Episode: Season 4, Episode 10
Title: The Bar Stoolie
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Andy Cowan & David S Williger
Air Date: December 5, 1985
Previous: From Beer To Eternity
Next: Don Juan in Hell
Guest Starring: Dick O'Neill, Claudia Cron
Title: The Bar Stoolie
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Andy Cowan & David S Williger
Air Date: December 5, 1985
Previous: From Beer To Eternity
Next: Don Juan in Hell
Guest Starring: Dick O'Neill, Claudia Cron
"The Bar Stoolie" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of Cheers.
One day, into the bar comes none other than Cliff's long-lost father, Clifford Clavin Sr. (Dick O'Neill), who abandoned his family 25 years ago when Cliff was nine. Pa Clavin doesn't recognize Cliff and Cliff nearly lets him leave, but after the gang urges him on, Cliff confronts his dad. They wind up hitting it off, going fishing, going to the Celtics game—but Pa Clavin has a secret.
In the B-plot, Sam is about to take a woman named Claudia (Claudia Cron) out to dinner. Claudia happens to be a lot like Diane (serious, intellectual, pretentious, blonde), the two start talking, and they get along great, much to Sam's displeasure.
Tropes:
- Bathroom Break-Out: Cliff's dad escapes Cheers by climbing out of the men's room window.
- Brand X: When Cliff and his dad get back Cliff has one of those novelty cup holder hats. He has two cans of beer in his hat...and they're each labeled "Beer".
- Captain Obvious: When Clavin Sr. is confessing that he's a crook.Pa Clavin: My business has gotten me in a little trouble with the law.
Cliff: What kind of business is that?
Pa Clavin: Real estate fraud.
Cliff: Dad, that's illegal!
Pa Clavin: Good, I'm not going too fast for you. - Character Filibuster: Woody gets the gang to record audio messages on a tape he's going to send back to Hanover...but Diane takes up the whole tape talking.
- Continuity Nod: Yet another reference to Norm's love/hate restaurant, the Hungry Heifer. It turns out that if you order the "chef's special ribs," the chef comes out and makes fun of you.
- Disappeared Dad: Cliff's long-lost father makes his return.
- Foreshadowing: When Pa Clavin shows up at the bar, Norm suggests that Cliff make a quick exit through the window in the men's room. This sets up the ending where Pa Clavin escapes through that same window because he thinks Cliff will turn him in.
- Claudia inviting Diane to her dates with Sam is less to do with their getting along and more to do with the fact that she doesn't really know how to tell Sam that she's really not interested in him anymore.
- Gratuitous French: Diane and Claudia are really shown to be soulmates when they start babbling French at each other.
- Lesser of Two Evils: Carla points out that Cliff could use to believe that his father selfishly ran out on him again, or have some elaborate conspiracy theory that had him kidnapped by a shadow organization, Occam's Razor be damned.
- No Fourth Wall: A particularly obvious goof. Near the end of the episode, when Cliff is talking about people getting sucked into UFOs, a camera positioned somewhere near where Norm sits is pointed towards Cliff and the front end of the bar. The shot quite clearly shows the end of the set, a curtain, and what looks like a crew member standing around, while two extras walk off.
- Pet the Dog: Carla, Carla, offers a sympathetic ear to Cliff when he's unable to call the feds on his old man. Before anyone can get too afraid, she gives Norm a half-Melvin when he points this out, threatening him with a full Melvin if he breathes a word of it. She also offers Cliff the "abducted by aliens" theory as a less painful alternative to his dad running out on him, even borrowing his "little known fact" catchphrase.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Claudia is blonde and sophisticated and intellectual and likes to speak French—suspiciously similar to Diane, that is. Diane even refers to her as "that clone of me."
- Terrible Pick-Up Lines: Sam is off his game in this episode. Lines like "we'll go to Melville's for your cheesecake, but then we'll go back to my place for your beefcake" have Claudia fleeing in disgust by the end of the episode.Claudia: The first few times we went out, I thought you were coming on a little strong. I now miss those simpler times.
- Third Wheel: Sam doesn't want Diane to be a third wheel on his date, and Diane actually doesn't want to be a third wheel either, but Claudia insists. Eventually Sam becomes the third wheel, as we find out he got stuck at the side table at the Indian restaurant while Diane and Claudia had a nice dinner.
- Unpleasant Parent Reveal: Cliff meets his long-lost father only to discover that his dad is a crook.
