JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
This is a real tough one because I thought everyone was excellent. So, I am going to cop out and give it to Elaine and George in a tie. Both were tremendous in very different storylines. Elaine goes from being so excited about her relationship and perfect Christmas Card to just buried in humiliation thanks to another Kramer screwup, and as always her meltdown is perfectly done. George is just a mess of a man throughout, from his pining over Susan to his jacket problems to his death march up the stairs, he had it all going on here. Shoutout to Kramer's ass too.
Best Storyline
The nipple. Even if you weren't aware of what Seinfeld was, you probably heard about the Nipple Christmas Card. This season has been packed with iconic pop culture crossover moments, and this was yet another one for the pantheon. I always enjoyed Jerry and Kramer showing theirs to help comfort Elaine, as well as all her co-workers calling her "Nip".
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should Tia have given poor Jerry a better chance to prove himself innocent of the pick? I think so. Once she gets to know Jerome, she will see that he is a neat freak and an OCD maniac that would probably never even blow his nose, let alone pick it.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
George and Susan are meant to be. You know how I know? He was trapped in that death march to her apartment. A face and mindset that screams "we are together forever". Elaine and Fred would never last mainly because his name is Fred. Relationship Grade: Till Death Do Us Part/10
What Worked
The laundry discussion and George's dramatic about face on Susan is really good; Jerry's comments about flushing the fish made me laugh out loud; The return of The Beach and Kramer sniffing it out; George's zipper fiasco is very identifiable; The Nipple became another iconic moment in a season chock full of them; Newman immediately spotting the nipple and then leaving was great; Estelle paying for George's therapy is perfect; The Pick; Elaine giving George a personal Christmas Card; George's web of lies when trying to convince Susan to take him back was awe inspiring; George's face while walking up the stairs was a great payoff to earlier; Kramer in the underwear is a classic moment; George using the pick to get back out of his relationship with Susan wrapped things up perfectly, almost as well as Kramer's junk possibly showing in his modeling pictures
What Didn't Work
George's orange sweater is brutally ugly; How does Jerry know the modeling agency's phone number?; Tia met a guy on decent looking airplane and was charmed enough to date him, but won't even give him a chance to explain the pick?; Jerry's speech outside the elevator and Elaine's speech about the nipple exposure back to back felt too forced
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "I loved her Jerry, I loved her." - George "No, you didn't." - Jerry "And she loved me. Hoo, ho, she really did." - George "No she didn't." - Jerry "What am I going to do now? I can't live without Susan. I gotta get her back. How? How, am I gonna get her back?" - George "Not only didn't you love her, you didn't even like her." - Elaine "Who says?" - George "You did." - Elaine
- "You need some professional advice. Why don't you go see Elaine's friend? She's a therapist." - Jerry "I'm not going to see that nut doctor she went to Europe with." - George
- "Now what does the little man inside you say? See you gotta listen to the little man." - Kramer "My little man doesn't know." - George "The little man knows all." - Kramer "My little man's an idiot." - George
- "Now, you come on over. I'll have my cereal and I'll take your picture." - Kramer
- "So, I'm thinking of putting in a tropical fish tank right here." - Jerry "Are you sure you're ready for that kind of commitment?" - Tia "Well, I figure if it doesn't work out I can always flush them down the toilet." - Jerry
- Tia is the model for Calvin Klein's The Beach cologne, which Kramer pitched to them previously
- "Oh, volunteer work!. See that's what I like about the holiday season. That's the true spirit of Christmas. People being helped by people other than me. That makes me feel good inside. Look at what we have here." - Jerry
- Elaine's Christmas Card includes an exposed nipple, which becomes iconic in pop culture
- "Oh God I didn't notice. Oh, what am I going to do? You know your whole life you go through painstaking efforts to hide your nipple and then BOOM, suddenly hundreds of people get their own personal shot of it." - Elaine
- "Was it a scratch? Or a pick?" - George
- Pick vs. Scratch is another pop culture icon
- Is that so unforgivable? Is that like breaking a commandment? Did God say to Moses thou shalt not pick?" - Jerry "I guarantee you that Moses was a picker. You wander through the desert for forty years with that dry air...You telling me you're not going to have occasion to clean house a little bit." - George
- "You cannot believe what I'm going through. That card is plastered all over the office. Everybody is calling me, Nip! Yeah. That's my new nickname at the office. Nip! These guys keep asking me out for drinks." - George
- "I can't She won't return my calls because she caught me in a pick at a light." - Jerry "I thought you said it was a scratch." - Kramer
- "I'm not stable? I'm like a rock. I take these glasses off, you can't tell the difference between me and a rock. I put these glasses on a rock. You know what jumps into most people's minds? Costanza!" - George "People don't change." - Susan "I change I change. Two weeks ago I tried a soft boiled egg. Never liked it before. Now I'm dunkin a piece of toast in there and I'm loving it." - George "I'm not a soft boiled egg." - Susan "And I am not a piece of toast." - Susan
- "That's okay. That's good. You think Louie Pasteur and his wife had anything in common? He was in the fields all day with the cows, you know with the milk, examining the milk, delving into milk, consumed with milk. Pasteurization, Homogenization, She was in the kitchen killing cockroaches with a boot on each hand." - George "Why were there so many cockroaches?" - Susan "Because. There was a lot of cake lying around the house. Just sitting there going with all the excess milk from all the experiments." - George "And they got along?" - Susan "Yes! Yes. You know. She didn't know about Pasteurization. He didn't know about Fumigation. But they made it work!" - George
- "You're very lean, but muscular..." - Calvin "You know, I try to take care of myself. I - I watch what I eat. Ah, just recently I cut out fructose." - Kramer "You're spectacular." - Calvin
- "My...he's sexual, athletic...and without a trace of self-consciousness!" - Executive #1 "His buttocks are sublime!" - Klein "Of course, his pectorals could use a little work - I suppose we could get him into the weight room." - Executive #2
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Kramer owns professional photography equipment
- Calvin Klein is not portrayed by himself
- Elaine has a sister named Gail and a nephew
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This was a really good episode stuffed with great lines, classic quotes and multiple iconic pop culture moments in the pick and the nip. You could even toss in Kramer's underwear modeling, which was pretty well known as well. The acting was very good across the board, including the guest stars. Plus Newman's cameo was tremendous. This may not be remembered as a true classic, but it was a very solid outing with very little wasted time or down moments. Final Grade: 8/10
Best Character
This is a real tough one because I thought everyone was excellent. So, I am going to cop out and give it to Elaine and George in a tie. Both were tremendous in very different storylines. Elaine goes from being so excited about her relationship and perfect Christmas Card to just buried in humiliation thanks to another Kramer screwup, and as always her meltdown is perfectly done. George is just a mess of a man throughout, from his pining over Susan to his jacket problems to his death march up the stairs, he had it all going on here. Shoutout to Kramer's ass too.
Best Storyline
The nipple. Even if you weren't aware of what Seinfeld was, you probably heard about the Nipple Christmas Card. This season has been packed with iconic pop culture crossover moments, and this was yet another one for the pantheon. I always enjoyed Jerry and Kramer showing theirs to help comfort Elaine, as well as all her co-workers calling her "Nip".
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should Tia have given poor Jerry a better chance to prove himself innocent of the pick? I think so. Once she gets to know Jerome, she will see that he is a neat freak and an OCD maniac that would probably never even blow his nose, let alone pick it.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
George and Susan are meant to be. You know how I know? He was trapped in that death march to her apartment. A face and mindset that screams "we are together forever". Elaine and Fred would never last mainly because his name is Fred. Relationship Grade: Till Death Do Us Part/10
What Worked
The laundry discussion and George's dramatic about face on Susan is really good; Jerry's comments about flushing the fish made me laugh out loud; The return of The Beach and Kramer sniffing it out; George's zipper fiasco is very identifiable; The Nipple became another iconic moment in a season chock full of them; Newman immediately spotting the nipple and then leaving was great; Estelle paying for George's therapy is perfect; The Pick; Elaine giving George a personal Christmas Card; George's web of lies when trying to convince Susan to take him back was awe inspiring; George's face while walking up the stairs was a great payoff to earlier; Kramer in the underwear is a classic moment; George using the pick to get back out of his relationship with Susan wrapped things up perfectly, almost as well as Kramer's junk possibly showing in his modeling pictures
What Didn't Work
George's orange sweater is brutally ugly; How does Jerry know the modeling agency's phone number?; Tia met a guy on decent looking airplane and was charmed enough to date him, but won't even give him a chance to explain the pick?; Jerry's speech outside the elevator and Elaine's speech about the nipple exposure back to back felt too forced
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "I loved her Jerry, I loved her." - George "No, you didn't." - Jerry "And she loved me. Hoo, ho, she really did." - George "No she didn't." - Jerry "What am I going to do now? I can't live without Susan. I gotta get her back. How? How, am I gonna get her back?" - George "Not only didn't you love her, you didn't even like her." - Elaine "Who says?" - George "You did." - Elaine
- "You need some professional advice. Why don't you go see Elaine's friend? She's a therapist." - Jerry "I'm not going to see that nut doctor she went to Europe with." - George
- "Now what does the little man inside you say? See you gotta listen to the little man." - Kramer "My little man doesn't know." - George "The little man knows all." - Kramer "My little man's an idiot." - George
- "Now, you come on over. I'll have my cereal and I'll take your picture." - Kramer
- "So, I'm thinking of putting in a tropical fish tank right here." - Jerry "Are you sure you're ready for that kind of commitment?" - Tia "Well, I figure if it doesn't work out I can always flush them down the toilet." - Jerry
- Tia is the model for Calvin Klein's The Beach cologne, which Kramer pitched to them previously
- "Oh, volunteer work!. See that's what I like about the holiday season. That's the true spirit of Christmas. People being helped by people other than me. That makes me feel good inside. Look at what we have here." - Jerry
- Elaine's Christmas Card includes an exposed nipple, which becomes iconic in pop culture
- "Oh God I didn't notice. Oh, what am I going to do? You know your whole life you go through painstaking efforts to hide your nipple and then BOOM, suddenly hundreds of people get their own personal shot of it." - Elaine
- "Was it a scratch? Or a pick?" - George
- Pick vs. Scratch is another pop culture icon
- Is that so unforgivable? Is that like breaking a commandment? Did God say to Moses thou shalt not pick?" - Jerry "I guarantee you that Moses was a picker. You wander through the desert for forty years with that dry air...You telling me you're not going to have occasion to clean house a little bit." - George
- "You cannot believe what I'm going through. That card is plastered all over the office. Everybody is calling me, Nip! Yeah. That's my new nickname at the office. Nip! These guys keep asking me out for drinks." - George
- "I can't She won't return my calls because she caught me in a pick at a light." - Jerry "I thought you said it was a scratch." - Kramer
- "I'm not stable? I'm like a rock. I take these glasses off, you can't tell the difference between me and a rock. I put these glasses on a rock. You know what jumps into most people's minds? Costanza!" - George "People don't change." - Susan "I change I change. Two weeks ago I tried a soft boiled egg. Never liked it before. Now I'm dunkin a piece of toast in there and I'm loving it." - George "I'm not a soft boiled egg." - Susan "And I am not a piece of toast." - Susan
- "That's okay. That's good. You think Louie Pasteur and his wife had anything in common? He was in the fields all day with the cows, you know with the milk, examining the milk, delving into milk, consumed with milk. Pasteurization, Homogenization, She was in the kitchen killing cockroaches with a boot on each hand." - George "Why were there so many cockroaches?" - Susan "Because. There was a lot of cake lying around the house. Just sitting there going with all the excess milk from all the experiments." - George "And they got along?" - Susan "Yes! Yes. You know. She didn't know about Pasteurization. He didn't know about Fumigation. But they made it work!" - George
- "You're very lean, but muscular..." - Calvin "You know, I try to take care of myself. I - I watch what I eat. Ah, just recently I cut out fructose." - Kramer "You're spectacular." - Calvin
- "My...he's sexual, athletic...and without a trace of self-consciousness!" - Executive #1 "His buttocks are sublime!" - Klein "Of course, his pectorals could use a little work - I suppose we could get him into the weight room." - Executive #2
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Kramer owns professional photography equipment
- Calvin Klein is not portrayed by himself
- Elaine has a sister named Gail and a nephew
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This was a really good episode stuffed with great lines, classic quotes and multiple iconic pop culture moments in the pick and the nip. You could even toss in Kramer's underwear modeling, which was pretty well known as well. The acting was very good across the board, including the guest stars. Plus Newman's cameo was tremendous. This may not be remembered as a true classic, but it was a very solid outing with very little wasted time or down moments. Final Grade: 8/10
Comments
Post a Comment