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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: January 30, 1992
PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: Cheers, “One Hugs, The Other Doesn’t” (Season 10, Episode 16) [Stream on Netflix]
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: Previous to 1992, Emma Thompson was an acclaimed British actress whose too-few opportunities to make a name for herself in the United States came in movies directed by her then-husband Kenneth Branagh (Much Ado About Nothing; Dead Again). That year would prove to be a masive breakthrough for Thompson, as her performance in the Merchant/Ivory film Howards End became a critical sensation, sweeping her through awards season and up to the stage to collect her Oscar for Best Actress. But Thompson’s 1992 began with a far more offbeat moment, as she guest starred on an episode of Cheers.
Thompson played Nanette Gustman, the heretofore unknown first wife of Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer). Frasier comes across Nanette when he and his wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) take their toddler son to see celebrated children’s entertainer Nanny G, which just happens to be Nanette’s alter ego. Frasier’s in hot water with Lilith for never telling her about his first marriage. He ends up in hotter water when it turns out that Nanette still isn’t over him.
The rest of the episode plays brilliantly off of two of its strongest cast members: Frasier is weak-willed and unable to push Nannette Away, while Lilith is a fearsome, monotoned woman who ultimately gets sucked into a catfight.
But it is the truly bizarre sight of future Oscar-winner Emma Thompson playing this goofily-dressed children’s entertainer that affords “One Hugs, the Other Doesn’t” its immortal status. We aren’t always fortunate enough to be in the receiving end of Thomson’s gift for comedy, but you’ll find no better comedic instincts or timing than in the way she heaves her way through “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in yet another thinly veiled attempt to lure Frasier back.
Also, not for nothing, but how many TV episodes are going to afford you the opportunity to watch Bebe Neuwirth and Emma Thompson have an all-out brawl?
If this episode had happened even a year later, Thompson probably gets at least nominated for an Emmy. She’d have richly deserved it.
