Title: Mr. Otis Regrets
Directed by: Andy Ackerman
Written by: Ken Levine and David Isaacs
Air Date: April 19, 1990
Previous: The Ghost and Mrs. Le Bec
Next: Cry Hard
Guest Starring: Bebe Neuwirth, Christine Cavanaugh
"Mr. Otis Regrets" is the 24th episode of the eighth season of Cheers.
A picture in the newspaper of Jeanne-Marie, Robin Colcord's other girlfriend, sends Rebecca into a jealous fury. She prevails on Sam to go to a fancy ball that Robin and Jeanne-Marie will be attending, in order to scope out the competition. Sam agrees, but the ball is canceled due to a burst water main. This does not stop Sam from pretending that he went to the ball and that he and Jeanne-Marie had sex in the hotel elevator. Rebecca, determined to beat her romantic rival, decides that she has to be as good a lover as Jeanne-Marie—and that Sam will help her by demonstrating just how they had sex in the hotel elevator.
There are a couple of B-plots. Woody is looking for a roommate after the rent went up on his apartment. He puts out an ad, which attracts the attention of someone named Terry (Christine Cavanaugh), whom Woody is surprised to discover is a girl. In the other B-plot, Lilith, a terrible singer, is taking singing lessons so she can sing lullabies to little Frederick.
Tropes:
- Chained to a Bed: Rebecca leaves Sam tied to the elevator hand rail, just to embarrass him.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Terry eventually reveals that she is married, and seconds later her very large and violently jealous husband Cutter enters the bar. After Woody identifies Cliff as the man Terry was living with, Cutter chases Cliff around the bar and up to Melville's. (It's vaguely implied that Terry and Cutter have a kinky thing going.)
- Elevator Going Down: Sam's story of sex in the elevator with Jeanne-Marie leads to a determined Rebecca taking Sam to that same hotel and that same elevator, so she can learn to be as good a lover as Jeanne-Marie. Sam doesn't know that Rebecca read in the paper about the burst water main canceling the ball. She leaves Sam in the elevator, half-naked and tied to the rail.
- The Ghost: Another reference to Robin's unseen other girlfriend, Jeanne-Marie from the French consulate.
- Moment Killer: Sam's story of sex with Jeanne-Marie gets Rebecca all hot and bothered, and they are locked in an embrace in the office when Woody sticks his head in to tell Miss Howe that they're out of vermouth.
- Samus Is a Girl: Woody is surprised to discover that Terry, the person who answered his ad for a roommate, is a woman.
- Series Continuity Error: The whole bit with Lilith getting singing lessons is obviously an example of The Cast Showoff where the writers wanted Bebe Neuwirth the Broadway musical star to sing a song. But it ignores how Lilith already showed how good a singer she is in Season 5 episode "Dinner at Eight-ish", where Lilith sings "Our House".
