Analytical Episode Guide-Seinfeld (Season 8, Part 2)

 

An Analytical Episode Guide to:

 

Season 8, Part 2

Episode 6, Season 8

The Fatigues

 

Plot Summary-Jerry dates a protégé whose mentor is dating Bania. George goes to great lengths to avoid reading a thick book. Elaine promotes a co-worker because she is scared of him. Kramer enlists Franks help to cook for a Jewish singles event.

Best Quote-“I guess I got confused!”….Kramer on his botched cooking

Nitpick of the episode-Elaine, just fire the guy already!

Seinfeldism of the episode-George needs to do a lecture on risk management, Bania works on his ovaltine bit with Jerry

Deleted Scenes-George talking to his protégé about risk management

Episode Fun Fact-Jerry Stiller got an Emmy nomination from his performance in this episode

Final Thoughts-Just going to come out and say it. I really hate this episode. The employee with the military bent is so scary that he is totally unlikable. Not only that but the story is dumb, why is Elaine so scared of this guy? Even if he is scary, there’s such a thing as firing people over the phone. The rest of the episode is ok, we get Jerry’s story about dating the protégé and George trying to find a way to get out of reading a thick book. Love the look on his face when his audio tape sounds just like him, clever. It’s always fun to see Bania again. Kramer’s story is only ok. It starts out good as we him failing at cooking but it spirals down as we find out why Frank never cooks and we get that lame war parody. Sure it was well done, but really, is the fact that Frank poisoned and seriously hurt a bunch of kids with his awful cooking really supposed to be funny? It isn’t to me. The whole thing is just painful, and the ending of the episode couldn’t be more predictable.

Grade=D+, swing and a miss

Episode 7, Season 8

The Checks

 

Plot Summary- Jerry gets carpal tunnel after signings dozens of royalty checks. Kramer gets involved with Japanese tourists. Elaine’s boyfriend is obsessed with the song “Desperado”. George tries to sell the Jerry pilot to Japanese television.

Best Quote-“It failed here because here every time you turn on the TV all you see is four morons sitting around an apartment whining about their dates”….George

Nitpick of the episode-I don’t think Jerry needed to give himself carpal tunnel by signing checks so small they are almost valueless, just not worth the aggravation. Why does George want to get brainwashed by a cult exactly?

Seinfeldism of the episode-Designer Karl Farbman comes up again after being referenced in “The Hamptons”

Deleted Scenes-None for this episode

Episode Fun Fact-The last line before the credits had two versions, one if the Yankees won and another if they lost.

Final Thoughts-This episode could get silly, but it manages to do a pretty good job of not letting that happen. The one weak story is the thing about the cult, which despite potential is really pointless and goes nowhere. Elaine gets a good story, as she tries to compete with the strange compulsion that “Desperado” has with her new boyfriend. The way Kramer interferes with the Japanese tourists is classic Kramer. Jerry’s story seems kind of silly, the whole thing with the royalty checks is kind of pointless and the bit with the umbrella doesn’t really lead to anything either. George is really funny in this episode, he keeps running into a dead end with the Jerry pilot but that doesn’t keep him from getting excited at the prospect of selling it even though his attempts fail miserably. And the bit with the tourists sleeping in drawers? Funny!

Grade=C, to many stories go nowhere in this one

Episode 8, Season 8

The Chicken Roaster

 

Plot Summary-When the red light from a neon chicken invades Kramer’s apartment, Jerry is forced to switch with him so Kramer will not force the restaurant to shut down and cause a friend to lose his job. Elaine gets busted for reckless spending while George tries to get a second date from a woman who did not like him.

Best Quote-“I’m like a commercial jingle. First it’s a little irritating then you hear it a few times your humming it in the shower. By the third date it’s BY MENNEN”…George

Nitpick of the episode-The way the girl seems to so clearly hate George after their first date makes the later scene where she confesses she has changed her mind about him a little hard to believe. Also, it takes a lot disbelief to buy that the neon sign is so large and so bright that it fills Kramer’s room with light like that. Think if that were real Kramer wouldn’t have to fight it; the city wouldn’t allow it in the first place. And why does it only affect Kramer and not anyone else in the building? Obviously showing the sign was too expensive or something since Kramer clearly says it’s in the shape of a chicken but there is no evidence of that. Good thing the episode is strong enough to make that a minor issue.

Seinfeldism of the episode-George does a leave behind to ensure a second date

Deleted Scenes-George wearing his new hat, Elaine trying to find Peterman in Burma

Episode Fun Fact-Initially the restaurant did not want to give their name to the episode, but Kenny Rogers himself gave the final approval knowing it would be good advertising

Final Thoughts-This episode is a favorite of mine. I never got the chance to eat at at Kenny Rogers Roasts but man this episode is sure a good ad for it! Of course the big scene in this episode is the one where Jerry storms into his apartment ala Kramer, and I must say he does a pretty decent job. Sure the way Jerry acts is more of a caricature of Kramer than the real character, but to see Jerry do those mannerisms while Kramer is cool and laid back is really funny to watch. That’s just a very well done scene. The whole story of Jerry getting his friend fired is well done, another case where we don’t blame Jerry because it was Seth who chose not to go to the meeting. George’s story is really good to, and the scene where Elaine drags him over to his girlfriend’s apartment is an interesting one. Even though Elaine technically is being mean here, for some reason that scene always worked for me. Something about Elaine cutting to the chase with George and his craziness is refreshing; usually the characters go along for the ride.  Too bad Elaine’s story ends on kind of a weak note, the Apocalypse Now parody has been done to death.

Grade=A-, a favorite

Episode 9, Season 8

The Abstinence

 

Plot Summary-George’s girlfriend contracts mono and cannot have sex. This results in George getting smarter. Elaine abstains from sex to support her boyfriend, but she gets dumber. Jerry gets bumped from a high school appearance and Kramer turns his apartment into a smokers lounge, with dramatic results for his appearance.

Best Quote-“You’ve experienced a lifetime of smoking in 24 hours, what did you expect?”….Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-I understand the part about how since George is no longer occupied with sex he can think because his mind is focused on other things. That kind of makes sense. I don’t get the other part with Elaine. Why does abstaining make her dumb? Jerry tries to explain it with a garbage strike analogy but it just doesn’t make sense to me.

Seinfeldism of the episode-Isn’t bunk bad?

Deleted Scenes-None for this episode

Episode Fun Fact-The scene with Kramer and the effects of smoking led to a few bloopers

Final Thoughts-Another solid episode, even if it is a bit flawed in its premise. Even though it doesn’t make sense, we believe George is getting smarter and Elaine is getting dumber.  The performances really sell it here. Very well done. Jerry’s story about being bumped is cute, and does lead to a really funny David Letterman cameo at the end. The real story here is Kramer and his decision to support smokers’ rights, until he sees what excessive smoke can do. The scene with Jerry in the kitchen is classic and Jackie Chiles gets a great appearance at the end. The final scene is Kramer on a billboard as the new Marlboro Man. Great moment in a strong episode.

 Grade=B+, premise is a little flawed but the writing works

Episode 10, Season 8

The Andrea Doria

  

Plot Summary-George battles a shipwreck survivor for a new apartment. Elaine dates a man who is bad at breaking up with women. Jerry assists Newman on his quest to be transferred while Kramer develops a cough but sees a vet rather than a traditional doctor.

Best Quote-“You know if the tenant board is so impressed with suffering maybe you should tell him the astonishing tales of Costanza. I mean you’re body of work in this field is unparalleled”….Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-Why Kramer would refuse to see a real doctor makes no sense to me. He does mention that the last doctor he saw botched his vasectomy and made him more potent, how does that happen?

Seinfeldism of the episode-Elaine’s boyfriend is a “bad breaker-uppper”, Jerry and Newman form an alliance

Deleted Scenes-None for this episode

Episode Fun Fact-This episode is set at Christmas, but the holiday has nothing to do with the stories

Final Thoughts-One of my favorite scenes of the season, if not the series, is the one where George is listing off the humiliating things that have happened to him over the course of the series. They make such a compelling case that George has gone through more misery than a shipwreck survivor, that it actually makes sense! Rather than seem to be offensive, since the Andrea Doria was a real incident, we buy the premise because after 7 years we have seen that George really does suffer. The rest of the episode is pretty solid too. It’s kind of fun to watch Jerry and Newman work together for once, and Elaine deals with a boyfriend who likes to insult people. Watching as she develops a complex over having a big head is well done. As for Kramer, once again leave it Michael Richards to take a silly story and make it funny. Kramer turning into a dog sounds like an idea that came up after a writer had one too many drinks, but somehow it works here.

 Grade=B, I try to like Kramer’s story but it’s not easy

Episode 11, Season 8

The Little Jerry

 

Plot Summary-Jerry bounces a check. The storekeeper refuses to take it down unless Kramer sells his rooster to him for a cock fight. George dates a prisoner and Elaine dates a man who shaves his head, but is upset when he discovers he is actually going bald.

Best Quote-“Occasionally I forget to let the machine pick up”…George (I like this line because I have done that myself)

Nitpick of the episode-I suppose this is a dumb question, but if Kurt shaves his head all the time is it really a big difference if he is actually bald?

Seinfeldism of the episode-dating a felon means no pop in and conjugal visit sex

Deleted Scenes-A deleted scene where Jerry and Elaine discuss the very subject I nitpicked about above

Episode Fun Fact-This episode had two roosters, one replaced the other

Final Thoughts-I am torn about this episode. It’s really not bad, but the whole cock fighting thing is kind of hard to take. Then that last scene, where Kramer dives in and is pecked by a rooster off-screen is just…..not funny. It’s one of those moments where I have no idea what the writers were going for, are we supposed to find it funny or horrifying? And roosters are one animal I don’t find very cute so the episode doesn’t win any points there (though the shot of Kramer walking Little Jerry is kind of funny). George mentioned in another episode that conjugal visit sex sounds like a cool idea, so here gets to experience it. He also helps Elaine’s boyfriend when he discovers he is balding. Jerry really has no story since the whole check thing was really meant to tie into the cock fighting story, and I never did buy the idea that Jerry would ever bounce a check. It’s clearly established that he has money to spare, what happened did he accidentally use check from an account he no longer had or something? And clown checks? Nope, not buying that one.

Grade=B-the rooster story tries too hard and ultimately fails