Season One Ep 13 Now Pitching, Sam Malone

December 08, 2019

Coach: Beer, Norm?

Norm: Nah, I'd probably just drink it.

Sam transitions from relief pitcher to pitchman when an agent with an eye for talented studs casts him in a beer commercial. Lana (Barbara Babcock) specializes in representing athletes, and Sam's ample assets catch her eye. All Sam needs to seal the deal is zoom right past the casting couch to Lana's hotel room. Sam's cool with the deal because he gets a second shot at celebrity, and Lana's a lovely lady, so everybody wins. This is the first of several episodes (2nd if you count Julia Duffy in ep 6) that turns the tables on Sam and gives him a dose of his own shallow medicine. The guy treats women like meat, but he kinda feels cheap when he's the one getting used. Sam's never been "against a wild night of friend-making", but now he feels that he's supposed to be "friendly on demand" for Lana. And he's pretty sure she'll drop him as a client if he dumps her as a partner. Diane warned Sam about the "dragon lady" and can't help but gloat when he says, "You wanna hear me say you were right?", clarifying, "Of course not! Knowing that, and knowing that you know it, and are tortured by it, is plenty for this country girl!" Man, I love Diane!

While Sam and Diane do their typical screwball sparring, Coach barges in to ask for some help since he and Carla have been manning the bar by themselves. This is the first time we see Coach act like a coach and lay down the law, and it's a thing to behold! He notes that ever since Diane came along ("Sir Issac Hayes" as he calls her), Sam's all talk and no action. Preaching a no BS keep it simple ideology, Coach (literally) gives Sam a kick in the butt to "get the hell out there and tell (Lana) that you're finished with her!" So Sam politely dumps Lana--in spite of a tempting ad offer appearing alongside The Osmonds--and Lana indelicately drops him as a client. Classy and fetching though she may be, Lana's a Weinstein in sheep's clothing. Diane asks her how she can live with herself, and Lana just decimates her with her candor. She admits she's not getting any younger, and explains that's "all the more reason to grab some youth...don't judge me until the bloom is off your rose, honey..." The sass is strong with this one!

TRIVIA

-This is the sole episode where Coach wears long sleeves tending bar. Elbow fetishists rank this episode low.

GUEST STARS

Barbara Babcock always reminds me of Holland Taylor. They don't really look alike, but they both share a flinty ginger essence. And they both looked about 45 from 35 to 60. Babcock was hot off her Lead Actress win for Hill Street Blues at the '81 Emmys when she guested on Cheers, and she had a long career appearing on everything from Star Trek to Dallas. Modern-ish fans might know her best for her Emmy-winning supporting role on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. She retired in '04 for health reasons, and right around the time she booked Cheers, Babcock also developed a patent for a "total head care package":

https://patents.justia.com/assignee/barbara-babcock

Luis Tiant plays himself in Sam's first commercial, fumbling his alliterative lines, so they call in Sam as the relief pitchman. Tiant pitched for the Red Sox among others over a succesful 19-year career in the majors and his lack of pitchman polish seems to be his main schtick. At the end of this ad, you can hear the crew start to clap:

Luis Tiant. MLB Legend. Purveyor of fine cigars. Paint pitchman. Triple threat!

Barbara Babcock got me thinking about redheads. Who doesn't love a redhead? I don't care if it's coloured--that's a beautiful lie! So here's some tunes from a couple of my favourite fake redheads, and two natural gingers: