When Sam publicly supports an old teammate who has come out of the closet, Norm and the gang are afraid that "Cheers" will become a "gay bar."When Sam publicly supports an old teammate who has come out of the closet, Norm and the gang are afraid that "Cheers" will become a "gay bar."When Sam publicly supports an old teammate who has come out of the closet, Norm and the gang are afraid that "Cheers" will become a "gay bar."
- Barney
- (as Tom Babson)
- Bar Patron
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAl Rosen's first appearance in the Cheers bar, although unbilled and without dialogue.
- GoofsNorman says that 7pm is "seven bells." Later in the series, it is disclosed that Norm served in the US Coast Guard. As such, he should be aware that 7pm would equate to either 2 bells or 6 bells (depending on whether the ship split the dog watch). Character backstories are created as a series progresses. There is no way the writers could know in Season 1 that Norm was going to be in the Coast Guard later in the series. As such, this is not an error.
- Quotes
Sam Malone: Hey, listen. Those guys are staying. If anyone else wants to leave, that's fine.
Norm Peterson: OK, Sammy, you know what kind of bar this is going to turn into.
Sam Malone: It's not going to turn into the kind of bar that I have to throw people out of.
Diane Chambers: That's the noblest preposition you've ever dangled.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 35th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1983)
- SoundtracksWhere Everybody Knows Your Name
Written by Judy Hart-Angelo and Gary Portnoy
Performed by Gary Portnoy
To today's audience, it's hard to see what the fuss was about. *This* won an award from GLAAD? The simple explanation is that the 80s were a lot more homophobic than people remember. Many of the strides made by LGBT people in the 70s were met with a backlash during the Reagan era. By 1982 AIDS was a major topic of conversation, and to many gay people it felt like they were being shoved back in the closet.
When Sam's old teammate Tom Kenderson comes to town to promote his memoir, Sam is excited to see his buddy. Of course he hasn't actually read the book, and Tom's coming out throws him for a loop. Once again, the reactions are all true to the characters. Coach doesn't judge Tom at all; Carla (who lusted after the former catcher) is disappointed; Diane is most concerned with Sam's reaction. Sam has a moment of doubt but decides to stand up for Tom. Surprisingly, it's Norm, Cliff, and the rest of the barflies who are most upset. The stage is set for a battle, and Sam must choose between bleeding heart Diane and his bigoted customers.
One of the complaints from critics watching this now is that the writers took the easy way out by making Tom an outside character who is never seen again after this episode. That's valid, but it was probably expecting too much for a new show to feature a main gay character in 1993.
The other criticism is that Cliff and especially Norm are the leaders of the homophobic mob. You could argue, however, that making the anti-gay bullies also outsiders to the bar would be a cop out. As well, it leads to one of the most famous (and funny) last lines in the whole series.
- dgplatt-60121
- Jan 22, 2024
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3