Recap / Cheers S 5 E 18 One Last Fling

Episode: Season 5, Episode 18
Title: One Last Fling
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Cheri Eichen and Bill Steinkellner
Air Date: February 12, 1987
Previous: Never Love a Goalie, Part 2
Next: Dog Bites Cliff
Guest Starring: Joe Holland

"One Last Fling" is the 18th episode of the fifth season of Cheers.

As the wedding day approaches, Diane continues to pester Sam with inane trivialities like what china pattern to use and whether or not they should have monograms on their finger towels. The gang at the bar, observing Sam's mounting irritation, decide to throw him a bachelor party. Unfortunately Woody makes the mistake of asking Diane to be the girl who jumps out of the cake. This backfired horribly when Sam, when presented with the cake, starts stressing out about how he's going to only be having sex with one woman with one perfume and one set of earlobes, for the rest of his life.

In the abbreviated B-plot, Carla goes to traffic school.

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Tropes:

• Fidelity Test: Diane suggests she and Sam both have one day to indulge themselves in "oat-sowing." They both end up spying on the other all night long to make sure they aren't sowing metaphorical oats.
• Jumping Out of a Cake: It backfires when Diane hears Sam complaining about being with only one woman for the rest of his life. She jumps out of the cake, flings some icing in his face, and stalks off in a snit.
• ...Or So I Heard: When Woody brings up the idea of asking Miss Chambers to jump out of the cake, Cliff says that would be like "taking your mother to prom!" After an embarrassing Beat Cliff mutters "Or so I'm told."
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: Woody has a cast on his arm. Frasier asks how he hurt his arm, so Woody goes on a long-winded story about how he was playing pool, and he bet the other guy he could make a trick shot, and he used a bridge, and he leaned over the table...and he made the shot and collected $10, before slipping on the ice and breaking his arm on the way home. When Frasier asks why he told that irrelevant story about playing pool, Woody says that otherwise it wouldn't have been a good story.^note In actually Woody Boyd is wearing the cast because Woody Harrelson broke his arm.
• Stag Party: The gang hosts one for Sam, which goes just fine (drinking, porn tape) until Sam makes some embarrassing remarks as Diane hides inside the cake.
• Unreveal Angle: Naturally, the audience can't see the end of the porn flick that the guys watch on the bar TV.
  Sam: That last scene gave me new respect for rowing machines.
• You're Cute When You're Angry: Sam tries "did I ever tell you how cute you are when you're mad?" when Diane is still steaming the next day. It doesn't work.