JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
I enjoyed Jerry a lot here. He was at his acerbic best, shitting all over Elaine left and right and hitting zingers left and right. Him sandbagging George in between running tests on breakup stories was really good stuff. The whole crew showed up for this one but I thought Jerry edged out the field.
Best Storyline
The Foundation takes it here just because it is such a kick in the nuts to George after he spent all of last season trying to dump Susan. Now she is gone and he finds out he would have been a millionaire. Plus he has to spend all his free time watching his money get pissed away. The last scene mirroring the first episode of season seven with George unable to hang out with Jerry was so well done as was the doll collection callback. Perfect Costanza.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Is it ethical to fight children at a karate dojo? I would argue the bigger ethics issue is that the dojo permits it.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Mulva is the best. Too bad Jerry hadn't fully tested out his theories before his date with her as she is quite the catch. Susan still haunts poor George from the grave. Relationship Grade: Dolores/10
What Worked:
George's hair cut caught my eye for some reason and him going through the Yankees season to Susan's grave was funny; Wrath of Khan!; Kramer's haircut too; I love Kramer not realizing Elaine had been away for six weeks; Jerry explaining the breakup to Elaine; The debut of the Urban Sombrero; Peterman's calm meltdown in the meeting was wonderfully executed; Mulva is looking good; Burma!; Jerry shitting on Elaine as boss and then shaking his head as Kramer hyped her up was great; Jerry's Sammy Davis line and then saying "No she's not" cracked me up too; Kramer fighting kids could have come off hokey on most shows but they made it work here; Him sitting in the station wagon begging for treats was funny too; George eating the block of cheese and then squirting the mustard in Jerry's coffee; George yelling "KHAN!"; Kramer quoting Search for Spock; The manager being part of Jerry's roundtable was excellent; George not being able to go out and the final scene with Wyck wanting go doll by doll through the collection were great callbacks and close to the episode
What Didn't Work
Why did it take three months to get Susan's tombstone set up?; Susan never mentioned how much her family was worth in any of her time with George?
Key Character Debuts
- Wyck Thayer
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "What were you saying to the Rosses over there, anyway?" - George "Oh, I don't know. I told them her death takes place in the shadow of new life. She's not really dead if we find a way to remember her." - Jerry "What is that?" - George "Star Trek II." - Jerry "Wrath of Khan!" - George "Right. Kramer and I saw it last night. Spock dies, they wrap him up in a towel, and they shoot him out the bowel of the ship in that big sunglasses case." - Jerry "That was a hell of a thing when Spock died..." - George "Yeah..." - Jerry
- "I have mourned for three long months! Summer months, too! Anybody could grieve in January! It's time for George to start being George again." - George
- "She's been in Mexico for six weeks." - Jerry "No, I really think you're wrong. We just went to the fireworks the other day. - Kramer "That was July 4th!" - Jerry
- "Oh, my neck is one gargantuan monkey fist." - Peterman
- "I tell you, Jerry, I'm feeling something. Something I haven't felt in a long time." - George "Pride?" - Jerry "No. Autonomy, complete and total autonomy." - George "Well, you're your own boss now." - Jerry "I wanna go to a tractor pull." - George "Go ahead." - Jerry "I am staying out all night!" - George "Who's stopping you?" - Jerry "I wanna bite into a big hunk of cheese, just bite into it like it's an apple." - George "Whatever." - Jerry
- "I've already left, Elaine. I'm in Burma." - Peterman "Burma?" - Elaine "You most likely know it as Myanmar, but it will always be Burma to me. Bonne chance, Elaine." - Peterman
- "I am not qualified to run the catalog!" - Elaine "You're not qualified to work at the catalog." - Jerry
- "Yeah, karate. I had no support. Not from him, not from Newman, no one. The first time I sparred with an opponent, I was terrified. My legs, they were like noodles. But then I looked inside, and I found my kata." - Kramer "Katra?" - Elaine "Yeah, your spirit, your, uh, being. The part of you that says, "Yes, I can!"" - Kramer "Sammy Davis had it." - Jerry
- "Kramer, you're fighting children?" - Jerry "We're all at the same skill level, Jerry." - Kramer "He's nine years old! You don't need karate, you can just wring his neck!" - Jerry
- "And they've been hard on us, too. It's a terrible tragedy when parents outlive their children." - Mr. Ross "Yes, I agree. I hope my parents go long before I do." - George
- "Yeah! Look at me! I was free and clear! I was living the dream! I was stripped to the waist, eating a block of cheese the size of a car battery!" - George "Before we go any further, I'd just like to point out how disturbing it is that you equate eating a block of cheese with some sort of bachelor paradise." - Jerry
- "Hey, hey. Me. Talking. You know, between you and me, I always thought Kramer was a bit of a doofus, but he believed in me. You did not. So as I see it, he's not the doofus. You are the doofus." - Elaine "Oh, I'm the doofus?" - Jerry "Yeah. You, Jerry, are the doofus." - Elaine
- Elaine creates the Urban Sombrero
- "It's the Urban Sombrero. I put it on the cover." - Elaine "Well, nobody sees the... cover." - Jerry
- "Okay, next item. Susan's doll collection. Estimated value: $2.6 million. What do you say we go through this doll by doll?" - Wyck
Oddities & Fun Facts
- N/A
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
We get off to a very nice start here in season eight, as things have carried right over from where we left off. George is finally single but immediately miserable again thanks to Susan's ghost still haunting him. The scenes at the Foundation were soul crushingly great, watching him sink deeper and deeper into depression. Wyck is a glorious douchebag too. I really enjoyed Jerry here and we also get classic moments like the creation of the Urban Sombrero and Peterman heading off to Burma...er, Myanmar. The Star Trek stuff was funny and I loved the callbacks at the end with George being stuck and the wretched doll collection being worth millions. Very good episode and honestly it felt like one of the better premiers that we have seen, or at least even to the last few. Final Grade: 7/10
Best Character
I enjoyed Jerry a lot here. He was at his acerbic best, shitting all over Elaine left and right and hitting zingers left and right. Him sandbagging George in between running tests on breakup stories was really good stuff. The whole crew showed up for this one but I thought Jerry edged out the field.
Best Storyline
The Foundation takes it here just because it is such a kick in the nuts to George after he spent all of last season trying to dump Susan. Now she is gone and he finds out he would have been a millionaire. Plus he has to spend all his free time watching his money get pissed away. The last scene mirroring the first episode of season seven with George unable to hang out with Jerry was so well done as was the doll collection callback. Perfect Costanza.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Is it ethical to fight children at a karate dojo? I would argue the bigger ethics issue is that the dojo permits it.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Mulva is the best. Too bad Jerry hadn't fully tested out his theories before his date with her as she is quite the catch. Susan still haunts poor George from the grave. Relationship Grade: Dolores/10
What Worked:
George's hair cut caught my eye for some reason and him going through the Yankees season to Susan's grave was funny; Wrath of Khan!; Kramer's haircut too; I love Kramer not realizing Elaine had been away for six weeks; Jerry explaining the breakup to Elaine; The debut of the Urban Sombrero; Peterman's calm meltdown in the meeting was wonderfully executed; Mulva is looking good; Burma!; Jerry shitting on Elaine as boss and then shaking his head as Kramer hyped her up was great; Jerry's Sammy Davis line and then saying "No she's not" cracked me up too; Kramer fighting kids could have come off hokey on most shows but they made it work here; Him sitting in the station wagon begging for treats was funny too; George eating the block of cheese and then squirting the mustard in Jerry's coffee; George yelling "KHAN!"; Kramer quoting Search for Spock; The manager being part of Jerry's roundtable was excellent; George not being able to go out and the final scene with Wyck wanting go doll by doll through the collection were great callbacks and close to the episode
What Didn't Work
Why did it take three months to get Susan's tombstone set up?; Susan never mentioned how much her family was worth in any of her time with George?
Key Character Debuts
- Wyck Thayer
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "What were you saying to the Rosses over there, anyway?" - George "Oh, I don't know. I told them her death takes place in the shadow of new life. She's not really dead if we find a way to remember her." - Jerry "What is that?" - George "Star Trek II." - Jerry "Wrath of Khan!" - George "Right. Kramer and I saw it last night. Spock dies, they wrap him up in a towel, and they shoot him out the bowel of the ship in that big sunglasses case." - Jerry "That was a hell of a thing when Spock died..." - George "Yeah..." - Jerry
- "I have mourned for three long months! Summer months, too! Anybody could grieve in January! It's time for George to start being George again." - George
- "She's been in Mexico for six weeks." - Jerry "No, I really think you're wrong. We just went to the fireworks the other day. - Kramer "That was July 4th!" - Jerry
- "Oh, my neck is one gargantuan monkey fist." - Peterman
- "I tell you, Jerry, I'm feeling something. Something I haven't felt in a long time." - George "Pride?" - Jerry "No. Autonomy, complete and total autonomy." - George "Well, you're your own boss now." - Jerry "I wanna go to a tractor pull." - George "Go ahead." - Jerry "I am staying out all night!" - George "Who's stopping you?" - Jerry "I wanna bite into a big hunk of cheese, just bite into it like it's an apple." - George "Whatever." - Jerry
- "I've already left, Elaine. I'm in Burma." - Peterman "Burma?" - Elaine "You most likely know it as Myanmar, but it will always be Burma to me. Bonne chance, Elaine." - Peterman
- "I am not qualified to run the catalog!" - Elaine "You're not qualified to work at the catalog." - Jerry
- "Yeah, karate. I had no support. Not from him, not from Newman, no one. The first time I sparred with an opponent, I was terrified. My legs, they were like noodles. But then I looked inside, and I found my kata." - Kramer "Katra?" - Elaine "Yeah, your spirit, your, uh, being. The part of you that says, "Yes, I can!"" - Kramer "Sammy Davis had it." - Jerry
- "Kramer, you're fighting children?" - Jerry "We're all at the same skill level, Jerry." - Kramer "He's nine years old! You don't need karate, you can just wring his neck!" - Jerry
- "And they've been hard on us, too. It's a terrible tragedy when parents outlive their children." - Mr. Ross "Yes, I agree. I hope my parents go long before I do." - George
- "Yeah! Look at me! I was free and clear! I was living the dream! I was stripped to the waist, eating a block of cheese the size of a car battery!" - George "Before we go any further, I'd just like to point out how disturbing it is that you equate eating a block of cheese with some sort of bachelor paradise." - Jerry
- "Hey, hey. Me. Talking. You know, between you and me, I always thought Kramer was a bit of a doofus, but he believed in me. You did not. So as I see it, he's not the doofus. You are the doofus." - Elaine "Oh, I'm the doofus?" - Jerry "Yeah. You, Jerry, are the doofus." - Elaine
- Elaine creates the Urban Sombrero
- "It's the Urban Sombrero. I put it on the cover." - Elaine "Well, nobody sees the... cover." - Jerry
- "Okay, next item. Susan's doll collection. Estimated value: $2.6 million. What do you say we go through this doll by doll?" - Wyck
Oddities & Fun Facts
- N/A
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
We get off to a very nice start here in season eight, as things have carried right over from where we left off. George is finally single but immediately miserable again thanks to Susan's ghost still haunting him. The scenes at the Foundation were soul crushingly great, watching him sink deeper and deeper into depression. Wyck is a glorious douchebag too. I really enjoyed Jerry here and we also get classic moments like the creation of the Urban Sombrero and Peterman heading off to Burma...er, Myanmar. The Star Trek stuff was funny and I loved the callbacks at the end with George being stuck and the wretched doll collection being worth millions. Very good episode and honestly it felt like one of the better premiers that we have seen, or at least even to the last few. Final Grade: 7/10
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