Recap / Cheers S 5 E 1 The Proposal

Episode: Season 5, Episode 1
Title: The Proposal
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Peter Casey & David Lee
Air Date: September 25, 1986
Previous: Strange Bedfellows, Part 3
Next: The Cape Cad

"The Proposal" is the first episode of the fifth season of Cheers.

We pick up exactly where we left off, with the last scene of Season 4 in which Sam asks a mystery woman on the phone to marry him. The mystery woman is, naturally, Diane. Diane, wearing a skin cream on her face and with a chicken leg in her hand, asks Sam to propose to her in a more romantic way than just calling her up late one night.

So he does. Sam rents a boat and takes Diane out into Boston harbor. They dine on shrimp, they break out champagne, Sam gets on one knee and asks Diane to marry him...and she says no. So Sam throws Diane into the bay, or rather, she jumps into the bay after he tells her either she jumps or he throws her.

Diane frantically explains that she only refused Sam because his offhand mention of Janet Eldridge, briefly Sam's girlfriend at the end of Season 4, ruined the mood. Sam however remains furious and says that he and Diane are through, even after Diane shows up at the bar the next day and gives him an unprompted "YES!" Undeterred, Diane puts her apron on and comes back to work at Cheers, assuming despite Sam's denials that they will soon be married.

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Tropes:

• Actually Pretty Funny: Since he still had the boat rental, Sam had opted to relax on it for a bit to clear his head. Frasier later told Diane about this, and she intended to surprise Sam in bed. It's only later that Frasier learns Sam had second thoughts and instead let a buddy of his take out the boat. Frasier is about to alert Sam to the problem before chuckling to himself and keeping his peace.
• Armor-Piercing Question: In the end, Diane insists that she and Sam will get back together like they always do. Sam asserts that's not the case this time and is more than willing to ask Norm, Cliff, and Frasier if they agree with her or with him. Frasier and Cliff just stare in silence, while Norm's response (the last line of the episode, no less) doesn't make Sam happy.
  Norm: Can I have my beer before I answer?
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: During his formal proposal, Sam acknowledges how he was in love with Diane even when he was pissed off at her. However, he's singing a much different tune after she rejects his proposal.
• Black Comedy: Sam says that he had a dream where he killed Diane "and it felt really good." Later Frasier is giving Diane a neck massage and is barely able to restrain himself from strangling her, right there in the bar.
• Cannot Keep a Secret: Woody can't.
  Sam: Can you keep a secret?
  Woody: Can I keep a secret? You still don't know that Carla leaves early on your night off, do you?
• Deadpan Snarker: As Diane asks Frasier to tell her where Sam is, the doc gets in a good example.
  Diane: Can you imagine how he must feel?
  Frasier: [flatly] Gee, I'll try.
• Dumbass Has a Point: While everyone is rather skeptical of Diane's proposal flip-flopping, it's Cliff who points out how pissed off Sam was and that she had best stay away from him for the time being.
• Grand Romantic Gesture: Diane insists on one, and Sam obliges, taking her out sailing in the harbor with champagne and shrimp cocktail. She still turns him down.
• Happy Dance: Upon learning that Diane turned down the proposal, Carla and Frasier do this when Sam looks away. They're a little apologetic when Sam catches them doing it.
• Hope Spot: Rather than screw-up or half-ass it, Sam actually takes time to properly plan a Grand Romantic Gesture, spares no expense, and delivers a rather heartfelt proposal. Then Diane rejects it.
• Hypocritical Humor: After breaking the news about the rejected proposal, Sam insists he doesn't want to talk about it. He then takes Frasier aside to talk about it.
• I'm Standing Right Here: During the neck massage, Diane just goes on about how she hurt Sam to the guy she dumped at the altar. It's why Frasier gets so tempted to outright strangle her in the bar. Unaware of what he was contemplating, Diane does eventually realize this is inappropriate and asks if he's all right with hearing this.
• Immediate Self-Contradiction: After admitting to the gang that Diane rejected him, Sam says "I just don't want to talk about it," then immediately asks Frasier to talk about it.
• Master of the Mixed Message: Diane does this repeatedly throughout the first part of Season 5, starting with this episode, where she invites Sam to make a romantic proposal, then rejects him, then comes back to the bar and states that they're getting married even as Sam refuses to ask her again.
• Mood Whiplash:
  • Norm says he wants a lavish formal dinner to celebrate Vera's return from vacation. He then says whatever she decides to make after that lengthy bus trip will be fine by him.
  • Sam confesses to Frasier that he's worried about Diane getting hurt. Frasier is touched by this seeming concern for someone that hurt him so badly, only for Sam to explain he dreamed about killing Diane and liked it.
• "Not So Different" Remark: When Sam talks about his dream where he killed Diane, he worries about being crazy. Frasier assures him that in itself isn't unusual, relating his own bitterness towards Diane and how he thought about strangling her multiple times.
• Oh, Crap!: Carla and Frasier share a scream when they realize who Sam is going to propose to.
• On the Rebound: Ultimately, Sam decides the best way to get over this mess is to go out with assorted women that he describes as not being intellectual types.
• The Pollyanna: Even as Sam is angrily yelling at the end that they're through, Diane is ignoring him, going back to work at Cheers, talking about getting married and all the "little Malones" they're going to have.
• Promotion to Opening Titles: Kelsey Grammer was first featured in the opening titles in Season 4's "Cliffie's Big Score", but oddly, he went back to Special Guest billing after that. With this episode and Season 5 he was promoted to the opening titles for good.
• Relationship Revolving Door: Diane acknowledges how this is the cornerstone of her and Sam's relationship, saying they always make up after a fight no matter how severe. Frasier isn't exactly enthused to hear this. In the end, Diane asserts that she and Sam will get back together because it's what they always do no matter how angry they get and (to Sam's displeasure) it's pretty clear others in the cast fully expect that, too.
• A Round of Drinks for the House: Still fuming after Diane's mixed messages, Sam decides to celebrate breaking up with her, telling the bar, "To celebrate, drinks are on the house!"
• Saying Too Much: Cliff lets a little too much slip when talking about Diane rejecting Sam.
  Cliff: Eh, just like all women. If they're not turnin' down your proposal of marriage, they're they're accusin' you of suspicious behavior in the lingerie changin' room.
• Sarcasm Mode: Frasier recommends that Diane leave Sam alone. Diane, distraught, says "Can you imagine how he must feel?" Frasier, who of course was dumped by Diane at the altar at the end of Season 3, glares at her and says "Gee, I'll try."
• Sexy Coat Flashing: Sam having gone back out on the boat, Diane gets herself ferried back out there on a motorboat. She shucks the long raincoat she's wearing to reveal only a red nightie. What she doesn't know is that Sam came back home and let his friend, a "Monsignor Demarest", use the boat for the rest of the rental period.
• Shout-Out: Sam whistles a song that he says he always associates with sailing. It's the theme to the old Popeye cartoon.
• Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Getting asked to get married over the phone isn't good enough for Diane. No, she insists on a Grand Romantic Gesture, which makes it that much sillier when she says "no".
• Tranquil Fury: As Diane dries off, Sam suddenly has an epiphany. He asserts that he has finally given up any attachment to Diane and that everything feels calm as a result, all while sounding like he's resisting the urge to strike her.
• Wham Line: A large chunk of the season hinges on this exchange on the boat.
  Sam: Will you marry me?
  Diane: No.
• Wouldn't Hit a Girl: After his proposal is rejected, Sam says Diane can either jump off the boat herself or be thrown off by him. As Diane tries to reason with him, Sam stands up, so she jumps rather than see if he's bluffing or not. Once she's pulled back aboard, he tears the boat's kitchen apart, while she dries off on deck.