CHEERS: DOG BITES CLIFF (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy series about a group of regulars at a Boston bar. In this episode, Diane annoys Carla with her endless wedding preparation, and then surprises Sam by telling him that she intends to go to a retreat a Buddhist monastery without him in order to meditate on their relationship and discover her true self. Cliff limps into the bar and tells the gang that he was bitten by a dog while on his postman rounds, and Carla advises him to sue. Cliff is doubtful until Frasier mentions that he could win a large settlement, and decides to take the owner to court. He is excited to learn that he could take home $200,000 or more, but the owner, Madeline, then arrives at the bar to talk to him, and he is rendered speechless when he sees that she is highly attractive. She offers to help with his medical bills and praises him for "choosing" to live with his mother in her old age, and Cliff is instantly smitten.
The two begin dating, much to Cliff's excitement, though the others worry that she is manipulating him into not suing her, suspicious that a beautiful woman would be interested in him. Madeline produces a waiver from her lawyer absolving her of guilt and asks Cliff to tear it up, sadly admitting that she was in fact attempting to sweet-talk him out of a suit but then genuinely fell for him, and he immediately forgives her. Delighted, she suggests that they head to a hotel room to "celebrate," and Cliff eagerly agrees. He calls Sam from the room right before she joins him in bed, admitting that he is nervous, and when Madeline appears he comments that his friends are still doubtful of her intentions. She admits that she is still distracted by her worries about the lawsuit and produces a second waiver for him to sign, which he does, proving that she was indeed suckering him all along. She then brings the evening to a halt to check her phone messages, and Cliff later tells his friends about her husband's miraculous, timely return from the foreign country in which he had gone missing, sadly concluding that they were not "meant to be." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: February 18, 1987 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:30:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:70522
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1982-1993
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Glen Charles … Executive Producer, Created by
- Les Charles … Executive Producer, Created by
- James Burrows … Executive Producer, Created by, Director
- Peter Casey … Producer
- David Lee … Producer
- David Angell … Producer
- Tim Berry … Co-Producer
- Joanne Pagliaro … Writer
- Craig Safan … Music by
- Judy Hart Angelo … Theme Music by
- Gary Portnoy … Theme Music by
- Ted Danson … Cast, Sam Malone
- Shelley Long … Cast, Diane Chambers
- Rhea Perlman … Cast, Carla Tortelli
- John Ratzenberger … Cast, Cliff Clavin
- Woody Harrelson … Cast, Woody Boyd
- Kelsey Grammer … Cast, Dr. Frasier Crane
- George Wendt … Cast, Norm Peterson
- Anita Morris … Cast, Madeline Keith
- Steve Giannelli … Cast, Steve