I Do, Adieu
| "I Do, Adieu" | |
|---|---|
| Cheers episode | |
Sam and Diane's wedding, set in the bar with the bar gang among the guests
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| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 26 |
| Directed by | James Burrows |
| Written by |
Glen Charles Les Charles |
| Original air date | May 7, 1987 (U.S.) |
| Running time | 25 minutes (without commercials) |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"I Do, Adieu" is the fifth season finale of the American television sitcom Cheers, written by Glen and Les Charles and directed by James Burrows. It originally aired on May 7, 1987 on NBC. During the fifth season, Sam Malone (Ted Danson) repeatedly proposes to Diane, and she refuses repeatedly until she accepts engagement in "Chambers vs. Malone" (1987). In the previous episode, "A House Is Not a Home", Sam and Diane bought a house together. Before this episode aired, Ted Danson decided to renew his contract with the show as Sam Malone, while Shelley Long decided to quit the series, which could conclude the on-and-off romance of "Sam and Diane" that went on for the first five years since 1982. Ideas were attempted to write Diane off and to end the story arc, but some ideas were kept in and others thrown out.
In this episode, Diane is offered an opportunity to finish one of her novels. However, she must choose between her talents and her man, Sam. After she becomes persuaded into honing her talents, Diane leaves the job, the bar, the relationship, and the city behind for that. In the 1993 series finale, "One for the Road", Shelley Long makes her special guest appearance as Diane Chambers and the "Sam and Diane" story line is there resurfaced. Meanwhile, with Long's departure, producers of the series made plans to reconstruct the show by introducing a new female lead who does not resemble Shelley Long. Highlights of this episode from reception are Diane Chambers's departure and the end of Sam and Diane's constant on-and-off romance.
Sumner Sloane (Michael McGuire), Diane's ex-fiancé who jilted her in the series pilot, returns to Cheers, surprising bar patrons. Alone in the billiard room, Sumner tells Diane that, against her will, he submitted one of her unfinished manuscripts to one of his colleagues, who praised it, and was sent to publishers. At first, she becomes excited. However, Sumner persuades her to leave everyone and everything behind, including Sam, in order to hone her talents. He warns her that finishing the novel is impossible and that her potentials will be wasted if she marries Sam. Diane tells Sumner to leave the bar and never return again. Unbeknownst to them, Sam overhears this conversation under the pool table whose underneath is covered by drapes.
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