Title: The Sam in the Grey Flannel Suit
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Cheri Eichen and Bill Steinkellner
Air Date: March 3, 1988
Previous: Airport V
Next: Our Hourly Bread
Guest Starring: Tom Skerritt
"The Sam in the Gray Flannel Suit" is the 20th episode of the sixth season of Cheers.
Much to Rebecca's surprise, Evan Drake's visiting Cheers, and much to Rebecca's upset, he's talking with Sam. Heck, he's even offering Sam an executive position at the Lillian Corporation.
Sam enjoys his new job, even if he's got no idea what he's actually meant to do, or how he's meant to go about doing that anyway. Rebecca's suspicions raise when Sam is invited onto the corporation's softball team, and she learns that the guy whose position Sam's filling supposedly quit just the day before, which was when the team got into playoffs. Sam's been hired as a ringer, and worse is he doesn't realize it.
Rebecca tries letting Sam know gently, and he confronts Drake about it. Drake confirms that it's true, and an upset Sam is soon back at Cheers.
Tropes:
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Sam, horndog to the last, tries using the excuse of being fired to score with Rebecca. Frustrated by his endless come-ons, Rebecca acquiesces, but with absolutely no enthusiasm whatsoever, killing Sam's mood.
- The Ditz: Sam is particularly slow on the uptake here, not figuring he's been hired as a ringer until Rebecca explicitly spells it out for him, despite the overwhelming amount of evidence staring him in the face.
- Hypocrite: Sam talks about how he feels used by the Lillian Corporation, even as he's trying to make a move on Rebecca.
- Kick the Dog: Drake and the corporate suits' plan. When Sam learns the truth, he tries insisting he can contribute to the corporation, and that if Drake thinks otherwise they should shake hands and part ways. Drake doesn't even look at Sam as he does so.
- Person with the Clothing: "The Sam in the Grey Flannel Suit"
- Shout-Out: The title is a shout-out to an old Gregory Peck movie, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.
- Talking to Themself: Rebecca does this a lot this episode, complete with requisite "why am I talking to myself?"
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Sam mentions that after getting his "job", he phoned up his father, the man who never approved of anything Sam's done in his entire life, and they spoke for the first time in three years, and Sam actually heard his old man say he was proud of him for the first time ever.
