Title: Breaking in Is Hard to Do
Directed by: Andy Ackerman
Written by: Ken Levine and David Isaacs
Air Date: November 1, 1990
Previous: Grease
Next: 200th Anniversary Special
Guest Starring: Bebe Neuwirth, Roger Rees, Paul Willson, Phil Perlman
"Breaking in Is Hard to Do" is the seventh episode of the ninth season of Cheers.
This episode has two plots. In the first, the Cranes have received some devastating news. Their son Frederick is 11 months old and has yet to say his first word, which indicates that he is, intellectually... average. The hyper-intelligent, over-educated Frasier and Lilith are shocked and aghast at the news that their son may not be an intellectual genius. They decide that to nurture Frederick's development, one of them has to stay home to parent him rather than working. But who?
In the second, Rebecca receives a naughty letter from Robin Colcord, who is still in prison. Rebecca herself is feeling rather horny, considering that she was celibate for three years before a "two-month window of sex" was slammed shut with Robin's arrest. Egged on by Carla (who is excited by the very idea of being alone with a bunch of sex-starved convicts), Rebecca hits on a very un-Rebecca idea: she will visit Robin in prison, take him behind the bushes, and have sex.
There's also a C-plot in which Norm complains about newly-installed parking meters up on the street outside Cheers.
Tropes:
- Baby's First Words: Frederick, of course, has not said his. Here's how the episode ends, as an enraged Lilith rants at Frasier over taking Frederick to Cheers.Frasier: I thought Frederick might enjoy himself.
Lilith: Enjoy himself in a bar? He's 11 months old! What kind of values can he learn here?
Frasier: Well, I, I thought the place had a lot to offer.
Lilith: Oh please, he'll never learn to speak in this environment!
Norm: (entering the bar after feeding the meter) Afternoon, everybody.
Frederick: NORM!
(Beat. Everyone stares in astonishment.)
Lilith: Aww, he said "mommy"! - The Bartender: Sam is one, but it's lampshaded in this episode. Lilith, stressing about Frederick, sits down in front of Sam and asks for a drink.Lilith: Query. If I had a problem and needed to talk to someone about it, would it be perpetuating a stereotype to actually select a bartender?
- Chekhov's Gag: Norm's C-plot of having to constantly get up to feed the meter and re-enter the bar. Frederick hears "NORM!" so many times that he ends up saying it, making for his first word ever.
- Corrupt Politician: At Robin's country club prison, a Congressman Bailor is hosting a cookout for his buddies.
- A Day in Her Apron: Actually Lilith didn't wear the apron, they farmed the apron out to a housekeeper. But when Frasier takes the reins of looking after Frederick and proves to be better at it than Lilith does, Lilith feels guilty.
- Epic Fail: If Frasier is to be believed, Cliff somehow lost a game of darts to Frederick (an 11-month-old child).
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Lilith asserts that Frederick could never possibly learn to talk by being in the bar. One Norm entrance later leads to a very memorable example of Phrase Catcher.
- It's All About Me: Rebecca's plan for sex behind the bushes fails, when Robin refuses. He points out quite reasonably that while the jail is a pretty cushy place, there is a rule against conjugal visits. Robin has a parole hearing in a month but if he's caught knocking boots with Rebecca he's guaranteed to be incarcerated for at least another year. Rebecca, being Rebecca, throws a fit, saying "Well what about my needs?"
- Oh, Crap!: Frasier when Lilith finds out he's been bringing Frederick to the bar.
- Phrase Catcher: Norm so much so as a result of having to feed the meter that "NORM!" ends up being Frederick's first word.
- Poor Man's Porn: Woody completely misinterprets Rebecca's comment about her "two-month window of sex", saying that his brother was in the Army and used to visit Amsterdam where there was "a window of sex on every block." Woody saved those letters... and he loaned them to Cliff.
- Prison: Rebecca goes there to have sex with Robin, while Carla is the focus of attention for all the other jailbirds.
- Series Continuity Error: Norm is complaining about newly installed parking meters on the street. Just four episodes earlier, in "Rebecca Redux", Carla asks Sam to go feed her parking meter.
- Shout-Out: Norm gives Frederick a cigar and says that he looks just like Baby Herman.
- Stunned Silence: Everyone in the bar stares in surprise after Frederick says Norm's name.
