"Coach's Daughter" is the fifth episode of the American television sitcom ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

'', written by

Ken Estin Ken Estin is an American television producer and screenwriter. He has worked on ''Taxi'' and ''Cheers'' and co-created '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' with James L. Brooks''.'' In 1982, Estin won an Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Comedy Series for t ...

and directed by

James Burrows James Burrows (born December 30, 1940), sometimes known as Jim "Jimmy" Burrows, is an American television director. He has received numerous accolades including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards. He was honored ...

. It first aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

on October 28, 1982. This episode guest stars

Allyce Beasley Allyce Beasley ( Tannenberg; born July 6, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as rhyming, love-struck receptionist Agnes DiPesto in the television series '' Moonlighting''. From 2001 to 2007, she was the announcer on Pla ...

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

's daughter, Lisa Pantusso. In this episode, Lisa arrives with her fiancé Roy, who is boorish and obnoxious and rude to her, causing Coach to resent him. When it first aired, this episode scored very low

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

; however, network reruns of this episode improved. Although it did not earn award nominations, it has been praised as a favorite by critics and cast alike, including the late

Nicholas Colasanto Nicholas Colasanto (January 19, 1924 – February 12, 1985) was an American actor and television director. He is best known for his role as Ernie Pantusso in the American television sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982 – 1985). Early life Colasanto was b ...

Plot

Coach Ernie Pantusso's daughter, Lisa, a district manager of her company, arrives with her fiancé Roy, a door-to-door salesman who works for her company but turns out to be abrasive and insensitive.Lisa personally characterizes Roy during her conversation with Coach in the office. Repulsed by Roy's obnoxious, boorish personality and insults toward people, including Lisa, Coach finds Roy not good enough for her. However, Coach is too reluctant to tell her about Roy because she appears to like him and wants her father's blessings. To make matters worse, at Melville's restaurant, Roy forces her to pay for dinner herself, angering Coach. Unable to keep silent, Coach escorts Lisa into an office and openly refuses to let Lisa marry someone who treats her badly, like Roy. Lisa admits that she knows this about Roy and that Roy wants to marry her merely for business reasons. Then Lisa reluctantly tells Coach that, despite all that, she wants to have a family of her own, that Roy is the first man in her life to propose, but she fears will be the last. Coach, shocked with disbelief, tells her that she's "beautiful", but Lisa objects and begs him for one moment to look at her and see what she really is. Coach then realizes and tells Lisa how much she resembles her mother,Coach's wife died before the show premiered in 1982. who Lisa said was not "comfortable about her wnbeauty." Coach tells Lisa that she is more beautiful every day, regardless of her appearance, just as her mother was more beautiful every day. Lisa, feeling self-confident from her talk with Coach, tells Roy that she does not want to marry him because she finds him "more and more obnoxious." Roy vows that he will be "gone" as he exits the bar. Lisa prepares to celebrate her freedom from Roy with Coach, as they leave the bar. Meanwhile,

Diane Chambers Diane Chambers is a fictional character in the American television situation comedy show ''Cheers'', portrayed by Shelley Long and created by Glen and Les Charles. She is one of two main protagonists in the first five seasons of the series. A ...

draws sketches of people, but her efforts show no resemblance to their subjects.

Production

Ken Levine remarked that the whole audience laughed during the filming of an office scene between Coach and his daughter at the end of the episode. It was reshot but the audience still laughed. Glen and Les Charles decided to lift the laughter from the office scene, so it is not heard in the final cut.Levine, Ken. "". ''...by Ken Levine'' April 24, 2011. Web. June 8, 2012. Archived from th
original
Before portraying Tim—a minor recurring character—in multiple episodes, Tim Cunningham portrays Chuck, who works at the lab that mutates viruses. Jacqueline Cassel and Teddy Bergeron are credited as a couple, to whom Diane shows her botched artwork.

Reception

Ratings

This episode first aired on

on October 28, 1982, at 9:00pm

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

(8:00pm Central/

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

), competing against

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

's ''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...

'' and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's ''

Too Close for Comfort ''Too Close for Comfort'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from November 11, 1980, to May 5, 1983, and in first-run syndication from April 7, 1984, to February 7, 1987. Its name was changed to ''The Ted Knight Show'' ...

'',October 28, 1982. "Television Schedule", Calendar section (Pt. VI), p. 10. and landed on No. 66 out of 75 nationally broadcast prime time programs with an 11.0

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...

.November 4, 1982. "Television Ratings", Calendar section (Part VI), page 12. A rating is based on 83.3 million households with at least one television set. In

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, it aired on November 11, 1982, at 8:00pm AKT. This episode subsequently aired on NBC on March 10, 1983, at 9:30pm ET/PT (8:30pm CT/MT), competing against ''Simon & Simon'' and '' It Takes Two'',March 10, 1983. "Television Schedule", Calendar section (Pt. VI), p. 8. and landed on No. 42 out of 72 nationally broadcast programs with the 14.8 rating.March 17, 1983. "Television Ratings", Calendar section (Pt. VI). A rating is based on 83.3 million households with at least one television set. It aired again on NBC on July 7, 1983, at 9:30pm ET/PT (8:30pm CT/MT), competing against a rerun of ''Simon & Simon'' and ABC's two-hour television movie, ''The Last Ninja'',"Television Schedule".
''

Spokane Chronicle The ''Spokane Daily Chronicle'' is a daily digital newspaper in Spokane, Washington. It was founded as a weekly paper in 1881 and grew into an afternoon daily, competing with '' The Spokesman-Review'', which was formed from the merger of two c ...

'' July 7, 1983: 16. ''

Google News Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web. Google ...

''. Web. June 8, 2012. and landed on No. 21 out of 66 nationally broadcast programs with a 12.9 rating and 23 share."NBC Wins Nielsen Race". ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' July 13, 1983: 12A. '' NewsBank''. Web. June 8, 2012. Document no. 8302240139. . Article at MiamiHerald.com: . A rating is based on 83.3 million households with at least one television set, and a share is a percentage of viewership within a specific period.

Critical reaction

Reviews have been positive. It is considered one of the favorites of cast and crew who were involved with this episode, including Allyce BeasleyKing, Susan
"With An Eye On...: The Beast In Beasley Finally Emerges In 'The Tommyknockers'."
May 9, 1993. Web. June 8, 2012. and especially the late Nicholas Colasanto.

George Wendt George Robert Wendt Jr. (October 17, 1948 – May 20, 2025) was an American actor. Wendt was best known for playing Norm Peterson on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' from 1982 to 1993, which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Em ...

and

John Ratzenberger John Dezso Ratzenberger (born April 6, 1947)About John
from Ratzenberger's official website is an Americ ...

—who portrayed

Norm Norm, the Norm or NORM may refer to: In academic disciplines * Normativity, phenomenon of designating things as good or bad * Norm (geology), an estimate of the idealised mineral content of a rock * Norm (philosophy), a standard in normative e ...

and

Cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

, respectively—considered it one of their personal favorites, mainly because of the office scene between Coach and his daughter.Jefferson, Graham.
As Cliff and Carla wrap up on `Cheers' // Ratzenberger: From bar to barbershop
" ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' May 5, 1993: D3. ''

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for l ...

''. Web. June 8, 2012. . Article at USAToday.com: .Harris, Mark.
Cover Story: Cheers!
''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' October 26, 1990. Web. June 8, 2012. R.D. Heldenfels from ''The Sunday Gazette'' called the office scene "poignant."Heldenfels, R.D.
`Human comedy' made `Cheers' endearing.
''TV Plus'' at ''The Sunday Gazette'' chenectady, New YorkMay 16, 1993: 3. ''

''. Web. June 8, 2012. Robert Bianco of ''

The Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'', formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'', was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for over a century, from 1884 to 1992. At the height of its popul ...

'' praised this episode as one of his favorites and called its office scene between Coach and his daughter "tender". Record no. at '' NewsBank'': 9001080362 . Many reviewers at ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' agreed that the scene between Coach and his daughter at the office is the most redeeming part of the episode, but they have mixed feelings about the rest of the episode. Ryan McGee found this episode too draggy and found Coach's daughter—Lisa—underdeveloped. Meredith Blake found this episode "underwhelming". Others praised this episode overall, including moments outside the story of Coach's daughter. Erik Adams observed that Coach can immediately sense a bad aspect about Roy, even when he is a "simpleton".Reviews of "Coach's Daughter".
''

'' December 1, 2011. Web. June 8, 2012.

Aftermath

Glen and Les Charles Brothers Glen Gerald Charles (born February 18, 1943) and Les Charles (born March 25, 1948) are American screenwriters and television producers, best known for working on ''Taxi'' and co-creating ''Cheers''. Early lives and careers The Cha ...

wanted this episode Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, but Ken Estin, writer of this episode, declined. (Estin was working simultaneously on ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

'', and as he was permitted only to submit one episode to the nominating committee for consideration, he submitted a ''Taxi'' script instead.) Before appearing as a receptionist for a fictional detective agency in the television show, ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

'', Allyce Beasley had not found other roles for one year after this episode, according to Beasley herself.Carter, Alan
"Future's Bright for Allyce Beasley."
''

Evening Independent The ''Evening Independent'' was St. Petersburg, Florida's first daily newspaper. The sister evening newspaper of the '' St. Petersburg Times'', it was launched as a weekly newspaper in March 1906 under the ownership of Willis B. Powell. In Nove ...

'' t. Petersburg, FloridaJune 10, 1986: 5B. ''

''. Web. June 8, 2012.

In popular culture

This episode is referenced in the novel ''

American Gods ''American Gods'' (2001) is a fantasy novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana (culture), Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shad ...

'' by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

. In the novel, the main character is revealed to have watched this episode, particularly the office scene between Coach and his daughter. Later, gods contact him by controlling Carla, Cliff, and Diane via broadcast of this episode.

References

;From this episode ;''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' ;Other sources Bjorklund, Dennis A. "Season One: 1982-83." ''Cheers TV Show: A Comprehensive Reference''. Praetorian Publishing, 1993. 285. ''

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

''. Web. June 8, 2012. Snauffer, Douglas.
Cheers
" ''The Show Must Go On: How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected the Television Series''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2008. 54. ''

''. Web. June 8, 2012.

External links

* *
Coach's Daughter
at

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{{Cheers 1982 American television episodes Cheers episodes Television episodes directed by James Burrows