Recap / Cheers S 8 E 1

Episode: Season 8, Episode 1
Title: The Improbable Dream, Part 1
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Cheri Eichen and Bill Steinkellner
Air Date: September 21, 1989
Previous: The Visiting Lecher
Next: The Improbable Dream, Part 2
Guest Starring: Bebe Neuwirth, Roger Rees

"The Improbable Dream" is the first episode of the eighth season of Cheers.

Sam and Rebecca get back from their first date. As Rebecca searches her cupboards for something drinkable, Sam starts turning on the charm, including the old magic of the Righteous Brothers. Unable to resist "You've Lost that Loving Feeling", Rebecca finally caves, and she and Sam start doing the deed... At which point Rebecca wakes up in the office at Cheers, screaming in horror.

Horrified by her dreams, Rebecca approaches the Drs. Crane for advice on what this dream means. Lilith suggests it means she on some level actually does have an attraction. The Cranes agree to confidentiality, unaware Sam has been listening in the whole time. Naturally, the Hound of Boston starts thinking about how to best make use of this information. On Carla's suggestion, Sam tries to make her go to sleep, so he can trick her into making out with him while she thinks she's still asleep.

His initial attempt only puts the barflies to sleep, and when he goes to put the moves on Rebecca, she figures out that he knows, and reaches new levels of despair that she's dreaming about Sam, a man who has an unbuttoned shirt. Sam points out she hasn't had a physical relationship with a human male in three years. At the end of her rope, Rebecca finally agrees to go out with Sam, rather than waiting for some "Mr. Wonderful" to just walk through the door.

At that exact moment, millionaire businessman Robin Colcord walks through the door, looking for her.

Roger Rees (Robin Colcord) became a recurring character, and the Rebecca-Robin relationship would be a major story arc in Seasons 8 and 9.

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Tropes:

• Bait-and-Switch: What appears in the opening scene to be Sam and Rebecca finally, finally getting together is revealed to be Rebecca's erotic dream.
• Brick Joke: Lilith admits to crushing on "that attractive young man with the wavy brown hair who comes in here all sweated up after bowling". Shortly afterwards, Woody reveals Lilith's not the only one who's noticed him.
• Broken Tears: Rebecca, twice, when Sam points out she's been working in Cheers for three years, and that she hasn't had sex with another man since just before she started working there.
  Rebecca: Has it been that long?
• Brutal Honesty: Lilith lets Frasier know that, while she's married him, even she doesn't have erotic dreams about him.
• Call-Back: Rebecca's weakness to "You've Lost that Loving Feeling".
• Catapult Nightmare: The opening scene of Sam and Rebecca having a romantic moment in her apartment is revealed to be Rebecca's nightmare, when she bolts up from the office couch screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOO!".
• Chekhov's Gun: Sam mentions that he's going to fix the window. Rebecca then tells Frasier and Lilith about her sex dreams, while they sit at one of the front tables—only for the shade to rise up and reveal a gleeful Sam behind the missing window.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Rebecca names one Robin Colcord as a rich man she's crushed on, and is reading an issue of Fortune magazine with him on the front. He shows up for real at the end of the episode.
• Famous, Famous, Fictional: Rebecca mentions Donald Trump, Ted Turner, and Robin Colcord as the sort of rich men she's been attracted to in the past. Robin is introduced as a character in this episode.
• Hypocritical Humor:
  • Frasier is initially unwilling to talk with Rebecca until she hears she's been having sex dreams. Then he's willing to blow off a lunch date for the gossip.
    Lilith: But what about Russell and Pam?
    Frasier: Oh hang, Russell and Pam, they just want to score free psychiatric advice from us. So, go on, Rebecca, tell us about your dream.
  • Sam tells Carla what he knows is not something a man can tell a woman. It's something he can only tell a whole bunch of people.
• Inadvertent Entrance Cue: As Sam and Rebecca are kissing, Sam says "Isn't this better than waiting for some Mr. Wonderful to come walking through that door?" Cue Robin Colcord, knocking on the office door?
• Multi-Part Episode: The first part of a two-part season premiere introducing Robin Colcord.
• Perfumigation: Another gag about Sam's terrible aftershave. He thinks Rebecca's initial hostility is because he bought cheap gas station aftershave, and double-checks with Carla, who confirms she also hates it.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Rebecca to Sam.
  Rebecca: You make. Me. Sick.
• Serious Business: The barflies are engrossed in the eternal struggle of "tastes great" versus "less filling".
• Ship Tease: Another showing of Frasier's unrequited attraction to Rebecca, when he suggests Rebecca's dreams about Sam are just a projection for someone else. Someone married with a child on the way.
  Lilith: Frasier, it's not you. Get over it.