JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
I may have to go four way tie here with George, Newman, Kramer and Sid. They were all top of the line here. George flaming out as a volunteer was perfect, followed by his oiled head dream coming true. Sid was the man, a cantankerous, rotten, angry, bitter piece of shit. In the best kind of way. Newman and Kramer were tons of fun during their escapade, closed out with their brouhaha at the record store thanks to Kramer's acid tongue and Newman's ballsy delivery.
Best Storyline
I have to go with the records because it included pretty much everyone at one point or another. It was a great Kramer and Newman scheme and led to the best scenes of the episode in Sid's apartment and at the record store at the end.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
I know it looked bad at the end, but Jerry had every right to take those records. He clearly asked Sid at least three times if he was just trashing them, and that old coot insultingly said yes every time. And while I am at it, the company representative really gave Jerry the business, but do they do any background checking before sending these people in for visits? I one quick sweep of the past of Jerry and George would show they are untrustworthy, selfish dickheads that shouldn't be given custody of elderly folks for even an hour.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
George and the housekeeper really could have had something special there and honestly nothing that bad went down that could prevent them from moving forward. She was his perfect woman, everything he was looking for. And she clearly seemed into him, given her excitement to spread oil on his bald dome. Give love a chance! Relationship Grade: 10/10
What Worked
The Spring Break line in the opening stand up bit made me laugh; George continues to be miserable when he is single, pining for a woman; Jerry's dig about George being like an old person that needs companionship was good; Newman's postal meltdown was fantastic as was Kramer and Newman at the record store, especially when Kramer was feeding him lines; Sid is delightfully out of his mind, especially with his treatment of Jerry; I love that George can't wrap his head around Ben's inability to think about death and then caps it by asking for money for lunch; Poor Elaine, she can never win; Only George can get fired from volunteering; Kramer and Newman taking Sid's albums, ending with Kramer getting bit and George grinding his false teeth up was so great; That cab scene, so good; Kramer feeding Newman the insults was tremendous; George's oiled head was the best possible way to end this whole fiasco until we got Sid and Ben showing us future George and Jerry, including an awesome callback to the goiter lady!
What Didn't Work
Honestly, nothing this time around, I dug it all.
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Oh, what's the point? When I like them, they don't like me, when they like me, I don't like them. Why can't I act with the ones I like the same way I do with the ones I don't like?" - George "Well, you've only got another fifty years or so to go before it'll *all* be over..." - Jerry "Maybe I need someone who doesn't speak English." - George "Yeah, how about a mute?" - Jerry "A mute would be good." - George "Ah, where you gonna meet a mute?" - Jerry "This is what my life has come to... Trying to meet a mute." - George
- "Your misery is my pleasure." - Jerry
- "What kind of a person are you?" - George "I think I'm pretty much like you...only successful." - Jerry
- "Oh, Jerry, I'm surprised at you!" - Kramer "What?" - Jerry "It's a con. These agencies are usually a front for some money laundering scheme. Or they're bunko artists; bilkin' people out of their life savings, oh yeah." - Kramer "Where do you get this?" - Jerry "The alternative media, Jerry. That's where you hear the truth." - Kramer
- Hello, Newman
- We first find out Newman is a postal worker
- "Because the mail never stops. It just keeps coming and coming and coming, there's never a let-up. It's relentless. Every day it piles up more and more and more! And you gotta get it out but the more you get it out the more it keeps coming in. And then the barcode reader breaks and it's Publisher's Clearing House day!!!" - Newman
- "Are you going to kill me? I'm an old man for crying out loud, you gonna kill an old man, you coward?!?" - Sid
"Oh listen, before you go, would you mind changing my diaper? Ha!" - Sid
"What are you talking about? How can you sit there and look me in the eye and tell that me you're not worried?! Don't you have any sense?!! Don't you have a brain!? Are you so completely senile that you don't know what you're talking about anymore!!?!" - George
- "I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't look the woman in the face. I mean I keep thinking that that goiter's gonna start talking to me..." - Elaine
- "They really should mention that in the breakdown: height, weight, goiter." - Jerry
- "Yeah, I'm a great quitter. It's one of the few things I do well. I come form a long line of quitters. My father was a quitter, my grandfather was a quitter... I was raised to give up. Kramer and Newman come in, albums in hand..." - George
- "Oh yeah, you and your Sergio Mendes..." - Jerry "Hey, hey, hey, hey, that guy can't even go to the bathroom in South America!" - Kramer
- "And who were these other people. What were they doing in the apartment!?" - Tim "Well, I brought them up there to take his records." - Jerry
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Jerry owns Journey's Escape album
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I have to say, this was way better than I remember it being. I wasn't totally looking forward to watching it, but it won me over quickly. The guest elderly actors all delivered in spades, especially Sid. Seeing George fail spectacularly at volunteering was perfect and the whole scene with Kramer and Newman taking the records and the capper with the cab pile-in was amazing. Also, we need more Newman and Kramer team antics, as they were fantastic here. I won't say it was the perfect episode, but it was really strong writing throughout, moving at a rapid pace and tying everything together perfectly, right down to the final scene with Sid and Ben bringing it all full circle at the coffee shop. Good showing, idiots! Final Grade: 7/10
Best Character
I may have to go four way tie here with George, Newman, Kramer and Sid. They were all top of the line here. George flaming out as a volunteer was perfect, followed by his oiled head dream coming true. Sid was the man, a cantankerous, rotten, angry, bitter piece of shit. In the best kind of way. Newman and Kramer were tons of fun during their escapade, closed out with their brouhaha at the record store thanks to Kramer's acid tongue and Newman's ballsy delivery.
Best Storyline
I have to go with the records because it included pretty much everyone at one point or another. It was a great Kramer and Newman scheme and led to the best scenes of the episode in Sid's apartment and at the record store at the end.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
I know it looked bad at the end, but Jerry had every right to take those records. He clearly asked Sid at least three times if he was just trashing them, and that old coot insultingly said yes every time. And while I am at it, the company representative really gave Jerry the business, but do they do any background checking before sending these people in for visits? I one quick sweep of the past of Jerry and George would show they are untrustworthy, selfish dickheads that shouldn't be given custody of elderly folks for even an hour.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
George and the housekeeper really could have had something special there and honestly nothing that bad went down that could prevent them from moving forward. She was his perfect woman, everything he was looking for. And she clearly seemed into him, given her excitement to spread oil on his bald dome. Give love a chance! Relationship Grade: 10/10
What Worked
The Spring Break line in the opening stand up bit made me laugh; George continues to be miserable when he is single, pining for a woman; Jerry's dig about George being like an old person that needs companionship was good; Newman's postal meltdown was fantastic as was Kramer and Newman at the record store, especially when Kramer was feeding him lines; Sid is delightfully out of his mind, especially with his treatment of Jerry; I love that George can't wrap his head around Ben's inability to think about death and then caps it by asking for money for lunch; Poor Elaine, she can never win; Only George can get fired from volunteering; Kramer and Newman taking Sid's albums, ending with Kramer getting bit and George grinding his false teeth up was so great; That cab scene, so good; Kramer feeding Newman the insults was tremendous; George's oiled head was the best possible way to end this whole fiasco until we got Sid and Ben showing us future George and Jerry, including an awesome callback to the goiter lady!
What Didn't Work
Honestly, nothing this time around, I dug it all.
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Oh, what's the point? When I like them, they don't like me, when they like me, I don't like them. Why can't I act with the ones I like the same way I do with the ones I don't like?" - George "Well, you've only got another fifty years or so to go before it'll *all* be over..." - Jerry "Maybe I need someone who doesn't speak English." - George "Yeah, how about a mute?" - Jerry "A mute would be good." - George "Ah, where you gonna meet a mute?" - Jerry "This is what my life has come to... Trying to meet a mute." - George
- "Your misery is my pleasure." - Jerry
- "What kind of a person are you?" - George "I think I'm pretty much like you...only successful." - Jerry
- "Oh, Jerry, I'm surprised at you!" - Kramer "What?" - Jerry "It's a con. These agencies are usually a front for some money laundering scheme. Or they're bunko artists; bilkin' people out of their life savings, oh yeah." - Kramer "Where do you get this?" - Jerry "The alternative media, Jerry. That's where you hear the truth." - Kramer
- Hello, Newman
- We first find out Newman is a postal worker
- "Because the mail never stops. It just keeps coming and coming and coming, there's never a let-up. It's relentless. Every day it piles up more and more and more! And you gotta get it out but the more you get it out the more it keeps coming in. And then the barcode reader breaks and it's Publisher's Clearing House day!!!" - Newman
- "Are you going to kill me? I'm an old man for crying out loud, you gonna kill an old man, you coward?!?" - Sid
"Oh listen, before you go, would you mind changing my diaper? Ha!" - Sid
"What are you talking about? How can you sit there and look me in the eye and tell that me you're not worried?! Don't you have any sense?!! Don't you have a brain!? Are you so completely senile that you don't know what you're talking about anymore!!?!" - George
- "I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't look the woman in the face. I mean I keep thinking that that goiter's gonna start talking to me..." - Elaine
- "They really should mention that in the breakdown: height, weight, goiter." - Jerry
- "Yeah, I'm a great quitter. It's one of the few things I do well. I come form a long line of quitters. My father was a quitter, my grandfather was a quitter... I was raised to give up. Kramer and Newman come in, albums in hand..." - George
- "Oh yeah, you and your Sergio Mendes..." - Jerry "Hey, hey, hey, hey, that guy can't even go to the bathroom in South America!" - Kramer
- "And who were these other people. What were they doing in the apartment!?" - Tim "Well, I brought them up there to take his records." - Jerry
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Jerry owns Journey's Escape album
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I have to say, this was way better than I remember it being. I wasn't totally looking forward to watching it, but it won me over quickly. The guest elderly actors all delivered in spades, especially Sid. Seeing George fail spectacularly at volunteering was perfect and the whole scene with Kramer and Newman taking the records and the capper with the cab pile-in was amazing. Also, we need more Newman and Kramer team antics, as they were fantastic here. I won't say it was the perfect episode, but it was really strong writing throughout, moving at a rapid pace and tying everything together perfectly, right down to the final scene with Sid and Ben bringing it all full circle at the coffee shop. Good showing, idiots! Final Grade: 7/10
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