Diane's Perfect Date

When Cheers ended its run in 1993, the standard critical view was that it was old hat compared to newer sitcoms like Seinfeld. Cheers was sentimental and hokey while the newer shows were edgy and not afraid to venture into black comedy. The creators of Cheers could point to this episode and say (in typical 90s parlance) "Been there. Done that."

The plot hinges on a misunderstanding, but it's a clever one. Tired of Sam mocking her nerdy dates, Diane proposes the two fix each other up with a "perfect date." Sam misinterprets this as meaning Diane will set him up with herself ("The little scamp!"). When Diane instead shows up with Gretchen, Sam panics and corrals the first guy he sees to be Diane's date. Enter Andrew "Andy Andy" Schroeder, recently paroled murderer.

Shelley Long is the MVP of this episode, battling wits with Danson and also exhibiting some top notch physical comedy (check out her hair after the motorcycle ride!). The last scene is perfect: Sam and Diane go from Tracy and Hepburn to squabbling schoolchildren chasing each other around the bar. The final lines, where Coach, Norm, and the rest of the bar turn the question of "who loves who" into a "Less Filling/Taste Great" style debate.

This is a great episode. Sam and Diane challenge each other to get the perfect date for each of them. Sam thinks Diane is trying to get him to be the guy, but when she show up with a spartan woman who calls Norm an endomorph, he has to come up with someone at the last moment. He pays a guy who is just out of jail for manslaughter and the four of them go out on the date. The results are hilarious, including the final couple minutes.