Gary Larson's Cheers has the same reputation among sitcom fans, so it's an amazing treat that the two actually combined. Not only did Cheers give fans a great joke that depended on The Far Side, but the sitcom even used a real Gary Larson comic to do it.

The Cheers gag centers on a rare multi- Far Side comic where a group of cows in a field spot a car coming and 'pretend' to be simple animals while they're visible to humans. Cows have become the mascots of The Far Side because Larson used them so often, with most fans citing this as the best of the best in the creator's bovine oeuvre.

The joke comes in season 9, episode 4's 'Where Nobody Knows Your Name.' The gag sees Woody Harrelson's character Woody complaing that he doesn't "get" The Far Side, prompting bar regulars Norm (George Wendt) and Cliff (John Ratzenberger) to explain Larson's joke.

Cheers isn't alone in paying tribute to The Far Side - Robin Williams, Steve Martin and The Simpsons have all shown love for Larson's creation.

The punchline to the interaction reveals that Woody understood the comic just fine, he was just disappointed that the newspaper he's subscribed to doesn't have The Far Side. The dialogue goes:

(Woody Sighs)

Cliff: What's the matter Wood'?

Woody: I don't get The Far Side.

Cliff: Woody, Woody hand it over here. Come on, let's have a look. Okay Wood', now you see here in the first , the cows are standing on their hind legs, right? In the second , the car goes by, they're acting like normal cows.

Norm: See, the idea is here Wood', is that cows only act like cows when we're around, other times they act like people. Now does that, does that help you, clear it up a little for you?

Woody: I just meant I don't get The Far Side in my newspaper at home, but thanks for treating me like a one-year-old.

Far Side Famously Had Some Confusing Comics

And Cheers' Woody Isn't Exactly Known for His Brains

The gag is perfect on its own, even embracing Larson's love of wordplay, but it also plays on several concepts that contemporary fans would have immediately known. First, Woody was often confused by discussions at the bar, failing to grasp what the more worldly characters were discussing. It's typical of the character that he wouldn't understand The Far Side, and it makes sense that Norm and Cliff assume that's what he means - it's just their bad luck that on this occasion, he understands perfectly.

Far Side's 'cow tools' comic confused so many people, it became national news.

Second, The Far Side was known for asking a surprising amount of its readers. Larson would often base his jokes on knowledge of history or the natural world, dropping references to Spanish explorer Ponce de León or animal migratory habits. Larson also enjoys surreal humor, meaning that weirdness and non sequiturs are a big part of The Far Side. However, Far Side really earned its reputation with 'Cow Tools.'

Larson has since explained that the 'Cow Tools' comic is just an "exercise in silliness," imagining the bizarre tools cows would make if they could, with no hidden meaning or point. However, fans didn't understand the comic, with so many writing to the newspapers carrying Far Side (and to Larson personally) that it made national news. Larson often used cows in The Far Side (especially in his most surreal comics) explaining that he feels they "blur the line between tragedy and humor" in a 1998 interview with The New York Times.

The Cheers Regulars Are Far from Far Side's Most Famous Fans

Robin Williams and The Simpsons Love Larson's Comic

Cheers may be a famous comedy show that referenced The Far Side, but Woody, Norm and Cliff aren't the comic's most famous fans. Luminaries like Robin Williams, Steve Martin and Stephen King have written forewords for Far Side collections, with King even naming his favorite comic (one where a dog shows off its past 'trophies,' above.) Robin Williams wrote in The Far Side Gallery 4 that "Whenever I read The Far Side I feel like I'm watching a National Geographic special on Prozac," while Steve Martin hilarious reflects in The Complete Far Side that:

I am very sorry to report, given the occasion of this very important publication, that many of the scenes depicted in this book are actually false. Several years ago I began to suspect the veracity of a few of the events portrayed by Larson. "Wait a minute," I thought. "A chicken couldn't confess to murdering Old MacDonald; Old MacDonald was a fictitious character.

Even The Simpsons honored Larson, by including a reference to one of his comics in the background of its season 23, episode 6 'The Book Job.' The animated sitcom shows actors stood around in costume, posed in a recreation of Larson's 'The real reason dinosaurs became extinct' comic.

Far Side Gave Back with Pop Culture Tributes to Iconic Sitcoms

The Flintstones and Bewitched Were Subjects of Larson's Comics

Far Side may have had some famous fans, but it offered up a lot of tributes in return. Larson often parodied pop culture, including classic sitcoms like Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, The Flintstones, Mr. Ed, and The Love Boat. Sadly, fans never got the ultimate reply - a Cheers-based Far Side comic. However, with Larson still occasionally sharing new work on The Far Side's official website, it's not too late.

Cheers' joke about The Far Side shows how ubiquitous Gary Larson's comic was at the height of its fame, and how cannily observational the sitcom was in angling its jokes to a contemporary mainstream audience - a great indicator of why both remain beloved classics to this day.

Source: Natalie Angier, The New York Times