Airdate: 1/23/86
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| "I don't let other men touch my head." |
Recently unemployed Frasier
is down in the mouth, and down on life, until Diane gets Sam to fake depression
and sexual dysfunction so Frasier can diagnose him and find meaning in life
again. The diagnosis: Sam is still is love with Diane, and until he admits it
to himself and to her he other symptoms will continue. To continue the ruse,
Sam and Diane make up a fake scenario is which the mutually proclaim their love
for one another, but the ruse becomes all too real when they reveal their
bedroom pet peeves about one another, changing the tone from clinical to
emotionally charged. Frasier walks right in on the “denial fest,” and flatly
tells them their mutual but suppressed love for one another has made their
lives a self-loathing hell. Stunned and silent, they can’t exactly disagree –
and that means they agree with each other!
Outstandingly written,
conversation-driven episode unpeels the layers of the Sam/Diane relationship
and adds arbiter Frasier to give it a psychological perspective. Kelsey Grammar
finally gets a chance to shine and show the world a character that more closely
resembles the Frasier of his own self-titled show, which was still seven years
away. It’s his best Cheers to date,
and one of the best overall.
Cold open: Cliff invites Norm
to help paint the house, along with a bunch of other guys; Norm declines but
ultimately agrees, although he wants no mention of it to Vera, since he never
finished painting their house. “How far did you get,” asks Cliff, to which Norm
responds, “I got one of those little hats.”
Norm’s opener: Woody: “What
can I do for you, Mr. Peterson?” Norm: “Elope with my wife.”
Norm’s second opener: Sam: “What
can I get you?’ Norm: “Clifford Clavin’s head on a platter!” (Norm was the only
one who showed up to pain the house.)
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