JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
I am torn a bit on this one. Jerry was really good, again killing his quick hit liners with perfect timing. Kramer was great too, enjoying Jane's goods and then romping on the beach before pilfering the lobsters. However, one man had the iconic line and memorable moment and that is poor Georgie Boy. He did nothing wrong in this one, was just a victim or poor timing and circumstance. And he ends up looking like a lesser man, short changed by his best friend's gal.
Best Storyline
The shrinkage. Nothing else comes close here, it is an all timer.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
There are actually quite a few jammed into this episode. Should Kramer have taken the lobsters? Should Michael have ratted him out? Should Rachel have told Jane about what she saw? Should Jane have dumped George without at least checking for herself? Should George have exacted revenge by spitting in the face of Rachel's religion? A big mess in this one. I will rank them this way from worst human to least worst: Jane, Michael, Rachel, Kramer, George.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
I really liked Rachel. A lot. I am not sure what changed between the last episode and this one though. It was really not cool of her to dime out Georgie Boy like that. And screw Jane and her nice tits. At least see for yourself instead of taking a stranger's word for it. What a shitty girlfriend. Relationship Grade: Boutros Boutros/10
What Worked:
Jerry's "Mrs. Robinson" line cracked me up, as did the Maude dig at Elaine; The topless stuff was really well done, and I loved Kramer's comment about Jane trying to get a buzz going; The ugly baby stuff is fantastic and so real; Kramer's beach montage was great; I love the breathtaking mixed signals from Feffa; It was nice having Rachel back, and we hit our second girlfriend that dislikes George; Vintage Kramer tossing out that he saw Jane topless to George; Elaine was looking good in this episode; Rachel laughing at George's shrunken member was great, as was his reaction; Everything shrinkage was top of the line, including George's awesome t-shirt example; Kramer's reaction to the baby was great; Feffa's confusing comment about just being nice was well done; Kramer and Rachel's late night lobster dalliance was fun; George's revenge was well done, but I still feel like he got the shit end of the deal on the trade-off, but his punchline was tremendous
What Didn't Work
Jane seems strung out; The camerawork was shaky as you can see Jane's boob was covered when she turned and walked away; Since when do pediatricians make house calls and chill with the family? Is it a Hamptons thing?; Chill out Michael; Jane is kind of a bitch to leave like that; Michael is a straight up narc; The ending annoyed me for some reason, how would Rachel notice George that quickly and drill him squarely in the face with the tomato?
Key Character Debuts
Jane the Topless Swimmer
Dr. Ben Feffa
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Didn't they just have a baby?" - Jerry "That was two years ago, remember? 'Jeh-Ree, you gotta see the Bay-Bee! You gotta see the Bay-Bee!'" - Elaine
- "Hey Jerry, you eve wear silk underwear?" - Kramer "No." - Jerry "Put that on the top of your list." - Kramer "No, not for me. A little too delightful." - Jerry
- Jerry is still dating Rachel, as her father forgave them for making out at Schindler's List
- "I never tasted a cough medicine I didn't love." - George "Me too. I love cough medicine." - Jane
- "Hey Jerry. Rub some lotion on my back." - Kramer "Who are you, Mrs. Robinson?" - Jerry
- "Yo Yo Ma" - Kramer "Boutros Boutros-Ghali." - Jerry
- "Is it me or was that the ugliest baby you have ever seen?" - Jerry "Uh, I couldn't look. It was like the Pekinese." - Elaine "Boy, a little too much chlorine in that gene pool." - Jerry
- "Yeah. I love Hampton tomatoes. You know, you can eat 'em like apples. You know it's funny, the tomato never took on as a hand fruit." - George "Well, the tomato's an anomaly. So successful with the ketchup and the sauce, but you can't find a good one." - Jerry
- "Well, how good a look did you get?" - George "Well what'd you mean?" - Jerry "Well, if she was a criminal and you had to describe her to a police sketch artist..." - George "They'd pick her up in about ten minutes." - Jerry
- "It's like I'm Neil Armstrong. I turn around for a sip of Tang and you jump out first." - George
- "Yes, because the water was cold... and the chewing warms me up." - George
- "I was in the pool! I was in the pool!" - George
- Shrinkage becomes a pop culture catchphrase
- "Well I just got back from swimming in the pool. And the water was cold..." - George "Oh... You mean... shrinkage." - Jerry "Yes. Significant shrinkage!" - George
- "Like when a man goes swimming... afterwards..." - Jerry "It shrinks?" - Elaine "Like a frightened turtle!" - Jerry "Why does it shrink?" - Elaine "It just does." - George "I don't know how you guys walk around with those things." - Elaine
- "My father was a lobsterman. He got up every morning at four and came home every night stinking of brine. He sent me through law school with the lobsters he caught!" - Michael
- "Not that much. You know, they tend to shrink in the water." - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Jerry & Elaine having to see the baby is a callback to "The Boyfriend" (S3, E17/18)
- This is the second of Jerry's girlfriends that disliked George, the first was Jodi in "The Masseuse" (S5, E9)
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This was a nice offering for our penultimate episode. We had a super iconic sequence with all the shrinkage stuff and lots of other laughs blended in as well, with the lobster stuff as well as the ugly baby. I also like how Rachel stuck around across multiple episodes as we now got to know her a bit. There was some annoying stuff mixed in but overall this had lots of good, sharp lines and a classic moment to carry it. To me, that carries a lot of weight. Even if George's hangdang doesn't. Final Grade: 8/10
Best Character
I am torn a bit on this one. Jerry was really good, again killing his quick hit liners with perfect timing. Kramer was great too, enjoying Jane's goods and then romping on the beach before pilfering the lobsters. However, one man had the iconic line and memorable moment and that is poor Georgie Boy. He did nothing wrong in this one, was just a victim or poor timing and circumstance. And he ends up looking like a lesser man, short changed by his best friend's gal.
Best Storyline
The shrinkage. Nothing else comes close here, it is an all timer.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
There are actually quite a few jammed into this episode. Should Kramer have taken the lobsters? Should Michael have ratted him out? Should Rachel have told Jane about what she saw? Should Jane have dumped George without at least checking for herself? Should George have exacted revenge by spitting in the face of Rachel's religion? A big mess in this one. I will rank them this way from worst human to least worst: Jane, Michael, Rachel, Kramer, George.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
I really liked Rachel. A lot. I am not sure what changed between the last episode and this one though. It was really not cool of her to dime out Georgie Boy like that. And screw Jane and her nice tits. At least see for yourself instead of taking a stranger's word for it. What a shitty girlfriend. Relationship Grade: Boutros Boutros/10
What Worked:
Jerry's "Mrs. Robinson" line cracked me up, as did the Maude dig at Elaine; The topless stuff was really well done, and I loved Kramer's comment about Jane trying to get a buzz going; The ugly baby stuff is fantastic and so real; Kramer's beach montage was great; I love the breathtaking mixed signals from Feffa; It was nice having Rachel back, and we hit our second girlfriend that dislikes George; Vintage Kramer tossing out that he saw Jane topless to George; Elaine was looking good in this episode; Rachel laughing at George's shrunken member was great, as was his reaction; Everything shrinkage was top of the line, including George's awesome t-shirt example; Kramer's reaction to the baby was great; Feffa's confusing comment about just being nice was well done; Kramer and Rachel's late night lobster dalliance was fun; George's revenge was well done, but I still feel like he got the shit end of the deal on the trade-off, but his punchline was tremendous
What Didn't Work
Jane seems strung out; The camerawork was shaky as you can see Jane's boob was covered when she turned and walked away; Since when do pediatricians make house calls and chill with the family? Is it a Hamptons thing?; Chill out Michael; Jane is kind of a bitch to leave like that; Michael is a straight up narc; The ending annoyed me for some reason, how would Rachel notice George that quickly and drill him squarely in the face with the tomato?
Key Character Debuts
Jane the Topless Swimmer
Dr. Ben Feffa
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Didn't they just have a baby?" - Jerry "That was two years ago, remember? 'Jeh-Ree, you gotta see the Bay-Bee! You gotta see the Bay-Bee!'" - Elaine
- "Hey Jerry, you eve wear silk underwear?" - Kramer "No." - Jerry "Put that on the top of your list." - Kramer "No, not for me. A little too delightful." - Jerry
- Jerry is still dating Rachel, as her father forgave them for making out at Schindler's List
- "I never tasted a cough medicine I didn't love." - George "Me too. I love cough medicine." - Jane
- "Hey Jerry. Rub some lotion on my back." - Kramer "Who are you, Mrs. Robinson?" - Jerry
- "Yo Yo Ma" - Kramer "Boutros Boutros-Ghali." - Jerry
- "Is it me or was that the ugliest baby you have ever seen?" - Jerry "Uh, I couldn't look. It was like the Pekinese." - Elaine "Boy, a little too much chlorine in that gene pool." - Jerry
- "Yeah. I love Hampton tomatoes. You know, you can eat 'em like apples. You know it's funny, the tomato never took on as a hand fruit." - George "Well, the tomato's an anomaly. So successful with the ketchup and the sauce, but you can't find a good one." - Jerry
- "Well, how good a look did you get?" - George "Well what'd you mean?" - Jerry "Well, if she was a criminal and you had to describe her to a police sketch artist..." - George "They'd pick her up in about ten minutes." - Jerry
- "It's like I'm Neil Armstrong. I turn around for a sip of Tang and you jump out first." - George
- "Yes, because the water was cold... and the chewing warms me up." - George
- "I was in the pool! I was in the pool!" - George
- Shrinkage becomes a pop culture catchphrase
- "Well I just got back from swimming in the pool. And the water was cold..." - George "Oh... You mean... shrinkage." - Jerry "Yes. Significant shrinkage!" - George
- "Like when a man goes swimming... afterwards..." - Jerry "It shrinks?" - Elaine "Like a frightened turtle!" - Jerry "Why does it shrink?" - Elaine "It just does." - George "I don't know how you guys walk around with those things." - Elaine
- "My father was a lobsterman. He got up every morning at four and came home every night stinking of brine. He sent me through law school with the lobsters he caught!" - Michael
- "Not that much. You know, they tend to shrink in the water." - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Jerry & Elaine having to see the baby is a callback to "The Boyfriend" (S3, E17/18)
- This is the second of Jerry's girlfriends that disliked George, the first was Jodi in "The Masseuse" (S5, E9)
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This was a nice offering for our penultimate episode. We had a super iconic sequence with all the shrinkage stuff and lots of other laughs blended in as well, with the lobster stuff as well as the ugly baby. I also like how Rachel stuck around across multiple episodes as we now got to know her a bit. There was some annoying stuff mixed in but overall this had lots of good, sharp lines and a classic moment to carry it. To me, that carries a lot of weight. Even if George's hangdang doesn't. Final Grade: 8/10
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