The show never quite recaptures those special qualities that made Season One so likeable, but for me, the real turn — in look and tone and overall feel — is from Season Two to Season Three. The two-parter opening the latter season is when the show does become more polished, seeming to lose much of the stage-like…

If you are referring to the episode "Norman's Conquest" (later in Season Two, where the barfly guys pressure Norm to engage in extramarital relations when the opportunity presents itself w/ a new client), I quite agree—in fact, I view that Sam/Norm scene as doing for Norm what the now-much-discussed Norm/Cliff scene…

I'm actually disappointed we'll have to wait an additional week before the next review, because I've been specifically looking forward to seeing what people think about the Norm/Cliff scene at the end of that episode. For me, it's one of the best in the series, brilliantly walking the line between comedy and pathos in…

The tea-to-boilermakers scene had the feel of a pre-existing routine. If this episode were a comedy made in the 1930s, I'd assume it was a vaudeville chestnut perfected by those women after years on the stage.

Some of the reviewers' nitpicks are indeed annoying, especially when they stem from an apparent inability to fully process even the slightest difference in gender attitudes between the early 80s and the present day, most of which are taken too seriously.

On a similar note, perhaps my favorite thing about Season One is the way Norm's unemployment is treated as a mini-arc, refered to by various characters over the course of several episodes. There is something about asking someone how their job search is going that feels more "real" than sitcoms usually get.

Cliff's long been my favorite character, even though I'm of the opinion the writers carried his more pathetic qualities a little too far in later years.