Teacher's Pet

There is nothing particularly special about this episode, but it's a high point of Season Three. It simply takes a standard sitcom plot and does it very, very well.

Diane is delighted to discover that Sam is going back to school - until she finds out it's high school. Sam -who dropped out to play pro baseball - needs to take one night school course in geography in order to graduate. Coach goes along as moral support, and ends up being at the head of the class. Sam is also doing well - mostly by seducing the teacher.

This is just full of memorable lines ("with probing tongues?" "No, with a thumbtack!"; " Boy, that lady has got a mean mouth on her for a 73-year-old."; "I know what creek you're up.") Diane's scolding of Sam is also hilarious. But what really makes this episode special is Coach's musical tribute to that Balkan country whose chief export is chrome.

As noted in the trivia page, this is the last episode to feature Coach as a main character. Nicholas Colosanto died less than two weeks after this episode aired, and his loss changed the series forever. While there are other, more poignant episodes, this profoundly silly episode is the best way to remember him.