February 18, 2012

Analytical Episode Guide-Seinfeld (Season 3, Part 3)




An Analytical Episode Guide to:
 

Season 3, Part 3

Episode 11, Season 3
The Red Dot
 
Plot Summary-Elaine gets George a job at her office. At a party, Jerry accidentally switches his drink with that of Elaine’s boyfriend which causes him to fall off the wagon. Georg buys a cashmere sweater as thank you gift for Elaine at a discount because it was damaged, a small red dot is somewhere on the sweater. It gets caught right away by Elaine, and George ends up losing the job after sleeping with the cleaning woman on his desk.
Best Quote-“Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? I tell you, I gotta plead ignorance on this thing, because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing is frowned upon…”..George, this is one his best lines of the whole series!
Nitpick of the episode-When George gives Elaine the sweater she notices the dot right away. Why would he try the same thing with the cleaning lady? This may be the first time George’s cheapness truly comes back to haunt him.
Seinfeldism of the episode-Hennigans Scotch becomes a short lived recurring gag in this episode.
Deleted Scenes-A scene with Elaine making out with her boyfriend.
Episode Fun Fact-This is one of the only times that Jerry’s stand-up bits actually become part of the story.  This is done to show that the character who fell off the wagon had in fact recovered.
Final Thoughts-This is a pretty good episode. George is classic in this one, and his defense when his boss accuses him of sleeping with the cleaning lady is priceless. Jerry’s story about accidentally switching drinks with Elaine’s boyfriend who proceeds to become a drunk really isn’t funny, and I never enjoyed that much. This episode has a distinct second season feel, Kramer just gets a cameo but his appearance makes the whole episode.
Grade=C+, classic George episode marred by unfunny Jerry story


Episode 12, Season 3
The Suicide
 
Plot Summary-Elaine has too fast for three days to take an ulcer test. After Jerry’s neighbor, Martin, tries to commit suicide he ends up in a coma, while Jerry starts getting hit on by his girlfriend Gina. Meanwhile, George is advised by a psychic to cancel a plane trip, being only told that something terrible would happen. Kramer takes the trip instead.
Best Quote-“I don’t get you, who goes on vacation without a job? What do you need a break from getting up at 11?”…..Jerry to George
Nitpick of the episode- George mentions having a brother but later on it’s clear he is an only child.
Seinfeldism of the episode-This is the famous Drake’s Coffee Cake episode (I used to love those!), the first “Hello, Newman!”
Deleted Scenes-None for this episode.
Episode Fun Fact-First real appearance of Newman.
Final Thoughts-While this is a dark episode, it’s one that manages to not make light of a serious subject to the point you get turned off. The subject of course being attempted suicide. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is sooo funny in this episode. George is just classic George again, worrying about something a psychic tells him. He cancels the trip, and Kramer goes and has a great time. Of course.
Grade=B, things get a bit farfetched with whole Cayman island sub-plot


Episode 13, Season 3
The Subway
 
Plot Summary-Just as the title suggests, the four travel the subway for an episode. George gets diverted when on his way to a job interview, Elaine is the best man at a lesbian wedding but the train stalls on the tracks, Kramer is headed to court but instead gets a hot tip on a horse, and Jerry is on his way to Coney Island to pick up his stolen car. En route he talks to a naked man.
Best Quote-“Don’t whistle on the elevator,”….Jerry’s advice to George, a line from Death of a Salesman.
Nitpick of the episode-Elaine says it herself. Why didn’t she just take a cab?
Seinfeldism of the episode-The first time we see Kramer has a gambling problem.
Deleted Scenes-Elaine was supposed to do more swearing at the end, but Julia couldn’t stop laughing when they filmed it.
Episode Fun Fact-This is one episode where the four hardly have any scenes together.
Final Thoughts-This is a classic along with “The Chinese Restaurant” and “The Parking Garage”. I give the writers credit for making what could have been a real boring show one of the series best. George often pays for his worrying and lying, and boy does he pay in this episode! This may be the first time we really cheer for Kramer, when at the end he is almost mugged but an undercover cop suddenly intervenes. Jerry’s scenes with the naked man are brilliantly written.
Grade=A-, the fact the regulars are apart for the majority of the episode is the only downside


Episode 14, Season 3
The PEZ Dispenser
 
Plot Summary-At a piano recital for George’s girlfriend Noel, Jerry puts a tweety bird pez dispenser on Elaine’s lap causing her to burst out laughing in the middle of the performance. Kramer comes up with an idea for a perfume that make you smell like you just came from the beach. He also joined the polar bear club. Jerry is roped into holding an intervention for a friend who has gotten himself hooked on drugs.
Best Quote-“A pre-emptive break-up?”….Jerry processing Kramer’s idea.
Nitpick of the episode-George probably would have had better luck if he had let Elaine apologize right away like she wanted to.
Seinfeldism of the episode- Jerry and George discuss how to get “The hand”, in other words the upper hand in a relationship.
Deleted Scenes-None for this episode.
Episode Fun Fact-As Seinfeld did many times with things, this episode brought Pez Dispenser’s back into popular culture.
Final Thoughts-How many sitcoms can find humor in a story about a friend being hooked on drugs? This is what Seinfeld did best. In a clever twist, Kramer tells George to break up with his girlfriend before she could break up with him. This works and George gets the upper hand, until she finds out how he lied to her. This is a very busy episode with many guest actors, almost too many as the regulars kind of get lost in the shuffle toward the end. This show worked best when it focused just on the four of them.
 Grade=B-, starts strong but the ending kind of gets weak


Episode 15 & 16, Season 3
The Boyfriend
 
Plot Summary-Jerry meets Keith Hernandez in a locker room and they strike up a friendship. This friendship is in conflict with Elaine when she starts dating Keith. George tries to extend his unemployment benefits by getting Jerry to lie for him. Kramer and Newman relate a story about how Keith once spat at them after they heckled him at the end of game. Or did he? Also, Jerry and Kramer finally see the baby of an old friend who used to live in the building.
Best Quote-“And you want to be my latex salesman?”….Jerry in one of the series classic scenes
Nitpick of the episode-Jerry’s whining about the fact Keith hasn’t called in three days seems kind of, well, stupid. I like how Elaine has to point out to Jerry that it’s a guy!
Seinfeldism of the episode-Not only do we get a Vandelay reference, but Jerry uses his pseudonym Kel Varnson  
Deleted Scenes-There is dialogue in the episode with George discussing how he would like to sleep with a tall woman, there was an alternate ending where the tall woman comes to the door and George rejects her because she isn’t his type.
Episode Fun Fact-The first hour long episode.
Final Thoughts-One of The big laughs from this episode is the parody of the JFK movie that they do, as Kramer and Newman relate how Keith spit on them. Jerry then proceeds to point out that the spit had to come from someone else, which of course it did. This is a truly brilliant scene and needs to be seen to be appreciated. George is truly George in this one, as we get one of the largest laughs when Kramer blows the lie he gave the unemployment officer, and George rushes out of the bathroom with his pants around his knees. Jerry then gives one of the best ad-libbed lines in any episode. The Elaine story is kind of weak, it was these scenes they added to make the episode and hour and it kind of shows. However despite that this is just a great episode, especially for a one hour show when usually one hour shows kind of get boring.
Grade=A

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