Season One Ep 9 Coach Returns to Action
Sam: What's Up, Norm?
Norm: My Nipples. It's freezing out there!
If anyone deserves love, it's sweet Coach Ernie Pantusso, so this episode's a nice bit of wish fulfillment. Poor Coach has been out of the game so long, his last pickup line was ''How would you like a pair of nylons, fraulein?" But Nina, Coach's new neighbor, awakens something in the old guy. As played by Murphy Cross, she's Shirley MacLaine-level cute, and really knows how to put an outfit together--seriously, that's a great look that would work perfectly today if not for the tight curls in Nina's dated hairdo. Then again, lots of indie musicians today sport a similar 'do:
Best music video ever!
But Nina's young. Like, younger than Coach's pickup line. So Sam swoops in only to find his advances rebuffed repeatedly, and nothing gets Sam's motor hummin' like rejection. But Nina's having none of it. Once Diane and Carla help Coach work up the gumption to "go get her", poor Coach is also politely turned down, but he resorts to his old self-injury trick and falls down the stairs. So Nina takes him home to nurse him back to health. Hey, whatever works!
...which may have inspired Justin Trudeau's fave party trick
Stray Thoughts
Both Cliff and Norm look quite fetching here! Instead of his postal uniform, Cliff looks ready for camping in his plaid shirt/vest combo, and Norm's never looked better, swapping his usual coat and tie for a burgundy sweater. This is mostly so he can slip into the dinner jacket required to use Melville's facilities while Carla fixes the men's room plumbing, but it's a great look for Norm!
Top 10 cutest Diane appearance in this one. I don't really keep a list, but Shelley Long's so damn lovable here as she roots for Coach. She's especially adorable when she's outraged after mistaking a tween-aged school girl for Coach's young love interest. When she realizes it's just a student from St. Matthias dropping off a playbill, Diane mentions performing in Romeo & Juliet at the same age. The schoolgirl mentions they considered that one, too, but went with 12 Angry Men instead because they were "looking for something with a little more meat."
There's a nice moment when someone yells, "can we get some service here?" which is a nice acknowledgement that Cheers staff do more socializing than serving.
Guest Stars
Murphy Cross (Nina) has popped up in all sorts of stuff from The Love Boat to Criminal Minds, but she's mostly worked in theatre as a successful dancer/actor/director/chroeographer. TV viewers would likely know her best for her two episode turn as Louie's blind 'blind date'. Though they share a lot of the same DNA, Taxi plumbed pathos way more, and Danny DeVito's quite moving in Louie and the Blind Girl. Here's Murphy in 2016:
Bill Wiley was up for the part of Coach, and he turns up here as a lazy Tour Guide. Wiley might have been great, but he brings a more cantankerous energy to his parts than Nick Colasanto gives Coach. Wiley went on to guest on everything from Alf to The Sarah Silverman show.
Trivia
The conversation between Sam and Nina was used in the "Superstar Television" attraction that ran from May 1, 1989 to September 26, 1998, at the Disney-MGM Studios theme park where a lucky tour guest gets to interact with the Cheers gang through the miracle of late-'80s technology.
Cheers Segment at 18:00
Among the graffiti on the bathroom wall are a couple music references: "God save the Kinks", The Doors/Weill's, "Show me the way to the next whiskey bar" and even Diane's number is Tommy Tutone's 867-5309!
Norm: My Nipples. It's freezing out there!
If anyone deserves love, it's sweet Coach Ernie Pantusso, so this episode's a nice bit of wish fulfillment. Poor Coach has been out of the game so long, his last pickup line was ''How would you like a pair of nylons, fraulein?" But Nina, Coach's new neighbor, awakens something in the old guy. As played by Murphy Cross, she's Shirley MacLaine-level cute, and really knows how to put an outfit together--seriously, that's a great look that would work perfectly today if not for the tight curls in Nina's dated hairdo. Then again, lots of indie musicians today sport a similar 'do:
Best music video ever!
But Nina's young. Like, younger than Coach's pickup line. So Sam swoops in only to find his advances rebuffed repeatedly, and nothing gets Sam's motor hummin' like rejection. But Nina's having none of it. Once Diane and Carla help Coach work up the gumption to "go get her", poor Coach is also politely turned down, but he resorts to his old self-injury trick and falls down the stairs. So Nina takes him home to nurse him back to health. Hey, whatever works!
...which may have inspired Justin Trudeau's fave party trick
Stray Thoughts
Both Cliff and Norm look quite fetching here! Instead of his postal uniform, Cliff looks ready for camping in his plaid shirt/vest combo, and Norm's never looked better, swapping his usual coat and tie for a burgundy sweater. This is mostly so he can slip into the dinner jacket required to use Melville's facilities while Carla fixes the men's room plumbing, but it's a great look for Norm!
Top 10 cutest Diane appearance in this one. I don't really keep a list, but Shelley Long's so damn lovable here as she roots for Coach. She's especially adorable when she's outraged after mistaking a tween-aged school girl for Coach's young love interest. When she realizes it's just a student from St. Matthias dropping off a playbill, Diane mentions performing in Romeo & Juliet at the same age. The schoolgirl mentions they considered that one, too, but went with 12 Angry Men instead because they were "looking for something with a little more meat."
There's a nice moment when someone yells, "can we get some service here?" which is a nice acknowledgement that Cheers staff do more socializing than serving.
Guest Stars
Murphy Cross (Nina) has popped up in all sorts of stuff from The Love Boat to Criminal Minds, but she's mostly worked in theatre as a successful dancer/actor/director/chroeographer. TV viewers would likely know her best for her two episode turn as Louie's blind 'blind date'. Though they share a lot of the same DNA, Taxi plumbed pathos way more, and Danny DeVito's quite moving in Louie and the Blind Girl. Here's Murphy in 2016:
Bill Wiley was up for the part of Coach, and he turns up here as a lazy Tour Guide. Wiley might have been great, but he brings a more cantankerous energy to his parts than Nick Colasanto gives Coach. Wiley went on to guest on everything from Alf to The Sarah Silverman show.
Trivia
The conversation between Sam and Nina was used in the "Superstar Television" attraction that ran from May 1, 1989 to September 26, 1998, at the Disney-MGM Studios theme park where a lucky tour guest gets to interact with the Cheers gang through the miracle of late-'80s technology.
Cheers Segment at 18:00
Among the graffiti on the bathroom wall are a couple music references: "God save the Kinks", The Doors/Weill's, "Show me the way to the next whiskey bar" and even Diane's number is Tommy Tutone's 867-5309!
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