JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
So, I was ready to give this to Jerry because he was at his sarcastic best throughout. Then I was good to go with George after his performance at the party. But then Kramer told his Batman story. And nothing else mattered, Cracker Jack.
Best Storyline
Everything tied together so well, that I don't feel too dirty just saying "all of it". If I had to pick on particular thread, I will go with George being a pussy, but really it was like one giant storyline that involved everybody.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should Jerry have held back or just roasted Toby? I say he should have let loose. They had just started dating and he was well within his rights to let her have it with the way she was acting. Plus, he cussed her out afterwards anyway, which was bound to cause the same issues. He may as well have saved his gig and dealt with the rest later.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Toby is the worst. Annoying, unattractive, loud, bad dresser...nothing positive to see here. Robin was OK but nothing special either. Weak crop this go round. Relationship Grade: 1/10
What Worked:
Bitter Elaine is the best Elaine; George dealing with the kid was great; Bozo!; The Costanza birthday flashback was tremendous; Ronnie's pride in being a prop comic is admirable; Jerry's reactions to Toby's awful jokes were great, so great; I also loved him just tearing her apart after the show; I will forever love Eric the Clown and his anger for George about Bozo; George plowing his way out of the fire was perfection and his explanation later was amazing; Jerry's sarcastic grilling of George was great too; Jerry heckling Toby was a tremendous idea; Kramer's bus Batman story was as good as it gets; Elaine getting knocked over in the office always makes me laugh; The payoff with the prop comic and the fake gun was a great wrap
What Didn't Work
I hate everything about Toby, including her name; I can't stand the closeup on Kramer's face when Toby has her accident.
Key Character Debuts
Eric the Clown
Robin
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "'And that coffee table is saying, put some coffee on me!' I'd like to put some coffee on her. Hot, scalding coffee - right in her face! I swear! This is like working with a contestant from "The Price Is Right"! " - Elaine
- "Oh, that's gold, baby." - Jerry "'Baby'? What, are you doing George now?" - Elaine "I was saying 'baby' way before George!" - Jerry
- Who's Bozo? Bozo the Clown, that's who Bozo is. When I was a kid, Bozo the Clown was the clown, bar none." - George "George..." - Robin "With the orange hair, and the big clown shirt with the ruffles..." - Georg "George..." - Robin "And the TV show! He had cartoons!" - George "George! Forget Bozo, George. Bozo's out. He's finished. It's over for Bozo." - Robin
- "No! Not part of the show! Booing and hissing are not part of the show! You boo puppets! You hiss villains in silent movies!" - Jerry
- "You've never heard of Bozo the Clown?" - George "No!" - Eric "How could you not know who Bozo the Clown is?" - George "I don't know, I just don't." - Eric "How can you call yourself a clown and not know who Bozo is?" - George "Hey, man - what are you hassling me for? This is just a gig, it's not my life. I don't know who Bozo is, what - is he a clown?" - Eric "Is he a clown? What, are you kidding me!?" - George "Well, what is he?" - Eric "Yes, he's a clown!" - George "Alright, so what's the big deal! There's millions of clowns!" - Eric "Alright, just forget it." - George "Me forget it? You should forget it! You're livin' in the past, man! You're hung up on some clown from the sixties, man!" - Eric
- "Because! Because, as the leader...if I die...then all hope is lost! Who would lead? The clown? Instead of castigating me, you should all be thanking me. What kind of a topsy-turvy world do we live in, where heroes are cast as villains? Brave men as cowards?" - George "But I saw you push the women and children out of the way in a mad panic! I saw you knock them down! And when you ran out, you left everyone behind!" - Robin "Seemingly. Seemingly, to the untrained eye, I can fully understand how you got that impression. What looked like pushing...what looked like knocking down...was a safety precaution! In a fire, you stay close to the ground, am I right? And when I ran out that door, I was not leaving anyone behind! Oh, quite the contrary! I risked my life making sure that exit was clear. Any other questions?" - George "How do you live with yourself?" - Fireman "Its not easy." - George
- "Yeah. She should be commending me for treating everyone like equals." - George "Well, perhaps when she's released from the burn center, she'll see things differently." - Jerry
- "So, what was the fire? Just a couple of greasy hamburgers?" - Jerry "Yeah. Eric the Clown put it out with his big shoe." - George
- "You're Batman." - George "Yeah. Yeah, I am Batman. Then the mugger, he comes to, and he starts chokin' me! So I'm fightin' him off with one hand and I kept drivin' the bus with the other, y'know? Then I managed to open up the door, and I kicked him out the door with my foot, you know - at the next stop." - Kramer "You kept makin' all the stops?" - Jerry "Well, people kept ringin' the bell!" - Kramer
- "You know, throughout this whole thing, she always kept a smile on her face." - Kramer "Oh, of course! She's deranged." - Elaine
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Eric the Clown is portrayed by Jon Favreau
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I enjoyed this one quite a bit but as we have said time and time again, it is hurt by the Season Five curve. I enjoyed how everything flowed so seamlessly and it actually made the episode fly by. There was some really good banter in here, especially Jerry's sarcastic barbs to Elaine and George. The fire stuff was really and I love Eric the Clown so much. So angry. Kramer's story is an all timer as well and I clip I had on my iPod for a decade. A very good effort overall that certainly is worth a watch but comes up just short of the classics. Final Grade: 7/10
Best Character
So, I was ready to give this to Jerry because he was at his sarcastic best throughout. Then I was good to go with George after his performance at the party. But then Kramer told his Batman story. And nothing else mattered, Cracker Jack.
Best Storyline
Everything tied together so well, that I don't feel too dirty just saying "all of it". If I had to pick on particular thread, I will go with George being a pussy, but really it was like one giant storyline that involved everybody.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should Jerry have held back or just roasted Toby? I say he should have let loose. They had just started dating and he was well within his rights to let her have it with the way she was acting. Plus, he cussed her out afterwards anyway, which was bound to cause the same issues. He may as well have saved his gig and dealt with the rest later.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Toby is the worst. Annoying, unattractive, loud, bad dresser...nothing positive to see here. Robin was OK but nothing special either. Weak crop this go round. Relationship Grade: 1/10
What Worked:
Bitter Elaine is the best Elaine; George dealing with the kid was great; Bozo!; The Costanza birthday flashback was tremendous; Ronnie's pride in being a prop comic is admirable; Jerry's reactions to Toby's awful jokes were great, so great; I also loved him just tearing her apart after the show; I will forever love Eric the Clown and his anger for George about Bozo; George plowing his way out of the fire was perfection and his explanation later was amazing; Jerry's sarcastic grilling of George was great too; Jerry heckling Toby was a tremendous idea; Kramer's bus Batman story was as good as it gets; Elaine getting knocked over in the office always makes me laugh; The payoff with the prop comic and the fake gun was a great wrap
What Didn't Work
I hate everything about Toby, including her name; I can't stand the closeup on Kramer's face when Toby has her accident.
Key Character Debuts
Eric the Clown
Robin
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "'And that coffee table is saying, put some coffee on me!' I'd like to put some coffee on her. Hot, scalding coffee - right in her face! I swear! This is like working with a contestant from "The Price Is Right"! " - Elaine
- "Oh, that's gold, baby." - Jerry "'Baby'? What, are you doing George now?" - Elaine "I was saying 'baby' way before George!" - Jerry
- Who's Bozo? Bozo the Clown, that's who Bozo is. When I was a kid, Bozo the Clown was the clown, bar none." - George "George..." - Robin "With the orange hair, and the big clown shirt with the ruffles..." - Georg "George..." - Robin "And the TV show! He had cartoons!" - George "George! Forget Bozo, George. Bozo's out. He's finished. It's over for Bozo." - Robin
- "No! Not part of the show! Booing and hissing are not part of the show! You boo puppets! You hiss villains in silent movies!" - Jerry
- "You've never heard of Bozo the Clown?" - George "No!" - Eric "How could you not know who Bozo the Clown is?" - George "I don't know, I just don't." - Eric "How can you call yourself a clown and not know who Bozo is?" - George "Hey, man - what are you hassling me for? This is just a gig, it's not my life. I don't know who Bozo is, what - is he a clown?" - Eric "Is he a clown? What, are you kidding me!?" - George "Well, what is he?" - Eric "Yes, he's a clown!" - George "Alright, so what's the big deal! There's millions of clowns!" - Eric "Alright, just forget it." - George "Me forget it? You should forget it! You're livin' in the past, man! You're hung up on some clown from the sixties, man!" - Eric
- "Because! Because, as the leader...if I die...then all hope is lost! Who would lead? The clown? Instead of castigating me, you should all be thanking me. What kind of a topsy-turvy world do we live in, where heroes are cast as villains? Brave men as cowards?" - George "But I saw you push the women and children out of the way in a mad panic! I saw you knock them down! And when you ran out, you left everyone behind!" - Robin "Seemingly. Seemingly, to the untrained eye, I can fully understand how you got that impression. What looked like pushing...what looked like knocking down...was a safety precaution! In a fire, you stay close to the ground, am I right? And when I ran out that door, I was not leaving anyone behind! Oh, quite the contrary! I risked my life making sure that exit was clear. Any other questions?" - George "How do you live with yourself?" - Fireman "Its not easy." - George
- "Yeah. She should be commending me for treating everyone like equals." - George "Well, perhaps when she's released from the burn center, she'll see things differently." - Jerry
- "So, what was the fire? Just a couple of greasy hamburgers?" - Jerry "Yeah. Eric the Clown put it out with his big shoe." - George
- "You're Batman." - George "Yeah. Yeah, I am Batman. Then the mugger, he comes to, and he starts chokin' me! So I'm fightin' him off with one hand and I kept drivin' the bus with the other, y'know? Then I managed to open up the door, and I kicked him out the door with my foot, you know - at the next stop." - Kramer "You kept makin' all the stops?" - Jerry "Well, people kept ringin' the bell!" - Kramer
- "You know, throughout this whole thing, she always kept a smile on her face." - Kramer "Oh, of course! She's deranged." - Elaine
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Eric the Clown is portrayed by Jon Favreau
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I enjoyed this one quite a bit but as we have said time and time again, it is hurt by the Season Five curve. I enjoyed how everything flowed so seamlessly and it actually made the episode fly by. There was some really good banter in here, especially Jerry's sarcastic barbs to Elaine and George. The fire stuff was really and I love Eric the Clown so much. So angry. Kramer's story is an all timer as well and I clip I had on my iPod for a decade. A very good effort overall that certainly is worth a watch but comes up just short of the classics. Final Grade: 7/10
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