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Sunday, August 18, 2013

Cheers 6.22: “Slumber Party Massacred”


Airdate: 3/24/88

Carla invites Sam over to her family’s for dinner, in order to stimulate social interaction – something she feels has been lacking lately. But things go from bad.. to hell, when her son-in-law announces he has gotten her daughter pregnant. Now in a deep funk over feeling old before her time, Carla ditches work, dons dark sunglasses and wears a death shroud – the Cheers gang is worried, and so the girls decide to throw her a slumber party. Lilith, Rebecca and Dorothy (Lilith’s best friend – just as cold and analytical as Lilith, and driving Frasier nuts) host the girls nite in, but to no avail – all their smores, hair-styling and “random pranks” fail to lift Carla’s spirits. Not even te boys “crashing” the fun has any effect – but at the very end, Cliff splitting his pants does incite just the faintest…. smile.

Not a bad outing, with the central concept reminding me of Shirley MacLaine’s grandmaternal breakdown in Terms of Endearment. Idea of another Lilith is intriguing but underdeveloped. Sub-sub-plot, about a new TV hooked up to satellite sports cable, is awfully thin too, but the boys placing bets - on how long it takes Woody to figure out that using a videotape to figure out how to set up a VCR is logistically flawed – is pretty darned amusing.

Cold open: Norm takes a rare call from Vera, who asks him where the fire extinguisher is. Norm belatedly realizes it could be because their house is on fire.


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