JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
Shit if I know. Everyone was awesome. All of them. Jerry, George. Kramer. Elaine. Frank. Estelle. Ricky. Sylvia. Gepetto. Winona. The mailman. Everyone! They all killed it. Perfection.
Best Storyline
Again, all of it. Everything blended in together so beautifully here, everything was linked together and played a role across the board. Brilliant writing, tons of laughs.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should Elaine have at least approached a coworker with Kramer's idea, even if she didn't go to Lippman directly? I know Kramer can be a bit all over the place and she knows he is a train wreck, but still, at least toss the guy a bone. It was a solid idea and if it pays off, you look like a genius. Pure laziness by Lainey.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Frank and Ricky, best buds forever. They will live on Queens and spend the rest of their days flipping through The Guides of years past, reminiscing of their salad days. Also, I think Sylvia is the best George match we have had to date. Relationship Grade: Here's Lucy/10
What Worked:
George fretting at his parents' house was fantastic out of the gate, between the party limitations and the stained coffee table, we got off to a hot start; The gyro stuff was really good too, and perfect physical comedy setup for Kramer; Ricky was amazingly cast; Gepetto the table fixer landing the dig in at George abut being left home alone cracked me up; The Cigar Store Indian, that is all; Sylvia is awesome too; Jerry's card and ensuing pow wow with the Indian in front of Winona was great, and the reveal of Winona's heritage was well done; Sylvia getting the house tour; The Chinese mailman is so on edge and back-to-back with Kramer in the cab with the Indian was top notch; The Costanzas, as always; Of course Frank collects TV Guide and of course Estelle would find the condom wrapper, tremendous; Poor Jerry, completely on edge with everything he says; Great linking of stories with Lippman and Kramer meeting in the cigar store and Kramer was super smooth in bringing up the coffee table book; Great capper with Al Roker at the end
What Didn't Work
Even in these overly politically correct times, Winona feels a bit oversensitive, I mean how would Jerry know her heritage; And the Chinese mailman is an asshole too, and why the hell is he working at night anyway; George is so airtight with his plan, but he forgets the condom wrapper? Doesn't totally fit his personality here, but I know the feeling of executing a perfect plan and overlooking one thing, causing it to unravel
Key Character Debuts
Winona
Ricky the TV Guide fanatic
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "How would you describe the smell in this house?" - Jerry "Dandruff?" - Elaine "Yeah, that's part of it. Kasha?" - Jerry "There's some kasha." - Elaine "Yeah. Dandruff, kasha, mothballs, cheap carpeting. It's pot pourri,
really." - Jerry
- "You're not allowed to have people over?" - Jerry "I can't have any parties while they're out of town." - George
- "Hey, hey, hey, hey. You know what would make a great coffee table book? A coffee table book about coffee tables! Get it?" - Kramer
- "Fine, okay. It's just, I've never seen a beautiful lady reading 'The Guide' so far away from a TV. You must really like television." - Ricky
- "Alright, but no later, because my parents are coming back." - George "They left you home alone, huh?" - Gepetto
- "Wow, you bought the Indian? Oh, you guys have great taste." - Sylvia "Well, we're collectors. We, uh, see objects of great beauty and, uh, we must have them." - George
- "We had a little fight this afternoon. Let's bury the hatchet. We smoke um peace pipe." - Jerry
- "You got very unusual taste." - Sylvia "I hope prune juice is alright. It's the only thing I had that was chilled." - George "Fine." - Sylvia "I'm sorry about that lock on the liquor cabinet. The combination musta just flown outta my head. It's a mental block." - George "Ahh! Is this your son in the bubble bath?" - Sylvia "No, that's me." - George "Oh. You don't see many guys your age who keep baby pictures of themselves around. I like it. Consistent with the rest of the house." - Sylvia "Yes, it is consistent. I've, uh, I've tried to maintain a consistent
feel throughout the house." - George "What is this we're listening to?" - Sylvia "The Ray Conniff Singers." - George "Mmmm, what's that smell? Kasha?" - Sylvia "It's a potpourri." - George
- "Why must I know? Because I'm Chinese? You think I know where all the Chinese restaurants are? Oh, ask honorable Chinaman for rocation of restaurant." - Mailman "I asked because you were the mailman, you would know the neighborhood." - Jerry "Oh, hello American Joe. Which way to hamburger, hotdog stand?" - Mailman
- "I'm missing TV Guide volume forty-one, number thirty-one." - Frank "Uh, Elaine took it to read on the subway." - Jerry "Elaine took it?" - Frank "I didn't know she took it!" - George "Ah, it's two weeks old." - Jerry "How could you let her take the TV Guide?!" - Frank "He collects them." - George "You collect TV Guide?" - Jerry
- "Your bed is too small? I'm gone two weeks and you turn our house into, into Bourbon Street!" - Frank
- "That's it! You're grounded!" - Frank "You can't ground me, I'm a grown man." - George "You wanna live here? You respect the rules of our house. You're grounded!" - Frank
- "Wait a second, you got the Mark McEwan TV Guide." - Jerry "That's Al Roker." - Winona "Oh well, they're both chubby weathermen. I get Dom Deluise and Paul Prudhoe mixed up too. Could I have this?" - Jerry
- "I thought it was a pretty good idea. It's about coffee tables, it's on a coffee table." - Jerry "Yeah, right, right, and on the cover is a built-in coaster." - Kramer
- "How do you just walk into a house and take a TV Guide? How does she expect you to watch TV? Am I just supposed to turn it on and wander aimlessly around the dial?" - Frank
- "Well, why would I assume. I never assume. Leads to assumptions." - Jerry
- "You mean like, an Indian giver?!" - Winona "I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that term." - Jerry
- "Those. I've been saving those from the beginning." - Frank "These are worth like, a lot of money." - Ricky
- "Elaine! Hello! You look scrumptious." - Ricky
- "You see, this is the kind of idea you should be coming in with. What the hell do you do round here all day anyway?" - Lippman "Well I ...manuscript that I..." - Elaine
- "George doesn't work. He's a bum. That's why he lives at home with us." - Estelle
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Kramer comes up with the idea for his coffee table book about coffee tables
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
Well, this came out of nowhere. I always knew I enjoyed this episode, but never realized how flawless it was. The writing was airtight and everything came back around in one way or another, whether it the Indian, the Guide, the coffee table or the gyro, nothing went to waste. Every character was brilliant too, all playing to their strengths, including the Costanzas and the guest stars as well. We also get the start of the coffee table book storyline, which would become pop culture icon within weeks of its first mention. Toss in Jerry's insensitive, casual racism and then overcorrecting, and we got ourselves a pantheon great installment. Final Grade: 10/10
Best Character
Shit if I know. Everyone was awesome. All of them. Jerry, George. Kramer. Elaine. Frank. Estelle. Ricky. Sylvia. Gepetto. Winona. The mailman. Everyone! They all killed it. Perfection.
Best Storyline
Again, all of it. Everything blended in together so beautifully here, everything was linked together and played a role across the board. Brilliant writing, tons of laughs.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should Elaine have at least approached a coworker with Kramer's idea, even if she didn't go to Lippman directly? I know Kramer can be a bit all over the place and she knows he is a train wreck, but still, at least toss the guy a bone. It was a solid idea and if it pays off, you look like a genius. Pure laziness by Lainey.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Frank and Ricky, best buds forever. They will live on Queens and spend the rest of their days flipping through The Guides of years past, reminiscing of their salad days. Also, I think Sylvia is the best George match we have had to date. Relationship Grade: Here's Lucy/10
What Worked:
George fretting at his parents' house was fantastic out of the gate, between the party limitations and the stained coffee table, we got off to a hot start; The gyro stuff was really good too, and perfect physical comedy setup for Kramer; Ricky was amazingly cast; Gepetto the table fixer landing the dig in at George abut being left home alone cracked me up; The Cigar Store Indian, that is all; Sylvia is awesome too; Jerry's card and ensuing pow wow with the Indian in front of Winona was great, and the reveal of Winona's heritage was well done; Sylvia getting the house tour; The Chinese mailman is so on edge and back-to-back with Kramer in the cab with the Indian was top notch; The Costanzas, as always; Of course Frank collects TV Guide and of course Estelle would find the condom wrapper, tremendous; Poor Jerry, completely on edge with everything he says; Great linking of stories with Lippman and Kramer meeting in the cigar store and Kramer was super smooth in bringing up the coffee table book; Great capper with Al Roker at the end
What Didn't Work
Even in these overly politically correct times, Winona feels a bit oversensitive, I mean how would Jerry know her heritage; And the Chinese mailman is an asshole too, and why the hell is he working at night anyway; George is so airtight with his plan, but he forgets the condom wrapper? Doesn't totally fit his personality here, but I know the feeling of executing a perfect plan and overlooking one thing, causing it to unravel
Key Character Debuts
Winona
Ricky the TV Guide fanatic
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "How would you describe the smell in this house?" - Jerry "Dandruff?" - Elaine "Yeah, that's part of it. Kasha?" - Jerry "There's some kasha." - Elaine "Yeah. Dandruff, kasha, mothballs, cheap carpeting. It's pot pourri,
really." - Jerry
- "You're not allowed to have people over?" - Jerry "I can't have any parties while they're out of town." - George
- "Hey, hey, hey, hey. You know what would make a great coffee table book? A coffee table book about coffee tables! Get it?" - Kramer
- "Fine, okay. It's just, I've never seen a beautiful lady reading 'The Guide' so far away from a TV. You must really like television." - Ricky
- "Alright, but no later, because my parents are coming back." - George "They left you home alone, huh?" - Gepetto
- "Wow, you bought the Indian? Oh, you guys have great taste." - Sylvia "Well, we're collectors. We, uh, see objects of great beauty and, uh, we must have them." - George
- "We had a little fight this afternoon. Let's bury the hatchet. We smoke um peace pipe." - Jerry
- "You got very unusual taste." - Sylvia "I hope prune juice is alright. It's the only thing I had that was chilled." - George "Fine." - Sylvia "I'm sorry about that lock on the liquor cabinet. The combination musta just flown outta my head. It's a mental block." - George "Ahh! Is this your son in the bubble bath?" - Sylvia "No, that's me." - George "Oh. You don't see many guys your age who keep baby pictures of themselves around. I like it. Consistent with the rest of the house." - Sylvia "Yes, it is consistent. I've, uh, I've tried to maintain a consistent
feel throughout the house." - George "What is this we're listening to?" - Sylvia "The Ray Conniff Singers." - George "Mmmm, what's that smell? Kasha?" - Sylvia "It's a potpourri." - George
- "Why must I know? Because I'm Chinese? You think I know where all the Chinese restaurants are? Oh, ask honorable Chinaman for rocation of restaurant." - Mailman "I asked because you were the mailman, you would know the neighborhood." - Jerry "Oh, hello American Joe. Which way to hamburger, hotdog stand?" - Mailman
- "I'm missing TV Guide volume forty-one, number thirty-one." - Frank "Uh, Elaine took it to read on the subway." - Jerry "Elaine took it?" - Frank "I didn't know she took it!" - George "Ah, it's two weeks old." - Jerry "How could you let her take the TV Guide?!" - Frank "He collects them." - George "You collect TV Guide?" - Jerry
- "Your bed is too small? I'm gone two weeks and you turn our house into, into Bourbon Street!" - Frank
- "That's it! You're grounded!" - Frank "You can't ground me, I'm a grown man." - George "You wanna live here? You respect the rules of our house. You're grounded!" - Frank
- "Wait a second, you got the Mark McEwan TV Guide." - Jerry "That's Al Roker." - Winona "Oh well, they're both chubby weathermen. I get Dom Deluise and Paul Prudhoe mixed up too. Could I have this?" - Jerry
- "I thought it was a pretty good idea. It's about coffee tables, it's on a coffee table." - Jerry "Yeah, right, right, and on the cover is a built-in coaster." - Kramer
- "How do you just walk into a house and take a TV Guide? How does she expect you to watch TV? Am I just supposed to turn it on and wander aimlessly around the dial?" - Frank
- "Well, why would I assume. I never assume. Leads to assumptions." - Jerry
- "You mean like, an Indian giver?!" - Winona "I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that term." - Jerry
- "Those. I've been saving those from the beginning." - Frank "These are worth like, a lot of money." - Ricky
- "Elaine! Hello! You look scrumptious." - Ricky
- "You see, this is the kind of idea you should be coming in with. What the hell do you do round here all day anyway?" - Lippman "Well I ...manuscript that I..." - Elaine
- "George doesn't work. He's a bum. That's why he lives at home with us." - Estelle
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Kramer comes up with the idea for his coffee table book about coffee tables
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
Well, this came out of nowhere. I always knew I enjoyed this episode, but never realized how flawless it was. The writing was airtight and everything came back around in one way or another, whether it the Indian, the Guide, the coffee table or the gyro, nothing went to waste. Every character was brilliant too, all playing to their strengths, including the Costanzas and the guest stars as well. We also get the start of the coffee table book storyline, which would become pop culture icon within weeks of its first mention. Toss in Jerry's insensitive, casual racism and then overcorrecting, and we got ourselves a pantheon great installment. Final Grade: 10/10
Comments
Post a Comment