Title: Send in the Crane
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: David Lloyd
Air Date: January 5, 1989
Previous: Jumping Jerks
Next: Bar Wars II: The Woodman Strikes Back
Guest Starring: Bebe Neuwirth, Sandahl Bergman, Chelsea Noble
"Send in the Crane" is the 9th episode of the seventh season of Cheers.
This episode has two A-plots. In one, Sam gets a phone call from one Judy Marlowe, an old girlfriend from some fifteen years ago. Sam remembers Judy fondly, and he also remembers her little daughter Laurie, who called him "Uncle Sammy" back in the day. The three of them used to go to parks and the zoo. Sam is pretty pleased when Judy shows up as the bar and still looks really good for her age. But he's bowled over when Laurie meets her mother at the bar and is revealed to be a spectacularly sexy young woman. Soon Sam is having terrible, terrible thoughts of making it with a mother and a daughter.
In the other plot, Rebecca's humiliation at Lillian Corp. continues as she is asked to stage a party for the children of the corporation's senior executives. She asks Woody to play a clown at the party, and he enthusiastically agrees, but when it's time for the party Woody can't make it. So Rebecca gets Frasier to do it.
Tropes:
- Chekhov's Gun: The "French underwear" that Lilith gets for Frasier, which Frasier thinks looks like an eyepatch. Unbeknownst to Frasier, the clown suit has a trick handkerchief that causes the wearer to drop his pants. It seems like it's setting up a gag where Frasier will drop his pants and expose his naughty underwear—but he's actually Going Commando when it happens because the French underwear is uncomfortable.
- Foreshadowing: Frasier complaining about the weird underwear being uncomfortable sets up the ending, where he isn't wearing any.
- Going Commando: Frasier chooses to forego the French underwear when he puts on the clown costume. It's a mistake
- Last-Second Word Swap: Sam thinks he's finally going to get his chance to have sex with Laurie, when she reveals the truth: she's engaged to a guy from her class and she wants him to give her away at the wedding.Sam: You little sl—y one.
- Male Gaze: Woody deliberately turns the heat up in the bar, so Rebecca will have to adjust the thermostat, which allows Woody to admire her butt when she bends over.
- Non-Ironic Clown: Frasier plays a clown for the kiddie party.
- She Is All Grown Up: Sam is surprised and way too excited when little Laurie is revealed to have grown up into a very sexy woman.
- Single Malt Vision: When Carla tells Sam he's at risk of losing both Laurie and her mother if he tries dating both, Sam states he already pulled off something similar with "the Henshaw triplets." Carla points out two things: (1) that was back when he was drinking, and (2) there was only one Henshaw woman.
- Word Association Test: The gang is stumped when they play word association and Woody associates "bottom" with "thermostat". No one can figure it out until they see Rebecca bend over to adjust the thermostat for the bar.
