Seinfeld Episodes That Are Still Relevant Today

 I recently found an article all about episodes of Seinfeld which are still relevant today. Which is an interesting idea. Awhile back I did an article on some of the episodes which have become dated the last thirty years, which can happen. For example “the couch” and that abortion stuff. Who would have guessed that guys line about someday having enough justices on the Supreme Court to change that law would come true?? 

However some episodes remain timeless, even more so. However, I disagreed with some of the choices this author picked as examples. So I decided to do my own list!

Seinfeld was not a show that was so set in its time period that it was instantly dated (Murphy Brown and Will & Grace anyone?). However, thirty years is still a long time and that's gonna make any sitcom seem out of touch. Heck, imagine what Friends would be like today? Still some episodes managed to touch on things so timeless that the episode is still relevant today. Here are ten examples (in broadcast order).

Top 10 Favorite Seinfeld Episodes (20 Years Later)

 

It’s been a long while since I did anything about my favorite show ever. Of course a good reason for that is because six years ago I did an episode guide where I talked about every episode. Has it been that long? Speaking of “has it been that long?”, guess what turned twenty this year? The final episode of Seinfeld aired twenty years ago in May. You know me, always first to cover a milestone. Anyway, the final episode is now twenty years old…
and I still hate it. Ok I am no longer irate about it. I am not kidding when I say that at the time, I swore to never watch another episode again. Yeah I still watch the show every day so that sure didn’t last. I’ve seen the episode enough times again that I can accept it, flawed as it is! But I did some digging and found about a dozen articles on that final episode 20 years later, and how it pissed so many people off. So I decided to do something a little different. I never really discussed my favorite e episodes. I discussed the one’s that are not my favorite, why back when, but what about the one’s I personally love?

 

So to celebrate twenty years since the finale, almost thirty years of Seinfeld, here they are. Not necessarily the “Best” episodes, just the one’s i have a real fondness for. These aren’t just episodes I can (and probably have) watched 1,000 times but episodes I still get a laugh from. They are also episodes that bring back a special memory and I can even recall watching them the first time. I did limit to ten, which was hard, at least one per season. And to make it easier on myself, in broadcast order.





The Library

No Season 1 so let’s go right to Season 2 where I can’t believe how young I was when these aired. Man do I have memories of this one. First of all, when Jerry does his bit on school says at the end I remember still being in high school and Man am I old. Second, there was a time in my English class when my teacher was talking about what people do with yearbook’s and half the class said “put it on a bookshelf” obviously recalling the scene in this episode where Jerry gets his yearbook out. It’s a memorable episode with the Library cop and of course that final scene where we find out what happened to that book after all. Clever and funny. “The Phone Message” is great too, I still remember the laugh when George announces his father wore sneaker in the pool. It just barely made it here.

Seinfeld Episodes That Are Just Dated Today

One of the funny things about watching old re-runs is seeing how technology has changed since that episode was made. For instance, an old episode of Batman where Chief O’Hara is fascinated that Barbara Gordon has a machine which answers her phone in her own voice. There’s an episode of Alf where Willy and Alf are trapped in a stuck car, and Willie laughs off the idea of having a car phone to call for help. How about the episode of Friends where the gang is thrown off by “that caller ID thing”.



And do I need to mention how the old Star Trek series showed the crew using items very much like floppy disk while the TNG crew were using pads which eerily resemble IPad’s?




As great a show as Seinfeld was, even they could not be spared this. It makes sense, this show was very much a product of the times the show was set in. It’s no wonder they would have lost touch. In fact when they did the reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm the plot lines involved Iphone Apps, Elaine having In Vitro, and a gag about how rude people are when they stare at their cell phones, ignoring the person actually in the room.  These shows are over twenty years old now, and some things are so dated it makes me laugh.



Here are some examples.




10.”The Stock Tip”/”The Movie”


The whole premise of this episode is about George telling Jerry to invest in a stock. He then checks the paper every day to see how it is doing. Today, we have the internet and can get updates every second if we want. Speaking of the internet it would have helped George out in “The Movie”. In that episode he fails to get tickets for the movie they all want to see because he foolishly stands in the wrong line, and they are sold out. These days of course you can buy tickets online.

Analytical Episode Guide-Seinfeld (Season 9, Part 4)

An Analytical Episode Guide to:

Season 9, Part 4

Episode 19, Season 9

The Maid

Plot Summary-Jerry hired a maid and the starts to date her. George gets an unwanted nickname at work. Kramer’s girlfriend moves downtown. Elaine resent her new area code.

Best Quote-“Well there’s nothing more sophisticated than diddling the maid and chewing some gum”….Elaine

Nitpick of the episode-Do I really have to get into the idiocy of the Kramer story? Why does he act like a few miles away is equivalent to hundreds of miles away? By the way, isn’t Jerry a neat freak? What the heck does he need a maid for?

Seinfeldism of the episode-Koko, that chimp’s alright (yeah, I hate it to)

Deleted Scenes-George sneaking the maid into the meeting

Episode Fun Fact-Was the scene where the firefighters storm into Elaine’s apartment intended as homage to Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Christmas Vacation? If not it’s a big coincidence that a very similar thing happens to her in that film. This is sort of the last regular episode of this show.

Final Thoughts-The fact that this was the third to last episode kills me. It’s so dumb! First we have George’s story. What is dumb about this isn’t the nickname part, I kind of get that, it’s the name he gets stuck with. Did the writers of this show have some kind of fascination with Koko the Monkey? She was a throw away joke in “The Dealership” and here she is a plot point! Ah, guys, the monkey isn’t that funny! And the solution about bringing a maid in who happens to have that name is lame. Elaine’s story about the new area code is also really good, until she gets the wrong number from the kid. Then it just gets, well, uncomfortable. Obviously the writers had no idea what to do with this premise. And why didn’t the firefighters even try knocking on her door first? And they can’t tell Elaine isn’t a dying grandmother? Then we have Kramer’s story, which I have already pointed out is lame. Kramer had been doing so well this season, until they decided to make him an idiot over these last few episodes. Sure it’s not too bad in the start but it gets so lame! The scene at the end where he is crying he is lost is dumb!!!! Ever heard of a cab? Or the subway? Finally, we have Jerry’s story about the maid. This isn’t so bad either, but then it becomes a metaphor for prostitution and somehow by the end of this episode I fell, well, dirty. Esepcially that last scene with Kramer, god is that uncomfortable. There is one good gag, when the four friends try to have a conversation at the counter. We get a great example why this has never been done before. Other than that, I hated this episode.

Grade=C-, every story starts strong but ends poorly

Episode 20, Season 9

The Puerto Rican Day

 

Plot Summary-Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer get stuck in traffic during New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade

Best Quote-“It’s like this every day in Puerto Rico”….Kramer

Nitpick of the episode-First of all, if I were in a theatre and someone was aiming a laser pointer at the screen, I WOULD NOT be laughing and commenting on how brilliant the guy was. I would be aggravated beyond belief!!  That scene always pisses me off! Who laughs at that while trying to watch the movie? And news flash George, your zinger is stupid and flat out insensitive. The real question of course is how does this laser pointer guy manage to keep a bead on George no matter where George may be standing?

Seinfeldism of the episode- this is the only time that Kramer, Jerry, and George’s alter ego’s Pennypacker, Varnsen, and Vandelay manage to appear in the same scene

Deleted Scenes-None for this episode

Episode Fun Fact-Of course there was a whole controversy with this episode regarding the scene where Kramer burns the Puerto Rican flag and the general way that Puerto Ricans were portrayed. I always felt that this all blown way out of context. Seinfeld has done more potentially offensive stuff which never offended anyone. I think that some people saw a chance for a little attention with all the hype surrounding the show, and made a big deal out of this issue. Jerry Seinfeld himself admitted that once the finale aired, this issue very quickly disappeared.  By the way, almost every writer has their hand on this one because it was last episode written by the standard writing staff.

Final Thoughts-The idea of the gang being stuck in a traffic is very good one. Who hasn’t had to deal with that situation? Too bad they had to muck it up. To be fair, it does feel like it’s trying to be a classic episode. And in some ways it succeeds. But stupid things have to pop in, most notably is George and his idiotic laser pointer story. What the heck was that all about? Elaine’s story is pretty good; she is just trying to get home and ends up in a “Poseidon Adventure”-esque situation. Kramer is pretty good in this one, thankfully, and it is clear that his burning the flag was an accident. In fact he is the only one of the four excited to be there. Jerry once again really has no story, as he lets the other three take over. Well, he does exchange insults with the other car but that hardly counts as a story. I would say it was nice to see Cedric and Bob again, but I never cared much for them. Despite the controversy I kind of liked this episode, pretty good especially for a season 9 episode.

Grade=B-, feels more like a classic episode but still not quite. Maybe if they’d lost that idiotic laser pointer nonsense

Episode 21 & 22, Season 9

The Chronicle

Plot Summary-A special look back at the last nine years

Best Quote-“It seemed like every week a whole new set of problems would just crop up out of nowhere. Except for summer, where nothing seemed to happen for months at a time”….Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-Missing clips they featured in the first clip show, I get why they weren’t included but some would have been nice

Seinfeldism of the episode-The whole show

Deleted Scenes-Originally the network cut a lot of it out

Episode Fun Fact-NBC cut this short to make room for the very large final episode, it also has a second opening for the syndicated re-runs that did not appear in the original show

Final Thoughts-Of course this aired just before the finale, and in fact I enjoyed this clip show more than the actual episode. Especially the opening to the Superman theme, brilliant. This was a great way to get us excited for the ultimate disappointment to come

Grade=A+

Episode 23 & 24, Season 9

The Finale

 

Plot Summary-NBC decides to produce Jerry and George’s sitcom. As a treat, they give the gang free use of the corporate jet. On the way to Paris, an emergency landing causes them to land in a small town in Massachusetts. When they fail to act to stop a mugging, the four get arrested for violating the Good Samaritan Law.

Best Quote- "The second button is the key button. It literally makes or breaks the shirt. Look at it. It's too high. It's in no-man's land."

"Haven't we had this conversation before?"

"You think?"

"I think we have."

"Yeah, maybe we have."……..Jerry and George in the episode’s final lines which are also the very first lines of the pilot, one touch I really liked

Nitpick of the episode-Gee, where do I begin? I think I will defer all comments to the end. I will say one thing. GOOD SAMARTIAN LAW????????  WTF???? Ok to be fair there is a law in Massachusetts requiring that people report a crime if they witness one occurring. But guess what, the punishment is just a stiff fine (not even close to the one said in the show) and no jail time!! I don’t think not helping someone would result in the trial of the century! Plus, the crime that Jerry and friends commit would not technically be a violation of “The Good Samaritan Law”  which is to protect accident victims or people who are hurt and injured, and the law they did “violate” applies in certain situations-not the one the four find themselves in! They couldn’t have made this up more if they tried!!!!! Ok, got to calm down, haven’t even gotten to the final thoughts yet.

Seinfeldism of the episode-George admits he cheated during “The Contest”, Jerry discourages George from starting an open door urination policy. Elaine has trouble with cellphone etiquette including a phone face off

Deleted Scenes-WAAAYY to much to list here. Let’s just say that lots of great moments were cut out, and thank heavens we can see them on the DVD. I would love to see this moments recut into the episode sometime.

Episode Fun Fact-Of course, series creator Larry David returned to write this final episode. I was happy about that, until I saw the episode. One bright side is that his return meant Jerry was able to do some original stand up for the opening. Seeing that red curtain again and having the show start out like a classic episode made me very happy. That feeling did not last.

Final Thoughts-Well, here we are at long last. The series finale. Let’s start with the good stuff first, at least as much of it as there is. What I liked the finale:

*The first fifteen minutes. It felt like a regular Seinfeld episode, and a good one. I also liked that they resurrected “Jerry”. Alas, they had to get on that plane!

*All the guest spots. Yeah, it was fun to see all those recurring characters again even if it spoiled the episode at the same time. I was surprise to see The Virgin, and glad they did Steinbrenner one last time.

*That cell phone etiquette made into an episode. This was just before the cell phone eruption, but was happy to see it made it into one script.

*They landed in Massachusetts (I live there, that’s why) although Latham is a fake town

*Jackie Chiles opening remarks. I like it because I agree with everything he says

*They remembered the early years. I was afraid they would totally ignore the first couple years but we get callbacks to “The Parking Garage”, “The Library”, “The Red Dot” (in a deleted scene) and of course “The Café”.  I was happy to see them remember those classic episodes.

*The judge was named Art Vandelay (predictable but still a cute touch) and they brought Babu back (just wish the circumstances were different)

Ok, let me make one thing clear. I understand this is Seinfeld. I wasn’t expecting an ending like The Mary Tyler Moore Show where the gang was hugging and crying. I do also understand they were never going to live up to all the hype, I get that. What I would have liked was a throwback to the early days, and just do a nice slow paced episode commenting on the things the show may have missed. Kind of like the last episode of Everybody Loves Raymond (only maybe a little bigger than that). Instead what did we get? The equivalent of the cast and crew giving us the finger. Yes others have said that before me but it sums it up so well. It was like we were being told that we were fools for loving this show for nine years, and that is not the way you want to treat your loyal audience.

Actually, this whole episode could have been salvaged if they had just done one thing. One last scene, fast forward one year if they want, with the gang back in the apartment. Show that they learned nothing as they bicker about something, and that’s it. Throwing them in prison was like a punch to the gut, I was enraged when I saw this. No exaggeration, I swore I’d never watch another Seinfeld again.  Since then I have seen the episode a few times and realized…..it could have been worst I guess. It started so good, classic Seinfeld and some great callbacks. But I knew I was in trouble when I heard Newman’s speech about a wind coming in and shaking up Jerry’s play world. And then they got on that plane! From then on the episode went swiftly downhill.  I kept hoping it would get better, but it never did. There were very small B stories here. We had the story with Elaine and phone etiquette. Kramer getting water stuck in his ear. Forgetting they did that already, how long is he stuck with that in his ear? And of course George complaining that the waitress and later the guard is ignoring him. These were cute but of course the bulk of the episode was the dumb trial story.To be fair, again, I do understand what they were going for. But the creators made a couple fatal mistakes which just ruined the show.

So where exactly did this episode go wrong? Larry David decided to punish Jerry, George, Elaine, and even Kramer because they were not the nicest people, being selfish and greedy and so on.  Fair enough. But the creators forgot two things. The four were not all evil, there were redeeming traits. For example when Babu was sent back to Pakistan they did care. Babu says “but they don’t care, they’re completely indifferent!” Well, no. Not really. I mean Jerry and Elaine were upset about it and did try to get a lawyer to help him. It didn’t work out but it was not the way it was portrayed here as if they were mocking and laughing at him. Even when Susan died, I think George was happy the problem was solved not that she was dead.  He admitted he mourned for her in his own way. Sometimes I think the creators wanted the characters to be totally evil but that never happened. Their likability always came out. The second thing the writers forgot is that most of the time, the characters got punished for the bad things they did. There is very little that didn’t come to bite them one way or another. Did Jerry get punished for stealing the rye? Hell yeah! The worst thing is that to make this episode work most of the things brought up in the trial were misunderstandings. Elaine did not try to kill Mr.Pitt, Jerry and Elaine had no idea about Poppie’s condition (deleted scene has Poppie bringing this up as if Jerry and Elaine knew full well the harm that would be caused) and of course the fact Jerry apologized is not mentioned, Elaine falling into Sidra was an accident, Kramer was not a pimp, George was not a communist, Jerry thought he returned that library book, and if the low talker had spoken up Jerry would have never been stuck in the puffy shirt! And by the way, how does the contest make them horrible people exactly? Having to stretch or exaggerate the situations to make the plot work is what hurt the show more than anything else.

Jerry Seinfeld commented that one of the things people hated about this was that it didn’t feel like a Seinfeld episode because it was so big. You know what, I agree 100%! This didn’t feel like a Seinfeld episode and that also hurt it. In fact as the show goes on the four kind of vanish, it almost becomes the story of the guest stars rather than the story of the regulars! I remember wondering what the heck I was watching my first time. My big question about that trial is, why didn’t their friends testify? Bania, Mickey, Keith, and even J.Peterman never said anything in their defense (deleted scenes included). How about their parents or even Uncle Leo? Also, why didn’t we see Jackie Chiles cross examine anyone? He could have established, for example, that George may have gotten into the fight with The Bubble Boy but it was Susan who popped the bubble. Or that the Soup Nazi was incredibly rude to Elaine justifying her actions later. I can defend almost everything in this episode (except George storming over the kids and screaming about the fire, that one is kind of hard to excuse) and demonstrate at least within reasonable doubt that most of the time the four are victims of circumstance and not evil people who mock society.

It is clear that Larry David wanted the four to end up in jail, so much so he made it so they didn’t even get a fair shot. Worse than that, the characters were written flat out wrong to make the story work. Larry David said if he were to do this episode over the only thing he would change would be to make the gang cowardly rather than mocking during the mugging. Again, I agree! When have we ever seen Jerry, Elaine, and Kramer act so coldly? Even George is out of character in that scene. To be blunt, this was a badly written episode. I hated the tag in the end, why would Jerry, George, and Kramer be in maximum security? They didn’t kill someone!  Apparently they added that because they realized the ending with the line from the pilot was too bittersweet, they needed something else. Yeah, nothing like hitting us when we’re down! Thanks guys! It was just the icing on the cake of what was a really really disappointing way to end one of the best series ever.

Grade=C-, average to be kind which is a tragedy for a series finale. Talk about going out with a whimper

Before we conclude I wanted to briefly mention the Seinfeld reunion which took place a few years ago on Curb Your Enthusiasm. I was excited to hear they were doing a mock reunion, but had to wait for the dvd’s to watch it. When I did, I was impressed. They did a good job recreating the sets and bringing the characters back to life. They also took the chance to show different angles which we never saw on Seinfeld, like what a coffee shop scene looked like from reverse. While it didn’t make me wish the show was still on, the episode felt like a late season episode of Seinfeld which isn’t a good thing, it was nice to have the gang back one last time and did make up for the finale a bit. In fact the mock reunion was a great example of what I would have like the finale to be, not the overblown mess we ended up with.

 

Well, that’s it. 9 seasons, 180 episodes. I have had lots of fun watching these episodes again, getting to see the stuff that you can’t due to syndication. I feel like I got to experience the show all over and even learned a few new things on the way. If you had the same experience than I have accomplished what I set out to do. This show is very special to me, when it first came on I was in high school. When it ended I had been married for over a year! This show was a big part of my life and every season brings back all sorts of great memories.

 

Not sure if I will do one of these again, so I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. If you didn’t, well, that’s a shame.  :)

Analytical Episode Guide-Seinfeld (Season 9, Part 4)

An Analytical Episode Guide to:

Season 9, Part 4

Episode 19, Season 9

The Maid

Plot Summary-Jerry hired a maid and the starts to date her. George gets an unwanted nickname at work. Kramer’s girlfriend moves downtown. Elaine resent her new area code.

Best Quote-“Well there’s nothing more sophisticated than diddling the maid and chewing some gum”….Elaine

Nitpick of the episode-Do I really have to get into the idiocy of the Kramer story? Why does he act like a few miles away is equivalent to hundreds of miles away? By the way, isn’t Jerry a neat freak?
 What the heck does he need a maid for?

Seinfeldism of the episode-Koko, that chimp’s alright (yeah, I hate it to)

Deleted Scenes-George sneaking the maid into the meeting

Episode Fun Fact-Was the scene where the firefighters storm into Elaine’s apartment intended as homage to Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Christmas Vacation? If not it’s a big coincidence that a very similar thing happens to her in that film. This is sort of the last regular episode of this show.

Final Thoughts-The fact that this was the third to last episode kills me. It’s so dumb! First we have George’s story. What is dumb about this isn’t the nickname part, I kind of get that, it’s the name he gets stuck with. Did the writers of this show have some kind of fascination with Koko the Monkey? She was a throw away joke in “The Dealership” and here she is a plot point! Ah, guys, the monkey isn’t that funny! And the solution about bringing a maid in who happens to have that name is lame. Elaine’s story about the new area code is also really good, until she gets the wrong number from the kid. Then it just gets, well, uncomfortable. Obviously the writers had no idea what to do with this premise. And why didn’t the firefighters even try knocking on her door first? And they can’t tell Elaine isn’t a dying grandmother? Then we have Kramer’s story, which I have already pointed out is lame. Kramer had been doing so well this season, until they decided to make him an idiot over these last few episodes. Sure it’s not too bad in the start but it gets so lame! The scene at the end where he is crying he is lost is dumb!!!! Ever heard of a cab? Or the subway? Finally, we have Jerry’s story about the maid. This isn’t so bad either, but then it becomes a metaphor for prostitution and somehow by the end of this episode I fell, well, dirty. Esepcially that last scene with Kramer, god is that uncomfortable. There is one good gag, when the four friends try to have a conversation at the counter. We get a great example why this has never been done before. Other than that, I hated this episode.

Grade=C-, every story starts strong but ends poorly

Episode 20, Season 9

The Puerto Rican Day

 

Plot Summary-Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer get stuck in traffic during New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade

Best Quote-“It’s like this every day in Puerto Rico”….Kramer

Nitpick of the episode-First of all, if I were in a theatre and someone was aiming a laser pointer at the screen, I WOULD NOT be laughing and commenting on how brilliant the guy was. I would be aggravated beyond belief!!  That scene always pisses me off! Who laughs at that while trying to watch the movie? And news flash George, your zinger is stupid and flat out insensitive. The real question of course is how does this laser pointer guy manage to keep a bead on George no matter where George may be standing?

Seinfeldism of the episode- this is the only time that Kramer, Jerry, and George’s alter ego’s Pennypacker, Varnsen, and Vandelay manage to appear in the same scene

Deleted Scenes-None for this episode

Episode Fun Fact-Of course there was a whole controversy with this episode regarding the scene where Kramer burns the Puerto Rican flag and the general way that Puerto Ricans were portrayed. I always felt that this all blown way out of context. Seinfeld has done more potentially offensive stuff which never offended anyone. I think that some people saw a chance for a little attention with all the hype surrounding the show, and made a big deal out of this issue. Jerry Seinfeld himself admitted that once the finale aired, this issue very quickly disappeared.  By the way, almost every writer has their hand on this one because it was last episode written by the standard writing staff.

Final Thoughts-The idea of the gang being stuck in a traffic is very good one. Who hasn’t had to deal with that situation? Too bad they had to muck it up. To be fair, it does feel like it’s trying to be a classic episode. And in some ways it succeeds. But stupid things have to pop in, most notably is George and his idiotic laser pointer story. What the heck was that all about? Elaine’s story is pretty good; she is just trying to get home and ends up in a “Poseidon Adventure”-esque situation. Kramer is pretty good in this one, thankfully, and it is clear that his burning the flag was an accident. In fact he is the only one of the four excited to be there. Jerry once again really has no story, as he lets the other three take over. Well, he does exchange insults with the other car but that hardly counts as a story. I would say it was nice to see Cedric and Bob again, but I never cared much for them. Despite the controversy I kind of liked this episode, pretty good especially for a season 9 episode.

Grade=B-, feels more like a classic episode but still not quite. Maybe if they’d lost that idiotic laser pointer nonsense

Episode 21 & 22, Season 9

The Chronicle

Plot Summary-A special look back at the last nine years

Best Quote-“It seemed like every week a whole new set of problems would just crop up out of nowhere. Except for summer, where nothing seemed to happen for months at a time”….Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-Missing clips they featured in the first clip show, I get why they weren’t included but some would have been nice

Seinfeldism of the episode-The whole show

Deleted Scenes-Originally the network cut a lot of it out

Episode Fun Fact-NBC cut this short to make room for the very large final episode, it also has a second opening for the syndicated re-runs that did not appear in the original show

Final Thoughts-Of course this aired just before the finale, and in fact I enjoyed this clip show more than the actual episode. Especially the opening to the Superman theme, brilliant. This was a great way to get us excited for the ultimate disappointment to come

Grade=A+

Episode 23 & 24, Season 9

The Finale

 

Plot Summary-NBC decides to produce Jerry and George’s sitcom. As a treat, they give the gang free use of the corporate jet. On the way to Paris, an emergency landing causes them to land in a small town in Massachusetts. When they fail to act to stop a mugging, the four get arrested for violating the Good Samaritan Law.

Best Quote- "The second button is the key button. It literally makes or breaks the shirt. Look at it. It's too high. It's in no-man's land."

"Haven't we had this conversation before?"

"You think?"

"I think we have."

"Yeah, maybe we have."……..Jerry and George in the episode’s final lines which are also the very first lines of the pilot, one touch I really liked

Nitpick of the episode-Gee, where do I begin? I think I will defer all comments to the end. I will say one thing. GOOD SAMARITAN LAW????????  WTF???? Ok to be fair there is a law in Massachusetts requiring that people report a crime if they witness one occurring. But guess what, the punishment is just a stiff fine (not even close to the one said in the show) and no jail time!! I don’t think not helping someone would result in the trial of the century! Plus, the crime that Jerry and friends commit would not technically be a violation of “The Good Samaritan Law”  which is to protect accident victims or people who are hurt and injured, and the law they did “violate” applies in certain situations-not the one the four find themselves in! They couldn’t have made this up more if they tried!!!!! Ok, got to calm down, haven’t even gotten to the final thoughts yet.

Seinfeldism of the episode-George admits he cheated during “The Contest”, Jerry discourages George from starting an open door urination policy. Elaine has trouble with cellphone etiquette including a phone face off

Deleted Scenes-WAAAYY to much to list here. Let’s just say that lots of great moments were cut out, and thank heavens we can see them on the DVD. I would love to see this moments recut into the episode sometime.

Episode Fun Fact-Of course, series creator Larry David returned to write this final episode. I was happy about that, until I saw the episode. One bright side is that his return meant Jerry was able to do some original stand up for the opening. Seeing that red curtain again and having the show start out like a classic episode made me very happy. That feeling did not last.

Final Thoughts-Well, here we are at long last. The series finale. Let’s start with the good stuff first, at least as much of it as there is. What I liked the finale:

*The first fifteen minutes. It felt like a regular Seinfeld episode, and a good one. I also liked that they resurrected “Jerry”. Alas, they had to get on that plane!

*All the guest spots. Yeah, it was fun to see all those recurring characters again even if it spoiled the episode at the same time. I was surprise to see The Virgin, and glad they did Steinbrenner one last time.

*That cell phone etiquette made into an episode. This was just before the cell phone eruption, but was happy to see it made it into one script.

*They landed in Massachusetts (I live there, that’s why) although Latham is a fake town

*Jackie Chiles opening remarks. I like it because I agree with everything he says

*They remembered the early years. I was afraid they would totally ignore the first couple years but we get callbacks to “The Parking Garage”, “The Library”, “The Red Dot” (in a deleted scene) and of course “The Café”.  I was happy to see them remember those classic episodes.

*The judge was named Art Vandelay (predictable but still a cute touch) and they brought Babu back (just wish the circumstances were different)

Ok, let me make one thing clear. I understand this is Seinfeld. I wasn’t expecting an ending like The Mary Tyler Moore Show where the gang was hugging and crying. I do also understand they were never going to live up to all the hype, I get that. What I would have liked was a throwback to the early days, and just do a nice slow paced episode commenting on the things the show may have missed. Kind of like the last episode of Everybody Loves Raymond (only maybe a little bigger than that). Instead what did we get? The equivalent of the cast and crew giving us the finger. Yes others have said that before me but it sums it up so well. It was like we were being told that we were fools for loving this show for nine years, and that is not the way you want to treat your loyal audience.

Actually, this whole episode could have been salvaged if they had just done one thing. One last scene, fast forward one year if they want, with the gang back in the apartment. Show that they learned nothing as they bicker about something, and that’s it. Throwing them in prison was like a punch to the gut, I was enraged when I saw this. No exaggeration, I swore I’d never watch another Seinfeld again.  Since then I have seen the episode a few times and realized…..it could have been worst I guess. It started so good, classic Seinfeld and some great callbacks. But I knew I was in trouble when I heard Newman’s speech about a wind coming in and shaking up Jerry’s play world. And then they got on that plane! From then on the episode went swiftly downhill.  I kept hoping it would get better, but it never did. There were very small B stories here. We had the story with Elaine and phone etiquette. Kramer getting water stuck in his ear. Forgetting they did that already, how long is he stuck with that in his ear? And of course George complaining that the waitress and later the guard is ignoring him. These were cute but of course the bulk of the episode was the dumb trial story.To be fair, again, I do understand what they were going for. But the creators made a couple fatal mistakes which just ruined the show.

So where exactly did this episode go wrong? Larry David decided to punish Jerry, George, Elaine, and even Kramer because they were not the nicest people, being selfish and greedy and so on.  Fair enough. But the creators forgot two things. The four were not all evil, there were redeeming traits. For example when Babu was sent back to Pakistan they did care. Babu says “but they don’t care, they’re completely indifferent!” Well, no. Not really. I mean Jerry and Elaine were upset about it and did try to get a lawyer to help him. It didn’t work out but it was not the way it was portrayed here as if they were mocking and laughing at him. Even when Susan died, I think George was happy the problem was solved not that she was dead.  He admitted he mourned for her in his own way. Sometimes I think the creators wanted the characters to be totally evil but that never happened. Their likability always came out. The second thing the writers forgot is that most of the time, the characters got punished for the bad things they did. There is very little that didn’t come to bite them one way or another. Did Jerry get punished for stealing the rye? Hell yeah! The worst thing is that to make this episode work most of the things brought up in the trial were misunderstandings. Elaine did not try to kill Mr.Pitt, Jerry and Elaine had no idea about Poppie’s condition (deleted scene has Poppie bringing this up as if Jerry and Elaine knew full well the harm that would be caused) and of course the fact Jerry apologized is not mentioned, Elaine falling into Sidra was an accident, Kramer was not a pimp, George was not a communist, Jerry thought he returned that library book, and if the low talker had spoken up Jerry would have never been stuck in the puffy shirt! And by the way, how does the contest make them horrible people exactly? Having to stretch or exaggerate the situations to make the plot work is what hurt the show more than anything else.

Jerry Seinfeld commented that one of the things people hated about this was that it didn’t feel like a Seinfeld episode because it was so big. You know what, I agree 100%! This didn’t feel like a Seinfeld episode and that also hurt it. In fact as the show goes on the four kind of vanish, it almost becomes the story of the guest stars rather than the story of the regulars! I remember wondering what the heck I was watching my first time. My big question about that trial is, why didn’t their friends testify? Bania, Mickey, Keith, and even J.Peterman never said anything in their defense (deleted scenes included). How about their parents or even Uncle Leo? Also, why didn’t we see Jackie Chiles cross examine anyone? He could have established, for example, that George may have gotten into the fight with The Bubble Boy but it was Susan who popped the bubble. Or that the Soup Nazi was incredibly rude to Elaine justifying her actions later. I can defend almost everything in this episode (except George storming over the kids and screaming about the fire, that one is kind of hard to excuse) and demonstrate at least within reasonable doubt that most of the time the four are victims of circumstance and not evil people who mock society.

It is clear that Larry David wanted the four to end up in jail, so much so he made it so they didn’t even get a fair shot. Worse than that, the characters were written flat out wrong to make the story work. Larry David said if he were to do this episode over the only thing he would change would be to make the gang cowardly rather than mocking during the mugging. Again, I agree! When have we ever seen Jerry, Elaine, and Kramer act so coldly? Even George is out of character in that scene. To be blunt, this was a badly written episode. I hated the tag in the end, why would Jerry, George, and Kramer be in maximum security? They didn’t kill someone!  Apparently they added that because they realized the ending with the line from the pilot was too bittersweet, they needed something else. Yeah, nothing like hitting us when we’re down! Thanks guys! It was just the icing on the cake of what was a really really disappointing way to end one of the best series ever.

Grade=C-, average to be kind which is a tragedy for a series finale. Talk about going out with a whimper

Before we conclude I wanted to briefly mention the Seinfeld reunion which took place a few years ago on Curb Your Enthusiasm. I was excited to hear they were doing a mock reunion, but had to wait for the dvd’s to watch it. When I did, I was impressed. They did a good job recreating the sets and bringing the characters back to life. They also took the chance to show different angles which we never saw on Seinfeld, like what a coffee shop scene looked like from reverse. While it didn’t make me wish the show was still on, the episode felt like a late season episode of Seinfeld which isn’t a good thing, it was nice to have the gang back one last time and did make up for the finale a bit. In fact the mock reunion was a great example of what I would have like the finale to be, not the overblown mess we ended up with.

 

Well, that’s it. 9 seasons, 180 episodes. I have had lots of fun watching these episodes again, getting to see the stuff that you can’t due to syndication. I feel like I got to experience the show all over and even learned a few new things on the way. If you had the same experience than I have accomplished what I set out to do. This show is very special to me, when it first came on I was in high school. When it ended I had been married for over a year! This show was a big part of my life and every season brings back all sorts of great memories.

 

Not sure if I will do one of these again, so I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. If you didn’t, well, that’s a shame.  :)

Analytical Episode Guide-Seinfeld (Season 9, Part 3)

 

An Analytical Episode Guide to:

 

Season 9, Part 3

Episode 13, Season 9

The Cartoon

Plot Summary-Elaine draws a cartoon for The New Yorker. George dates a woman with a more than passing resemblance to Jerry. Kramer takes a vow of silence. Jerry is incorporated into a friends comedy act.

Best Quote-“Alright starting now!”…..Kramer

Nitpick of the episode-What is up with Kramer and his big mouth in this episode? Sure he has been known to blurt things out before but here he doesn’t seem to have any idea that he might be crossing the line and repeating things that Jerry told him is too much

Seinfeldism of the episode-Newman congratulates Sally on creating a “show that’s actually…about something”

Deleted Scenes- Elaine trying to get credit for the cartoon, Kramer having trouble with not speaking

Episode Fun Fact-The Jerry story in this episode is based on actual events when Kathy Griffin incorporated her previous experience on the show into her act

Final Thoughts-This episode has two major problems. One is that they decided to keep Kramer quiet for half the episode. That didn’t work for me, and this is one time his character is boring. To be fair, a lot of the funny stuff ended up on the cutting room floor. If those scenes had been included the episode may have worked better. The other problem is George’s story, which is just unsettling. The notion of him dating a woman who looks like Jerry is just creepy, and not the least bit funny. Plus we get not just one, but two scenes of George raging and running out of the room. Great. Elaine’s story is pretty good, but not great. Why does she care so much about that dumb cartoon? The highlight of the episode is the story about Sally Weaver using Jerry in his standup. This is funny, at first. It actually gets old kind of fast and by the end I am just ready for this one to end. Truth is in the real world Jerry could have sued Sally and won big for defamation of character, you just can’t do what she does in this episode and that kind of spoils it.

Grade=C+, a silent Kramer? Fail!

Episode 14, Season 9

The Strongbox

Plot Summary-Kramer acquires a strongbox to keep his valuables. George’s girlfriend refuses to break up with him. Jerry offends a neighbor while Elaine dates a poor man.

Best Quote-“Both parties don’t have to consent to a breakup. It’s not like your launching missles form a submarine and you both have to turn your keys”…Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-I don’t understand why George’s girlfriend would want to stay with him when he so clearly isn’t interested in being with her. The arguments she makes are good if they had been dating for years, not a few weeks. By the way, what is up with Kramer in this episode? Two stupid episodes in a row, a shame after all the raving I have done about him for this season.

Seinfeldism of the episode-Jerry’s cufflinks gives him an in to strike up a conversation with Jerry Lewis

Deleted Scenes-None for this episode

Episode Fun Fact-They couldn’t even get a little detail like an apartment number right, since the neighbor has the same apartment as Newman

Final Thoughts-Oh dear lord, not this episode! This is one of the sloppiest, dumbest, most inane episodes ever! Ok, let’s take this one story at a time. Elaine’s is really boring. It’s one of those things you forget two minutes after you watch the episode. The bit with the buzzer is cute. George’s story, believe it or not, is the only good one. Not only is this a rage-free George, but the story is almost clever. What would you do if the girl you wanted to break up with refused? Jerry’s story is lousy, but because it makes no sense. Are we really supposed to believe he didn’t recognize the neighbor who lives almost across the hall from him! And was the bird invisible or something before? Kramer’s story is soooo bad. First he hides the lockbox key in the dumbest places, did he take his stupid pills before this episode? Jerry’s jacket pocket??? Jamming it in the buzzer? WTF??? Then it gets worst! Kramer inadvertently kills the bird that lived across the hall after he ate the key which Jerry needs to open the lockbox. Problem is they need to get into the lockbox. What do they do? THEY DESECRATE A PET CEMETARY!!!  And the best part is when it turns out the lockbox was never locked in the first place! Aaargh!! This is beyond dumb; I can’t even find the words! I am going to stop talking about this now before this post lasts a whole page. This episode sucks, enough said.

Grade=D+, George’s story is keeping it from being an F

Episode 15, Season 9

The Wizard

Plot Summary-Jerry buys his father an electronic organizer. Elaine isn’t sure if her boyfriend is black or not. Kramer retires to Florida and runs for condo president. George likes to Susan’s parents about purchasing a house in the Hamptons.

Best Quote-“It does other things!”….an exasperated Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-Kramer sells the movie rights to his coffee table book. Ok……… By the way its nice to see Elaine has learned how to pick up someone else’s mail. If you recall my rant in “The Visa”, I noted Elaine not only held Jerry’s mail but never even looked through it. Here we see her looking through it in his apartment. A small thing but I’ll take it.

Seinfeldism of the episode-Jerry’s father thinks the wizard is just a tip calculator

Deleted Scenes-A scene with Bob Saccamano Sr.

Episode Fun Fact-Of course wizard electronic organizers are a real thing

Final Thoughts-Remember the early days when Jerry’s parents were played like normal, albeit quirky, people? Well it seems like the writers sure forgot. Exactly when did Helen and Morty become cartoon parodies of themselves? Maybe I’m being too hard, but this is one episode I don’t like them in. Ironic since it’s the last one they’re in. But the jokes about the old people in Florida are just plain tired. I liked George’s story, while George did not kill Susan directly he sure played a role. I don’t know, I enjoy watching her parents get a little payback by making him suffer. It’s also an amazing example of how far George will go to keep a lie going. As for Kramer’s story, it isn’t bad but it’s not my favorite story of the year. Just because you move him to Florida doesn’t mean it isn’t the same old Kramer, which is what this story is. It is an improvement over the last two episodes. It is nice to see Seinfeld do a race related story, and they do a good job of dealing with the issue sensitively (at least for this show). That being said, do we really care about whether or not Elaine’s boyfriend is black or not? And the little teases were cute at first but get boring.  

Grade=B-, could be worst

Episode 16, Season 9

The Burning

 

Plot Summary-Elaine discovers that Puddy is religious. Jerry’s girlfriend refers to a mysterious tractor story. George finds himself doing the work for his boss. Kramer and Mickey perform disease symptoms for med students.

Best Quote-“Well, I’ve got gonorrhea”…..Kramer in one of the season’s genuinely funny moments

Nitpick of the episode-It is a little hard to believe at this point that Elaine had no idea Puddy was religious, and if he is religious why didn’t he care more that he traumatized the priest in “The Face Painter”

Seinfeldism of the episode-Sophie gives Jerry the “it’s me” on the phone, Kramer is typecast, George tries to learn showmanship  

Deleted Scenes-The weird guy acting as if he his surgeon had left a sponge in him, George making a quick exit after hitting a fast high note

Episode Fun Fact-Dedicated to the memory of Lloyd Bridges

Final Thoughts-I love this episode! Not only are there really good jokes in here, but we get a script which does not have George raging like a loon! You have no idea what a relief this episode is, to have the George I liked back. Too bad his story isn’t that spectacular, but you can’t have everything I guess. The showmanship thing just doesn’t go very far though it is clever. Kramer really makes his story work, and it’s a clever parody on the typecasting I am sure Michel Richard feared would actually befall him. Elaine’s story is really good as she discovers Puddy is religious. One of my favorite lines comes when Elaine asks him what the fact she is not religious doesn’t bother him. He responds “you’re the one going to hell”. Then we find out that they would both be going anyway in a clever moment. Jerry’s story is good to, as he tries to figure out what his girlfriend’s secret is. Four good stories with actual funny jokes makes for one decent episode.

 Grade=A, solid

Episode 17, Season 9

The Bookstore

 

Plot Summary-Jerry spots Uncle Leo shoplifting at a bookstore. George can’t get rid of a book he took into the bathroom with him. Elaine has a fake relationship with a co-worker. Kramer and Newman start a rickshaw business.

Best Quote-“We made out at the table like our plane was going down”…Elaine

Nitpick of the episode-Yeah, if I knew where that book had been I wouldn’t want to lay hands on it either

Seinfeldism of the episode-George’s book has been flagged

Deleted Scenes-Elaine hearing about her new office rep

Episode Fun Fact-First episode since season 4 to have music rather than a final scene over the closing credits

Final Thoughts-The teaser is very unique, as we see Kramer doing all sorts of things in, and to, Jerry’s apartment (including riding that famous bike that always hung in the background). This bit felt like the writers knew it was the last few episodes and decided to have some fun. Funny but also a tad contrived. As for the episode, it seems like every episode has to have a weak story. This time its Elaine’s turn. The whole thing about her having a fake boyfriend just feels flat. We barely even meet the guy and the story feels like it’s over before it’s begun. Uncle Leo gets one last appearance and its good, including a clever Cape Fear parody. Unfortunately it’s almost more Leo’s story than Jerry’s which kind of sucks. The rickshaw story is silly, but somehow it works. That final scene with Newman rolling down the steep hill is a very clever moment obviously filmed in downtown LA. Although having him run into Elaine’s fake boyfriend is a tad forced. I don’t think anyone would defend George in this one, but its funny watching him determined to get rid of that book somehow.

Grade=B, ok

Episode 18, Season 9

The Frogger

 

Plot Summary-George’s purchases a Frogger machine so his high school will live forever. Elaine eats an antique piece of cake owned by Peterman. Kramer makes use of police caution tape. Jerry dates a sentence finsher.

Best Quote-“Game Over”…..Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-I think George should have looked at the big picture. Why not just purchases the machine and bring it home, and he can play it all he wants? Why fixate on a silly high score? Isn’t the machine the source of the good time he had those years ago? Also what are the chances that score is still there anyway, even if no one had beaten the score are we supposed to believe the pizza place never lost power once in all that time? And I’m not even going to mention that the arcade version of the game doesn’t allow people to input their initials, it just displays high scores.

Seinfeldism of the episode-Jerry complains his girlfriend is a sentence finisher, saying it’s like dating Mad Libs. Very glad to see Entenmanns’s get a mention in a Seinfeld episode, what took so long?

Deleted Scenes- There was a whole story about Kramer and a girl he liked which ended up on the cutting room floor

Episode Fun Fact-Jason Alexander did his own stunt in the final scene of this episode

Final Thoughts-Yeah, I kind of like this episode. The whole thing with The Frogger is silly but somehow it works. I used to love to play that game so I got a kick out of that final scene. Elaine’s story is funny to, and for once one of her stories has an actual ending as Peterman points out how much of a mistake it will be that she ate such an old cake. Kramer’s story is kind of weak, but as I noted the deleted scenes include a big chunk of story he was supposed to have. So, I can forgive it if it seems like he gets a little shortchanged here. The whole thing about the serial killer is lame, and probably the one weak part of the episode. Jerry’s story is bland to, but that sequence where he is breaking up with Lisi is really clever so I will let it go. This episode is silly, but the silliness doesn’t seem to be so crazy that it spoils the show.

Grade=B+, in many ways I consider this the final good episode of Seinfeld. I will discuss why next week as I look at the final three episodes including the overhyped, and very disappointing, finale.

Analytical Episode Guide-Seinfeld (Season 9, Part 2)

An Analytical Episode Guide to:

 

Season 9, Part 2

Episode 7, Season 9

The Slicer

 

Plot Summary-Elaine’s neighbor leaves his alarm clock on. Kramer discovers new uses for his meat slicer. George realizes he had a run in with his new boss years ago. Jerry dates a dermatologist.

Best Quote-“Sadly that knowledge could have helped me”….Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-Kramer exceeds his own thoughtlessness in this episode by using benzene on Jerry’s hand towel to wipe his slicer down. When Jerry tosses him the canister Kramer yells out that its toxic. Gee, funny how you knew that in that moment but couldn’t figure it out when you were using Jerry’s hand towel to clean the thing! I know Kramer is kind of a mooch but I would still expect him to be a little more considerate than that.

Seinfeldism of the episode-Jerry tries the revenge date

Deleted Scenes-None for this episode

Episode Fun Fact-George’s appearance in the flashback in this episode doesn’t quite match how he really looked back in 1989

Final Thoughts-Last week I noted that George gets real annoying in this season, yelling and screaming like a loon. However, there wasn’t too much of that in the episodes I discussed last week. Well, that changes in a big way with this episode. Before we get to that let’s talk about the rest of the episode. First of all, I love Elaine’s dream in the beginning. If you’ve only seen this in syndication and don’t know what I am talking about, check out the DVD. Not only is it a cute moment, but as a dream it’s so symbolic and accurate. Clever. Elaine’s story is pretty relatable but when the neighbor also a cat it starts to feel forced. If the neighbor leaves for days or weeks at a time why not board the cat or something? Kramer’s story is a pretty subdued one, but it still works out. Always fun to see Dr Van Nostrand again. It’s funny to see Jerry so sure that he has the means to get revenge on his date only to have it backfire. This is classic Jerry here. I didn’t like the aloe joke, there are dozens of acne and skin medicines out there. George’s story really isn’t bad. He’s actually pretty good inthis episode but we can see the seeds of where his character is going in the next few episodes. There are lots of callbacks in this episode including one to “The Revenge” which is really good. I am not sure airbrushing works quite the way it is portrayed in this episode, but that’s ok. And if you look closely at the end of the episode you can see George is still in the photo. I love his new boss, Mr. Kruger Is so daffy and quirky.

Grade=B+, decent episode especially for the 9^th season

Grade=C+, the gimmick, while very good, is all this episode has to offer except for the tag which is hilarious

Final Thoughts- The gimmick in this episode is really fun. They did a great job with the whole backward thing with little gags like Kramer’s lollipop.  However, if you look past that you realize this episode is missing something very important. Humor. Truth is if you take away the gimmick of having the episode start at the end and work backward, the show is really a dud. The worst part is Kramer’s story, what the heck was that about? I mean just because someone wishes you to drop dead doesn’t guarantee you will. That would be like having Newman wishing for a model on a birthday cake and inexplicably getting her….wait, they did that to! This episode is so dumb! Elaine’s story is ok, except since when did she drink like that? There was something unsettling about this unnecessary new character trait. I like the Schnapps’ reference it brought memories of Hennigans from way back. We get Sue Ellen Mischke one last time which is cool. Jerry and George actually have a good story, I really can’t complain about it except one thing, more overacting from George. His exasperated way of saying his lines is wearing very thin but at least it’s only for a small part of this one. The best part of this episode is the tag, where we go back two years and see Susan one last time. It was a nice surprise to see her. Then we go even further back, and see Jerry moving into his apartment. Jerry tells Kramer that they should share things since they are neighbors, and this little moment is just a brilliant one.

Episode Fun Fact-This episode is an allusion to Harold Pinter’s play Betrayal, and the character Pinter is obviously named after him

Deleted Scenes-George and Nina’a date, George trying to avoid going to the bathroom. Ever notice the balloons in the final (first?) coffee shop scene? There was a reason for that involving Kramer and a kids birthday party but it got cut

Seinfeldism of the episode-Elaine’s vault is useless because too many people know the combination (schnapps), Elaine calls Sue Ellen’s invitation an “unvitation”

Nitpick of the episode-Nina’s reason for going to India is one of flimsiest, weakest things I have ever heard in a sitcom or anything else. It was as if the writers just didn’t care. A free trip to India, that’s why she went? That doesn’t even make sense!! Oh, and why does George worry about going to the bathroom in India when it was Elaine who was advised against it by Pinter’s parents?

Best Quote-“You can stuff your sorries in a sack mister!”….George, and we learn he got that from Susan

Plot Summary-Elaine goes to a wedding in India to spite the bride. Jerry sets up George with an old acquaintance named Nina, and then has sex with her. Kramer tries to keep a friend’s wish from coming true.

 

The Betrayal

Episode 8, Season 9

(oh, you knew I was going to reverse that, didn’t you?)

Episode 9, Season 9

The Apology

 

Plot Summary-George demands an apology from an old friend who is a recovering alcoholic. Jerry dates a woman who does not wear clothes. Kramer tries to cut down his shower time. Elaine’s co-worker fears germs.

Best Quote-“The female body is a work of art. The male body is utilitarian, it’s for getting around. It’s like a jeep”…..Elaine

Nitpick of the episode-I get being a germophobe, but Peggy crosses the line into being a bitch. She can’t drink the water Elaine briefly touched, but can drink an almost empty bottle that the fellow next to her had just been drinking? Right. By the way, I am not one who worries about germs. I really don’t care for the most part. But if someone told me the food I had been eating was in the shower with them, I think I would also find that a little gross.

Seinfeldism of the episode-Good naked vs. bad naked, and yes there is such a thing

Deleted Scenes-None for this episode

Episode Fun Fact-Of course Jerry’s girlfriend, or the actress, was covered when filming

Final Thoughts-This is actually a pretty good episode, except for George and is ranting. During the course of the episode George is brought to rage-a-holics, which makes sense in the context of the episode but where has this behavior been the last eight years? I can buy the story about him wanting an apology, but why does he have to be filled with rage? It almost felt like Jason Alexander forgot how to play the character or something. Jerry’s story isn’t bad, but it also doesn’t really amount to anything, It’s hard to have a whole story based on what is essentially a one joke gag. I am not sure how to feel about Kramer and the shower thing. I mean, for almost half the episode he is stuck in the shower, it gets kind of boring to be honest with you. Finally, I am totally on Elaine’s side in this one, if I were her I would have done far worst to Peggy. By the way, this is one episode I really like Puddy in.

Grade=B-, George dumbs the episode down

Episode 10, Season 9

The Strike

 

Plot Summary-Kramer goes back to work. George invents his own charity. Elaine gives out a fake phone number. Jerry dates a “two-faced”.

Best Quote-“She’s like a 3-D baseball card that changes depending on the angle”….Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-I can’t help but feel that everything Elaine does in this episode is just a huge waste of time

Seinfeldism of the episode-Festivus for the rest of us, Jerry’s girl is two-faced

Deleted Scenes-Jerry and Kruger discussing the charity money

Episode Fun Fact-The amazing thing is that Fesitvus has really taken off, it is literally celebrated and there are even companies which sell poles you can buy. Ben & Jerry’s also created and ice cream flavor called Festivus, which I sadly never tried

Final Thoughts-This is one of my favorite holiday episodes, I watch it every Christmas. Ever notice how there are four separate stories plus the Festivus story? Actually that kind of hurts the episode. There is a lot going on. Elaine’s story is the worst. Chasing a fake number just so she can get a lousy free sub? Dumb. Jerry’s story is kind of lame to, why does the woman’s face keep changing like that? If there was a reason for it than I may let it go, but as it is its just mean. George giving out fake Christmas gifts is funny. I wish I could say he was totally rage free in this episode but we still get a scene of him raging as he runs out of the room. Seems like every episode this season has to have at least one. Kramer is the star of the episode. Sure, the idea he has been on strike for ten years is a little hard to buy but watching him try to make bagels makes it worth it. As I noted the amazing thing is that the fake holiday in this episode is literally celebrated by people every December 23^rd. That’s just a little scary.

Grade=A-­­, Elaine’s story is really lame but otherwise this is a classic

Episode 11, Season 9

The Dealership

 

Plot Summary-Jerry decides to buy a new car from Puddy. A starving George accuses a mechanic of stealing his candy bar. Elaine gets tired of Puddy’s new habit. Kramer takes a car out for a very long test drive.

Best Quote-“You must thing I’m pretty stupid?”….George

Nitpick of the episode-As Elaine points out, what was the point of George and that candy line up? It doesn’t make sense; even if the manager had recognized the Twix how does that prove anything? It makes so little sense it has be to be mentioned in the script! Where did he get the candy, the vending machine was out of them! Of course the real question is, if George had the money to buy the candy for the lineup then why didn’t he just buy the extra Twix in the first place! I know George can be cheap, but what he does in this episode is ridiculous and only topped off by his excessive rage.

Seinfeldism of the episode-Puddy and his high fives

Deleted Scenes-Kramer loading hay into the car

Episode Fun Fact-Jerry’s apartment once again does not appear in this episode

Final Thoughts-Well, this is where George finally hits bottom with his rage. But let’s hold that discussion off for a second. Elaine really doesn’t have much to do in this episode but break up with Puddy and then get back together with him because of Jerry. The scene where Elaine and Puddy discuss the terms of their getting back together like they were buying a new car is cute. Kramer gets a very odd story. For once he spends almost the entire episode away from the others, as he test drives a car with the salesman for hours it seems. I’m just not sure what to think of this one, it is funny I guess but not sure what the point of it is (aside from getting the salesman fired maybe). I did always wonder why Jerry never wondered at any point what became of his friend. At the end the three are leaving in a cab, did they forget that Kramer was with them when they arrived? Jerry’s story here is that he’s buying a car. That’s pretty much as it as he feeds George and Elaine’s story. Jerry and Elaine do a little overacting but nothing compared to what we get from George. Speaking of George, let’s talk about it. To be fair his story is relatable. Who hasn’t had their candy get stuck in the vending machine, or the classic crinkled dollar bill which the machine stubbornly refuses to accept? The problem is the story just spirals down and gets nutty, until it reaches the point that I am on the side of the people in the dealership not George! At least in “The Merv Griffin Show” the problem was a horrible story George was stuck in, and in “The Apology” his rage was part of the script. Here the story is pretty good; it’s George (or more accurately the way he is played) that makes it hard to watch. I know he’s hungry, got it, but does he need to act like a raving loon culminating in that scene where he just screams into the air like a mental patient? If George behaved like this the majority of the series I don’t we think we would have stuck around for nine years! It’s a shame to; he spoils an otherwise decent episode.

Grade=C+, George flat out ruins this one

Episode 12, Season 9

The Reverse Peephole

 

Plot Summary-Kramer and Newman reverse their peepholes, and Newman is almost evicted. Elaine is bothered by Puddy’s new jacket. Jerry abandons his wallet which George refuses to do despite its enormous size.

Best Quote-“Cheapness is not a sense”….Jerry in response to George saying he has a sixth sense

Nitpick of the episode-That Joe Mayo is incredibly annoying, why anyone would want to go to his party is beyond me, Elaine says he never dated Puddy in winter but she dated him during hockey season in “The Face Painter” which, I believe, is winter

Seinfeldism of the episode-Jerry goes on a successful pocket diet by ditching his wallet

Deleted Scenes-A longer ending about Puddy’s new jacket which includes Newman

Episode Fun Fact-Original title for this was “The Man Fur”,  this was the first episode to air after the announcement that this would in fact be the final season of Seinfeld

Final Thoughts-This is getting redundant. This episode is pretty good, except for George once again! Forgetting the fact we have seen George take out his wallet many times and it was never been overstuffed like that, once again we are treated to more manic behavior. True it’s not nearly as bad in this episode, but it’s still here. Aside from that we have Kramer reversing his peephole, which makes no sense but since its Kramer we accept it. The whole story of Newman dating the landlord’s wife is ok. This is another stand out Kramer episode, notice how he gets involved in all the stories? It is kind of funny watching Elaine comment on Puddy’s odd jacket, and who wears fur like that? Jerry’s story really isn’t a story he just gets involved in parts of the other story. I think the idea was to have him act like a woman by the end with the fur and the handbag, but it doesn’t quite land. As for George, his whole story is the wallet. He spends a large portion of the episode on the vibrating chair, that’s how important he is to this episode.  I love how everyone assumes Kramer will pitch in on the gift; even though Kramer has no reason to since he has never even heard of Joe Mayo. It’s a great example of how they were so used to functioning as a group it doesn’t occur to them that one is not involved in the situation for once.

Grade=B, solid, if goofy, episode

Analytical Episode Guide-Seinfeld (Season 9, Part 1)

An Analytical Episode Guide to:

 

Season 9, Part 1

It was announced about mid way through season 9 that this would in fact be the final season of Seinfeld. To be honest with you, that didn’t disappoint me. The show had veered so far from what it once was. The jokes were broad, the stories were silly, and the characters almost parodies of themselves. We will talk about this more as we go, but the best example of this is George. He goes from being a likable neurotic to a total loon, full of rage and screaming like a nut all the time. Why did this have to happen? The finale was incredibly hyped, in fact I think only Cheers and maybe MASH could top it for the amount of attention it received. As a result, expectations were extraordinarily high. Everyone would be watching and wondering, could the final episode possibly live up to the hype even with the return of Larry David? Well, before we try to answer that let’s first talk about the episodes which came before it in this final season.

Episode 9, Season 1

The Butter Shave

 

Plot Summary-Kramer begins shaving with butter. George fakes a handicap to land a job. Jerry resent Bania for riding his coattails. Elaine has a flight from hell with Puddy who has returned to her life.

Best Quote-“Jerry let’s face it, I’ve always been handicapped. I’m just now getting the recognition for it”…George

Nitpick of the episode-Why is the man sitting next to Elaine dubbed vegetable lasagna? I never got that joke.

Seinfeldism of the episode-Bania is a “time slot hit”

Deleted Scenes-Bania rides Jerry’s coattails again at a deli

Episode Fun Fact-Julia Louis Dreyfuss has a story which involves her separate from the other cast and sitting for the majority of the episode because had just given birth and was on maternity leave.

Final Thoughts-One of the major trends for this season was bringing back recurring characters, we get Bania and Jenna (from The Pothole“) here, and almost every episode of the season brings back one or more characters. Then the finale brings back all of them, but we’ll get to that. As for the episode, Elaine is back in evil bitch mode again! It is really amazing in the last couple seasons how she switched back and forth. One episode she would be so nice, and then the next she would be so shrill you couldn’t stand her. We also get Puddy back. I never understood why they brought him back, but was ok with it. I guess the creators decided to finally give Elaine a long term relationship and making it with someone we’re already familiar with saves a lot of time. Her story aside, this is a decent episode. Jerry complaining about Bania is great parody of how the show made others popular by airing after it. Although the success rate of that is hard to gauge, does anyone remember Caroline in the City, Veronica’s Closet, or Madman of the People? I think Mad About You is the one show to start after Seinfeld and do well on its own merit. George pretending to be handicapped seems perfectly in character, so no problem with that. I like the way they acknowledge the previous season ender and then quickly push it away. Yeah, Kramer gets the silly story of the week but somehow it works for me. The opening to the episode had the guys sporting moustaches; glad that didn’t last past the opening credits.

Grade=C+, A decent enough start to the season

Episode 9, Season 2

The Voice

 

Plot Summary-Jerry enjoys his imitating the voice he pretends his girlfriend’s stomach makes. Kramer hires an intern. Play Now tries to force George out. Elaine bet Jerry that she can Puddy are not getting back together

Best Quote-“Braking up is like knocking over a coke machine. You can’t do it one push. You have to rock it back and forth a few times and then it goes over”….Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-I think George should have taken the offer of six months pay and ran. Why push his luck? Well, I’m sure he wishes he did that in the end. Why did the intern get in trouble for what happened with the ball of oil but Kramer didn’t?

Seinfeldism of the episode-Saying Hello! In that odd voice, Elaine backslides with Puddy

Deleted Scenes-A callback to the opening conversation from the previous episode

Episode Fun Fact-Kramerica is references here for the first time since the second episode of the series!

Final Thoughts-This is one of the few episodes in this season to almost feel like a classic Seinfeld episode. The only downside is that it is clear they are desperately trying to make the voice a catchphrase. You’d think they would realize that it doesn’t work when they force it. It works when it happens by accident. I just like all the stories in this episode, and enjoy the way they all connect in the end. It’s nice to see Jerry win some money for once, as Elaine continues to backslide with Puddy. George is classic here and the lengths the company goes to get rid of him is hilarious. Kramer is great being the mentor so to speak. Jerry is also classic, deciding he likes the voice over the girl. I like how they had everyone else tire of it but him, for once Jerry comes off as the immature one in the group. Not much else to say, just a solid episode.

Grade=B+, One of my favorites from this season

Episode 9, Season 3

The Serenity Now

 

Plot Summary-George competes with Lloyd Braun at selling computers. Kramer installs a screen door on his apartment door. Jerry gets in touch with his feelings. Elaine is suddenly desirable to Jewish men.

Best Quote-“Kramer I am so sick of you coming in here and eating all my food. Now shut that door and get the hell out of here!”….Jerry proving he can get angry  

Nitpick of the episode-While it’s true Jerry isn’t the warmest person, since when is he unable to get angry? Sorry not buying that one.

Seinfeldism of the episode-Serenity Now!! Elaine is a shiksa

Deleted Scenes-None for this episode

Episode Fun Fact-Mr.Lippman, The Rabbi, and Lloyd Braun are our recurring characters of the week

Final Thoughts-Before George starts screaming like a nut in every episode, we see Frank and Estelle doing it. When they were yelling at each other in earlier episodes it was funny, here they are just yelling and it is annoying. The story doesn’t even really make sense, why would Frank want to sell computers? Just a lame excuse to bring Lloyd Braun back. However, that is not the worst thing in this episode. We have Kramer setting up a screen door and then yelling at kids as if they lived in a neighborhood and they were across the street throwing things at his house. It wasn’t funny when Cheri Oteri did it on Saturday Night Live, why would it be funny here? It isn’t, because it requires a little too much suspension of disbelief. Then he destroys 20 computers in a fit of anger…Ok. Elaine’s story isn’t so bad though it doesn’t really go anywhere. As for Jerry’s story, I am not sure what to think about that. It is a good idea to have Jerry get in touch with his feelings, but the result is he is really not very interesting anymore. That kind of hurts the episode in a strange way. And what was the point of having him propose to Elaine? It isn’t bad but I am glad we get the old Jerry back in the end.

Grade=B-, not bad, except for the screaming

Episode 4, Season 9

The Blood

 

Plot Summary-Kramer stores his blood in Jerry’s freezer. George tries to combine food and sex. Jerry’s parents hire him a personal trainer. Elaine gets stuck babysitting for a friend’s kid.

Best Quote-“I can feel his blood inside me, borrowing things from my blood”….Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-Can a car run on blood? Did I really just type that? What are the odds that Jerry, Kramer, and Newman all have the same blood type? If the knife hit his jugular he is lucky to be alive, even someone who doesn’t know much about anatomy knows how dangerous that is. But I never understood how the whole scenario worked, did Kramer actually transfer his stored blood to Jerry in the kitchen? How would that work? Did he perform surgery or something too? And shouldn’t the kitchen be a bloody mess (literally)? This episode has so many plot holes it’s giving me a headache.

Seinfeldism of the episode-Kramer is Jerry’s blood brother

Deleted Scenes-Jerry and Newman trying to be friends, Jerry at the blood bank

Episode Fun Fact-Final television appearance for Lloyd Bridges

Final Thoughts-Why would they bring back Izzy, one of the worst creations this show ever came up with? To be fair, he is better here than he was in “The English Patient”. In fact, believe it or not, he is one of the good things in this horrible episode. The whole story about Kramer and his blood in not only a bit disturbing, but it’s also pointless. It just doesn’t really go anywhere. We have Elaine worrying about why her friend doesn’t want her babysitting, and then regretting it when she is welcome and even trying to get out of it. Yeah, that made sense and was well thought out. George’s attempt to combine food and sex is disturbing to, why would you want to do that? The bit with the pudding skins is so dumb it makes the muffin tops seem inspired. Then there’s that scene where Newman and Kramer are making sausage after watching an instructional video on how to make sausage….wtf??? There is just something about this episode that never sat well with me. Jerry’s story isn’t funny. First he is lucky he doesn’t get killed by the X-Acto knife (hilarious), then he whines about Kramer’s blood inside of him (dude, he saved your life!), and then to finish the episode we get the hysterical ending where Jerry is being dragged by the car which happens to be leaking blood. Someone please tell me what is funny here?  Oh, and last but not least we get the tag where Newman has donated his blood to Jerry. They all scream as if they had just read the script for the first time.

 Grade=D+, just disturbing and far fetched

Episode 5, Season 9

The Junk Mail

 

Plot Summary-Kramer tries to cancel his mail. An old friend gives Jerry a van. George is cut loose by his parents. Elaine meets the man of her dreams, so she thinks

Best Quote-“As much as I hate the idea of being a van guy, it’s much better than hanging out here with the nocturnal dirty people”….Jerry

Nitpick of the episode-Why does Kramer go to such lengths to get Jerry’s van, couldn’t he have just asked to borrow it? I certainly wouldn’t want to hurt Fragile Frankie’s feelings, but giving Jerry a van was beyond stupid. It hardly makes sense to drive a car in Manhattan.

Seinfeldism of the episode-where there’s Chinese food, there’s leftovers

Deleted Scenes-Elaine going behind the counter of the coffee shop (in an idiotic moment I am glad they cut), Elaine riding with the Wiz mascot in full costume

Episode Fun Fact-I used to see commercials for “Nobody Beats the Wiz” all the time when I was in college so this episode brings back some nice memories, but I don’t recall an annoying spokesman. Never heard of it? Look them up; they were big in the New York area.

Final Thoughts-Watching this episode right after the last is odd, it’s like this episode things are back to normal after the horribleness of the last. For some reason I really like the Kramer story in this episode. It’s funny, back in season 5 I commented that in almost every episode that Kramer had little to do or his story was lame, but season 9 he usually had a strong story and was often the best part of the episode. This is a good example; I guess the creators realized who the big draw was. Kramer was the one character who stayed in character, right to the end. Ok, getting off track. I like the story here and the Wilfred Brimley cameo. Who doesn’t get tired of the endless catalogue’s we get every day? Elaine’s story isn’t bad either. But is it ever resolved? (actually yes, in a deleted scene). Jerry’s story is lame because the character of Fragile Frankie is just bad. He digs a hole in the woods when he is upset? Why? And why is Jerry so worried about protecting his feelings? George’s story is good in the start but kind of goes nowhere. At least Frank and Estelle are over their manic yelling from their previous episode, they are much  more likable here. The whole thing about George dating his cousin is ultimately pointless. This episode was a tad ahead of its time, since mail is even more obsolete these days.

 Grade=B-, good stories which go nowhere, except Kramer’s

Episode 6, Season 9

The Merv Griffin Show

 

Plot Summary-Kramer recreates the set to The Merv Griffin Show in his apartment. Jerry drugs a woman so he can play with her amazing toy collection. Elaine deals with an annoying co-worker. George is forced to care for a squirrel he hit with his car.

Best Quote-“One minute Elliot Gould’s sitting on you the next thing your yesterday’s trash”….Kramer regarding the set

Nitpick of the episode-I will talk more about this in a second, but why does George tolerate the situation in this episode? The girl isn’t giving him anything, why not just dump her? Why take care of a squirrel? Oh, don’t get me started…….

Seinfeldism of the episode-Elaine’s co-worker likes to “sidle up”

Deleted Scenes-None for this episode

Episode Fun Fact-Jerry’s apartment does not appear; it had to be taken down to make room for the talk show set

Final Thoughts-Amazing that any part of this episode works. The whole idea of the Merv Griffin show is really way out there, but it is funny. But where did this idea come from? This is Seinfeld, the show about the little things in life everyone deals with, right? But somehow Kramer makes it work. Seeing Jim Fowler was funny. Jerry’s story is pretty good, it’s really a story about date rape, the toys take the place of, well, you know what. This was a very good way to approach a sensitive topic, and I give the show credit for how it was handled. Elaine’s story is filler, but since I loved tic tac’s I can’t help but find it amusing. Well, that’s it for this episode and it was pretty good…….sigh, I have to talk about the George story, don’t I? Can’t we just call it a day?  Ok, let’s talk about George’s story which is so stupid, so lame, and so not funny that I could rant all day about it. What in the world were the writers on when they wrote this? I mean, Jerry Seinfeld saw the script about a bionic squirrel that George has to take care of and thought it was funny? Really?? I do like how even George seems aware that the story is ridiculous, but this is just so bad! It starts as story about pigeons refusing to get out of George’s way, and that isn’t all bad. But when it diverges into the insanity with the squirrel….it just gets dumber and dumber. I think you get the idea, so will stop here.

Grade=C, George’s story really hurts this one which is way out there as it is