Seinfeld: The Series Rewatch - "The Heart Attack" (S2, E11)

JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.

Best Character

I felt like everybody was pretty good in this one but nobody truly stood out. Jerry was pretty funny with his random one liners and digs at both George and Tor but Kramer takes the cake here solely for his scene at the foot of the hospital bed and his couple of asides at Tor's office. The Bob Sacamano story alone would have sealed it for me. George had moments but this was the first time I didn't really enjoy him throughout the episode as he came off a little too whiny at times. Elaine was good flirting with the Doctor but she again got almost no screen time. Kramer it is!

Best Storyline

The trip to Tor's office was the highlight here. The actor that played Tor did a really good job with the role and the contrast of him actually making some sense with his rantings about hospitals and the medical industry while going through the absurd tests on George was well done. I also liked how he would stop himself and divert to give tips to Jerry and George at random. The scene being capped off with purple George being rushed back to the hospital paid it off nicely.

Ethical Dilemma of the Week

When do you trust a doctor and when do you go the holistic route? When routine surgery is involved, you are usually best off going with the doctor's opinion. Either way, money should never be the true determining factor in cases such as these. When you let cost dictate your actions, you end up looking like an eggplant and getting into car accidents while riding in an ambulance. Also, if Kramer is the one ushering you in a certain direction, you are usually best off going the other way.

Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)

Elaine and Dr. Tongue was the only relationship on display and while it started out well with the innocent flirting, it quickly crashed and burned in the car thanks to the Doc being kind of creepy and wrecking the mood with his tongue lessons. Relationship Grade: 1/10

What Worked

George bringing his own cucumber to the restaurant is very George; Jerry's mystery joke was a fun ongoing challenge for him and the gang to crack; Jerry's great unfazed reaction to George's heart attack and then torturing George in the hospital, teasing about all the things he will do when George dies; George being angry about the mistake on the bill while he is mid-heart attack is extremely George; Kramer being out on the road and feeling more of a group member finally was great to see; Cheap George picking holistic healer to save money was quite George; Tor was pretty good and the exact type of person that could drive George nuts with his one off comments about how the different routines he should change; Tor's thoughts on hospitals are pretty insightful; Purple George; The medics arguing over Chuckles was a brilliant random scene with one of them getting left behind after they stopped to fight and the winner causing an accident and crashing the vehicle; Jerry having to get the last joke in about the hospital cost at the end was a nice closing point

What Didn't Work

George is almost too pathetic at times throughout this one and it made me not enjoy him as much as usual; The viewers hearing Jerry's internal thoughts always bugs me; Elaine's date is kind of weird and Dr. Tongue felt like a soap opera actor; George's sweater is hideous; Not enough Elaine once again, which is something that needs to change quickly; Some parts were a bit ham-fisted, with Jerry and George both ending up in neck braces and hobbling at the end

Key Character Debuts

N/A

Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes

- We see Jerry's bedroom for the first time
- Hypochondriac George thinks he is having a heart attack after watching a TV show
- "Is it meningitis? Scoliosis? Lupus? Is it lupus?" - George
- "Aw, whose tonsils grow back?" - Elaine "Yeah, if you've been exposed to gamma rays." - Jerry
- "Oh yeah? My friend Bob Sacamano... he came in here for a hernia operation. Oh yeah, routine surgery. Now he's sitting around in a chair by the window saying (high pitched voice) 'Hi, my name is Bob!'" - Kramer
- "I've never had a normal, medium orgasm." - George "I've never had a really good pickle." - Jerry
- "I'm off hot water." - Kramer
- "Ha Ha, oh yes! Cleveland 117, San Antonio 109." - Tor

Oddities & Fun Facts

- Larry David appears as a character in the movie Jerry is watching on TV
- George has a prized Chicago Blackhawks jacket, a rare mention of him being a hockey fan

Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)

This episode was just kind of there. It didn't really stand out and only had a couple of memorable lines and moments. Tor was pretty funny and the premise was a good one for a character like George but it felt like they never really got out of first gear. Kramer's scenes really carried it for me and while it wasn't a bad episode, per se, it isn't one I would be dying to see again any time soon. Final Grade: 4/10