Recap / Cheers S 7 E 10

Episode: Season 7, Episode 10
Title: Bar Wars II: The Woodman Strikes Back
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Ken Levine & David Isaacs
Air Date: January 12, 1989
Previous: Send in the Crane
Next: Adventures in Housesitting
Guest Starring: Bebe Neuwirth, Joel Polis

"Bar Wars II: The Woodsman Strikes Back" is the 10th episode of the seventh season of Cheers.

It is a dark time for Cheers, as the yearly contest with Gary's Old Towne Tavern looms again. Having been humiliated at every turn, Sam Malone is determined to win this year's Bloody Mary contest, which Gary has won four years in a row.

Obsessed with winning, Sam Malone is determined to hit Gary where he lives. But the fiendish Gary still has many tricks up his sleeve...

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Tropes:

• Bound and Gagged: Woody's attempt to infiltrate Gary's ends with him dangling gagged outside Cheers.
• Brick Joke: Woody's allergy to black cardamom. First, he sneezes explosively and scatters their hard-to-find sample of black cardamom all over the bar. Then he sneezes explosively again and scatters their sample of Gary's Bloody Mary mix, because it has black cardamom in it.
• Casual Kink: The cold open has Lilith telling Carla about her and Frasier's bedroom activities, where Frasier infantilizes and she plays mother. Apparently the sex after that is tremendous. Of course, Carla then decides to tell everyone else at the bar about this...
• Cross-Referenced Titles: All of the contests with Gary's were called some variation on "Bar Wars" (except for the first one, "From Beer to Eternity").
• Exact Words: Fed up with his treatment by the gang, Woody declares if he hears the word "stupid" one more time, he'll quit. Sam says this is stupid, and Woody storms out.
• Fair-Weather Friend: Most of Cheers' clientele leaves to go to Gary's when he mentions the exclusive title fight. The only reason Norm and Cliff don't is because of Carla. Even Frasier goes.
• Foreshadowing: Woody's comment about how he's good at makeup and disguises. He disguises himself as the Bloody Mary contest judge in order to trick Gary.
• Funny Background Event: As Norm is expressing faith in Woody's infiltration of the Olde Towne Tavern, saying he "might pull this thing off", Woody is being lowered, Bound and Gagged, outside the front window.
• Once a Season: One "Bar Wars" episode every year, seasons 6-11.
• Paper Tiger: Apparently Cliff tried threatening Gary about what would happen if he returned to Cheers. Gary just threatened him right back.
• Punny Name: "Bar Wars", so the episode title is named after The Empire Strikes Back. Continuing the theme, the next Bar Wars will be named after "Return of the Jedi".
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Fed up with Sam and Carla calling him stupid, Woody quits to work at Gary's. It all turns out to be an elaborate plan Sam and Woody cooked up to infiltrate Gary's.
• Serious Business: Rebecca plans on sending a stolen sample of Gary's Bloody Mary supply to corporate headquarters to be analyzed.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Cheers does battle with Gary's Olde Towne Tavern once again.
• Spy Speak: Spoofed, Cliff actually does this when Woody goes to spy on Gary's... and no-one has any idea what he's talking about.
• That Makes Me Feel Angry: Sam declares Gary's actions make him mad. Doing so around the Literal-Minded Woody is a mistake.
• Took a Level in Badass: Woody's acting, normally shown to be generally pretty poor. Here, he's able to doing a pretty good acting job as the fake judge of the Bloody Mary contest.
• Too Kinky to Torture: According to Carla, the gang of Gary's could strip Woody naked, paint him red and dump him on a subway, as they did to her. It backfired because they tried it on Carla, and she loved it.
• Unwanted Assistance: Woody's attempt to help Sam's battle of wits with Gary.
• We Are Everywhere: Gary's got people inside Cheers. When Woody tries getting a job at Cheers, one of the bar's patrons says he was there at the time.