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I’m not clueless. I know that when it comes to 1980s sitcoms, we have to view them with a different lens. Certain jokes and storylines haven’t aged well and don’t match our modern-day sensibilities. You have to accept that going in or you’re going to give yourself a headache. We can enjoy problematic pieces of media from the past while still acknowledging their flaws.

‘Chambers vs. Malone’ is something else though. The season five Cheers episode is downright disturbing and can be hard to watch. Yes, there are some good jokes in there, and the cast do a great job, but there’s no getting around the unfortunate subject matter. Simply put, in a fit of anger, Sam tries to physically assault Diane. He also toyed with the idea of killing her.

If you haven’t seen the episode, Diane excitedly informs the bar patrons that her female intuition is telling her that Sam will propose to her before the end of the day. At this point in the series Sam and Diane are no longer a couple, so Sam dismisses Diane’s intuition as nonsense.

The end of the night arrives with no proposal, and Sam has a frank talk with Diane about the state of their relationship. He tells her that they will never be a couple again, and she needs to let go of the idea of him proposing. Diane has an emotional breakdown (with some brilliant acting work from Shelley Long), and Sam (feeling emotionally blackmailed) proposes to her. Diane rejects his proposal, which surprises and angers Sam. He fantasizes about receiving the death penalty for killing Diane and then chases her out of the bar.

In 1987, the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon debuted - and all our lives were changed. Watch this reunion of the original voice actors:

Sitcoms have joked about domestic abuse since the days of The Honeymooners, but Sam fantasizing about killing Diane, and then chasing her…well…it’s a bit too dark.

Sam is arrested for assaulting Diane, but the viewer is meant to sympathize with him because he didn’t assault her, he only tried to assault her (as if that makes it better). I could write an entire novel about all the legal inaccuracies in Sam’s arraignment hearing, because there are a lot. In short, Diane reveals that she lied about Sam injuring her (and the judge doesn’t seem to care), and the court tells Sam they’ll drop the charges if he proposes again.

Ted Danson sums up the insanity of the situation in an amusing monologue. “You want me to propose to you. I propose to you. You say no, I say fine, I never want to see you again. You drive me nuts telling me you want me to propose again. I do, you turn me down. Next thing I know, I'm in a court of law where I've got to propose to you or I'll go to jail. It's the classic American love story.”

The episode ends with Sam and Diane in a loving embrace after she accepts Sam’s court-ordered proposal. Sam is no longer angry and wants to marry Diane for real, which seems sweet until you remember that he tried to kill her earlier in the episode.

At its core, the Sam and Diane relationship was toxic. It’s easy to overlook that because Ted Danson and Shelley Long’s chemistry and comedic timing made it endearing, but the events of ‘Chambers vs. Malone’ took things too far. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we need to cancel Cheers. It’s still one of my favorite sitcoms and it deserves its place in television history. However, that doesn’t mean this episode gets off scot-free.

Get your wide-shoulder blouses and your Members-Only jackets, and go back in time with Popverse's Made in 87. Highlights include:

• Marvel Comics killed the X-Men in 1987 to reset the franchise - but it didn’t stick
• The Full House cast addresses some of the series’ biggest continuity errors
• How Spider-Man’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon was saved by a fired Marvel boss — and Ronald McDonald
• How NBC panicked after Diane left Cheers — and why Kirstie Alley’s casting sparked a quiet battle inside the hit show
• How Bart Simpson was quietly toned down from being "so mean" before The Simpsons' first episode, as revealed by his long-time voice actor Nancy Cartwright
• The 1987 Justice League reboot that made superheroes weird, hilarious, and unexpectedly human
• How The Golden Girls became a staple at gay bars in the 80s