Recap / Cheers S 7 E 16

Episode: Season 7, Episode 16
Title: The Cranemakers
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Phoef Sutton
Air Date: March 2, 1989
Previous: Paint Your Chickens
Next: Hot Rocks
Guest Starring: Bebe Neuwirth

"The Cranemakers" is the sixteenth episode of the seventh season of Cheers.

The now pregnant Lilith starts driving everyone insane with her glow, and her constant talk of being mother to new life, causing Frasier to snap at her. Wracked with guilt, Frasier soon turns around. Then he and Lilith decide to go back to nature.

Meanwhile, Rebecca insists Woody, who's never taken a day off in all the years he's worked at Cheers, go on vacation, but Woody proves extremely reluctant.

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Tropes:

• Actually Pretty Funny: Frasier cracks a smile at Carla's shot about him keeping Diane's body walled up in his crawlspace.
• The Bet: The barflies and Carla bet on whether Woody would actually make his flight. Carla wins when it turns out he slept in and missed it.
• Big "SHUT UP!": Frasier screams "SHUT UP!" when Lilith sings "My Funny Valentine" one too many times.
• Dreadful Musician: Another round of the Running Gag of Lilith being a poor singer. Here, she only knows how to sing "My Funny Valentine", and after what's implied to be several hours of that, Frasier snaps and yells at her.
• Epic Fail: Frasier and Lilith decide to go back to nature. They last about a day, when Frasier can't even start a fire.
• Everyone Has Standards: In her constant talk of bringing about new life, Lilith offers to let Sam feel her breasts, which she says are lactating. It's enough to make even a hound like Sam just back away in discomfort.
• Facepalm: Frasier's response to Lilith's endless monologuing about her man's seed. He soon graduates to a double facepalm.
• Granola Girl: The end result of a yuppie like Lilith getting pregnant.
• Hypocritical Humor: Rebecca's reasoning for sending Woody on vacation is because he's under stress. It's pretty clear who's actually suffering more from stress.
  Woody: Why would I want to go on vacaction? What's the point?
  Rebecca: THE POINT IS A HAPPY WORKPLACE!
• I Have This Friend: Sam's friend who bought a truck to drive around the world. He also has an actual friend who has a cabin in Northern Maine, though it doesn't stop Norm asking if the friend bought the cabin to take it around the world.
• Last-Second Word Swap: Rebecca recalls when she vacationed in Italy, describing increasingly raunchy antics. She's in the process of describing ripping off her clothes while plastered when she notices everyone staring, so she suddenly claims she simply changed into choir clothes. Sam remarks she must've been really fun once upon a time.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Norm says he and Vera engage in this should they ever say anything to each other that's considered truly hurtful or insulting. Frasier says such a tactic would result in never spending any time together, which is why Norm thinks it's a great marriage technique.
• Letting Her Hair Down: Notably, Lilith releases the bun and lets her hair down when she goes all earth mother.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After calming down, Frasier is rather apologetic over snapping at Lilith for her constant monologuing about being pregnant.
• Never Heard That One Before: By now, Norm has gotten bored of Sam's story about buying a boat which sank, as has Carla.
• No Sympathy: Sam expresses irritation over no one caring about his boat story, which he insists is a major turning point in his life.
• Not So Above It All: Despite his earlier grousing about Lilith's flowery wording, he is overcome by hearing their child's heartbeat and begins behaving the same way as she did.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Sam cautions Frasier and Lilith about their desire to go back to nature, as a prelude to his story of selling the bar for a boat that ultimately sank. Norm interrupts this, though, to demonstrate everyone is sick of hearing that story.
• Rage Breaking Point: After several minutes of Lilith going on and on in the bar about being pregnant, Frasier (mid-double facepalm) finally snaps at her when she talks about her plans for the placenta.
• Shout-Out:
  • Frasier quotes "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by William Butler Yeats, which is about building a cabin in the woods.
  • Frasier describes mother and child as Kanga and Roo.
• Stealth Insult: When complaining to Lilith, Frasier describes his friends as "People who would like to be my peers." A reaction shot suggests they are aware they've been insulted, if not sure how exactly.
• Tempting Fate: The episode begins with Sam and Carla asking after Lilith, now she's become pregnant. Frasier says there's been some change in her behavior.
  Frasier: But you know Lilith, she's so repressed emotionally, only her husband would notice.
  (Lilith enters)
  Lilith: Lay your hands upon me, everyone. I am life!
  Frasier: Oh, boy.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: The cold open has a lawyer show up at the bar and tell Carla she's the heir to a long lost relative who made a fortune after walking out on his family. Unfortunately, he died years earlier, and his son hid the will that explained this and wasted the entire fortune afterwards, meaning the only thing left of the estate was the relative's lucky quarter.