JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
George. Everyone was really good in the episode, but he was next level. His flawless lying to Diane and amazing story at the end takes it. One of his finest performances.
Best Storyline
The marine bioligist for sure. From Jerry's initial pitch to George yanking the golf ball out of the blowhole, this was masterful storytelling across the board. Everything wove together beautifully and the payoff of Kramer's ball having led to this incredible moment was genius.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
What is Jerry's obligation to assist Elaine in clearing the air over the War & Peace mess. He was a dick and lied to her and assumed she knew he was bullshitting, but he ended up making her look stupid in front of a boss and client. He owes Lainey a big one.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Come on Diane! Why would she take this out on George? Again, Jerry's lie cost his friend. Sure, it led to the hero's moment, but he set Georgie up to fail. Also, the fact that he ISN'T a marine biologist should have impressed The It Girl even more. For shame, DeConn. Relationship Grade: Blowhole/10
What Worked:
Golden Boy; Jerry's War & Peace story is told with such conviction, poor Elaine; Estelle opening George's mail is perfect booking; Kramer giving up the electronic organizer while shuffling a ton of junk through his pockets was great; Who wants to have fun?; Kramer's excitement while pitching the golf outing to the beach was infectious; Jerry is a good friend, repping his buddy to his college crush; Jerry and George talking about Diane for the first time is a tremendous scene; Elaine telling Testikov and Lippman the War & Peace story in the limo is cringeworthy in a good way; The ongoing architect callback is well executed, as is Kramer flipping out about how he sucks at golf; Corinne is delightfully trashy; Jerry and Elaine slowly piecing together the limo incident was well done too; George's masterful performance on the beach was amazing; The payoff with the tape recorder hitting Corinne and the boot hitting Newman; George's story at the end is an all time classic, capped with Kramer's killer line that closes out some beautiful storytelling; The tacked on scene about Golden Boy dying was a nice bookend to the episode
What Didn't Work
How many bank accounts are these guys opening?; Jerry is obnoxious at the ATM; Testikov is an asshole, but I guess that is the point
Key Character Debuts
Diane DeConn, The It Girl
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Elaine, see this T-shirts, six years I've had this T-shirts, it's my best one, I call him...Golden Boy" - Jerry "I'm on the phone here." - Elaine "Golden Boy is always the first shirt I wear out of the laundry, here touch Golden Boy!" - Jerry "No thanks. Yeah, Yeah I'll hold." - Elaine "But see look at the collar, see it's fraying. Golden Boy is slowly dying. Each wash is brings him one step closer, that's what makes the t-shirt such a tragic figure." - Jerry "Why don't you just let Golden Boy soak in the sink with some Woolite?" - Elaine "No!!! The reason he's iron man is because he goes out there and plays every game. Wash!!! Spin!!! Rinse!!! Spin!!! You take that away from him, you break his spirit!" - Jerry
- "Hey ya know what I read the most unbelievable thing about Tolstoy the other day, did you know the original title for "War and Peace" was "War--What Is It Good For?"!" - Jerry
- "I'm such a Huge whale fan. These marine biologists were showing how they communicate with each other with these squeaks and squeals, what a fish!" - George "It's a mammal." - Jerry "Whatever." - George
- "Yeah...he specializing in whales. He's working on lowering the cholesterol level in whales...all that blubber-- quite unhealthy. You know its the largest mammal on earth but as George says "they don't have to be."" - Jerry
- "OK, I'm tellin' you right now if your kiddin' around I'm not gonna be able to be friends with you anymore. I'm serious about that. You got that." - George "I got no problem with that." - Jerry "Good. Cause if this is a lie, if this is a joke, if this is your idea of some cute little game...we're finished!" - George
- "Algae, obviously plankton, I don't know what else I can tell you, Oh I just got back from a trip to the Galapagos Islands, I was living with the turtles." - George
- "Well it's not up my alley! It's one thing if I make it up. I know what I'm doin, I know my alleys! You got me in the Galapagos Islands livin' with the turtles, I don't know where the hell I am." - George
- "Yeah know somebody told me they thought they saw it coming out of a limousine." - Corinne "Typical rich people, using the world for their personal garbage can." - Jerry
- "Then of course with evolution the octopus lost the nostrils and took on the more familiar look that we know today. But if you look really closely you can still see a bump where the nose use to be." - George "Really?" - Diane "Yeah, but enough about fish I can talk about other things like... architecture..." - George
- "Yes. That's why I where these sneakers, in case of any trouble and zip, I'm gone." - Jerry "Yeah, Yeah. The sneakers. The Americans and their sneakers. Always running from something." - Testikov
- "Yeah I guess I'd better. Wouldn't want to take any attention away from the hookers!" - Corinne
- George mentions that he always wanted to be an architect in a callback to previous episodes
- Jerry mentions Superman
- "Oh yes they did Jerry they were all over me. It was like Rocky 1. Diane came up to me, threw her arms around me, and kissed me. We both had tears streaming down our faces. I never saw anyone so beautiful. It was at that moment I decided to tell her I was not a marine biologist!" - George
- "This is Golden Boy's son, Baby Blue." - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Larry David calls for the marine biologist on the beach
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
Tremendous, perfect, beautiful storytelling here. When Seinfeld is at its best, it has multiple parallel stories that weave together seamlessly, and we had that here. Everyone was on point and the whole episode just flowed from story to story and then BAM, the payoffs flooded in. Even the last scene was perfectly done, closing out the Golden Boy story that we only heard about once to open the episode. Even though it may have laughed some really big laughs and did have some soft scenes, storytelling like this must be rewarded. Plus, George's final story is a pantheon moment. Like an old man trying to return soup at a deli. Final Grade: 10/10
Best Character
George. Everyone was really good in the episode, but he was next level. His flawless lying to Diane and amazing story at the end takes it. One of his finest performances.
Best Storyline
The marine bioligist for sure. From Jerry's initial pitch to George yanking the golf ball out of the blowhole, this was masterful storytelling across the board. Everything wove together beautifully and the payoff of Kramer's ball having led to this incredible moment was genius.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
What is Jerry's obligation to assist Elaine in clearing the air over the War & Peace mess. He was a dick and lied to her and assumed she knew he was bullshitting, but he ended up making her look stupid in front of a boss and client. He owes Lainey a big one.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Come on Diane! Why would she take this out on George? Again, Jerry's lie cost his friend. Sure, it led to the hero's moment, but he set Georgie up to fail. Also, the fact that he ISN'T a marine biologist should have impressed The It Girl even more. For shame, DeConn. Relationship Grade: Blowhole/10
What Worked:
Golden Boy; Jerry's War & Peace story is told with such conviction, poor Elaine; Estelle opening George's mail is perfect booking; Kramer giving up the electronic organizer while shuffling a ton of junk through his pockets was great; Who wants to have fun?; Kramer's excitement while pitching the golf outing to the beach was infectious; Jerry is a good friend, repping his buddy to his college crush; Jerry and George talking about Diane for the first time is a tremendous scene; Elaine telling Testikov and Lippman the War & Peace story in the limo is cringeworthy in a good way; The ongoing architect callback is well executed, as is Kramer flipping out about how he sucks at golf; Corinne is delightfully trashy; Jerry and Elaine slowly piecing together the limo incident was well done too; George's masterful performance on the beach was amazing; The payoff with the tape recorder hitting Corinne and the boot hitting Newman; George's story at the end is an all time classic, capped with Kramer's killer line that closes out some beautiful storytelling; The tacked on scene about Golden Boy dying was a nice bookend to the episode
What Didn't Work
How many bank accounts are these guys opening?; Jerry is obnoxious at the ATM; Testikov is an asshole, but I guess that is the point
Key Character Debuts
Diane DeConn, The It Girl
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Elaine, see this T-shirts, six years I've had this T-shirts, it's my best one, I call him...Golden Boy" - Jerry "I'm on the phone here." - Elaine "Golden Boy is always the first shirt I wear out of the laundry, here touch Golden Boy!" - Jerry "No thanks. Yeah, Yeah I'll hold." - Elaine "But see look at the collar, see it's fraying. Golden Boy is slowly dying. Each wash is brings him one step closer, that's what makes the t-shirt such a tragic figure." - Jerry "Why don't you just let Golden Boy soak in the sink with some Woolite?" - Elaine "No!!! The reason he's iron man is because he goes out there and plays every game. Wash!!! Spin!!! Rinse!!! Spin!!! You take that away from him, you break his spirit!" - Jerry
- "Hey ya know what I read the most unbelievable thing about Tolstoy the other day, did you know the original title for "War and Peace" was "War--What Is It Good For?"!" - Jerry
- "I'm such a Huge whale fan. These marine biologists were showing how they communicate with each other with these squeaks and squeals, what a fish!" - George "It's a mammal." - Jerry "Whatever." - George
- "Yeah...he specializing in whales. He's working on lowering the cholesterol level in whales...all that blubber-- quite unhealthy. You know its the largest mammal on earth but as George says "they don't have to be."" - Jerry
- "OK, I'm tellin' you right now if your kiddin' around I'm not gonna be able to be friends with you anymore. I'm serious about that. You got that." - George "I got no problem with that." - Jerry "Good. Cause if this is a lie, if this is a joke, if this is your idea of some cute little game...we're finished!" - George
- "Algae, obviously plankton, I don't know what else I can tell you, Oh I just got back from a trip to the Galapagos Islands, I was living with the turtles." - George
- "Well it's not up my alley! It's one thing if I make it up. I know what I'm doin, I know my alleys! You got me in the Galapagos Islands livin' with the turtles, I don't know where the hell I am." - George
- "Yeah know somebody told me they thought they saw it coming out of a limousine." - Corinne "Typical rich people, using the world for their personal garbage can." - Jerry
- "Then of course with evolution the octopus lost the nostrils and took on the more familiar look that we know today. But if you look really closely you can still see a bump where the nose use to be." - George "Really?" - Diane "Yeah, but enough about fish I can talk about other things like... architecture..." - George
- "Yes. That's why I where these sneakers, in case of any trouble and zip, I'm gone." - Jerry "Yeah, Yeah. The sneakers. The Americans and their sneakers. Always running from something." - Testikov
- "Yeah I guess I'd better. Wouldn't want to take any attention away from the hookers!" - Corinne
- George mentions that he always wanted to be an architect in a callback to previous episodes
- Jerry mentions Superman
- "Oh yes they did Jerry they were all over me. It was like Rocky 1. Diane came up to me, threw her arms around me, and kissed me. We both had tears streaming down our faces. I never saw anyone so beautiful. It was at that moment I decided to tell her I was not a marine biologist!" - George
- "This is Golden Boy's son, Baby Blue." - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Larry David calls for the marine biologist on the beach
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
Tremendous, perfect, beautiful storytelling here. When Seinfeld is at its best, it has multiple parallel stories that weave together seamlessly, and we had that here. Everyone was on point and the whole episode just flowed from story to story and then BAM, the payoffs flooded in. Even the last scene was perfectly done, closing out the Golden Boy story that we only heard about once to open the episode. Even though it may have laughed some really big laughs and did have some soft scenes, storytelling like this must be rewarded. Plus, George's final story is a pantheon moment. Like an old man trying to return soup at a deli. Final Grade: 10/10
Comments
Post a Comment