This is the first episode to feature Norm, who at this point was still, as far as we could tell, a hardworking accountant who enjoyed a beer or six. Here, Norm has volunteered to throw a party for his boss. He takes Diane's sarcastic suggestion of a toga party seriously, and the rest of the plot follows from there.
This episode establishes one of Norm's key traits: he seems to have been born without an Ambition gene. He volunteered to throw the party because he knows he has to do this to get ahead, but he immediately regrets it. In later seasons Norm evolved into a sort of anti-Yuppie, at one point even calling himself a proud benchwarmer. Here, he at least tries to get ahead and ends up hating himself for it.
In order to please his boss, Norm does something fairly sleazy by enlisting Diane as the boss's date, but when the boss acts like a creep towards Diane he stands up for her, to the point of losing his job. What's interesting is that the show makes the boss superficially attractive, showing that even a handsome guy can be a lech. It's a chance to contrast him with Sam, who while constantly flirting never physically forces himself on a woman.
There's no real subplot but a lot of funny bits, including the terrible entertainment ("OGDEN, UTAH!") Norm's toga and, of course, Coach's constant references to Julius LaRosa. LaRosa, who was briefly popular in the 1950s, was already obscure by 1982; to 21st century audiences Coach might as well be talking about Enrico Caruso!
This episode establishes one of Norm's key traits: he seems to have been born without an Ambition gene. He volunteered to throw the party because he knows he has to do this to get ahead, but he immediately regrets it. In later seasons Norm evolved into a sort of anti-Yuppie, at one point even calling himself a proud benchwarmer. Here, he at least tries to get ahead and ends up hating himself for it.
In order to please his boss, Norm does something fairly sleazy by enlisting Diane as the boss's date, but when the boss acts like a creep towards Diane he stands up for her, to the point of losing his job. What's interesting is that the show makes the boss superficially attractive, showing that even a handsome guy can be a lech. It's a chance to contrast him with Sam, who while constantly flirting never physically forces himself on a woman.
There's no real subplot but a lot of funny bits, including the terrible entertainment ("OGDEN, UTAH!") Norm's toga and, of course, Coach's constant references to Julius LaRosa. LaRosa, who was briefly popular in the 1950s, was already obscure by 1982; to 21st century audiences Coach might as well be talking about Enrico Caruso!