Episode: Season 9, Episode 6
Title: Grease
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Brian Pollack and Mert Rich
Air Date: October 25, 1990
Previous: Ma Always Liked You Best
Next: Breaking in Is Hard to Do
Guest Starring: Sheldon Leonard
Title: Grease
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Brian Pollack and Mert Rich
Air Date: October 25, 1990
Previous: Ma Always Liked You Best
Next: Breaking in Is Hard to Do
Guest Starring: Sheldon Leonard
"Grease" is the sixth episode of the ninth season of Cheers.
It's another scorcher in Boston, and as Carla's found out, the minimum security prison chain gang is outside the bar picking up trash. That includes Rebecca's boyfriend Robin Colcord. And naturally, Boston's evilest barmaid is having the time of her life taunting the white collar convicts in her own way.
Elsewhere, Norm's learned some disturbing news: The Hungry Heifer, his favorite eatery, is shutting down. Not one to let this stand, the normally lazy Norm is fired up to save the Heifer.
Guest star Sheldon Leonard, the owner of the Hungry Heifer, played Nick the bartender in It's a Wonderful Life. ("Out! Out you two pixies go!")
Tropes:
- Agony of the Feet: Sam, mocking Robin and Rebecca, manages to stab an off-duty cop in the foot.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Sam puts on an attempt at copying Robin's English accent while dressed up as a prisoner.
- Continuity Nod:
- The last episode with the Hungry Heifer, Norm's favorite artery-clogging steakhouse, which he'd been mentioning from time to time since the Diane years.
- Rebecca talks about having to get rid of her Mercedes, presumably because going from manager of Cheers for Lillian to manager of Cheers for Sam involved a big pay cut.note In Season 7 premiere "How to Recede in Business" Rebecca is talking about buying the Mercedes, and she accepts a humiliating performance plan at Lillian so she can still afford the car.
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: The gang's talk about large restaurant mascots leads to Cliff going on a weird rant about how the Big Boy
is going to have to "get rid of those overalls and get a real job" but Denny will be OK because "Nobody knows what he looks like." Then he notices the others staring at him and says "Oh, sorry, was that out loud?" - The Ghost: While Robin is mentioned, he doesn't put in a physical appearance.
- Heroic BSoD: Norm is nearly catatonic when he enters the bar, after finding out that the Hungry Heifer is closing down.
- Hope Spot: Twice over with Norm and the Heifer. He manages to find a legal reason to keep it open, but at the celebratory dinner he founds out the owner wants it gone. Norm thinks he's talked the man out of it... then smoke starts pouring out of the kitchen.
- Laser-Guided Karma: As Sam is dragged off by a cop to spend a night in jail, Rebecca uses the same song he'd been using to taunt her earlier.
- Lethal Eatery: After the recurring jokes over the years about how terrible the food at the Hungry Heffer is, this turns out to be why the owner is so hell-bent on shutting it down. He's had an attack of conscience, and can no longer go on serving the "food" his restaurant is so infamous for.
- Like a Son to Me: The Heifer's owner says as much to Norm... as a way of talking him into burning down the Heifer so he won't have to. When Norm doesn't, he just finds a new guy and declares him the son he never had.
- Re-Release Soundtrack: In the original broadcast version, Sam taunts Rebecca at the bar by playing the song "I Fought the Law". In syndication and home video, however, a generic rock song is substituted, ruining the joke.
- Shout-Out: Carla says she's going to dress skimpy and wash cars to titillate the prisoners, just like in Cool Hand Luke. (Sumner Sloane called Cool Hand Luke the sweatiest movie of all time in series premiere "Give Me a Ring Sometime".)
- Troll: Carla decides to sexually torment prisoners while they're picking up garbage.
