Diane vs Rebecca

[WendyCR72]

14 hours ago, Inquisitionist said:

Interesting that both Dryer and Duffy guest-starred in the first season on Cheers (and Dryer returned a few times)

I theorize Dave was sort of a consolation prize for Dryer, as I believe he was the most immediate runner-up to Danson. But it all worked out since NBC must have liked Fred Dryer enough since he ended up on Hunter for seven seasons. So it all seemed to work out.

[VCRTracking]

To me the most interesting thing isn't either women's relationship with Sam but with the other characters. Diane's one true ally in the bar was Coach. He was her only friend and even though Diane is thought of as being a "snobby intellectual" she was always kind to the very, very dim Ernie Pantusso.  Their friendship was so sweet. He's the real reason she would continue to work there.

With Rebecca, her friend was Norm. He's the first person in the bar she befriended and was able to open up to and show she wasn't this cold person.  Through him she was able to get along with the others. What connected the two to me was they were the biggest "losers" in the bar and while Norm had accepted it, Rebecca was always in denial! I love the episode where he paints Mr Drake's bedroom, Rebecca's boss who she's madly in love with and she gets stuck in his bedroom closet while Mr. Drake is sleeping so Norm has to figure out how to get her out!

Edited February 3, 2018 by VCRTracking

[Peace 47]

On 1/10/2018 at 12:40 PM, Dee said:

Wasn't Bebe Neuwirth also critical of the rest of the cast's lack of discipline regarding rehearsals?

I remember reading that a few years ago:  it was the reason she wanted to be written off as a regular, wasn’t it?  She couldn’t take how lax the shooting process had gotten, where she would be on time and prepared for rehearsals, and others (including Kelsey) were not.

Since seasoned pros like Ken Levine and the Charles brothers defend Shelley but acknowledge that her process was a bit maddening, I’m guessing that the truth is that she was more high maintenance than most sitcom stars, but that the whole situation was exacerbated by working with costars who were more lax than average.

I love Rebecca from a comedic standpoint, but I love Diane for Sam, and I’m sad that they never got together.  I’ve been watching some of their romantic arc episodes on Netflix.  I know that they drove each other crazy at times, but how they were written to find their way back to each other over and over leaves me thinking that they were truly in love, despite what Ken Levine says about them being fundamentally wrong for each other because they were so different

I watched “Chambers v. Malone” recently, and I thought I would absolutely hate it because it has an outmoded joke running through it of domestic violence between Sam and Diane (played for laughs all the way).   And it is outdated in that respect, but when Sam is in the courtroom, looking completely fondly at Diane as she removes her neck brace and breaks down her cane, I thought it was very sweet how he basically had this realization that their relationship is kind of insane, but he knows for sure that he doesn’t want anyone else.  It’s written all over his face that he’s completely committed to her at that point, and I think he gets why the other proposals didn’t work and why this next one will.  That relationship adds a little something extra that I guess would make me choose Diane at the end of the day.

[cpcathy]

I so agree with your assessment of Chambers vs. Malone. I love the Sam and Diane relationship, and there are so many wonderful, unspoken moments that give you so much into the characters. Ted really tells us how much Sam loves Diane in his wordless acting (note the first season how much he is observing her). An example for Shelley is  Strange Bedfellows, the episode where Sam's polititian girlfriend Janet who pressures him into firing Diane. Diane is eavesdropping to their conversation in the bar, and the emotions Shelley portrays are so honest, you can even see her chest heaving up and down in panic and dismay.

Edited February 5, 2018 by cpcathy

[Sara2009]

I’m sort of torn about Sam and Diane. I agree that they truly love each other, but I can also understand the argument that they’re too different to sustain a relationship.

[Gothish520]

On 1/12/2018 at 12:38 PM, Inquisitionist said:

 BTW, the third pairing that auditioned was William Devane (whom I've never found appealing in anything) with Lisa Eichhorn, who works a lot in TV but has never made much of an impression on me.  Interesting that both Dryer and Duffy guest-starred in the first season on Cheers (and Dryer returned a few times), but neither Devane nor Eichhorn ever did.

He is mostly a dramatic actor, but he was funny and kind of cute as Fred Savage and Rob Lowe's father in the 2015/2016 sitcom The Grinder. I don't see him as Sam Malone though.

[Crs97]

On 2/5/2018 at 3:25 PM, cpcathy said:

I love the Sam and Diane relationship, and there are so many wonderful, unspoken moments that give you so much into the characters. Ted really tells us how much Sam loves Diane in his wordless acting (note the first season how much he is observing her). An example for Shelley is  Strange Bedfellows, the episode where Sam's polititian girlfriend Janet who pressures him into firing Diane. Diane is eavesdropping to their conversation in the bar, and the emotions Shelley portrays are so honest, you can even see her chest heaving up and down in panic and dismay.

In the Chambers v Malone episode, watch Diane’s expression when the judge convinces Sam to propose again.  She so wants him to but is afraid he won’t.  Her eyes get me every time.  Their chemistry was off the charts.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Crs97

[annzeepark914]

I'll take Doi-ann over Rebecca any day. The dialogue given to Diane was so crisp and articulate and she knew how to deliver it.  Where did all the great writers go?