JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
We start off the season with some strong performances as the gang's lives are shaken up quite a bit across the board. Well, except one of them, and he is my choice for best character to open season seven. Kramer was tremendous here. His fantastic anti-marriage speech, his coy dognapping offering to Elaine, his explanation of how he tells time, his Rudy's reference and immediate slip-up with the cop when they asked about, it was all gold and he set the standard for year season out of the gate.
Best Storyline
I will go with George's engagement here as its evolution perfectly summed up the Life of Costanza. He gets sad, he thinks he has a bright idea, he acts swiftly in the name of love, he tries to share the joy with his insane parents, he realizes his life is going to change, he realizes his life is going to suck, he is more miserable than he was when this started. It mirrors his first go around with Susan perfectly and him having to lay in bed, cuddling with Mad About You on is clearly his own personal hell that he is now ensconced in.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Why did Newman and Kramer drop the dime on Elaine? The cops had no way to tie her to the dognapping so they must have sold her out. What shit friends. If you are going to offer that type of crime on someone's behalf, back them up right until the end!
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
I hope Glenn Close and Sally Field found love in The Muted Heart. I assume the lesbian switch takes for them. Relationship Grade: 10/10
What Worked:
George getting buried in chess after talking sexist shit was a solid start to the season; I wonder if they came up with the Elaine screaming at the dog storyline just because she was already losing her voice for some other reason; Happy Pappy?; George's haircut line is one of my favorites; Jerry's rant sets a good tone for the season and George still pining over Susan is nice storytelling; Kramer just destroying Jerry's epiphany was amazing; George daydreaming at the pier is another classic scene; Newman the dog fixer and his rant about how useless the beasts are and then being sad he can't murder it; George calling his parents to reveal his proposal is so great; Kramer trying to dodge Jerry before the dognapping; Jerry's use of vexing and also his offer for a champagne toast crashing and burning; Kramer's justification of the dognapping and not knowing the "Doggy in the Window" song; Poor George's life is already a shambles; Great Rudy's callback; I love Jerry knowing immediately that it was Newman when he heard about the crushed seat springs; The Mad About You closing scene was a nice touch and I love that George is already regretting his decision
What Didn't Work
Elaine's laptop, what a throwback! I mean, it works fine but whatever; If you are going to quickly back out of your promise, at least let George be happy, Jerome; Let George go see Firestorm, Susan, it is day one!: Jerry was a douche again at the movies, yelling about key plot points for everyone to hear; There is no way that dog got home that quickly
Key Character Debuts
- N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Well, you got no place to go. I'll tell you what your problem is: You brought your queen out too fast. What do you think? She's one of these feminists looking to get out of the house? No, the queen is old fashioned. . Likes to stay home. Cook. Take care of her man. Make sure he feels good." - George "Checkmate." - Liz "I don't think we should see each other any more." - George
"All right. You wanna know what one of her favorite expressions is? Happy, Pappy?" - George "Happy, Pappy? What does that mean?" - Jerry "Like if she wants to know if I'm pleased with something, she'll say, "Happy, Pappy?"" - George "Oh, you're "Pappy"." - Jerry "I'm "Pappy"." - George "Oh, I get it. Why don't you just say it?" - Jerry "I'm much more comfortable criticizing people behind." - George
- "What is this? Did you ever get the feeling like you've had a haircut but you didn't have one? I'm all itchy back here." - George
- "I thought she became a lesbian." - Jerry "No. It didn't take." - George
- "They're prisons. Man made prisons. You're doing time. You get up in the morning. She's there. You go to sleep at night. She's there. It's like you gotta ask permission to use the bathroom. Is it all right if I use the bathroom now?" - Kramer
- "Well, what if there should be an unfortunate accident?" - Kramer "You're going to rub out the dog?" - Elaine "No, no. Not me. I just happen to know someone who specializes in exactely these kinds of sticky situations." - Kramer
- "I see many dogs on my mail route. I'll bet there's not one type of mutt or mongrel I haven't run across. If you ask me, they have no business living amongst us. Vile, USELESS BEASTS..." - Newman
- "I just want you to know that I love your son very much." - Susan "You do?" - Estelle "Yes." - Susan "Really?" - Estelle "Yes." - Susan "May I ask why?" - Estelle
- "And she said "Yes"?" - Jerry "It took a couple of hours of convincing. I was just like those guys in the movies. And it worked! She said "Yes"! I can't believe my luck that she was still available. A beautiful woman like that. You think she's good looking, right?" - George
- "That's what was so vexing." - Jerry
- "Well, Look at it this way. We drop the dog off in front of somebody's house in the country. They find it and adopt it. Now the dog is prancing in the fields. Dancing and prancing. Fresh air. . Dandelions. We're doing this dog a real favor." - Kramer
- "Well, what about at night? What do you do then?" - Elaine "Well, night's tougher but it's only a couple of hours." - Kramer
- "I have a receipt for a rental car with your signature. Including a report with some damage to the rear seat. It seems the spring was so compressed it completely collapsed the right side." - Officer "Newman!" - Jerry
- "Ah, don't worry about a thing. In twenty minutes that place'll be swarming with mailmen. We'll be back on the street by lunch." - Newman
Oddities & Fun Facts
- The last time we saw Susan Ross was in The Pilot (S4, E23/24)
- George and Jerry sitting on the couch discussing Susan's looks and referencing the pinkish hue was a callback to The Fix-Up (S3, E17)
- Kramer's references that his shirt is from Rudy's, a callback to The Raincoats (S5, E18/19)
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This was a pretty fun way to kick off a new season and it sets up the major storyline and tone for what was to come. We haven't had a season long through line in a couple of years but it is clear George & Susan's engagement will be carrying us through for a while. I thought everyone was pretty good here, even though Jerry was a real douchebag to his best bud. Susan is already annoying and that will only continue to grow over the next two dozen episodes. Newman as the dognapper was tremendous storytelling and made all the sense in the world. This was Kramer's night, though, and his performance certainly buoys the grade of an already solid outing. Final Grade: 7/10
Best Character
We start off the season with some strong performances as the gang's lives are shaken up quite a bit across the board. Well, except one of them, and he is my choice for best character to open season seven. Kramer was tremendous here. His fantastic anti-marriage speech, his coy dognapping offering to Elaine, his explanation of how he tells time, his Rudy's reference and immediate slip-up with the cop when they asked about, it was all gold and he set the standard for year season out of the gate.
Best Storyline
I will go with George's engagement here as its evolution perfectly summed up the Life of Costanza. He gets sad, he thinks he has a bright idea, he acts swiftly in the name of love, he tries to share the joy with his insane parents, he realizes his life is going to change, he realizes his life is going to suck, he is more miserable than he was when this started. It mirrors his first go around with Susan perfectly and him having to lay in bed, cuddling with Mad About You on is clearly his own personal hell that he is now ensconced in.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Why did Newman and Kramer drop the dime on Elaine? The cops had no way to tie her to the dognapping so they must have sold her out. What shit friends. If you are going to offer that type of crime on someone's behalf, back them up right until the end!
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
I hope Glenn Close and Sally Field found love in The Muted Heart. I assume the lesbian switch takes for them. Relationship Grade: 10/10
What Worked:
George getting buried in chess after talking sexist shit was a solid start to the season; I wonder if they came up with the Elaine screaming at the dog storyline just because she was already losing her voice for some other reason; Happy Pappy?; George's haircut line is one of my favorites; Jerry's rant sets a good tone for the season and George still pining over Susan is nice storytelling; Kramer just destroying Jerry's epiphany was amazing; George daydreaming at the pier is another classic scene; Newman the dog fixer and his rant about how useless the beasts are and then being sad he can't murder it; George calling his parents to reveal his proposal is so great; Kramer trying to dodge Jerry before the dognapping; Jerry's use of vexing and also his offer for a champagne toast crashing and burning; Kramer's justification of the dognapping and not knowing the "Doggy in the Window" song; Poor George's life is already a shambles; Great Rudy's callback; I love Jerry knowing immediately that it was Newman when he heard about the crushed seat springs; The Mad About You closing scene was a nice touch and I love that George is already regretting his decision
What Didn't Work
Elaine's laptop, what a throwback! I mean, it works fine but whatever; If you are going to quickly back out of your promise, at least let George be happy, Jerome; Let George go see Firestorm, Susan, it is day one!: Jerry was a douche again at the movies, yelling about key plot points for everyone to hear; There is no way that dog got home that quickly
Key Character Debuts
- N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Well, you got no place to go. I'll tell you what your problem is: You brought your queen out too fast. What do you think? She's one of these feminists looking to get out of the house? No, the queen is old fashioned. . Likes to stay home. Cook. Take care of her man. Make sure he feels good." - George "Checkmate." - Liz "I don't think we should see each other any more." - George
"All right. You wanna know what one of her favorite expressions is? Happy, Pappy?" - George "Happy, Pappy? What does that mean?" - Jerry "Like if she wants to know if I'm pleased with something, she'll say, "Happy, Pappy?"" - George "Oh, you're "Pappy"." - Jerry "I'm "Pappy"." - George "Oh, I get it. Why don't you just say it?" - Jerry "I'm much more comfortable criticizing people behind." - George
- "What is this? Did you ever get the feeling like you've had a haircut but you didn't have one? I'm all itchy back here." - George
- "I thought she became a lesbian." - Jerry "No. It didn't take." - George
- "They're prisons. Man made prisons. You're doing time. You get up in the morning. She's there. You go to sleep at night. She's there. It's like you gotta ask permission to use the bathroom. Is it all right if I use the bathroom now?" - Kramer
- "Well, what if there should be an unfortunate accident?" - Kramer "You're going to rub out the dog?" - Elaine "No, no. Not me. I just happen to know someone who specializes in exactely these kinds of sticky situations." - Kramer
- "I see many dogs on my mail route. I'll bet there's not one type of mutt or mongrel I haven't run across. If you ask me, they have no business living amongst us. Vile, USELESS BEASTS..." - Newman
- "I just want you to know that I love your son very much." - Susan "You do?" - Estelle "Yes." - Susan "Really?" - Estelle "Yes." - Susan "May I ask why?" - Estelle
- "And she said "Yes"?" - Jerry "It took a couple of hours of convincing. I was just like those guys in the movies. And it worked! She said "Yes"! I can't believe my luck that she was still available. A beautiful woman like that. You think she's good looking, right?" - George
- "That's what was so vexing." - Jerry
- "Well, Look at it this way. We drop the dog off in front of somebody's house in the country. They find it and adopt it. Now the dog is prancing in the fields. Dancing and prancing. Fresh air. . Dandelions. We're doing this dog a real favor." - Kramer
- "Well, what about at night? What do you do then?" - Elaine "Well, night's tougher but it's only a couple of hours." - Kramer
- "I have a receipt for a rental car with your signature. Including a report with some damage to the rear seat. It seems the spring was so compressed it completely collapsed the right side." - Officer "Newman!" - Jerry
- "Ah, don't worry about a thing. In twenty minutes that place'll be swarming with mailmen. We'll be back on the street by lunch." - Newman
Oddities & Fun Facts
- The last time we saw Susan Ross was in The Pilot (S4, E23/24)
- George and Jerry sitting on the couch discussing Susan's looks and referencing the pinkish hue was a callback to The Fix-Up (S3, E17)
- Kramer's references that his shirt is from Rudy's, a callback to The Raincoats (S5, E18/19)
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This was a pretty fun way to kick off a new season and it sets up the major storyline and tone for what was to come. We haven't had a season long through line in a couple of years but it is clear George & Susan's engagement will be carrying us through for a while. I thought everyone was pretty good here, even though Jerry was a real douchebag to his best bud. Susan is already annoying and that will only continue to grow over the next two dozen episodes. Newman as the dognapper was tremendous storytelling and made all the sense in the world. This was Kramer's night, though, and his performance certainly buoys the grade of an already solid outing. Final Grade: 7/10
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