by Hal Erickson
synopsis
After a tumultuous five-year relationship, Sam (Ted Danson) and Diane (Shelley Long) are ready to exchange marriage vows. But on the day of the wedding, who should show up but Sumner Sloane (Michael McGuire), the ex-beau who "deserted" Diane at Cheers five years earlier. Announcing that he's had an offer to expand one of Diane's class papers into a novel, Sloane begs Diane to accompany him to a publisher -- immediately. Although fans of Cheers were fully aware that this, the final episode of the series' fifth season, also marked the farewell appearance of Long, the actual outcome of the story was one of the best-kept secrets of 1987, thanks to the producers' strategy of filming a false ending in front of a live studio audience.
