The intro, the segment prior to the titles, reveals Shelley Long’s charisma and overall cuteness in the face of a mishap which she quickly fixes with a simple plea.
This episode focuses on Long’s better half in the sitcom's heroic-duo dynamic. A woman walks into a bar. Which just happens to be Cheers, and all the patrons are waiting to see what Sam’s reaction is going to be because she’s simply gorgeous, 80s big hair-and-all and as Norm puts it marriage worthy legs. “I hardly think that’s the sort of woman Sam would go out with,” says Diane.
So Sam comes out, and Diane has a laugh when indeed Sam does go for the bait and is on hot pursuit of the blonde at the bar. He’s like a cat playing with a ball of yarn or like a predator stalking prey; the chase is invisible and hidden but doesn’t allude the hero. “The Great Ones make it look so easy,” says Norm
Sam has to stop Diane from enjoying herself so much, so he takes her to the backroom after accusing her of being a “critic”. When they return, the damsel is gone and Sam tells Diane, “If I see any sign that you’re enjoying this, you’re in a lot of trouble”.
As a side story, a customer comes in with a bind only a bartender can fix; this customer has a son who has been pursuing an interracial relationship; only thing is both, in the coupling, are male. It’s hard to imagine a beginning sitcom, struggling for ratings, pursuing gay rights in Reagan’s 80s. But here it is.
Sam returns from a date and shows off in front of Diane. Supposedly, the date had transpired at Symphony Hall. Diane notices that they have forgotten their event pamphlet and finds out that the bill is old; the couple admits they had just been to Star Wars.
Depressed, Sam retreats to his pool table. When Diane finds him in a slump he sarcastically says, “Go away, I’m reading Plato”.
He accuses her of being a snob. Nonetheless, he gets the last laugh when his prowess over the dating game reveals a poet behind the pickup line; Diane is struck speechless for a minute or two after his line and has to steal one of the shots, a customer ordered, to numb the attraction.
