"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.