Welcome to a new Wildcard Wednesday! In this entry, I’m celebrating an episode of Cheers that first aired this week in 1989. Produced as the year’s finale but broadcast as its penultimate on April 27, “Sisterly Love” is the installment that guest starred Marcia Cross as Rebecca’s estranged sister Susan, a B-movie scream queen with whom Rebecca has long had a tense, overly competitive relationship. Sam observes this fraught dynamic and decides to play upon their rivalry in the hopes of bedding both, before they unite to pull a horror-movie prank on him, ultimately cementing their reconciliation at his expense. Well, that’s the version we saw.
Originally, Joan Severance was cast in the role of Susan. And Sam’s initial lust for her was supposed to quickly turn into sincere affection, culminating in the pair’s hasty engagement and wedding. Even after warnings from Rebecca about her sister’s pattern of promiscuity and known disinterest in monogamy. This would set up an eighth season where Sam was stuck in a marriage with someone even more cavalier about sex than he — a fun notion, all predicated on the idea of Sam getting a taste of his own medicine, and with added emotional stakes because of her ties to Rebecca, whom the show was still coyly teasing as another potential love interest for Sam. But it’s an innately tricky plot point, for it asks us to believe that Sam, a known Casanova who’s already endured one failed marriage, would meet and marry anyone so quickly, let alone Rebecca’s sister. So, I’ve always been glad that, like the scrapped Season Six finale that allegedly intended to subject Sam Malone to an HIV scare, the show avoided these forced narrative machinations and instead focused on something simpler — more wholly comedic and character-focused. Indeed, “Sisterly Love” was re-conceived, keeping Sam solely motivated by sex — well-aligned with his typical episodic objectives — and thereby sparing itself of the labor necessary to make a big romantic leap emotionally buyable for this perennial playboy.
However, this meant the role of Susan would no longer enjoy her promised arc. Joan Severance thus opted to bow out, leading to Marcia Cross’ casting instead. Now, I’ve always felt Cross was a bit of an odd fit for this role, which is partly why I didn’t spotlight the episode on my best-of lists back in 2016. But I’ve had a change of heart since then; I now think “Sisterly Love” is a strong sample of Cheers because of how well it uses both Sam and Rebecca, and if I were analyzing the series today, it might even be an MVE (Most Valuable Episode) contender. That’s how relatively strong I think it is in its finished form. And, frankly, that would NOT have been the case had the original story been produced, with Severance and this gaudy cliffhanger.
I say that with confidence now because I actually got my hands on David Lloyd’s first draft of “Sisterly Love,” with that famous original story. Keeping in mind that it’s a first draft, I knew it would never be as refined as the aired version in terms of jokes and general flow. However, in terms of story, it fully corroborates what we had assumed: a proposal and marriage is hard to motivate in a half hour. That is, I just can’t buy Sam’s choice to marry Susan so suddenly. Oh, Lloyd does his best. He’s conscious of the characters and their backstories, using their continuity to help justify it. Not only does Sam reference his relationship with his brother (which mirrors Rebecca’s with Susan), but everyone is well aware that he has already been married and divorced. There’s even a reference to his other failed experience at the altar (with “The Stick,” as Carla calls her). So, it’s a game effort. But it’s just not worth the character strain — it’s never logical for Sam to make this decision, especially with so many red flags.
Accordingly, I can now argue with evidence that Cheers was right for turning “Sisterly Love” into a lighter outing — with a self-contained plot that expands our understanding of Rebecca and uses Sam for some deliciously well-motivated character comedy, instead of any overwrought cliffhangers. This episode, and its self-correcting creative process, is but one example of what an exceptional sitcom Cheers always was in terms of quality — and why it still deserves to be regarded as the cream of this art form’s crop. Take a look at this excerpt from the original “Sisterly Love” and glimpse for yourself this fascinating almost-chapter in its rich history.
Come back next week for another Wildcard! And stay tuned Tuesday for more Community!