Sisterly Love (27 Apr. 1989)

Rebecca's estranged sister, Susan Howe, is in Boston to shoot a commercial. She's an actress specializing in horror movies. She stops by the bar in the off chance that Rebecca might want to... See full summary »

Director:

James Burrows

Writers:

Glen Charles (creator), Les Charles (creator),

Stars:

Ted Danson, Kirstie Alley, Rhea Perlman

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Ted Danson	...	Sam Malone
Kirstie Alley	...	Rebecca Howe
Rhea Perlman	...	Carla LeBec
John Ratzenberger	...	Cliff Clavin
Woody Harrelson	...	Woody Boyd
Kelsey Grammer	...	Dr. Frasier Crane
George Wendt	...	Norm Peterson
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane
Marcia Cross	...	Susan Howe
Richmond Harrison	...	Phil

Storyline

Rebecca's estranged sister, Susan Howe, is in Boston to shoot a commercial. She's an actress specializing in horror movies. She stops by the bar in the off chance that Rebecca might want to see her. Rebecca doesn't. Sam finds out that much of the sisterly discord is from the Susan stealing Rebecca's boyfriends when they were younger. Sam uses this information in his attempt to bed both sisters. He tells Susan that Rebecca and he are an item, after which she agrees to go out with him. He tells Rebecca that Susan is interested in him, to which Rebecca replies that to get back at Susan, Sam should break off their date and Rebecca would go out with him in Susan's place. So Sam postpones his date with Susan to take out Rebecca, with his date with Susan now later in the evening. However Susan can't wait and appears at the same time Sam is supposed to go out with Rebecca. Sam has to try and manage his dates with both sisters without the other finding out.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 1989 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Sam Malone: I'm never gonna speak to either one of you again.
Rebecca Howe: Oh Sam, that's really too bad. Because you know, in a way, fending off your stupid advances brought Susan and I back together. We haven't been this close since we were kids. We're grateful.
Sam Malone: [interest piqued] How grateful?

User Reviews

It Ain't Licorice!

This is the point in Cheers' run where the jokes sometimes made little or no sense- let's call them Un-Jokes. They were good for a laugh but were either illogical, untrue or so bizarre that they unraveled as they were being told. I'll keep you posted on the Un-Jokes as we go along.

Marcia Cross guest-stars this week as the luscious Susan Howe, Rebecca's perky-bottomed sister, and Sam- stuck in perma-Hound mode- wants to bang the both of them back to the stone age.

Okay, so it's not the greatest plot in series history, what with Sam lying to the Sisters Howe in an attempt to get some quadruple motorboat action, but what makes this a less-than-stellar episode is that you can see the twist ending coming a mile away. When Susan does her acting demonstration in the bar did she really have to scream the EXACT SAME lines she would later use when pretending to be shot by Rebecca? And if the two sisters aren't talking why do they suddenly make peace offscreen after years of bad blood and conspire together to fool Sam into thinking Susan has been killed? It's more than a little silly.

Rebecca's line in the office scene, "It ain't licorice!" is a reference to the Spencer Tracy film "Adam's Rib," in which he holds a man at gunpoint and then later admits the gun was made of licorice by taking a bite out of it. This episode is also the first time Rebecca uses her quasi-catchphrase: "Shuuuut Uuuuup!!!" (You'll have to see it to appreciate it.)

Here's an Un-Joke for you: Frasier asks Susan to sign an autograph for his Mother-In-Law, one that says: "I know where you live, and I'm going to get you." Now why would any actress write a threat to a fan, even on request? And why would Frasier want to threaten his Mother-In-Law's life with an autograph? It just doesn't make any rational sense, and the joke isn't funny enough to justify the weak premise.

Somewhere along the way the two newly-reconciled sisters invite the entire Cheers gang- including Lilith- to sneak back into the bar after closing to enjoy the look on their best friend's face as he carries a corpse through his workplace. I guess there was nothing on ESPN that night.

GRADE: C