JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
I thought this was a fairly strong ensemble effort with no real stand out. Kramer destroying the tourists' livelihoods with the best of intentions had some fun moments and I loved all the interactions between Jerry and Brett too, with tons of passive aggressive condescension. Elaine was solid as well. George lagged but he wasn't given much to work with this time around.
Best Storyline
I will go with the Karl Farbman stuff.I liked the tourism story too but the scenes with Brett dumping all over Jerry were pretty funny and felt warranted from a karmic point of view. Plus, the end scene was the perfect capper as Jerry bashes him with the ax and then he and Elaine sing Desperado to him as he passes out.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should you destroy a gorgeous oversized chest of drawers with an ax if tiny men are trapped inside of them? I think there is a better way to go about it to save the men and the draws. It wasn't like the apartment was on fire. Take a minute and sort out a better plan, Jerome.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Brett had his quirks and was a real douche but Elaine could have definitely made it work with him if Jerry didn't murder him by accident. He was well off, had a touch of class and treated Elaine and her friends like gold while simultaneously lording his status over them all. A true rare gem. Relationship Grade: $.12/10
What Worked:
Jerry sneakily testing out a bit on Elaine, pissing her off in the process, was great, especially when she still helped out with the formatting; Brett being entranced by Desperado is so bizarre that it worked; "So when do I meet this jerk?"; Jerry taking credit for the umbrella twirl was another randomly funny storyline; Teddy Paddilac!; George admitting he unknowingly steals umbrellas; "Super Terrific Happy Hour"; That poor Japanese tourist made the worst decision of his life by asking Kramer to take that picture; Brett doing the claw wave back to Jerry always cracks me up; As lame as he is, Brett's casual condescension is amazingly well delivered; Kramer assuming all Japanese people are rich, including "Jerry... they're Japanese" is so aloofly racist but because it's Kramer just trying to generous it all feels so warm; Nice throwback with revisiting the Pilot; Kramer quickly changing his tune and shouting down Jerry about how much money the tourists have was great; "Rice Krispies... East meets West"; Jerry getting shut out of an umbrella purchase by Teddy Paddilac was nice story telling, as was the urban sombrero tie-in; I love the scene with Brett and Jerry in the rain; George being into the Japanese TV executive was a nice callback; Kramer cashing in the plane tickets; Jerry destroying the Farbman, smacking Brett with the ax and leading to the tourists shitting on him to the executives and Wilhelm with the cult was a good capper for the episode; The doctor being distracted by Witchay Woman as Brett's life hangs in the balance was one of the better epilogue scenes we have seen
What Didn't Work
Fuck Karl Farman, Brett and Desperado; George always looks odd with his backwards hat, especially that odd plaid nondescript one; Remember when fax machines were a big status symbol?; How often does Desperado come on the radio?
Key Character Debuts
Brett
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Most people go their whole lives without sitting in a Farman." - Brett "Wuh, if you call that living." - Elaine
- "So when do I meet this jerk?" - Jerry "He's not a jerk, Jer. He only works with Karl Farman." - Elaine
- "I find it disorienting. Who buys an umbrella anyway? You get 'em for free in the coffee shop in the metal cans." - George "Those belong to people." - Jerry
- "He's giving you furniture? Who is this guy?" - George "Ah, who are any of her losers?" - Jerry "You're on that list." - George
- "What's with the claw?" - Elaine "Super terrific carpal tunnel syndrome." - Jerry
- "Looks like what you really need is a decent desk for writing your skits." - Brett "I don't write skits." - Jerry "Well, of course you don't. You don't have a proper workstation. I'll fax you over my catalogue." - Brett "Mmm. Brett, uhm, Jerry doesn't have a fax machine." - Elaine "Oops. Well, I'm sure things'll pick up for you soon. Elaine, maybe we should get going." - Brett "Oh. Jerry, you wanna join us?" - Elaine "Oh, where you going? The coffee shop?" - Jerry "Coffee shop? I think we can do a little better than that. You look like you could use a solid meal at a real restaurant." - Brett "You look like you could use a..." - Jerry
- "You know, maybe they thought you looked too smart to be brainwashed?" - Jerry "Please." - George "Too dumb?" - Jerry
- "George is right, Jerry. See, here, you're just another apple, but in Japan, you're an exotic fruit. Like an orange. Which is rare there." - Kramer
- "What does he listen to? The all Desperado station?" - Jerry "He is just in his own world when he hears that song. It's like, I'm sitting there in the car, and he's.. out riding fences." - Elaine
- "You have them sleeping in drawers?!" - Jerry "Jerry, have you ever seen the business hotels in Tokyo? They sleep in tiny stacked cubicles all the time. They feel right at home." - Kramer "This has 'international incident' written all over it." - Jerry "Oh yeah, yeah." - Kramer
- "Brett said you ran away from him, as if he were the boogetyman." - Elaine "Boogeyman." - Jerry "Boogey?" - Elaine "I'm quite sure. Anyway, any luck getting together on a song?" - Jerry "No. He blew out my Witchy Woman, and he won't share Desperado. Hey, what d'you think of Oye Como Va?" - Elaine "Eh." - Jerry "Well, I'm running outta guys here in this city, Jer!" - Elaine
- "Did I tell you that story's relatable?! That was a great show! That is why I'm bringing it back to NBC." - George "NBC?" - Jerry "Nakahama Broadcast Corporation." - George
- "Jerry! The Japanese guys had sake in the hot-tub! You gotta get 'em outta the drawers and get 'em down here, or I don't have a focus group to sell the pilot to Japanese TV!" - George "Uncle Leo?" - Jerry
- "<Subtitle> With these two idiots I don't know how the Yankees won the World Series." - NBC Executive
Oddities & Fun Facts
- George and Jerry take the pilot of their sitcom to the Japanese television executives that was originally filmed in The Pilot (S4, E23/24)
- The umbrella salesman references the Urban Sombrero, which was invented by Elaine in The Foundation (S8, E1)
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I enjoyed this one much more than I expected to as I came in with low expectations. The dialogue has remained real strong since Larry David left and I think that speaks to the comfort and strength of the performers at this point. The quips and zingers and sarcastic comments still flow with ease and land the majority of the time. That said, some the story cohesion has suffered with his departure and many times the storylines tying together at the end can feel forced or out of place. I won't necessarily say that is the case here though as I thought everything was bought together nicely and had some good payoffs to close thing out. Another weakness that was on display here is the soft background storyline. Often times a strength in the past, it seems as if that the character left out of the main stories has had little substance to their bits. It harkens back to the early seasons when they were sorting things out. George's issue with the carpet cleaners felt forced and out of place and he probably just should have been tied in with Kramer's antics. Overall this was a fun watch, a step behind the high quality of the past but we aren't really fading in any material way. Final Grade: 7/10
Best Character
I thought this was a fairly strong ensemble effort with no real stand out. Kramer destroying the tourists' livelihoods with the best of intentions had some fun moments and I loved all the interactions between Jerry and Brett too, with tons of passive aggressive condescension. Elaine was solid as well. George lagged but he wasn't given much to work with this time around.
Best Storyline
I will go with the Karl Farbman stuff.I liked the tourism story too but the scenes with Brett dumping all over Jerry were pretty funny and felt warranted from a karmic point of view. Plus, the end scene was the perfect capper as Jerry bashes him with the ax and then he and Elaine sing Desperado to him as he passes out.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should you destroy a gorgeous oversized chest of drawers with an ax if tiny men are trapped inside of them? I think there is a better way to go about it to save the men and the draws. It wasn't like the apartment was on fire. Take a minute and sort out a better plan, Jerome.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Brett had his quirks and was a real douche but Elaine could have definitely made it work with him if Jerry didn't murder him by accident. He was well off, had a touch of class and treated Elaine and her friends like gold while simultaneously lording his status over them all. A true rare gem. Relationship Grade: $.12/10
What Worked:
Jerry sneakily testing out a bit on Elaine, pissing her off in the process, was great, especially when she still helped out with the formatting; Brett being entranced by Desperado is so bizarre that it worked; "So when do I meet this jerk?"; Jerry taking credit for the umbrella twirl was another randomly funny storyline; Teddy Paddilac!; George admitting he unknowingly steals umbrellas; "Super Terrific Happy Hour"; That poor Japanese tourist made the worst decision of his life by asking Kramer to take that picture; Brett doing the claw wave back to Jerry always cracks me up; As lame as he is, Brett's casual condescension is amazingly well delivered; Kramer assuming all Japanese people are rich, including "Jerry... they're Japanese" is so aloofly racist but because it's Kramer just trying to generous it all feels so warm; Nice throwback with revisiting the Pilot; Kramer quickly changing his tune and shouting down Jerry about how much money the tourists have was great; "Rice Krispies... East meets West"; Jerry getting shut out of an umbrella purchase by Teddy Paddilac was nice story telling, as was the urban sombrero tie-in; I love the scene with Brett and Jerry in the rain; George being into the Japanese TV executive was a nice callback; Kramer cashing in the plane tickets; Jerry destroying the Farbman, smacking Brett with the ax and leading to the tourists shitting on him to the executives and Wilhelm with the cult was a good capper for the episode; The doctor being distracted by Witchay Woman as Brett's life hangs in the balance was one of the better epilogue scenes we have seen
What Didn't Work
Fuck Karl Farman, Brett and Desperado; George always looks odd with his backwards hat, especially that odd plaid nondescript one; Remember when fax machines were a big status symbol?; How often does Desperado come on the radio?
Key Character Debuts
Brett
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Most people go their whole lives without sitting in a Farman." - Brett "Wuh, if you call that living." - Elaine
- "So when do I meet this jerk?" - Jerry "He's not a jerk, Jer. He only works with Karl Farman." - Elaine
- "I find it disorienting. Who buys an umbrella anyway? You get 'em for free in the coffee shop in the metal cans." - George "Those belong to people." - Jerry
- "He's giving you furniture? Who is this guy?" - George "Ah, who are any of her losers?" - Jerry "You're on that list." - George
- "What's with the claw?" - Elaine "Super terrific carpal tunnel syndrome." - Jerry
- "Looks like what you really need is a decent desk for writing your skits." - Brett "I don't write skits." - Jerry "Well, of course you don't. You don't have a proper workstation. I'll fax you over my catalogue." - Brett "Mmm. Brett, uhm, Jerry doesn't have a fax machine." - Elaine "Oops. Well, I'm sure things'll pick up for you soon. Elaine, maybe we should get going." - Brett "Oh. Jerry, you wanna join us?" - Elaine "Oh, where you going? The coffee shop?" - Jerry "Coffee shop? I think we can do a little better than that. You look like you could use a solid meal at a real restaurant." - Brett "You look like you could use a..." - Jerry
- "You know, maybe they thought you looked too smart to be brainwashed?" - Jerry "Please." - George "Too dumb?" - Jerry
- "George is right, Jerry. See, here, you're just another apple, but in Japan, you're an exotic fruit. Like an orange. Which is rare there." - Kramer
- "What does he listen to? The all Desperado station?" - Jerry "He is just in his own world when he hears that song. It's like, I'm sitting there in the car, and he's.. out riding fences." - Elaine
- "You have them sleeping in drawers?!" - Jerry "Jerry, have you ever seen the business hotels in Tokyo? They sleep in tiny stacked cubicles all the time. They feel right at home." - Kramer "This has 'international incident' written all over it." - Jerry "Oh yeah, yeah." - Kramer
- "Brett said you ran away from him, as if he were the boogetyman." - Elaine "Boogeyman." - Jerry "Boogey?" - Elaine "I'm quite sure. Anyway, any luck getting together on a song?" - Jerry "No. He blew out my Witchy Woman, and he won't share Desperado. Hey, what d'you think of Oye Como Va?" - Elaine "Eh." - Jerry "Well, I'm running outta guys here in this city, Jer!" - Elaine
- "Did I tell you that story's relatable?! That was a great show! That is why I'm bringing it back to NBC." - George "NBC?" - Jerry "Nakahama Broadcast Corporation." - George
- "Jerry! The Japanese guys had sake in the hot-tub! You gotta get 'em outta the drawers and get 'em down here, or I don't have a focus group to sell the pilot to Japanese TV!" - George "Uncle Leo?" - Jerry
- "<Subtitle> With these two idiots I don't know how the Yankees won the World Series." - NBC Executive
Oddities & Fun Facts
- George and Jerry take the pilot of their sitcom to the Japanese television executives that was originally filmed in The Pilot (S4, E23/24)
- The umbrella salesman references the Urban Sombrero, which was invented by Elaine in The Foundation (S8, E1)
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I enjoyed this one much more than I expected to as I came in with low expectations. The dialogue has remained real strong since Larry David left and I think that speaks to the comfort and strength of the performers at this point. The quips and zingers and sarcastic comments still flow with ease and land the majority of the time. That said, some the story cohesion has suffered with his departure and many times the storylines tying together at the end can feel forced or out of place. I won't necessarily say that is the case here though as I thought everything was bought together nicely and had some good payoffs to close thing out. Another weakness that was on display here is the soft background storyline. Often times a strength in the past, it seems as if that the character left out of the main stories has had little substance to their bits. It harkens back to the early seasons when they were sorting things out. George's issue with the carpet cleaners felt forced and out of place and he probably just should have been tied in with Kramer's antics. Overall this was a fun watch, a step behind the high quality of the past but we aren't really fading in any material way. Final Grade: 7/10
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