Airdate:
12/18/86
Diane enrolls in
a ballet course evaluated by a super-tough Russian instructor, but her grade
(hand delivered by a meek assistant) is not exactly stellar, and when the
Cheers gang watches her dancing on a video tape, they find out why. Sam and
Frasier realize such a harsh critique would destroy Diane, whose lifelong dream
to dance professionally has evidently blinded her of her own awfulness, so they
write a fake, effusively glowing appraisal. Diane is over the moon, but now she
sets her sights on the Boston ballet, and arranges her own audition. Barging in
on their rehearsal, she rhapsodizes, ad rationalizes, her intrusion by
exclaiming her passion for the art of dance. Frasier and Sam arrive at the
eleventh hour to spill their secret, leaving Diane to exit stage right with a
meek “Never mind” to save face.
Very funny entry
has both belly laughs (especially when the boys’ ruse almost becomes
dismantled) and a poignant theme about regret and never letting dreams go
unchased. Finale, shot on location at a real theater, is funny but bittersweet,
as Diane must let go of her lifelong ambition of dancing. Best scene: Diane and
Norm, alone, talk about dreams: she sees their value while he feels they just
get your hopes up. That is, until she leaves and he’s alone at the bar. “Maybe
dreams do come true,” he concedes.
Cold open: Woody
becomes a human antenna for the
broadcast of a football game that’s not coming in very clear.
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