This episode was inspired by Woody Harrelson's first and only acting job prior to "Cheers": an extra in the movie Harper Valley P.T.A. (1981).
The first part of the title is inspired by the ABC drama Spenser: For Hire (1985). It ran from 1985-1988. Woody claimed that he was in a show that was shot for that series in Boston, and bragging on how he talked to the show's star, Robert Urich.
Was something of an unusual crossover as Cheers was produced by Paramount Television and aired on NBC, while Spenser:For Hire was produced by Warner Brothers Television and aired on ABC. Spenser:For Hire was filmed on location in Boston, and such filming was something of a local phenomenon as portrayed in the episode.
Cheers' location of 84 Beacon Street is a fifth of a mile from the former firehouse at 127 Mount Vernon Street used for Spenser's home from No Room at the Inn (1985) through Hell Hath No Fury (1986). Further, Robert B. Parker started including a map of Boston in Spenser: For Hire (1985) novels in 2007 which shows that Spenser lives in the apartment building at the corner of Arlington Street and Marlborough Street, which is just a tenth of a mile from Cheers.
Sam mentions that the library is 2 blocks down the street. In reality, the Boston Public Library is 5 blocks down the street.