A Ditch in Time

There's nothing particularly wrong with this episode, but it's one of the weaker ones from Season Three. It's basically a retread of Any Friend Of Diane's with a twist: instead of a depressed intellectual, Diane's friend is prone to obsessive romantic attachments.

There's very little new ground broken here, and frankly Amanda (Taxi veteran Carol Kane) doesn't seem like Sam's usual type. Even the subplot (Norm's quest for a baby name) is a non starter - although "Sonar is a beautiful name" is an all time Coach line. The final scene - where Diane comes up with a novel way to get Amanda to give up on Sam - redeems things a bit, but this is a dull episode.

An attractive but spooky woman comes into the bar and Sam Immediately gets the hots for her. The thing is that Diane knew her from their being in the same institution together. The woman is obsessive over men and soon Sam is involved in a dangerous situation. It's a well crafted episode. Kane is really good.