JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
I almost gave it to George just for the stub fiasco because his reaction the second time he got hosed on the ticket stub was so great, as was his obsession over getting his $7.50. I wanted to give it to Elaine, and her pegged as my choice throughout most of the episode, as she was stuck dealing with so much crap and nailed all the scenes. But, man...Patty Buckles won me over. I couldn't stand him in the first scene but by the end I was wishing he would come back for more. He played the perfect annoying tag-a-long and his absurd requests and comments kept cracking me up. His last ditch plea for Jerry to take the coat followed by asking Jerry to call hm when he got in as the capper was fantastic. Congrats, Buckles.
Best Storyline
There was pretty much only storyline this time around, so the movie trip wins by default. Everyone was good in this one and the descriptions each character had for the others were pretty funny. Buckles being tossed in the mix was a good addition too, adding extra conflict to Jerry's already shitty night.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should Jerry have taken poor Buckles' coat? He asked nicely and just didn't have the room in his closet to store it. Jerry could have at least made an excuse instead of just being a jerk about it. Take the coat next time, Jerome. Help a fellow comedian out.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Jerry and Buckles could have had a hell of a bromance if Jerry reciprocated at all. Buckles clearly enjoys spending time with him, they have stuff in common, could work on material and see movies together. Maybe Jerry could even wear the trench coat too! Buckles seemed to care. Jerry iced him out. Relationship Grade: Bromance/10
What Worked
I love Jerry's initial blowoff of Buckles; The absurd plot of Ponce de Leon and the role it plays in this episode is fun; The seat saving stuff is very relatable; The guy in the movie line that told George he didn't have a ticket for the movie is a real dick and I don't blame George for being mad; Cheap George is the best George, especially his discussion with Elaine about the $7.50 and his ongoing obsession over it; Buckles bit about famous people in traffic was pretty funny for how insipid it was but his distress over storing his coat was fantastic; Big fail by George twice, everyone holds their stub!; Good stuff with all the near misses in the theaters all throughout the episode, paid off at the end when Kramer just waltzes; I love Elaine trying to figure out the soda sizes and popcorn butter and then getting lost trying to find her seat; The cab driver was a big piece of shit; Good payoff with Buckles taking Jerry's set and killing with the athlete's foot bit and then everyone ending up in Rochelle, Rochelle together; I hated Buckles to start but he totally won me over by the end; The final scene with Kramer having stained Elaine's coat and only having a $20 for George was a fun finish
What Didn't Work
The twin theater thing always confused me but maybe that is just ignorance on my part; Alan sounds like a real winner
Key Character Debuts
Pat Buckles
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Hey, do you think this is funny? `Why do they call it athlete's foot? You don't have to be an athlete to get it. I mean, my father gets it all the time, and believe me, he's no athlete!'' - Buckles
- "Lemme tell you something. When Ponce looked in that mirror and saw that he hadn't changed, and that tear started to roll down his cheek? I lost it." - George
- "It's not a theater, it's like a room where they bring in POWs to show them propaganda films." - Elaine
- "Jerry, I want you to do me a favor. No more fish!" - Buckles "Okay, I get your point!" - Jerry "I had a point?" - Buckles
- Rochelle, Rochelle The Musical is discussed for the first time
- "Could you do me a favor? If you see a guy that's five foot eleven, he's got uh a big head and flared nostrils, tell him his friend's going to be right back, okay?" - Kramer
- "Um, excuse me, have you see a guy with like a horse face, big teeth, and a, and a pointed nose?" - George
- "Jerry, could you do me a personal favor? And if I'm out of line, please, let me know. Could I keep my trench coat in your closet for a few months?" - Buckles "Your trench coat in my closet?" - Jerry "Jerry, my closet is packed to the gills, I'm afraid to open the door. Just for a few months. It'll make all the difference in the world." - Buckles
- "There was a short guy with glasses...Looked like Humpty-Dumpty with a melon hat. But he left." - Ticket Clerk
- "So I got home, and he was vacuuming! I mean, he's twelve years old! Who else but my Alan would do something like that? And then last night, he put on my high heels. Oh, he put on such a show for us! He was dancing around, lip-syncing to ``A Chorus Line'', I mean you can see he's got talent." - Movie Goer
- "Oh, hey, listen, by the way, have you seen a tall... lanky... doofus, with a, with a bird-face and hair like the Bride of Frankenstein?" - Elaine
- "Do you think I need to lose some weight?" - Buckles "Weight? Nah. Just need some more height." - Jerry
- "Jerry! Call me when you get home so I know you're okay!" - Buckles
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Jerry is prepping to perform on the David Letterman Show
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This is Jerry's dream episode with lots observational humor about going to see a movie. And a lot of it really landed and was identifiable. I can't say this was a great episode really, and it felt like it was straight out of season three as it really didn't follow any of the season storylines and was completely standalone, but the series of jokes strung though it made it work. I have raved about Buckles enough, but he made this episode for me, cracking me up the whole time. Elaine and George was great as always too with all their frustrations boiling over in completely justifiable ways. I enjoyed this one more than I thought thanks to the relatability of it all, but due to the overall strength, it ranks towards the bottom of the season. Final Grade: 6/10
Best Character
I almost gave it to George just for the stub fiasco because his reaction the second time he got hosed on the ticket stub was so great, as was his obsession over getting his $7.50. I wanted to give it to Elaine, and her pegged as my choice throughout most of the episode, as she was stuck dealing with so much crap and nailed all the scenes. But, man...Patty Buckles won me over. I couldn't stand him in the first scene but by the end I was wishing he would come back for more. He played the perfect annoying tag-a-long and his absurd requests and comments kept cracking me up. His last ditch plea for Jerry to take the coat followed by asking Jerry to call hm when he got in as the capper was fantastic. Congrats, Buckles.
Best Storyline
There was pretty much only storyline this time around, so the movie trip wins by default. Everyone was good in this one and the descriptions each character had for the others were pretty funny. Buckles being tossed in the mix was a good addition too, adding extra conflict to Jerry's already shitty night.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should Jerry have taken poor Buckles' coat? He asked nicely and just didn't have the room in his closet to store it. Jerry could have at least made an excuse instead of just being a jerk about it. Take the coat next time, Jerome. Help a fellow comedian out.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Jerry and Buckles could have had a hell of a bromance if Jerry reciprocated at all. Buckles clearly enjoys spending time with him, they have stuff in common, could work on material and see movies together. Maybe Jerry could even wear the trench coat too! Buckles seemed to care. Jerry iced him out. Relationship Grade: Bromance/10
What Worked
I love Jerry's initial blowoff of Buckles; The absurd plot of Ponce de Leon and the role it plays in this episode is fun; The seat saving stuff is very relatable; The guy in the movie line that told George he didn't have a ticket for the movie is a real dick and I don't blame George for being mad; Cheap George is the best George, especially his discussion with Elaine about the $7.50 and his ongoing obsession over it; Buckles bit about famous people in traffic was pretty funny for how insipid it was but his distress over storing his coat was fantastic; Big fail by George twice, everyone holds their stub!; Good stuff with all the near misses in the theaters all throughout the episode, paid off at the end when Kramer just waltzes; I love Elaine trying to figure out the soda sizes and popcorn butter and then getting lost trying to find her seat; The cab driver was a big piece of shit; Good payoff with Buckles taking Jerry's set and killing with the athlete's foot bit and then everyone ending up in Rochelle, Rochelle together; I hated Buckles to start but he totally won me over by the end; The final scene with Kramer having stained Elaine's coat and only having a $20 for George was a fun finish
What Didn't Work
The twin theater thing always confused me but maybe that is just ignorance on my part; Alan sounds like a real winner
Key Character Debuts
Pat Buckles
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Hey, do you think this is funny? `Why do they call it athlete's foot? You don't have to be an athlete to get it. I mean, my father gets it all the time, and believe me, he's no athlete!'' - Buckles
- "Lemme tell you something. When Ponce looked in that mirror and saw that he hadn't changed, and that tear started to roll down his cheek? I lost it." - George
- "It's not a theater, it's like a room where they bring in POWs to show them propaganda films." - Elaine
- "Jerry, I want you to do me a favor. No more fish!" - Buckles "Okay, I get your point!" - Jerry "I had a point?" - Buckles
- Rochelle, Rochelle The Musical is discussed for the first time
- "Could you do me a favor? If you see a guy that's five foot eleven, he's got uh a big head and flared nostrils, tell him his friend's going to be right back, okay?" - Kramer
- "Um, excuse me, have you see a guy with like a horse face, big teeth, and a, and a pointed nose?" - George
- "Jerry, could you do me a personal favor? And if I'm out of line, please, let me know. Could I keep my trench coat in your closet for a few months?" - Buckles "Your trench coat in my closet?" - Jerry "Jerry, my closet is packed to the gills, I'm afraid to open the door. Just for a few months. It'll make all the difference in the world." - Buckles
- "There was a short guy with glasses...Looked like Humpty-Dumpty with a melon hat. But he left." - Ticket Clerk
- "So I got home, and he was vacuuming! I mean, he's twelve years old! Who else but my Alan would do something like that? And then last night, he put on my high heels. Oh, he put on such a show for us! He was dancing around, lip-syncing to ``A Chorus Line'', I mean you can see he's got talent." - Movie Goer
- "Oh, hey, listen, by the way, have you seen a tall... lanky... doofus, with a, with a bird-face and hair like the Bride of Frankenstein?" - Elaine
- "Do you think I need to lose some weight?" - Buckles "Weight? Nah. Just need some more height." - Jerry
- "Jerry! Call me when you get home so I know you're okay!" - Buckles
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Jerry is prepping to perform on the David Letterman Show
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This is Jerry's dream episode with lots observational humor about going to see a movie. And a lot of it really landed and was identifiable. I can't say this was a great episode really, and it felt like it was straight out of season three as it really didn't follow any of the season storylines and was completely standalone, but the series of jokes strung though it made it work. I have raved about Buckles enough, but he made this episode for me, cracking me up the whole time. Elaine and George was great as always too with all their frustrations boiling over in completely justifiable ways. I enjoyed this one more than I thought thanks to the relatability of it all, but due to the overall strength, it ranks towards the bottom of the season. Final Grade: 6/10
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