User Reviews

A Britisher comes in wearing a stylish garb, remindful of the movies of the forties. He bends the ears of the patrons and convinces them he is a spy. Except for Diane. She reveals the truth but crushes him a cruel way. Soon he returns and she is devastated by her insensitivity. He then convinces her he is a poet. Of course, he falls for this. Back and forth. Back and forth. Nicely done episode.

In TV parlance, a "Bottle Show" is an episode of a series which takes place in a single location, almost as if the characters were on a "Ship In A Bottle." For its first season Cheers was practically a Bottle Series, never leaving the bar and rarely venturing outside the main bar set. This episode takes that to an extreme, running in almost real time.

The title character is Eric Finch, who lets slip to Carla that he might just be a spy. Finch regales the gang with stories of his adventures in such exotic locales as Norway and Bulgaria, until Diane, ever skeptical, calls his bluff. Chastened, Finch leaves the bar, only to return for Act Two, where he claims to be something that appeals to Diane...

This is a clever episode in which every regular gets their moment to interact with the mysterious Mr. Finch. The ending veers off in a completely new direction, and we're still not sure what to think of him. This is why we watch this show - because the writers and actors know the characters so well they can throw anything at them and it will be funny. Also, it's a Christmas episode without being sappy about it.