Airdate: 2/25/88
Eddie LeBec, Carla’s hubby, has a new job as a penguin. No,
not the sports team, as an Ice-Capades-style character, and he’s doing quite
well at it. So well, in fact, that he wants Carla to fly to Seattle to see him
in action, but she comes up with reason after reason why she can’t. After much
needling, the Cheers crew discerns the answer: she’s afraid of flying, The
solution: a crash course in a psychotherapy group (no pun intended) on
overcoming such a fear, led by none other than Frasier Crane. The course goes
well, and then the final test, an actual flight, tests everyone’s progress, but
the one failing mark belongs to Frasier himself, who starts to believe all the
reasons given by the group members on why they’re afraid. It works for Carla;
she’s on the next Seattle-bound flight. But Rebecca’s a nervous wreck these
days – a highly influential but nasty food critic comes to appraise Cheers, and
wants to take out her out afterwards. Fearing some bedroom quid-pro-quo, she
begrudgingly accepts, but when the review is stellar, everyone thinks she did the nasty, including Evan
Drake.
Airplane story is really the highlight here, and Frasier’s
group therapy fiasco is reminiscent of those conducted on The Bob Newhart Show and a precursor to Frasier’s own show after
the end of Cheers. Seeing him unravel while helping others unraveled around him
is a Frasier trademark, and the comic centerpiece of this episode.
Cold open: Cliff’s test to prove how people believe lies
backfires when he plays the classic whisper game. Not very funny.
Norm’s opener: Woody: “What’s the story, Mr. Peterson?” Norm:
“Bobsey Twins go to the brewery. Let’s just cut to the happy ending.”
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