Diane makes Sam into a bumbling idiot by her constant harassment. She can't escape her. Even when he is honest and sincere and angry, she never relents. This is a bit surreal. Here we have him driven to where he actually kills her in his mind. He goes to the electric chair. Eventually, he chases her and she injures herself, but that's not enough. How long, however, can the series sustain interest in the staccato attacks.
4 Reviews
Enough is enough,I'm sick of her AND him...
ronnybee211222 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
By this point in the show series,the insufferable Diane and the wishy-washy Sam's on-again,off-again marriage shtick has gone way-past the point of simply being old,obnoxious,and annoying. (In fact it is completely maddening.)
The marriage baloney isn't the least-bit funny anymore,and it hasn't been funny for quite awhile,in fact.
The hot/cold marriage trope has been completely worn-out and 'done-to-death' here.
The shallow character Diane is selfish,neurotic, hopelessly needy,and she is concerned about nobody but herself and her endlessly-petty, continuously-changing whims and desires that she confuses with being legitimate needs.
Sam is a handsome if not an overly-bright guy that can probably have almost any woman he wants,but instead he is making a fool of himself by playing slap and tickle with his employee/bar-maid Diane !
All of this nonsense plays-out in front of all of the bar patrons and it sure isn't a good look for the bar itself or anyone involved.
I found this episode to be so utterly cloying and so stupidly-aggravating that I almost wished that Sam and Diane both would disappear at sea or perhaps kill each-other (or something like that) so we wouldn't have to deal with their elementary-school antics anymore. 3/10 is all it deserves.
The marriage baloney isn't the least-bit funny anymore,and it hasn't been funny for quite awhile,in fact.
The hot/cold marriage trope has been completely worn-out and 'done-to-death' here.
The shallow character Diane is selfish,neurotic, hopelessly needy,and she is concerned about nobody but herself and her endlessly-petty, continuously-changing whims and desires that she confuses with being legitimate needs.
Sam is a handsome if not an overly-bright guy that can probably have almost any woman he wants,but instead he is making a fool of himself by playing slap and tickle with his employee/bar-maid Diane !
All of this nonsense plays-out in front of all of the bar patrons and it sure isn't a good look for the bar itself or anyone involved.
I found this episode to be so utterly cloying and so stupidly-aggravating that I almost wished that Sam and Diane both would disappear at sea or perhaps kill each-other (or something like that) so we wouldn't have to deal with their elementary-school antics anymore. 3/10 is all it deserves.
Chambers vs. Malone (#5.13)
ComedyFan201021 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Diane one day has a feeling that Sam will propose to her, but he never does. At night he talks to her and asks her to stop it, so she starts crying. He proposes but she says "no". Later she gets him to court for assault. They have a trial and the judge makes him propose to Diane and she agrees.
What the hell was that. I am already tired of Diane in this issue so I dislike all episodes that are about it. But this one was even worse. It was very stupid. It made no sense. I couldn't stand Diane even more than I usually do in those stories. And this is how they want to make their proposal happening?Seems like a fail to me.
What the hell was that. I am already tired of Diane in this issue so I dislike all episodes that are about it. But this one was even worse. It was very stupid. It made no sense. I couldn't stand Diane even more than I usually do in those stories. And this is how they want to make their proposal happening?Seems like a fail to me.
BY FAR WORST CHEERS EPISODE
talula106022 September 2019
The consensus among Cheers aficionados, TV critics, and anyone with a brain consider Chambers vs Malone the worst episode in the show's history. Diane had already become insufferable by this point and her welcome had worn out well before this season even began. Here we have her suing Sam to get him to propose and a judge actually forces him to do so. The laughs are few and far between. Diane is just an annoying idiot who is so desperate to get what she wants that she will stop at nothing. That's the key here. She doesn't even necessarily want SAM. She just wants him to give her what she wants: a proposal and eventual marriage. If she were truly in love with him and wanted what's best for him, she would never ever behave the way she did here. However, she realizes she's pushing 40 and has no marriage prospects, her chances at motherhood are close to nil, and her life is pretty much a failure with regard to career opportunities. Therefore, she is trying to turn back the clock and fix some of the mistakes she made. Hence her forcing Sam to propose.
Can you imagine if the wedding had taken place? As Sam realizes later on, they would never have been happy together and it's largely Diane's fault. She could never be happy with Sam, nor could she be happy with someone similar to her (like Frasier). She could never be happy with anyone because she is an insecure, anxiety-ridden person who needs to constantly talk, lecture, and argue to feel like a whole person.
By this point in the series, the writers had no idea what to do with Sam and Diane. They were afraid to abandon the relationship because it was part of the reason the show had such great ratings. They were afraid that without the conflict of the relationship, the show would fail. Boy were they wrong. Cheers saw its highest ratings ever in the Rebecca years. At this point, the jokes were stale, Diane was more annoying than funny, and the audience seemed tired of the same old back and forth between them. Even Shelley Long had grown sick of playing the same old storylines over and over which is part of the reason she left the show. She felt they had said all they could say about her character.
I remember this season when it aired and used to wonder what the big deal was with Sam and Diane. It seemed pretty clear nothing was going to happen and neither Sam nor Diane were my favorite characters to begin with. I always wanted more of Frasier and Norm who were the real comedic geniuses of the show in my opinion. Luckily, Diane's departure allowed for the other characters to grow because there was a lot more room for other stories.
Can you imagine if the wedding had taken place? As Sam realizes later on, they would never have been happy together and it's largely Diane's fault. She could never be happy with Sam, nor could she be happy with someone similar to her (like Frasier). She could never be happy with anyone because she is an insecure, anxiety-ridden person who needs to constantly talk, lecture, and argue to feel like a whole person.
By this point in the series, the writers had no idea what to do with Sam and Diane. They were afraid to abandon the relationship because it was part of the reason the show had such great ratings. They were afraid that without the conflict of the relationship, the show would fail. Boy were they wrong. Cheers saw its highest ratings ever in the Rebecca years. At this point, the jokes were stale, Diane was more annoying than funny, and the audience seemed tired of the same old back and forth between them. Even Shelley Long had grown sick of playing the same old storylines over and over which is part of the reason she left the show. She felt they had said all they could say about her character.
I remember this season when it aired and used to wonder what the big deal was with Sam and Diane. It seemed pretty clear nothing was going to happen and neither Sam nor Diane were my favorite characters to begin with. I always wanted more of Frasier and Norm who were the real comedic geniuses of the show in my opinion. Luckily, Diane's departure allowed for the other characters to grow because there was a lot more room for other stories.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
