Title: Veggie-Boyd
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Dan Staley and Rob Long
Air Date: November 22, 1990
Previous: Bad Neighbor Sam
Next: Norm and Cliff's Excellent Adventure
Guest Starring: Bebe Neuwirth
"Veggie-Boyd" is the tenth episode of the ninth season of Cheers.
Woody's managed to get himself an acting gig in a commercial, and he's nervous about getting his part right. Said part consists of saying nothing more than "I like it." But this is Woody we're talking about, so he needs some of the gang to give him moral support. The drink, by the way, is a health food drink called "Veggie Boy".
Woody successfully manages to do the ad, but suffers guilt from lying about a drink he doesn't actually like, and the guilt begins to eat away at his soul. Fortunately, Dr. Frasier Crane is on hand to help Woody overcome his problems with... hypnotism! Unfortunately, the minute Frasier's done, it turns out Veggie Boy has already managed to go belly up, leaving Woody with no way of getting more of a drink he's now firmly convinced he likes more than life itself.
Meanwhile, the bar's gotten an influx of napkins which mention interesting bits of trivia, much to the upset of Cliff Clavin, who feels this is his territory.
Tropes:
- All Psychology Is Freudian: Naturally, Freud fanboy Frasier suggests Woody's aversion to kale is the result of some childhood trauma. Lilith, a behaviorist, scorns the idea and mocks Frasier for clinging to outdated notions.Frasier: What are you saying?
Lilith: Merely that his theories are outdated, sexist superstitions unsupported by a shred of clinical evidence. - Big Eater: Norm. As he's asked to leave the recording studio, he takes two boxes of donuts with him. When Sam's similarly removed a moment later, Norm asks him to bring a third.
- Call-Back: As seen twice before, Woody is extremely susceptible to hypnotism.
- Cannot Tell a Lie: Oh, Woody... just saying he likes a drink for the purposes of a TV ad sends him into a downward spiral of melancholy and self-loathing.
- Gone Horribly Right: Frasier uses hypnotism to cure Woody of his dislike of kale. All well and good, now Woody is free of his crippling guilt. But then Veggie Boy is cancelled, and Woody starts jonesing madly, refusing to calm down and storming out of the bar, determined to make his own Veggie Boy if need be.
- Hypno Fool: When Lilith mocks him for using hypnosis, Frasier reveals that he has hypnotized her as a prank and now involuntarily performs certain actions whenever some keywords are uttered. "Brie cheese" makes her take off her shoes; "tambourine" makes her unbutton her shirt (which the gang has fun with by playing "Tambourine Man" on the jukebox); and, as a Brick Joke, when Woody says "tractor" at the end of the episode, she starts belting out "Tomorrow".
- It Tastes Like Feet: Frasier takes a sip of Veggie Boy, and bitterly tells the bar "kale was not a good choice". Might explain why it's not even on sale for a week before getting cancelled.
- Little Known Facts: The bar napkins, which unlike Cliff's are considered interesting by the bar.
- Manchild: Cliff gets into a sulk over the napkins, destroying snack goods in the recording studio as "revenge" for being spurned. He sinks even lower when he tries replacing them with his own, poorly made substitute in a desire to get "his" reputation back.Frasier: This isn't a napkin, this is a cry for help.
- Screw Your Ultimatum!: Upset over the napkins, Cliff angrily declares that everyone must chose between him or them. He's met with thundering silence, and mutters they could probably alternate.
- Shout-Out: Carla makes fun of Quincy, M.E. when it plays on the bar TV.
- Your Television Hates You: Rebecca flips the channel on the TV, but every channel has Woody's ad. Woody nearly goes mad hearing himself say "I like it!" over and over and over and over...
