The Boys in the Bar

Did You Know?

• This episode was nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series at the 1983 Primetime Emmy Awards, but lost to Give Me a Ring Sometime—the pilot episode of Cheers.
• In 1984, it won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay - Episodic Comedy award, along with Give Me a Ring Sometime.
• In 1983, the Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Artists in the Entertainment Industry (AGLA) awarded this episode for its realistic depiction of homosexuals and for Sam's support for homosexuals in the bar.

Plot

Tom Kenderson, a former baseball teammate and longtime friend of bartender Sam Malone, reveals in his upcoming autobiography that he is gay. During a press conference at the bar, Sam—who hadn't read the book beforehand—is taken aback by the news. Diane Chambers helps Sam compose himself, and they talk about Tom. Shortly after, Sam makes a public statement accepting and supporting Tom and his sexuality, which gets covered in local papers.

The following day, while reading those papers, the bar's regulars, including Norm, voice their dislike of gay people. They fear Sam's support might turn Cheers into a gay bar. Diane calls out their homophobia, insisting that gay people are just like anyone else, and mentions that two gay men are currently in the bar. The regulars assume three male newcomers are gay and push Sam to kick them out.

Sam worries about having to choose between his loyal regulars and potential gay customers. Diane draws employees and regulars into an argument about the three men in the billiard room. When the newcomers congratulate Sam on backing Tom, Sam decides not to remove them, wanting to avoid discriminating among his patrons. Norm and the others trick the three into thinking last call is at 7:00 pm and usher them out.

Diane then reveals that the men they ejected aren't gay, and the two gay men are still there. Those two men then kiss Norm on both cheeks.

Production

The episode was written by Ken Levine and David Isaacs, with James Burrows directing. Its plot drew inspiration from the real-life coming out story of former Los Angeles Dodgers player Glenn Burke. Levine aimed to tackle homophobia within a sports bar setting. NBC considered the storyline too risky for Cheers, which was struggling with low ratings during its debut season of 1982–83.

Despite this, production moved forward over five days. Rehearsals went smoothly, with only minor script adjustments that didn't significantly alter the story. The cast rehearsed for the first three days, the camera crew took over on day four, and a live studio audience attended the fifth day of filming. The cast, including Ted Danson who urged Levine not to change a single word, loved the episode.

The crew found it hilarious, especially the cheek-kissing scene at the end. However, according to Levine, the studio audience remained completely silent during filming. This led to a reshoot of the ending, where Norm was given an additional line: "better than Vera," a reference to his wife's kissing. Background actors playing bar patrons included John Furey, Michael Kearns, Kenneth Tigar, Lee Ryan, Jack Knight, and Tom Babson.

Shannon Sullivan and John Bluto appeared as reporters at the press conference. Harry Anderson returned as Harry "the Hat" Gittes in the cold open.

Broadcast and ratings

The NBC episode "The Boys in the Bar" first aired on January 27, 1983, at 9:30 pm, going up against Simon & Simon on CBS and ABC's It Takes Two. It placed 41st among 67 national broadcasts, earning a 14.9 Nielsen rating. Alaskan viewers saw it later, on February 10, 1983, at 8:00 pm AKT. A repeat broadcast on July 28, 1983, at 9:30 pm faced a Simon & Simon rerun and ABC's film Shooting Stars, ranking 25th with a 12.8 rating and a 23 share. The episode returned on January 17, 1985, at 9:00 pm against Simon & Simon and an ABC rerun of Who Will Love My Children?, climbing to 13th place with a 20.4 rating, which represented 17.5 million homes.

Critical reaction

Cory Barker of the website TV Surveillance disdained Norm's comments about homosexuals but called them "honest for the time and circumstances". According to the book What's Good on TV, Sam's concerns about losing regular, anti-homosexual bar customers if Cheers were to become a gay bar is depicted as sympathetic towards regulars and "a practical argument" instead of a "strong moral argument". Stephen Tropiano called this episode "the definite highlight of Season One" in PopMatters and, in the 2002 book The Prime Time Closet, Tropiano called it a moral lesson about judging a person based on appearances.

Nevertheless, Tropiano said that the fictional baseball player Tom Kenderson is typical of gay characters related to a series regular, appear just once, are exploited for delivering a message about homosexuality to the audience, and are then discarded, never to be "seen, heard, or mentioned again". The A.V. Club critics discussed this episode in 2012. Phil Nugent found it unfunny and intended as a message to tolerate homosexuals by making Norm and other regulars appear "ridiculous".

Noel Murray said that the episode's "bifurcated structure" prevented more development for Sam's old baseball teammate, and he found the "stereotypes" of gay men dated. He and Donna Bowman considered it to be more about men securing their own machismo than tolerating homosexuality. Ryan McGee found the studio audience's reactions to this episode ambiguous, especially years after this episode aired.