Title: Teaching with the Enemy
Directed by: James Burrows
Written by: Tom Anderson
Air Date: November 5, 1992
Previous: Do Not Forsake Me, O' My Postman
Next: The Girl in the Plastic Bubble
Guest Starring: Donald Gibb
"Teaching with the Enemy" is the sixth episode of the eleventh season of Cheers.
Lilith comes into the bar, and Rebecca compliments her in keeping the fire in her marriage, as she saw Lilith passionately making out with Frasier in their car outside. The only problem is, Frasier was actually already in the pool room. Lilith is having an affair, cheating on Frasier with her work colleague Dr. Louis Pascal. Lilith begs Rebecca to keep the secret, but Rebecca states plainly that not only is she completely unable to keep a secret like that, Lilith has no more than an hour to tell Frasier before Rebecca will "blow" and spill the secret to the whole bar. So Lilith confesses her infidelity to a shocked Frasier, and the Crane marriage reaches a crisis point.
In the B-plot, the local biker bar went out of business, so the displaced bikers have come to Cheers, and are starting fights. Sam feels the need for a bouncer, so he hires a guy with the ironic name of "Tiny" (Donald Gibb, playing basically the same character he played in the Revenge of the Nerds movies). Tiny is a little too scary, as he starts frightening customers at the bar.
Tropes:
- Bar Brawl: Not shown (Cheers only ever had one bar brawl, in "Home Malone"), but the aftermath is shown, as Sam is cleaning up after the bikers wrecked his tables.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Rebecca says that she can't keep Lilith's secret for more than an hour. She winds up having to stuff a handful of bar peanuts in her mouth to muffle the words coming out of her mouth.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Tiny is not entirely there, imagining the TV is on when it's not. And the show he imagines is on is the "Kill 'Em, Tiny" show.
- Continuity Nod: The increasingly nasty sniping and bickering between Frasier and Lilith pays off in this episode, as Lilith says she's "felt so alone" for a long time and points out how they're constantly arguing.
- Could Say It, But...: Frasier struggles to control his emotions when he and Lilith finally have a private talk.Frasier: I will refrain from indulging in cliched reactions—rage, the crying, the screaming, the hurling of epithets: tramp, whore, slut, floozy, bitch, ad infinitum.
Lilith: You did call me slut.
Frasier: Yes, but I didn't call you a tramp, whore, floozy, or bitch. - Drowning My Sorrows: Frasier gets good and hammered at the bar after his confrontation with Lilith about her affair. (Despite the fact that they're all in a bar drinking constantly, this was a pretty rare scene in which one of Sam's customers was shown to be intoxicated.)
- Hidden Depths: As the gang discuss how to get rid of Tiny, he chimes in that they could just treat him like a human being and ask nicely. Then he leaves, his feelings hurt.
- Ironic Nickname: Discussed Trope, as Cliff feels compelled to discuss with Tiny just why he's called "Tiny".Cliff: You see, Tiny, uh, you know, calling you Tiny, a guy of your, you know, girth, is what we in the comedy profession call a juxtaposition. Right? Juxtaposition! You see, it's like calling a bald guy Curly, a fat guy Slim, a tall guy...
(Waits but sees that Tiny isn't going to get it)
Cliff: ...Shorty!
Tiny: I like that. You're Smart.
Cliff: Why, thank you.
Tiny: No, that's your new nickname. Get it? - Mood Whiplash: In-between the silliness of the Tiny subplot, we've got Frasier and Lilith's marriage going up in flames.
- Nice Guy: Intimidating presence and weird mental state aside, Tiny is actually a sweet natured guy who genuinely wants to do a good job.
- Rewatch Bonus: As abrupt as it seemed at the time that Lilith cheated on Frasier, there were hints at unhappiness on both sides almost from the beginning of their marriage.
- Suddenly Shouting: Frasier calmly insists that whatever Lilith tells him, he can deal with it. When she reveals she has in fact been cheating on him, he immediately leaps to shouting.Frasier: [calm] I know, I'll simply imagine the worst thing you could possibly tell me, and whatever your news is, it will pale by comparison. In fact, whatever it is, it'll be a relief. OK, OK, uh, what is the worst thing I can imagine?...[Beat]...All right, I've got it. Lilith, your news please.
Lilith: This afternoon, in a moment of extreme weakness, I cheated on you.
Frasier: [gets up and yells] That was it! That was the worst thing! - Sympathetic Adulterer: Lilith cheats on Frasier, though she is portrayed sympathetically, her actions not intended to hurt or spite Frasier, but simply the result of someone looking for what she wasn't getting in an increasingly unhappy marriage.
- To Be Continued: The episode ends on a To Be Continued cliffhanger after Lilith comes back to the bar and tells Frasier that she's leaving him for Dr. Pascal.
- Wham Episode: One of the very few episodes to leave an effect on both the rest of the series and its spin-off Frasier.
