The Last Time Frasier Saw Sam From Cheers It Got Awkward - And It Didn't Age Well

"Frasier" definitely kept in touch with its Boston roots even before sending the titular psychiatrist back to town for his new sequel series. Frasier Crane's (Kelsey Grammer) ex-wife, Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth), appeared in numerous episodes during the sitcom's original run. He also visits almost every member of the core "Cheers" cast before its conclusion.

A key example of those reunions comes in the form of Sam Malone's (Ted Danson) trip to Seattle — where things got uncomfortable quickly. The visit takes place during Season 2 of "Frasier," during the episode "The Show Where Sam Shows Up." At first, Frasier's former romantic rival takes to Seattle like a duck to water, flirting with an uncharmed Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves) and a more receptive Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin) before seeing the Crane family.

It turns out Sam isn't in town to try out to coach the Seattle Mariners, as he originally told Frasier; he actually needs romantic advice. He'd been planning on marrying a woman, but the eternal bachelor gets cold feet and dumps her in Boston. Frasier scolds Sam and convinces him to go through with the wedding. Sam flies Sheila (Téa Leoni) into Seattle as a pit stop before they head to Hawaii for the ceremony. But Frasier is shocked when he lays eyes on Sam's fiancée; they share a physical past. Sheila then admits that she struggles with sex addiction, and Frasier is left in a quandary. 

This is a plot that's aged poorly for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it blames Sheila for her own condition and insinuates there are limits to the number of sexual mistakes a person can make. And as the episode goes on, it only gets worse and ages even more poorly.

While Sam and Sheila make wedding plans in Seattle, Frasier desperately guards the truth about his relationship with the bride, hoping to keep Sam's marriage plans afloat while staying within his professional boundaries. But it's Frasier's advice to Sam — not their shared affair — that ultimately silences his wedding bells. When Sam tells Sheila he wants their relationship to start with honesty, he confesses to being with a woman six months before their engagement. Sheila, meanwhile, admits she's had sex with two Cheers patrons — Paul Krapence (Paul Wilson) and Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger). It's the revelation that she slept with the pontificating mama's boy Cliff that Sam can't cope with, and ultimately causes him to break off the engagement. 

Sam's inability to note that Sheila's behavior with his friends stems from her condition — and the fact that he refuses to forget her past when he's a notorious lady-killer with a long, long list of exes behind him — has definitely aged this episode's plot like milk. It shows a lack of sympathy on his part, and definitely a lack of professional intelligence or sympathy for an ex-lover of Frasier's. Fortunately, Frasier improves as both a doctor and a friend after this mishap as the series goes on.

Ironically, Sam's episode also addresses several "Cheers" plot points related to Frasier's family that aged badly on that show. Frasier explains that he lied about the death of his father Martin (John Mahoney), and he simply and intentionally refused to mention Niles (David Hyde Pierce) to anyone. If the way those Boston barflies treated Sheila is any sort of example to go by, maybe Niles should be glad that nobody there knows his name.