JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
I thought we had a few strong option here, but I am going Newman. He was only in a few scenes but played them all. His jokes about Jerry being Kramer's girlfriend and Kramer's invitation being lost in the mail were brilliantly delivered. I also loved his postman only birthday bash.
Best Storyline
I guess I will go with the Nina stuff as the other two big stories had some traits I didn't really care for. And even that was really buoyed best right at the end via the older flashbacks.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should George really care that Jerry banged a girl he just started dating? In this universe where the casual sex is footloose and fancy free, why would that stop him from dating an attractive woman that was unrealistically into him? The real George would be proud to land a woman that Jerry once hooked up with.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Jugdish and Drunk Lainey should have been the real hook up. Sadly, Jugdish just no sold the whole thing and strutted off into the 100 degree night, leaving Lainey the Lush to pass out on the floor of her closet. Relationship Grade: Jugdish/Jerry
What Worked:
The entire concept is brilliant, across all the stories; I especially love when they would go back mere seconds; Everything just flowed so well given how they orchestrated it; "You can stuff your sorries in a sack" is a great quote; I always enjoy seeing Elaine crumble for Sue Ellen; I enjoy George not wanting to use the bathroom and just doing through every scene; George yelling "you slept with the groom" at the wedding; Jugdish; I do love the concept of Newman and Kramer trading birthday wishes; I also loved Newman's killer line about Jerry being Kramer's girlfriend, as well as his joke about Kramer's invitation getting lost in the mail; Kramer with the Fruit Loops in the drawer was tremendous; Kramer's ongoing reverse lollipop licking; I still don't ever want clams casino just because of this episode; I love the last scenes that takes us back in time, including Nina explaining the internet and email; It was cool seeing Susan get worked in too, especially showing us the origin of "stuff your sorries in a sack"; it was cool that all the events that drove episode actually occurred on one night in the past, shrewd stuff
What Didn't Work
I get that Kramer is goofy but he comes across as a dolt in this one, really thinking he may drop dead and wanting "protection" against it via a wishbone; I actually didn't care for Drunk Elaine, it felt out of character for her and the show, which rarely has alcohol mixed in, and a forced way to get the story out, especially when she is boozing at the coffee shop; Those coach airplane seats look way too comfortable; Jerry's face when he goes to bang Nina on the counter was... I don't even know what to call it; I find it hard to believe Nina would see George and be smitten at first sight; It is a bit weird that Jerry would have been so friendly with Nina but she never met George
Key Character Debuts
- Nina
- FDR
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "You can stuff you sorries in a sack, mister!" - George
- "Look, we are gonna settle this right now! I demand reparations! I should get to sleep with Elaine. That's the only way to punish you!" - George "That doesn't punish me. It punishes Elaine! And cruelly, I might add." - Jerry
- " You know you're not supposed to drink while you're keeping a secret!" - Jerry
- "Do you know what 'Jerry' is in Indian?" - Elaine "No, what?" - Jerry "Jugdish" - Elaine
- "What's that smell?" - Elaine "I think it's the stench of death." - Jerry
- "Come on, Sue Ellen. You don't wear a bra, you're tall... we hate each other!" - Elaine
- "Hello, friend. Enjoying the flight?" - George "Coach to India - The only way to go." - Jerry
- "Oh, come on. You know he's a postman, don't ya?" - Jerry
- "Make a wish, Newman! We've gotta get back to work in three hours!" - Postman
- "Kramer! I'm with people." - Newman "Yeah, yeah. And thanks for inviting me!" - Kramer "I did invite you... Your invitation must've... gotten lost in the mail." - Newman
- "Uh. Alright, alright. I'll put it in the vault." - Elaine "No good. Too many people know the combination." - Jerry
- "So, how come nothing ever happened between you and Nina? Is there a problem with her? Is she a man?" - George "Are you?" - Jerry
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Jerry mistakingly calls Kramer "Kessler" in the flashback to end the show, which is an homage to the character's original name when the show was created
- The official DVD release of season nine offered a cut of this episode in actual chronological order
- DVD commentary tells us that the flashback to the coffee shop two years earlier took place between season seven's "The Secret Code" and "The Pool Guy"
- "Vegetable Lasagna" from "The Butter Shave" episode was in a scene with Elaine on the airplane but it was ultimately deleted
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This was an odd episode in that I loved the format and structure way more than the actual storylines. There were so many sharp gags and cuts that carried this but there was also a lot of holes and failed character traits blended in. It felt like it was from a different show at times. As I said above, I adored Newman in this one and his few lines were amazing. I love that they had the balls and ability to attempt and successfully pull this off and that buys a ton of credit from me. It isn't enough to totally overlook the stuff that bugged me, but there is enough goodwill baked in for the bad to not hurt the grade too much. And if you don't like, I will not be stuffing any sorries in any sort of sack. Final Grade: 7/10
Best Character
I thought we had a few strong option here, but I am going Newman. He was only in a few scenes but played them all. His jokes about Jerry being Kramer's girlfriend and Kramer's invitation being lost in the mail were brilliantly delivered. I also loved his postman only birthday bash.
Best Storyline
I guess I will go with the Nina stuff as the other two big stories had some traits I didn't really care for. And even that was really buoyed best right at the end via the older flashbacks.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should George really care that Jerry banged a girl he just started dating? In this universe where the casual sex is footloose and fancy free, why would that stop him from dating an attractive woman that was unrealistically into him? The real George would be proud to land a woman that Jerry once hooked up with.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Jugdish and Drunk Lainey should have been the real hook up. Sadly, Jugdish just no sold the whole thing and strutted off into the 100 degree night, leaving Lainey the Lush to pass out on the floor of her closet. Relationship Grade: Jugdish/Jerry
What Worked:
The entire concept is brilliant, across all the stories; I especially love when they would go back mere seconds; Everything just flowed so well given how they orchestrated it; "You can stuff your sorries in a sack" is a great quote; I always enjoy seeing Elaine crumble for Sue Ellen; I enjoy George not wanting to use the bathroom and just doing through every scene; George yelling "you slept with the groom" at the wedding; Jugdish; I do love the concept of Newman and Kramer trading birthday wishes; I also loved Newman's killer line about Jerry being Kramer's girlfriend, as well as his joke about Kramer's invitation getting lost in the mail; Kramer with the Fruit Loops in the drawer was tremendous; Kramer's ongoing reverse lollipop licking; I still don't ever want clams casino just because of this episode; I love the last scenes that takes us back in time, including Nina explaining the internet and email; It was cool seeing Susan get worked in too, especially showing us the origin of "stuff your sorries in a sack"; it was cool that all the events that drove episode actually occurred on one night in the past, shrewd stuff
What Didn't Work
I get that Kramer is goofy but he comes across as a dolt in this one, really thinking he may drop dead and wanting "protection" against it via a wishbone; I actually didn't care for Drunk Elaine, it felt out of character for her and the show, which rarely has alcohol mixed in, and a forced way to get the story out, especially when she is boozing at the coffee shop; Those coach airplane seats look way too comfortable; Jerry's face when he goes to bang Nina on the counter was... I don't even know what to call it; I find it hard to believe Nina would see George and be smitten at first sight; It is a bit weird that Jerry would have been so friendly with Nina but she never met George
Key Character Debuts
- Nina
- FDR
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "You can stuff you sorries in a sack, mister!" - George
- "Look, we are gonna settle this right now! I demand reparations! I should get to sleep with Elaine. That's the only way to punish you!" - George "That doesn't punish me. It punishes Elaine! And cruelly, I might add." - Jerry
- " You know you're not supposed to drink while you're keeping a secret!" - Jerry
- "Do you know what 'Jerry' is in Indian?" - Elaine "No, what?" - Jerry "Jugdish" - Elaine
- "What's that smell?" - Elaine "I think it's the stench of death." - Jerry
- "Come on, Sue Ellen. You don't wear a bra, you're tall... we hate each other!" - Elaine
- "Hello, friend. Enjoying the flight?" - George "Coach to India - The only way to go." - Jerry
- "Oh, come on. You know he's a postman, don't ya?" - Jerry
- "Make a wish, Newman! We've gotta get back to work in three hours!" - Postman
- "Kramer! I'm with people." - Newman "Yeah, yeah. And thanks for inviting me!" - Kramer "I did invite you... Your invitation must've... gotten lost in the mail." - Newman
- "Uh. Alright, alright. I'll put it in the vault." - Elaine "No good. Too many people know the combination." - Jerry
- "So, how come nothing ever happened between you and Nina? Is there a problem with her? Is she a man?" - George "Are you?" - Jerry
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Jerry mistakingly calls Kramer "Kessler" in the flashback to end the show, which is an homage to the character's original name when the show was created
- The official DVD release of season nine offered a cut of this episode in actual chronological order
- DVD commentary tells us that the flashback to the coffee shop two years earlier took place between season seven's "The Secret Code" and "The Pool Guy"
- "Vegetable Lasagna" from "The Butter Shave" episode was in a scene with Elaine on the airplane but it was ultimately deleted
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This was an odd episode in that I loved the format and structure way more than the actual storylines. There were so many sharp gags and cuts that carried this but there was also a lot of holes and failed character traits blended in. It felt like it was from a different show at times. As I said above, I adored Newman in this one and his few lines were amazing. I love that they had the balls and ability to attempt and successfully pull this off and that buys a ton of credit from me. It isn't enough to totally overlook the stuff that bugged me, but there is enough goodwill baked in for the bad to not hurt the grade too much. And if you don't like, I will not be stuffing any sorries in any sort of sack. Final Grade: 7/10
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