At the end of the day, Cheers is a series about a bar, it’s owner and his waitstaff, and the drunks they serve. That said, it’s also really, really good.
I say this not based on the show’s reputation and lasting relevance, but on the strength of this fourth season which has taken me an eternity to finish. The whole Frasier meltdown intertwined with the SamAndDianeWillTheyWontTheyLoveDrama has been interesting to watch. Yet the more dramatic elements of the show have been spaced out enough this season that when they do occur, they seem to hit with a poignancy that’s atypical of sitcoms.
One great example of the show blending typical comedy with drama is the aptly titled “Dark Imaginings” in which Sam and Woody go head to head in racquetball. This, of course, comes about when Sam gets the impression people think Woody is more athletic and younger than he is. The problem, of course, is that Woody is more athletic and younger than Sam.
Mayday ends up with his whole body aching, leading to some rare physical comedy on the part of Ted Danson. Cue laugh track, end of show, right? That’s exactly where a show like, say, Everybody Loves Raymond would call it a day. Yet, Cheers takes it a step further with Sam not only going to the hospital with a hernia, but also going to great lengths to hide his injuries from the other characters.
Back at the bar, Diane overhears a table of nurses talking about a sexy patient they’ve been looking after named “Lance Manyon.” Diane drops a glass and declares, “My God, it’s Sam!”
Concerned, Carla, Woody, and Diane visit Mayday. Once the others leave, Diane talks Sam into letting her read for him. He agrees and lets her sit on his bed before slowly creeping away and pushing an end table against the hospital room door. Diane continues reading as Sam lowers the lights and shuts the curtains. Once aware of what ole’ Mayday is up to, Diane explains things will not be going how Sam intended. “This is a once in a lifetime chance to play doctor in a real hospital!” Sam protests, to no avail. Instead, his once (and probably future) lover takes pity on him by explaining he doesn’t have to use his libido to prove to himself he’s still young. Rather, Ms. Chambers argues, growing old is a good thing, particularly for men who she says become more distinguished in mid-life.
From here, Diane bids Mayday adieu and Sam is greeted by a roommate who recognizes him from his Red Sox days. The two have a conversation about accepting being in middle age before the new roommate is greeted with his own guest. She’s introduced to Sam and the three continue to make small talk for a minute before, naturally, Mayday hits on her and tells her if she’s everything thinking about leaving her boyfriend she can call up Sammy any time.
I should reiterate that last season on his way to break-up Diane’s wedding to Frasier, Sam hit on the stewardess of his flight. It makes perfect sense for him to hit on the wife/girlfriend of one of his fans. Worse than a casual rejection to his causal proposition, Mayday is hit with being told matter-of-factly that the woman is not the guy’s girlfriend, but his daughter. The two look down on Sam for his audacity and leave the room for a walk.
The studio audience gets a get laugh out of this, sure, but it leads to a great image in which Sam sits down at the chair near the window and looks out over the Boston night sky. No more laughter. No applauding. Just the audience looking at the main character of a sitcom being hit with the cold hard truth that he’s a tomcat for whom life just may have passed by.
Showing posts with label Mayday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mayday. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Michael Richards, Phone Books, Travel Agents, and Other Things Horribly Outdated
Yeah, yeah, I know it's been nearly a month since my last post (in which I vowed to make one post a week). If you don't like the infrequency of my posts, you're more than welcome to go find someone else on the Internet who was lame enough to watch every single episode of Cheers and then blog about the experience.
In all seriousness, I am going to make the effort to blog more regularly. And it should be easier now that things have really started to pick up on this show.
Today, I want to talk about sitcom plot devices and the rapid change they encountered thanks to advancements in technology. Also, I want to talk about the HOLY SHIT! moment I witnessed in episode 62 of the series when Cosmo Kramer himself, Michael Richards, walked into the bar.
As you can see to your left, Richards looks, well, normal playing a customer sitting in a Boston tavern in 1985. Throughout the episode, he shows no signs of eccentricity or physical hilarity from the Seinfeld days. That said, Richards plays a character named Eddie who has all the makings of the asshole we all saw on stage at the LA Laugh Factory in the fall of 2007.
You see, the premise of the episode is this: Some years ago, back when Sam Malone was still a raging alcoholic and on his way out of the majors, he made a bet with Eddie that he could marry the actress Jacqueline Bisset by a set date. If Mayday fails in this goal, the bar belongs to Eddie. By this point, in the here and now of 1985, Sam has forgotten both the bet and Eddie himself. In typical a-hole fashion, however, Eddie has with him the signed paper from that drunken night and threatens legal action against Sam if he doesn't hold up to his end of the deal.
Typical sitcom fodder, no? Of course it is. And, also in typical sitcom fashion, it's foul-mouthed Carla (who, it should be noted, is at this point in the series preggerz with her SIXTH child!) who suggests to Mayday that the terms of the contract dictate he most marry a woman named Jackie Bisset, not necessarily the Jackie Bisset.
With this epiphany, Mayday, Norm and Cliff set off to find a woman named Jackie Bisset by -- wait for it -- combing over Cliff's extensive collection of phone books from every metropolitan area in the United States. Granted, I was only a 2-year-old at the time, but I had no idea how tough life was in 1985. It's amazing how so many dilemmas in movies and TV shows from the 70's, 80's, and even 90's would easily be solved with either Google or a cell phone. A quick search on Facebook would have easily gotten Sam a list of a hundred Jackie Bissets.
(This, by the way, raises the question: What would a Facebook profile of Mayday Malone look like, anyway? Would he be a celebrity athlete that people could "like" on Facebook? Or would Mayday have an actual regular person profile with upwards of 2,000 "friends," half of whom would have been former lovers and the other half of whom would be girls he'd actively be trying to nail? I think I'm on to something here...)
While on the topic of technology, it should also be noted that Sam could easily take the paper contract he signed with Eddie Google legal counsel who charge reasonably so that he can determine if the contract even has a leg to stand on. Hell, he could even look up Massachusetts law precedents himself to check the validity of the drunken contract signing.
Though I will get into this in a post in the very near future, the show goes on to date itself several more times in Season 3 with Sam struggling to hook up an answering machine for his office phone and later on needing Cliff to help him find a travel agent who can look into the possibility of there being any flights going from Boston to Italy that night. (Spoiler alert: A certain someone has run off to Italy with a certain Frasier Crane and a certain Mayday has mixed feelings about this certain someone...)
Eventually Cliff finds a Jackie B living in West Virginia who is willing to come up to Boston (based on the lie that she's won a free vacay from a radio station contest). She doesn't want to marry Mayday but eventually falls for him. Eddie comes back to the bar, ready to collect his prize, only to find Mayday has stumped him. Showing that he's not quite the a-hole he's been made out to be, Eddie calls off the bet. Diane talks Jackie B out of wanting to marry Sam and Mayday keeps the bar. Everyone wins and nothing changes.
Again, is this the stuff of typical sitcom narrative? Absolutely. And was the whole story wholly outdated by watching it in 2011? Of course. And I was obviously taken out of the episode so much that I wrote two legal pad pages worth of notes and paused Netflix to snap a photo of pre-Kramer, pre-racist ranter Michael Richards. But I did laugh a number of times. And I did enjoy myself. And more than being entertained by this show, I've come to learn that the 1980's were really tough in Reagan's America...
In all seriousness, I am going to make the effort to blog more regularly. And it should be easier now that things have really started to pick up on this show.
Today, I want to talk about sitcom plot devices and the rapid change they encountered thanks to advancements in technology. Also, I want to talk about the HOLY SHIT! moment I witnessed in episode 62 of the series when Cosmo Kramer himself, Michael Richards, walked into the bar.
As you can see to your left, Richards looks, well, normal playing a customer sitting in a Boston tavern in 1985. Throughout the episode, he shows no signs of eccentricity or physical hilarity from the Seinfeld days. That said, Richards plays a character named Eddie who has all the makings of the asshole we all saw on stage at the LA Laugh Factory in the fall of 2007.
You see, the premise of the episode is this: Some years ago, back when Sam Malone was still a raging alcoholic and on his way out of the majors, he made a bet with Eddie that he could marry the actress Jacqueline Bisset by a set date. If Mayday fails in this goal, the bar belongs to Eddie. By this point, in the here and now of 1985, Sam has forgotten both the bet and Eddie himself. In typical a-hole fashion, however, Eddie has with him the signed paper from that drunken night and threatens legal action against Sam if he doesn't hold up to his end of the deal.
Typical sitcom fodder, no? Of course it is. And, also in typical sitcom fashion, it's foul-mouthed Carla (who, it should be noted, is at this point in the series preggerz with her SIXTH child!) who suggests to Mayday that the terms of the contract dictate he most marry a woman named Jackie Bisset, not necessarily the Jackie Bisset.
With this epiphany, Mayday, Norm and Cliff set off to find a woman named Jackie Bisset by -- wait for it -- combing over Cliff's extensive collection of phone books from every metropolitan area in the United States. Granted, I was only a 2-year-old at the time, but I had no idea how tough life was in 1985. It's amazing how so many dilemmas in movies and TV shows from the 70's, 80's, and even 90's would easily be solved with either Google or a cell phone. A quick search on Facebook would have easily gotten Sam a list of a hundred Jackie Bissets.
(This, by the way, raises the question: What would a Facebook profile of Mayday Malone look like, anyway? Would he be a celebrity athlete that people could "like" on Facebook? Or would Mayday have an actual regular person profile with upwards of 2,000 "friends," half of whom would have been former lovers and the other half of whom would be girls he'd actively be trying to nail? I think I'm on to something here...)
While on the topic of technology, it should also be noted that Sam could easily take the paper contract he signed with Eddie Google legal counsel who charge reasonably so that he can determine if the contract even has a leg to stand on. Hell, he could even look up Massachusetts law precedents himself to check the validity of the drunken contract signing.
Though I will get into this in a post in the very near future, the show goes on to date itself several more times in Season 3 with Sam struggling to hook up an answering machine for his office phone and later on needing Cliff to help him find a travel agent who can look into the possibility of there being any flights going from Boston to Italy that night. (Spoiler alert: A certain someone has run off to Italy with a certain Frasier Crane and a certain Mayday has mixed feelings about this certain someone...)
Eventually Cliff finds a Jackie B living in West Virginia who is willing to come up to Boston (based on the lie that she's won a free vacay from a radio station contest). She doesn't want to marry Mayday but eventually falls for him. Eddie comes back to the bar, ready to collect his prize, only to find Mayday has stumped him. Showing that he's not quite the a-hole he's been made out to be, Eddie calls off the bet. Diane talks Jackie B out of wanting to marry Sam and Mayday keeps the bar. Everyone wins and nothing changes.
Again, is this the stuff of typical sitcom narrative? Absolutely. And was the whole story wholly outdated by watching it in 2011? Of course. And I was obviously taken out of the episode so much that I wrote two legal pad pages worth of notes and paused Netflix to snap a photo of pre-Kramer, pre-racist ranter Michael Richards. But I did laugh a number of times. And I did enjoy myself. And more than being entertained by this show, I've come to learn that the 1980's were really tough in Reagan's America...
Monday, August 15, 2011
Mayday Malone: Off the Wagon, Back on the Sauce
Two phrases I use quite often (both on the blog and in everyday conversation) are tomcatting and hound-dogging. These two words are verbs, actions. When one is tomcatting, they are in the act of being a tomcat, for instance. The difference between tomcatting and hounddogging is that a tomcat is a playboy (or ladies man or whatever phrase you want to use), yet the actions of a tomcat are for the most part respectful and innocent. When one is out tomcatting, he's looking to hook up with chicks (or dudes; if there can be female tomcats, there certainly can be gay tomcats) but the target of a tomcat knows what she/he is getting into. Both people realize what the situation is -- there are no broken hearts with a tomcat.
A hound dog, on the other hand, is less gentlemanly than a tomcat. A hound dog doesn't know when to give up. He pushes and pushes his agenda to the point of being creepy. Or he comes across as embarrassing, making those around him uncomfortable with his actions, whether or not they are the target of his sights.
And, ladies and gentlemen, the Sam "Mayday" Malone we are introduced to at the start of season 3 is a hound dog. He's unruly, unshaven, and going out at all hours of the night, picking up -- and presumably having his way with -- a great deal of women. But most importantly, he's back on the sauce.
In the scene from which the photo above comes from, Mayday comes bursting into Cheers during the middle of the day with two baton twirlers around his arms. (He explains that he picked them up from a parade earlier in the day.) As you can see, he's got a five o'clock shadow, is wearing a poorly tied neck tie, and wearing a hat. In other words, this is what a recovering alcoholic who has fallen off the wagon looks like in 1984.
What's more, in the picture above, Mayday is the spitting image of what a hound dog is -- a man (or woman) whose selfish, womanizing ways are hurting the ones around him. Coach is the man who got Mayday to seek help years ago for his alcoholism. And we find out Carla is ragged and tired after working night after night as the only waitress because Sam keeps hiring waitresses to replace Diane (who quit in the season 2 finale) but these replacements themselves keep quitting because Mayday bangs 'em and leaves 'em. In fact, he's hired 8 women to replace Diane and (according to Carla), Mayday had his way with all of them and it's six months later and she's still without a fellow waitress to work beside her.
And on this particular afternoon, Sam has brought these two showgals to the bar because they didn't believed he owned one. Coach confirms he owns Cheers and the ladies are impressed. So, naturally, Sam takes them back to his office saying as they walk "It's time for the halftime show at the Sammy Dome!" (Of, that Sam!)
Coach is brokenhearted to see Sam back to being his old self, so he goes to Diane's apartment to get her help. What he doesn't know, however, is that Diane has had some difficulties of her own as we see Diane and her mother's chauffeur bringing in luggage after her extended stay in therapy. Reluctantly, Diane agrees to help Sam even if it means going back to the Cheers bar she vowed to never return to while in therapy.
The next day, Mayday comes into work and heads into his office. As he enters the door, the audience sees several customers standing and sitting at nearby tables. And, since I have the luxury of hindsight as I watch these episodes, I know something is afoot because one such customer is Kelsey Grammar in a three piece suit.
Coach, Carla, Norm and Cliff discuss Mayday's downfall, debating whether or not they must intervene and moments later, Sam returns from his office, asking Coach what day of the week it is.
"Friday," Coach answers.
"Well that's it for me. Goodbye, everybody," Sam declares as he grabs a fifth of vodka and heads for the door.
But that's not it for Mayday. No, far from it, as Diane walks in and stops him in his tracks. The two discuss life since they broke they broke up and eventually the conversation turns to Sam's boozing. He denies being a drunk to Diane and asks Norm and company to vouch for him; they don't.
"When you try to be a good time drunk, you really find out who your friends are," Mayday declares.
Diane tries reasoning with Sam, asking him if he'll at listen to her friend she met while in therapy. Reluctantly, Mayday agrees to here the guy out, prompting Frasier, now seated next to Cliff at the bar to extend his hand and say hello to Sam. Mayday, naturally, jumps at being startled and accuses Diane of running a sting operation.
While I got more than a few laughs at this episodes writing (ie the dialogue I quoted in this post) and at the way Ted Danson played Sam Malone as a down and out drunk, I'm not sure how long I want this off-the-wagon version of Mayday to last. It's intriguing, for sure, but having the lead character of a sitcom outwardly expressing signs of out of control alcoholism won't be entertaining for too long...
A hound dog, on the other hand, is less gentlemanly than a tomcat. A hound dog doesn't know when to give up. He pushes and pushes his agenda to the point of being creepy. Or he comes across as embarrassing, making those around him uncomfortable with his actions, whether or not they are the target of his sights.
And, ladies and gentlemen, the Sam "Mayday" Malone we are introduced to at the start of season 3 is a hound dog. He's unruly, unshaven, and going out at all hours of the night, picking up -- and presumably having his way with -- a great deal of women. But most importantly, he's back on the sauce.
In the scene from which the photo above comes from, Mayday comes bursting into Cheers during the middle of the day with two baton twirlers around his arms. (He explains that he picked them up from a parade earlier in the day.) As you can see, he's got a five o'clock shadow, is wearing a poorly tied neck tie, and wearing a hat. In other words, this is what a recovering alcoholic who has fallen off the wagon looks like in 1984.
What's more, in the picture above, Mayday is the spitting image of what a hound dog is -- a man (or woman) whose selfish, womanizing ways are hurting the ones around him. Coach is the man who got Mayday to seek help years ago for his alcoholism. And we find out Carla is ragged and tired after working night after night as the only waitress because Sam keeps hiring waitresses to replace Diane (who quit in the season 2 finale) but these replacements themselves keep quitting because Mayday bangs 'em and leaves 'em. In fact, he's hired 8 women to replace Diane and (according to Carla), Mayday had his way with all of them and it's six months later and she's still without a fellow waitress to work beside her.
And on this particular afternoon, Sam has brought these two showgals to the bar because they didn't believed he owned one. Coach confirms he owns Cheers and the ladies are impressed. So, naturally, Sam takes them back to his office saying as they walk "It's time for the halftime show at the Sammy Dome!" (Of, that Sam!)
Coach is brokenhearted to see Sam back to being his old self, so he goes to Diane's apartment to get her help. What he doesn't know, however, is that Diane has had some difficulties of her own as we see Diane and her mother's chauffeur bringing in luggage after her extended stay in therapy. Reluctantly, Diane agrees to help Sam even if it means going back to the Cheers bar she vowed to never return to while in therapy.
The next day, Mayday comes into work and heads into his office. As he enters the door, the audience sees several customers standing and sitting at nearby tables. And, since I have the luxury of hindsight as I watch these episodes, I know something is afoot because one such customer is Kelsey Grammar in a three piece suit.
Coach, Carla, Norm and Cliff discuss Mayday's downfall, debating whether or not they must intervene and moments later, Sam returns from his office, asking Coach what day of the week it is.
"Friday," Coach answers.
"Well that's it for me. Goodbye, everybody," Sam declares as he grabs a fifth of vodka and heads for the door.
But that's not it for Mayday. No, far from it, as Diane walks in and stops him in his tracks. The two discuss life since they broke they broke up and eventually the conversation turns to Sam's boozing. He denies being a drunk to Diane and asks Norm and company to vouch for him; they don't.
"When you try to be a good time drunk, you really find out who your friends are," Mayday declares.
Diane tries reasoning with Sam, asking him if he'll at listen to her friend she met while in therapy. Reluctantly, Mayday agrees to here the guy out, prompting Frasier, now seated next to Cliff at the bar to extend his hand and say hello to Sam. Mayday, naturally, jumps at being startled and accuses Diane of running a sting operation.
While I got more than a few laughs at this episodes writing (ie the dialogue I quoted in this post) and at the way Ted Danson played Sam Malone as a down and out drunk, I'm not sure how long I want this off-the-wagon version of Mayday to last. It's intriguing, for sure, but having the lead character of a sitcom outwardly expressing signs of out of control alcoholism won't be entertaining for too long...
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Being Mayday, and All the Burdens that Accompany It...
First, let me start by making a quick apology. It's being two weeks since I've submitted a post on this blog and, frankly, that is unacceptable. I've been busy the past two weekends with two different trips and am currently suffering from a sunburnt back that is so severe it's reduced me to crying like a baby all over social media platforms.
Additionally, I've hit a bit of a roadblock when it comes to my vision for the block. As I've said before, I'm unsure of how to treat these posts. Should the posts cover every 2-4 episodes? Should I summarize episodes then give insights? Should I just discuss what I was thinking about while watching a certain episode? Etc.
I believe there is no answer to this and, as I'm still only in the first season of Cheers, I'm just going to write posts of various lengths and see what happens with this space organically.
But enough of the excuses. From now on, you can expect a more concerted effort on my part to update this blog regularly, you lucky seven follower of mine.
Coincidentally (or conveniently) speaking of burdens, I want to point out that I don't have it out for Sam "Mayday" Malone. True, a great number of his actions in season 1 have some across as extremely sexist and chauvinistic, but I think we would all agree that all in all, Mayday is a good guy.
This was reaffirmed early on in the series when he left a hotel room through the fire escape because he couldn't have relations with a college friend of Diane's because his conscience got the better of him.
But it's episode 16, "The Boys in the Bar," where Mayday shows he's not just a man of (mostly) good moral fiber, but also a civil rights pioneer. Sam, you see, has offered up Cheers for the afternoon to his former teammate, Tom Kendersen, to promote his new memoir to reporters and Sam's regulars (who all love the Sox, naturally). In the book (entitled "Catcher's Mask"), the teammate comes out as being gay. Yet, and here's where the hi-jinx begin!, Sam is unaware of this fact because he didn't read the book the night before as he promised Tom he would because he was out tomcatting. Oh, that Sam!
So the press conference begins with reporters questioning Tom about his deceision to come out while Mayday stands by the side of his old buddy and slowly figures out the book's subject matter. Of course, Mayday only figures this out after talking up Tom and saying that in their playing days they were always roommates on the road and joined at the hip. (Again, oh, that Sam!)
After learning that Tom is a, you know, a gay, the bar's regulars become concerned that the press coverage of the book will lead Boston's gay community into believe Cheers is a place for them. And by golly, do these alocholics of 1982 have a real problem with that.
Hell, even Coach seems a little ruffled. "I should've known," he says of Tom's sexual orientation, "I was in a piano bar with him once and he requested a showtune!"
The customers voice their concerns to Mayday who reassures them there's nothing to worry about. The next day, however, two come into the bar, one sporting a 1970's porn 'stache and immediately Norm, Cliff and the others are afraid there are gay men in their presence. Sam takes their order and he's told they read about Cheers in the day's paper and thought they'd come down and check it out. And of course, that's the smoking gun for Norm Peterson and His Merry Band of Homophobes. One gay guy gave a press conference at the bar, it got covered in the Boston Globe, and now all the gays are gonna come down to the bar.
Their suspicions are affirmed when Diane tells the regulars that she has it on good authority two men somewhere in the bar are gay. (Again, the horror!) The regulars are this point are all riled up, one of them even sarcastically saying "Way to go, Mayday!"
One patron even suggests they "test out" these two gentlemen to see if they're gay or straight, because, you know, every straight man should be able to accurately answer any sports trivia question asked of him.
Another patron goes on to explain that if Sam doesn't show these two gays the door, Cheers is going to end up like Vito's Pub which "turned gay" in a matter of weeks after they let in their first gay guy. "Within a month's there's gonna be wild music and guys dancing and exchanging phone numbers," he warns. Exchanging phone numbers?!? Jesus Christ! Of course, something has to be done to stop this nonsense!
And that something is a harebrained scheme the Band of Homophobes devise in which they all cash out with Coach and tell everyone the bar closes down at 7 pm. The "gays" sitting at their own table, now with a third guy, remark that they thought Cheers was a nice bar but find it weird that it shuts down at 7 o'clock. All the customers leave the bar and the regulars come back in, beaming with pride after tricking the gays into leaving of their own accord.
And here's where Mayday steps up to the plate (no pun intended). He takes issue with what his customers have done. They tell him that he's got to decide what kind of a place Cheers is going to be, meaning a bar for the straights or a bar for the gays (apparently 1983 Boston was much like the Deep South in the 1950's).
To that, Sam full of righteousness responds with "It's not going to be the kind of bar I'll have to throw people out of!" What I particularly love about this episode, and Sam's defiant statement in particular, is that it begins with the former teammate coming out of the closet but shifts to homophobia in general. And here Mayday is on his own island with everyone else on another. Had this been Malone standing up for his friend and teammate, it could be presumed he may have some issues with gay people but will vouch for a gay person he knows. Instead, we have Mayday standing up for gay people as a whole, and really just people in general by declaring his bar to being welcoming of anyone and everyone.
Norm, Cliff, et al. reluctantly decide they perhaps got a little out of hand with their tactics. Diane then informs the crowd that the gentlemen they tricked into leaving were not the gay guys she was talking about. Rather, the two gay men in the bar are two members of the mob, each standing at Norm's side. At this revelation, the crowd is taken aback and the two men give Norm a simultaneous kiss on the check.
At this point, I'm expecting the patrons to get into an uproar. But no, they don't. Sam's already given his speech, defined himself as a man of good moral character, and established himself as a civil rights activist (by early 80's standards, at least). Instead, the live studio audience applauds and cheers. And, to end the episode on a high note, Norm declares "Hey, it beats kissing Vera!"
And in terms of addressing the social issues of the day, this episode and the series itself certainly fail in comparison to the Norman Lear sitcoms of the 1970's I've loved so much ("All in the Family," "Good Times," "Maude" and so forth). But for what/who they are, this episode and Sam Malone as a character beat anything else that was on TV at the time.
Additionally, I've hit a bit of a roadblock when it comes to my vision for the block. As I've said before, I'm unsure of how to treat these posts. Should the posts cover every 2-4 episodes? Should I summarize episodes then give insights? Should I just discuss what I was thinking about while watching a certain episode? Etc.
I believe there is no answer to this and, as I'm still only in the first season of Cheers, I'm just going to write posts of various lengths and see what happens with this space organically.
But enough of the excuses. From now on, you can expect a more concerted effort on my part to update this blog regularly, you lucky seven follower of mine.
Coincidentally (or conveniently) speaking of burdens, I want to point out that I don't have it out for Sam "Mayday" Malone. True, a great number of his actions in season 1 have some across as extremely sexist and chauvinistic, but I think we would all agree that all in all, Mayday is a good guy.
This was reaffirmed early on in the series when he left a hotel room through the fire escape because he couldn't have relations with a college friend of Diane's because his conscience got the better of him.
But it's episode 16, "The Boys in the Bar," where Mayday shows he's not just a man of (mostly) good moral fiber, but also a civil rights pioneer. Sam, you see, has offered up Cheers for the afternoon to his former teammate, Tom Kendersen, to promote his new memoir to reporters and Sam's regulars (who all love the Sox, naturally). In the book (entitled "Catcher's Mask"), the teammate comes out as being gay. Yet, and here's where the hi-jinx begin!, Sam is unaware of this fact because he didn't read the book the night before as he promised Tom he would because he was out tomcatting. Oh, that Sam!
So the press conference begins with reporters questioning Tom about his deceision to come out while Mayday stands by the side of his old buddy and slowly figures out the book's subject matter. Of course, Mayday only figures this out after talking up Tom and saying that in their playing days they were always roommates on the road and joined at the hip. (Again, oh, that Sam!)
After learning that Tom is a, you know, a gay, the bar's regulars become concerned that the press coverage of the book will lead Boston's gay community into believe Cheers is a place for them. And by golly, do these alocholics of 1982 have a real problem with that.
Hell, even Coach seems a little ruffled. "I should've known," he says of Tom's sexual orientation, "I was in a piano bar with him once and he requested a showtune!"
The customers voice their concerns to Mayday who reassures them there's nothing to worry about. The next day, however, two come into the bar, one sporting a 1970's porn 'stache and immediately Norm, Cliff and the others are afraid there are gay men in their presence. Sam takes their order and he's told they read about Cheers in the day's paper and thought they'd come down and check it out. And of course, that's the smoking gun for Norm Peterson and His Merry Band of Homophobes. One gay guy gave a press conference at the bar, it got covered in the Boston Globe, and now all the gays are gonna come down to the bar.
Their suspicions are affirmed when Diane tells the regulars that she has it on good authority two men somewhere in the bar are gay. (Again, the horror!) The regulars are this point are all riled up, one of them even sarcastically saying "Way to go, Mayday!"
One patron even suggests they "test out" these two gentlemen to see if they're gay or straight, because, you know, every straight man should be able to accurately answer any sports trivia question asked of him.
Another patron goes on to explain that if Sam doesn't show these two gays the door, Cheers is going to end up like Vito's Pub which "turned gay" in a matter of weeks after they let in their first gay guy. "Within a month's there's gonna be wild music and guys dancing and exchanging phone numbers," he warns. Exchanging phone numbers?!? Jesus Christ! Of course, something has to be done to stop this nonsense!
And that something is a harebrained scheme the Band of Homophobes devise in which they all cash out with Coach and tell everyone the bar closes down at 7 pm. The "gays" sitting at their own table, now with a third guy, remark that they thought Cheers was a nice bar but find it weird that it shuts down at 7 o'clock. All the customers leave the bar and the regulars come back in, beaming with pride after tricking the gays into leaving of their own accord.
And here's where Mayday steps up to the plate (no pun intended). He takes issue with what his customers have done. They tell him that he's got to decide what kind of a place Cheers is going to be, meaning a bar for the straights or a bar for the gays (apparently 1983 Boston was much like the Deep South in the 1950's).
To that, Sam full of righteousness responds with "It's not going to be the kind of bar I'll have to throw people out of!" What I particularly love about this episode, and Sam's defiant statement in particular, is that it begins with the former teammate coming out of the closet but shifts to homophobia in general. And here Mayday is on his own island with everyone else on another. Had this been Malone standing up for his friend and teammate, it could be presumed he may have some issues with gay people but will vouch for a gay person he knows. Instead, we have Mayday standing up for gay people as a whole, and really just people in general by declaring his bar to being welcoming of anyone and everyone.
Norm, Cliff, et al. reluctantly decide they perhaps got a little out of hand with their tactics. Diane then informs the crowd that the gentlemen they tricked into leaving were not the gay guys she was talking about. Rather, the two gay men in the bar are two members of the mob, each standing at Norm's side. At this revelation, the crowd is taken aback and the two men give Norm a simultaneous kiss on the check.
At this point, I'm expecting the patrons to get into an uproar. But no, they don't. Sam's already given his speech, defined himself as a man of good moral character, and established himself as a civil rights activist (by early 80's standards, at least). Instead, the live studio audience applauds and cheers. And, to end the episode on a high note, Norm declares "Hey, it beats kissing Vera!"
And in terms of addressing the social issues of the day, this episode and the series itself certainly fail in comparison to the Norman Lear sitcoms of the 1970's I've loved so much ("All in the Family," "Good Times," "Maude" and so forth). But for what/who they are, this episode and Sam Malone as a character beat anything else that was on TV at the time.
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