1989-90: THE EIGHTH SEASON

Year-End Rating: 22.7 (3rd place)

Rebecca continues her star-crossed search for romance in season eight, when Roger Rees arrives to play the lovelorn bar manager's latest romantic foil, corporate raider Robin Colcord. Cheri Eichen, Bill Steinkellner, and Phoef Sutton serve as co-executive producers for the year, which is produced by Tim Berry and co-produced by the show's longtime film editor and sometime director, Andy Ackerman. Also on board for season eight are executive story consultants Brian Pollack and Mert Rich, executive story editors Dan O'Shannon and Tom Anderson, and creative consultants David Lloyd, Ken Levine, and David Isaacs.

169 The Improbable Dream (Part 1)    First Aired: September 21, 1989
Writers: Cheri Eichen, Bill Steinkellner
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Tony DiBenedetto

Rebecca's romantic fantasies are ignited by the arrival of a fabulously wealthy Wall Street raider, Robin Colcord.

Roger Rees debuts in the role of Robin Colcord, who would figure prominently in the show's storylines through the middle of the ninth season.

170 The Improbable Dream (Part 2)    First Aired: September 28, 1989
Writers: Cheri Eichen, Bill Steinkellner
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Webster Williams, Valerie Hartman

It's Sam who starts having nightmares when Rebecca's dreams of a romantic interlude with Robin Colcord appear to be coming true.

171 A Bar Is Born    First Aired: October 12, 1989
Writer: Phoef Sutton
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Tony DiBenedetto

Sam is determined to open a bar of his own, despite the fact that the site he's chosen for his new watering hole has clearly seen better days.

172 How to Marry a Mailman    First Aired: October 19, 1989
Writers: Brian Pollack, Mert Rich
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Annie Golden, Webster Williams

Cliff suffers a bout of temporary blindness when his post-office paramour returns from Canada with serious plans for their future together.

173 The Two Faces of Norm    First Aired: October 26, 1989
Writer: Eugene B. Stein
Director: Andy Ackerman
Guest Stars: Eric Allan Kramer, Cynthia Stevenson, Rob Moran, Gordon Hunt, Mark Knudsen, J.C. Victor, Kristen Citron, Jacqueline Alexandra Citron

Norm transforms himself into a tyrant in an effort to whip his painting crew into shape; and Sam suffers a bout of separation anxiety after he sells his cherished Corvette.

174 The Stork Brings a Crane    First Aired: November 2, 1989
Writer: David Lloyd
Director: Andy Ackerman
Guest Stars: Victoria Hoffman, Monty Ash, Laura Robinson, Raymond L. Flynn

The bar's 100th anniversary festivities go up for grabs after Lilith unexpectedly goes into labor.

Boston's Mayor Raymond Flynn appears as himself.

175 Death Takes a Holiday on Ice    First Aired: November 9, 1989
Writer: Ken Levine
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Anne De Salvo, Eric Christmas, Kevin Conroy, Thomas Haden-Church

Carla is stunned by the news that Eddie has met his maker in a bizarre hockey accident, but the real shocker comes when she discovers that she may not be his only surviving widow.

The following season, guest star Thomas Haden-Church would resurface in the role of maintenance man Lowell Mather on Wings, the long-running NBC sitcom created by Cheers producers David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee.

176 For Real Men Only    First Aired: November 16, 1989
Writers: David Pollack, Elias Davis
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Michael Currie, Jay Robinson, Rick Podell, Michael Holden, Gilbert Girion, Melanie Kinnaman

Frasier flinches at the thought of witnessing the bris of his infant son; and Carla tries to convince Eddie's hockey team to retire her late husband's number.

177 Two Girls for Every Boyd    First Aired: November 23, 1989
Writers: Dan O'Shannon, Tom Anderson
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Jackie Swanson, Jeffrey Richman, Lisa Kudrow, Mark Kubr

Woody is skittish about kissing his leading lady in a production of Our Town; and the guys at the bar stage a beard-growing competition.

Guest star Lisa Kudrow would eventually land a featured role in the ensemble of Friends, which would debut under the direction of Cheers co-creator Jim Burrows in the fall of 1994.

178 The Art of the Steal    First Aired: November 30, 1989
Writer: Sue Herring
Director: James Burrows

Rebecca and Sam spend a disquieting evening as unwitting prisoners of Robin Colcord's elaborate home-security system.

179 Feeble Attraction    First Aired: December 7, 1989
Writers: Dan O'Shannon, Tom Anderson
Director: Andy Ackerman
Guest Stars: Cynthia Stevenson, Michael Holden, John Pappas

Norm is unsettled by the discovery that he's become the object of his former secretary's romantic obsessions.

Norm's secretary is played by Cynthia Stevenson, reprising the role she'd played in "The Two Faces of Norm" a few months earlier. The actress would go on to play a choice role in the 1992 film The Player, before returning to prime time as a star of the 1995 series Hope & Gloria.

180 Sam Ahoy    First Aired: December 14, 1989
Writer: David Lloyd
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Tim Cunningham, Patrick Maguire, Stephen Burks

Sam faces a seagoing surprise when he borrows Robin Colcord's yacht to compete in a local regatta and finds Rebecca stowed away in the hold.

181 Sammy and the Professor    First Aired: January 4, 1990
Writers: Brian Pollack, Mert Rich
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Alexis Smith, Stack Pierce, Dietrich Bader

Rebecca is unnerved by Sam's romantic involvement with her business professor; and Carla faces an IRS audit.

182 What Is . . . Cliff Clavin?    First Aired: January 18, 1990
Writers: Dan O'Shannon, Tom Anderson
Director: Andy Ackerman
Guest Stars: Alex Trebek, Greg E. Davis, Bernard Kuby, Johnny Gilbert

Cliff tries game-show emcee Alex Trebek's patience when the pontifical postman is booked as a quiz-show contestant on Jeopardy.

Quizmaster Alex Trebek and Jeopardy announcer Johnny Gilbert appear as themselves.

183 Finally (Part 1)    First Aired: January 25, 1990
Writers: Ken Levine, David Isaacs
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Bill Medley, Gail O'Grady, Crystal Carson

Rebecca is forced to revise her plans for a romantic evening alone with Robin after the mercurial millionaire invites Sam to tag along on their date.

Guest star Gail O'Grady would eventually earn considerable acclaim for her portrayal of Donna Abandando, the outspoken administrative assistant on NYPD Blue, which would debut on ABC in the fall of 1993.

184 Finally (Part 2)    First Aired: February 1, 1990
Writers: Ken Levine, David Isaacs
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Bill Medley, Valerie Karasek, Gilbert Girion, Alan Koss, Carol Robbins

Still flying high after her date with Robin Colcord, Rebecca's spirits tumble abruptly back to earth when she discovers her unfaithful millionaire in the arms of another woman.

Pop singer Bill Medley--one-half of the musical Righteous Brothers--appears as himself in both installments of this two-part episode.

185 Woody or Won't He?    First Aired: February 8, 1990
Writers: Brian Pollack, Mert Rich
Director: Andy Ackerman
Guest Stars: Jackie Swanson, Melendy Britt, Bill Geisslinger, Richard Doyle, Robert Gallo

Woody is at his wit's end when he begins to suspect that Kelly's mother has designs on him; and Cliff is determined to get the better of the bar's mechanical bull.

186 Severe Crane Damage    First Aired: February 15, 1990
Writers: Dan O'Shannon, Tom Anderson
Director: Andy Ackerman
Guest Stars: Phyllis Katz, Lorelle Brina, Donna Fuller, Marsha Kramer, Marti Muller, Audrey Rapoport

Sam creates quite a stir when he appears on a local talk show with Lilith to promote her new pop psychology book, Good Girls, Bad Boys.

187 Indoor Fun with Sammy and Robby    First Aired: February 22, 1990
Writer: Phoef Sutton
Director: Andy Ackerman
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Mark Arnott, Tim Cunningham, Peter Schreiner

Rebecca's plans for a perfect romantic date with Robin are derailed when the millionaire is side-tracked by a childish game of one-upsmanship with Sam.

188 Fifty-Fifty Carla    First Aired: March 8, 1990
Writer: David Lloyd
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Anne De Salvo, Steve Devorkin, Michael Holden

Carla agrees to split her late husband's estate with his other widow, until she discovers that Eddie was carrying a substantial life-insurance policy when he died.

189 Bar Wars III: The Return of Tecumseh    First Aired: March 15, 1990
Writers: Ken Levine, David Isaacs
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Robert Machray, Tim Donoghue, Phil Therrien

The theft of the bar's wooden Indian mascot kicks off the latest skirmish in the gang's ongoing war with the guys at Gary's Old Towne Tavern.

190 Loverboyd    First Aired: March 29, 1990
Writers: Brian Pollack, Mert Rich
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Jackie Swanson, Richard Doyle, Tony DiBenedetto, Trish Ramish

Woody suffers premature separation anxiety when Kelly announces her intention to continue her schooling in France.

191 The Ghost and Mrs. LeBec    First Aired: April 12, 1990
Writers: Dan Staley, Rob Long
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Georgia Brown, Kevin Conroy, Michael Rupert

Carla consults a mystic after her dead husband's ghost pays an unexpected visit.

192 Mr. Otis Regrets    First Aired: April 19, 1990
Writers: Ken Levine, David Isaacs
Director: Andy Ackerman
Guest Stars: Christine Cavanaugh, Eric Bruskotter, Colin Wells, Barry Zajac

Sam irritates Rebecca with his boast that he's had a romantic encounter with her arch-rival on an elevator.

193 Cry Hard (Part 1)    First Aired: April 26, 1990
Writers: Dan O'Shannon, Tom Anderson
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Jonathan McMurtry, Eden Bodnar

Rebecca is crestfallen to discover that Robin Colcord has been using her as an unwitting accomplice in a ruthless game of corporate espionage.

194 Cry Harder (Part 2)    First Aired: May 3, 1990
Writers: Cheri Eichen, Bill Steinkellner, Phoef Sutton
Story: Bill Steinkellner
Director: James Burrows
Guest Stars: Roger Rees, Jonathan McMurtry, Ron Canada, Peter Schreiner, Michael Holden, Christopher Darga, James Nardini

Rebecca faces her bleak romantic prospects after Robin Colcord is indicted on insider trading charges; and, after being richly rewarded for his own role in bringing Robin's crimes to light, Sam offers the distraught bar manager a compassionate shoulder to cry on.