Show Down: Part 1

Looking back, it's fairly obvious that the answer to the most famous modern "Will They Or Won't They" would be "They Will," but it wasn't a certainty at the time. With part one of this two parter, we finally realize that the first season has been leading up to this moment.

This time, the Guy who Walks Into A Bar is Derek Malone, Sam's too-good-to-be-true brother. The mysterious Dreek sounds like Diane's description of her ideal man from The Coach's Daughter: "Very intelligent. Very well educated. Perhaps even over-educated, if there is such a thing. Not particularly athletic, perhaps even clumsy, but charmingly so. Blond, blue-eyed, with a Byron-like innocence." In other words, as Sam points out, a male version of Diane. For a guy whom we never see, Derek has a large impact on the bar: he helps Norm get a new job, he teaches Coach Spanish, and he charms the socks off a certain blonde waitress. Sam is annoyed at being upstaged by his brother, but it's the last one that really bothers him.

This is a top notch episode, with good contributions from all the cast (Cliff, still just a guest star, has a bit less to do). The only thing keeping it from being a perfect episode is that it's all really leading up to the next one...

A really perfect two part conclusion of the first amazing season. Loved that we never saw Derek's face it led to his mystique because we know that no one could compare to Sam anyway.

When Sam's brother Derek, the Renaissance man, shows up, Sam is totally second place. The guy can do anything. He draws crowds wherever he goes. But in the end, it's Diane who is the prize. Sam finally admits his feelings for Diane to Carla, who has jetted off with Derek. Good setup for the finale of Season 1.