Cheers 5:1: “The Proposal”

Airdate: 9/25/86

Picking up where the end of the previous episode left off, we find out who’s on the other end of the line. Of course it’s Diane, and she’s taken quite aback by Sam’s marriage proposal, as she’s wearing a face mask ad curlers. Insisting on a more romantic setting, she convinces her would-be fiancé to rent a sailboat and do it up right. Moored on the Charles, over shrimp cocktails and champagne, he pops the question, and she says… no. Infuriated, he gets her to jump ship, and tosses her a line: “What’s a nice girl like you doing in an ocean like this?” Back at the bar, she reconsiders her decision, but Sam informs her of the statute of limitations on his request. She ignores him, and decides to surprise him on his boat, but she accidentally surprises a monsignor who Sam had decided to let go in his place. Diane still harbors dreams of their life together in conjugal bliss.

Good follow up to last season’s cliffhanger, with the expected result of no-marriage but unexpected laughs along the way. Best scenes involve Frasier (who finally gets his name in the opening credits), who can all to easily identify with being rebuffed by Diane after a marriage proposal. Both he and Carla are horrified at the prospect of a Malone/Chambers union, and equally euphoric after hearing of their breakup.

Cold open: The above mentioned dénouement to the cliffhanger.

Norm’s opener: Woody: “What’s the story, Mr P?” Norm: “Boy meets beer, boy drinks beer, boy gets another beer.”