Don't be ridiculous, Les. Myles isn't a Russian spy. He's a Nova Scotian terrorist.

I'll echo other sentiments that, while being aware of Cavett and seeing clips of him, his presence didn't *mean* much for me coming about to TV well after Cavett was past his prime (he was, as everyone has noted, remarkably bland). And the episode as a whole isn't stellar either, but damn if I don't love two…

This is interesting. I hadn't thought about looking for that, generally given the conversation about episodes being self-contained but life also going on in between episodes (Norm's ups and downs, for instance). But now that you've said it, it will be all I notice for the remainder of the season. ;)

I hold portions of Friends in a higher regard than zeppomarxist seems to, but I think the idea of dragging it out too long is key here. While, yes, Julie feels a better fit for Ross in the early going, it's certainly believable I think that Ross and Rachel could've gotten together.

Exactly! I don't know that he'll break into my favorite character spot (I love you, Frasier and Norm!), but I'm certainly upset with Past Noel for not liking Coach at all, even going so far as to flip the channel if Coach was on the episode. (Damn you, syndication bias!)

If I remember correctly, the cold opens were often written by the younger writers in the room to help cut their teeth on the show, practice comedy writing, and so on. But it's a testament to the folks they hired because, yes, the cold opens for Cheers are almost always little treats, wonderfully self-contained gags. 

I have to echo Noel's comments about Colasanto's value on the show. Having only seen the show in syndication, the odds of catching a Coach episode were slimmer than they were for catching a Woody episode, and never really liked Coach episodes as result.

Just means the researchers significantly increased Ein's intelligence. The show doesn't play this aspect up too often, so it's not something to worry about.

Looking forward to more
Pleased to see The TV Club covering one of the finest animated series in a while.