"
Home is the Sailor" is the sixth season premiere of the American television sitcom
Cheers. It originally aired on September 24, 1987 on
NBC. It is also the first episode including the fictional character
Rebecca Howe, portrayed by
Kirstie Alley, as the permanent female lead. It follows "
I Do, Adieu", which was
Shelley Long's last of her regular appearances as the female lead,
Diane Chambers, who also left Boston on the show.