I love love Fred Dryer. He was one of the finalists for the role of Sam Malone before Ted Danson got the part, and his guest appearances on Cheers as rock-headed sports reporter Dave Richards are some of the best in the show's run. Here he recruits Sam to fill in for him on the news, and let's just say Sam's stint as the Channel 13 sports reporter is less than successful.
Rebecca's red dress in this episode is an inside joke: it's a slightly altered design from the Star Trek uniform she wore as Lt. Saavik in "The Wrath Of Khan." Sam's rapping is another kind of joke... watching him humiliate himself on TV is pretty funny, especially when his closest friends can't find the courage to tell him the truth. By the time Sam hauls out the "Little Sammy" ventriloquist dummy, it is clear that the show has gotten much more silly than it's early years where the focus was on wit and wordplay.
This episode loses a few points in my book only because the television sequences look particularly aged and dated... maybe it's that blinding red set. Sam's face-saving phone call at the end of the episode is a classic...
"Hang up the phone, Woody..."
GRADE: B+
Rebecca's red dress in this episode is an inside joke: it's a slightly altered design from the Star Trek uniform she wore as Lt. Saavik in "The Wrath Of Khan." Sam's rapping is another kind of joke... watching him humiliate himself on TV is pretty funny, especially when his closest friends can't find the courage to tell him the truth. By the time Sam hauls out the "Little Sammy" ventriloquist dummy, it is clear that the show has gotten much more silly than it's early years where the focus was on wit and wordplay.
This episode loses a few points in my book only because the television sequences look particularly aged and dated... maybe it's that blinding red set. Sam's face-saving phone call at the end of the episode is a classic...
"Hang up the phone, Woody..."
GRADE: B+