Glen Jameson, a hypnotist, visits the Petrie home and demonstrates his craft on a number of guests. However, then Rob falls victim to a hypnotic suggestion meant for Buddy without anyone realizing. The suggestion activates and deactivates as he hears bells, turning the hapless Rob to and from a falling-down drunk at random.
Tropes:
- All Part of the Show: Rob's suggestion activates while he's at work, including in front of the sponsor, much to Mel's dismay. Luckily, however, the sponsor believes Rob is working out a sketch and he heartily approves of the result.
- Chekhov's Gunman: At the party, Sally asks if Glen could hypnotize the sponsor into liking their sketches. This same sponsor, Mr. Boland, appears later while Rob is acting drunk.
- Hypno Fool: Rob gets hypnotized while the hypnotist is attempting to plant a suggestion in Buddy. Unfortunately, no one realizes this, and Rob spends a lot of the next day acting drunk because of the suggestion.
- Immune to Mind Control: Buddy really can't be hypnotised, although he plays along for a couple of minutes. Rob however acts the Hypno Fool.
- It's All About Me: Played for Laughs; Jameson hypnotizes Jerry to act like the person he admires most. It turns out to be himself. Jameson calls him the most secure man he's ever met.
- Lethal Chef: Laura proposes that they eat dinner first and have the hypnosis demonstration later. Buddy jokes about his wife's cooking being so bad, the eater would want to undergo hypnosis before eating it.
- Shout-Out: While "drunk", Rob calls Mel "Dr. Zorba".
- Un-Paused:
- Buddy is in the middle of explaining that he can't be hypnotized, then gets hypnotized. When he gets snapped out of it, he continues his sentence about being unhypnotizable. Subverted though, in that Buddy was only pretending to be hypnotized.
- Similarly, Rob is in the middle of explaining the situation to Mel when a bell goes off and he becomes "drunk" again. When he sobers up, he continues the sentence as though he wasn't interrupted.
- Weak-Willed: A hypnosis example, Rob was hypnotized into acting drunk when he heard a bell; but the subject of the hypnosis was Buddy, not Rob, and Rob wasn't even in the room when the hypnosis happened.
