}</ref> Rick Marin of ''[[The Washington Times]]'' in November 1990 praised Kirstie Alley for 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.<ref name=marin-rick>{{cite news|at=page 1, section E (Life)|author=Marin, Rick|newspaper=The Washington Times|date=November 8, 1990|location=Washington, D.C.|title='Cheers' Celebrates 200 Epsidoes: Why Kirstie Alley is better than Shelley Long}} Record no. at ''[[NewsBank]]'': R0073388 {{registration required}}.</ref> 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.<ref name=craig15/> Columnist Faye Zuckerman in 1991 praised Rebecca's "broad range of talents" as a character.<ref>{{cite news|first=Faye|last=Zuckerman|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SmIfAAAAIBAJ&dq=shelley-long%20cheers&pg=3773%2C992790|page=C2|date=May 9, 1991|title=''Cheers'' repeats 200th episode|work=[[Gadsden Times]]}}</ref>

[[Bill Simmons]], who wrote for [[ESPN]] in 2002, considered her one of his two least favorite characters, along with [[Lilith Sternin]].<ref name=simmons>{{cite news|url=https://proxy.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/020221|archive-date=December 10, 2008|date=February 21, 2002|author=Simmons, Bill|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210085522/http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons%2F020221|title=Page 2: Dear Sports Guy...|work=[[ESPN]]|access-date=June 20, 2012|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lancemannion.typepad.com/lance_mannion/2006/06/shelley_what_we.html|date=June 21, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817195224/http://lancemannion.typepad.com/lance_mannion/2006/06/shelley_what_we.html|url-status=live|archive-date=August 17, 2013|first=Lance|last=Mannion|title=Shelley, what were you thinking?|work=Typepad.com|df=mdy-all}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news|title=The 25 Most Sexual Sitcom Couples of All Time|url=http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/04/the-25-most-sexual-sitcom-couples-of-all-time/sam-malone-and-rebecca-howe-on-cheers|date=April 16, 2013|work=Complex|first=Josh|last=Robertson}}</ref> ''[[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[.]"<ref>{{cite web |first=Simone |last=Torn |date=August 20, 2019 |title=10 Things From Cheers That Have Not Aged Well |url=https://screenrant.com/cheers-not-aged-well/amp/ |website=Screen Rant |access-date=August 20, 2019 }}</ref>

This role earned Kirstie Alley a [[Golden Globe Award]] in [[48th Golden Globe Awards|1991]] as [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress &ndash; Television Series Musical or Comedy|the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Series]].<ref>{{cite news|title=''Dances with Wolves'' shuts out gangster movies at Golden Globes|access-date=July 31, 2012|date=January 21, 1991|page=22|agency=[[The Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[Bangor Daily News]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NK1JAAAAIBAJ&pg=2236%2C1859045|location=[[Bangor, Maine|Bangor]], [[Maine]]}}</ref> It also earned her an [[Primetime Emmy Award|Emmy Award]] in [[43rd Primetime Emmy Awards|1991]] as an [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series|Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series]].<ref>{{cite book|page=462|chapter=Appendix: Emmy Nominations and Awards|author=Bjorklund, Dennis A|edition=e-Book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pEN6sTeG20AC|title=Cheers TV Show: A Comprehensive Reference|date=September 2014|publisher=Praetorian Publishing|isbn=9780967985237}}</ref>