Money Dearest

When Cliff finds out that an elderly rich man is enjoying Cheers, he decides to introduce him to his mother. Cliff figures he will eventually cash in. It starts to work out when the old guy falls for Mom. Sam lets the cheapskate Cliff use the bar after hours for a bachelor party. What ensues shows that Cliff is not the luckiest guy in the world.

Once again a rich guy is the life of the party. "Fitzie" is a nice enough guy, but he seems to be a retread of Eric Finch/Thomas Hilliard III or Malcolm Kramer. The real problem with this episode is Cliff. While he's arguably doing something good (finding someone for his dear lonely mother), he's doing it for the wrong reasons. For the first (but not last) time a bar-only episode feels like it's missing something.

This is, of course, the first appearance of Frances Sternhagen as Ma Clavin. Having someone play a character who has been mentioned but unseen is a risky move, but Sternhagen brings a patrician stuffiness that works. The character will become more annoying in later episodes, but then again, so will everybody else...