When Cher Turned Back Time on 'Will & Grace'

"Gypsies, Tramps and Weed," a third season episode of Will & Grace that aired on Nov. 17, 2000, had everything: a silly psychic (played by actress Camryn Manheim) who made some bold predictions for Will's future; a new assistant for Grace's design company with a hidden agenda; and their friend Jack's maniacal insistence on bringing his Cher doll to join the three of them for dinner.

Oh, yeah: it also featured a hilarious cameo from the legendary singer/actress herself.

Of course, Jack (played by Emmy winner Sean Hayes) is too blind to realize he's talking to his heroine, mistaking her for a drag queen and giving critiques on her "performance." Not even a spontaneous belt of the chorus to "If I Could Turn Back Time" can convince him - no, it takes a slap on the face and a command to "Snap out of it!" that turns on the lightbulb...at which point Jack promptly faints.

Even for the star-studded sitcom, getting Cher - in the middle of another incredible comeback thanks to 1998's Believe - was a huge coup. It was also kind of a secret triumph for the show. "I wasn't sure about Cher's [appearance]," co-star Megan Mullaly, who plays Grace's assistant Karen, said in 2004. "They flew her in. Like, she was sort of dropped in on a crescent moon, she did the scene, and was, like, airlifted back out."

Equally impressive was the doll, which happened to be a real prototype for something Mattel (the makers of Barbie) were preparing at the time. Fans could log onto a website after the episode and sign up for updates on how to purchase the real Cher doll. (Series co-creator Max Mutchnik kept the one used in the episode.)

READ MORE: Never Can Say Farewell: Remembering Cher's Living Proof Tour

And it wasn't the last time Cher would appear on the series. In 2002, she made another appearance on the fourth season finale playing - who else? - a vision of God in a dream sequence of Jack's.