Sunday, August 25, 2013

Cheers 7.11: “Adventures in Housesitting”


Airdate: 1/12/89

Against her sense of dignity, Rebecca winds up house-sitting for a corporate bigwig, specifically looking after his Doberman. A bit scared being all alone in a big, dark house isolated in the moors, she has mixed feelings when Sammy shows up to keep her company – but just after kicking him out, the dog escapes. The two enlist a search party (the boys at the bar) to look, but only Woody has luck; the problem is, he’s found another identical Doberman, but they wind up using him temporarily when the homeowner returns early. After pulling off the switch – barely – they return to Cheers to find that Woody has kept the other dog. Oh, don’t worry, he’s safe unless he hears a specific word – Cochise – and then he’ll attack. But when Frasier says it... nothing. It’s actually Geronimo, which Cliff finds out the hard way. Carla cals to get the countercommand – but she’s not telling.

Madcap antics, the sort of which the show is fast becoming known for. The heady exchanges are few and far between these days, and so we get the same snappy dialogue, albeit in the service of the old switched dog routine (Meet the Parents used cats instead). Kudos to one clever twist: the code word that the Doberman uses as an attack command. Ya just know someone’s gonna say it, and that dog will lunge. Frasier’s subplot is slight but amusing, in which the psychiatrist can’t stop laughing when picturing his audience naked and only wearing black socks: an anxiety-relief exercise conceived by… Carla!

Cold open: Cliff and Norm exchange old toy train stories, resulting in their beating each other back home to play with one.


No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...