JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
Quite a few choices here. George was really good with his cancer scare and assumption that God will strike him down due to success. Kramer and his wild ride was very entertaining and cringing to watch at times. Jerry kept the episode moving, playing the straw to stir the drink well throughout. But, my hands down favorite here was easily Tom Pepper. He played an awesome Kramer. He stole raisins. He threatened to kill George. He blew off Kramer. He was a force of nature and I kind of wish he stuck around as a foil to the K-Man in future episodes.
Best Storyline
The Pilot, easily. I loved the auditions, the fallout from the casting, the actors chosen, the meta jokes and the final sequence of scenes with all of the random characters from the season reacting to the show capped the season beautifully. I am really glad they did this season long story and paid it off so well. Experiment successful!
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should you prevent your friend from dating your butler just because he is YOUR butler? Get the hell out of here, Jerome. Let Elaine date the man. As long as it doesn't affect his performance or lead to additional use of Pledge, I say live and let live.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
I feel like there could have been something between George and Tom Pepper. There was a lot of tension and a dominant Tom just demeaning and shouting down the reverent George could have led to romance, or at least lust, at some point. Relationship Grade: Raisins/10
What Worked:
Kramer's never ending quest to star in the pilot is fun; This is a super meta episode, between the constant bagging on Jerry's acting and comedy style through the actors cast in the pilot, it was cool seeing them poke at themselves so much; George being nervous about success and his whole cancer scare was perfect George booking; I also enjoy the psychiatrist continuing to torture his psyche; Nice Joe Davola callbacks here, squeezing him in throughout one last episode with the great payoff at the end where he tried to assault Jerry; The pantomiming NBC exec was great; The parade of Kramer entrances was funny; Tom Pepper stealing the raisins is one of my all time favorite random Seinfeld moments, as was Kramer showing up as Martin Van Nostrand and bombing the tryout; George's doctor is the worst possible choice of a doctor for somebody like him; Jerry's "He's a little backed up" cracks me up every time; Sandi becoming Elaine in real life was a nice touch, as was Kramer trying to teach Tom how to be him and Tom just shutting him down; The Haagen-Dazs discussion in the pilot is a good one and I dig George annoying the shit out of everyone on the set; Poor Russell, his swift downfall and complete meltdown mirrors Susan's demise and we see that the damage this crew wreaked on NBC's comedy department was not pretty; I love how George's raisin inquisition with Tom led to another observation about his discolored lip; Poor Kramer has to miss the pilot filming to stay "close to home base"; Kramer's enema celebration was well earned; Elaine finding Morty's wallet was a great callback; I have always enjoyed the pilot itself, along with all of the random people from the season watching it at home; John Ritter's cousin is so randomly great; Sal Bass and Sidra was awesome and enjoyed Newman passed out with baseball on instead of the pilot; It was fitting that Russell went insane because of Elaine, causing the show to get cancelled, when flaunting Elaine in front of him was what got them back in the game, perfect way to wrap things up; Of course I feel bad he probably died, but what can you do
What Didn't Work
Was it written in the script that Kramer enters rooms in a maniacal way or how else would these potential K-Man know to come in the room that way; Kramer running and looking for bathrooms was clearly a stunt double and took me out of the season; The big boobed waitress angle had some good moments and I believe was a take on a real story in the news at the time, but it felt really shoehorned in to keep Elaine busy in this episode and didn't totally click; Elaine referencing her female friends is random since it is pretty well established she doesn't have any throughout the majority of the show's run; Elaine's interview shirt isn't much worse than most of her clothing choices honestly; I want to punch the idiot who says "Yeah he flies a plane" when the studio host asked what a pilot was
Key Character Debuts
- Michael Barth a/k/a "George"
- Sandi Robbins a/k/a "Elaine"
- Tom Pepper a/k/a "Kramer"
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "We have one with a bright young comedian, Jerry Seinfeld." - Russell "Oh yeah, oh yeah. I've heard of him. He's that "Did you ever notice this? Did you ever notice that?" guy." - Elaine
- "Again with the sweat pants?" - Jerry "What? I'm comfortable." - George "You know the message you're sending out to the world with these sweat pants? You're telling the world: "I give up. I can't compete in normal society. I'm miserable, so I might as well be comfortable."" - Jerry
- "What are you like a sadist? No matter how bad somebody feels, you can make 'em feel worse. I bet you're rooting for a tumor." - George
- "Yeah. What are we looking at here? Is this guy like a real loser?" - Michael
- "It's like a bald convention out there! (she saw George) Sorry. I, uh, made a faux pas." - Melissa "No you didn't. He knows he's bald." - Jerry "So how about that guy wearing sweat pants? I mean did he do that for the part or does he walk around like that?" - Melissa
- "She's an eskimo, actually." - Jerry "Oh, my God..." - Elaine "She came down from Juno by sleigh, she was in the Iditarod. Got to the finish line, just kept going. She's got the dogs with her in the hotel room." - Jerry
- "I haven't seen four women like this together outside of a Russ Meyer film." - Jerry
- "Hey that's life. Good-looking men have the same advantages. You don't see any handsome homeless." - Jerry
- "Cancer? Is it cancer? Do I have cancer?" - George "Well I don't know what it is." - Doctor
- "How could you be a doctor and not say "get outta here"? It should be part of the training at medical school: "Cancer? Get outta here!" "Go home! What are you crazy? It's a little test. It's nothing. You're a real nut. You know that?" I told you that God would never let me be successful. I never should've written that pilot. Now the show will be a big hit, we'll make millions of dollars, and I'll be dead. Dead Jerry. Because of this." - George
- "Can't you at least die with a little dignity?" - Jerry "No I can't. I can't die with dignity. I have no dignity. I want to be the one person who doesn't die with dignity. I live my whole life in shame. Why should I die with dignity?" - George
- "Well, she's fascinated with Greenland. She enjoys teasing animals, banlon, and seeing people running for their lives. She loves throwing garbage out the window, yet she's extremely dainty." - Jerry
- "She likes talking during sex." - Jerry "Oh... dirty talking?" - Sandi "No. Just chitchat, movies, current events, regular stuff." - Jerry
- "Now sex, I like the bottom. Let them do all the work." - Kramer
- "Let me give you a word of advice. O.K.? I want you to stay away from me. I don't wanna talk to you, and I don't wanna hear anymore of your stupid little notes and suggestions. I don't like you. So if you got any other problems whether it's raisins, prunes, figs, or any other dried fruit, just keep it to yourself and stay out of my way, O.K.?" - Tom Pepper
- "I tried bran-- 40%, 50% 100%. The bran isn't working for me." - Kramer
- "Well my friend, it may be time to consider the dreaded apparatus." - Jerry "Pfft! Hold it right there. If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, you're wasting your time. I am not Jerry, under any circumstances, doing any inserting in that area." - Kramer "Oh, it's not that bad!" - Jerry "Yes it is." - George
- "This is George Costanza, I'm calling for my test results. Negative? Oh, my God. WHY! WHY! WHY? What? What? Negative is good? Oh, yes of course! How stupid of me. Thank you. Thank you very much." - George
- "Listen. I know we've had our problems in the past, but we got a show to do tonight. Time to pull together as a team. Life's too short. I say, let's let bygones be bygones. If you took the raisins, if you didn't take the raisins-- They weren't even my raisins. I was just curious because it seems like a strange to do to walk into a room, audition, and to walk out with a box of raisins. Anyway, whatever. If you ever want to tell me about it, the door to my office is always opened. In the event that I get an office. You'll come in, we'll talk about the raisins. We'll have a nice laugh." - George "How would you like it if I just pulled your heart out of your chest right now, and shoved it down your throat?" - Tom
- "It's what John Wilkes Booth yelled out when he shot Lincoln." - Jerry "Really? What does it mean?" - George "It means: "Death to tyrants"." - George
- "You went for the big "E"." "Wet and wild." - Kramer
- "Ah, that Jerry's a funny guy. Huh? Got to love the Sein!" - The Drake "Hate the Sein!" - Allison
- "You know Jerry I really like this guy who's playing the butler." - Elaine "Oh yeah. He's good. You know he's John Ritter's cousin." - Jerry
- "How could anyone not like him?" - Helen
- "I didn't know that he'd fall for me and I'd drive him insane. I mean, you know, that's not my fault." - Elaine "Yes it is! You're very charming!" - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Future TV and movie star Jeremy Piven portrays George in the pilot
- Elaine's favorite movie is Shaft, according to Jerry
- Larry David portrays one of the Greenpeace members
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I really loved this season. It was loaded with tremendously memorable episodes, characters and moments and was the season that saw the show move from "really damn funny, you should watch this" to "everyone is talking about Seinfeld at work or school the next day" status. This episode was well written and paid off multiple stories from throughout the season, right down to Morty's wallet from the early episodes. Seeing Sal Bass trying to find out about Sidra's breasts still has me laughing. Tom Pepper was awesome too, and even if the rest of the episode had stunk, he easily could have carried it, as I thought he was that good. I am glad they tried the experiment of having the whole season center around an ongoing story because it worked well and was mixed in with just enough random one-off installments as well. Season four is in the books and now we look to see if they can ride the momentum to greater heights or crumble under the pressure of the heightened expectations of a breakout season. Final Grade: 8/10
Best Character
Quite a few choices here. George was really good with his cancer scare and assumption that God will strike him down due to success. Kramer and his wild ride was very entertaining and cringing to watch at times. Jerry kept the episode moving, playing the straw to stir the drink well throughout. But, my hands down favorite here was easily Tom Pepper. He played an awesome Kramer. He stole raisins. He threatened to kill George. He blew off Kramer. He was a force of nature and I kind of wish he stuck around as a foil to the K-Man in future episodes.
Best Storyline
The Pilot, easily. I loved the auditions, the fallout from the casting, the actors chosen, the meta jokes and the final sequence of scenes with all of the random characters from the season reacting to the show capped the season beautifully. I am really glad they did this season long story and paid it off so well. Experiment successful!
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should you prevent your friend from dating your butler just because he is YOUR butler? Get the hell out of here, Jerome. Let Elaine date the man. As long as it doesn't affect his performance or lead to additional use of Pledge, I say live and let live.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
I feel like there could have been something between George and Tom Pepper. There was a lot of tension and a dominant Tom just demeaning and shouting down the reverent George could have led to romance, or at least lust, at some point. Relationship Grade: Raisins/10
What Worked:
Kramer's never ending quest to star in the pilot is fun; This is a super meta episode, between the constant bagging on Jerry's acting and comedy style through the actors cast in the pilot, it was cool seeing them poke at themselves so much; George being nervous about success and his whole cancer scare was perfect George booking; I also enjoy the psychiatrist continuing to torture his psyche; Nice Joe Davola callbacks here, squeezing him in throughout one last episode with the great payoff at the end where he tried to assault Jerry; The pantomiming NBC exec was great; The parade of Kramer entrances was funny; Tom Pepper stealing the raisins is one of my all time favorite random Seinfeld moments, as was Kramer showing up as Martin Van Nostrand and bombing the tryout; George's doctor is the worst possible choice of a doctor for somebody like him; Jerry's "He's a little backed up" cracks me up every time; Sandi becoming Elaine in real life was a nice touch, as was Kramer trying to teach Tom how to be him and Tom just shutting him down; The Haagen-Dazs discussion in the pilot is a good one and I dig George annoying the shit out of everyone on the set; Poor Russell, his swift downfall and complete meltdown mirrors Susan's demise and we see that the damage this crew wreaked on NBC's comedy department was not pretty; I love how George's raisin inquisition with Tom led to another observation about his discolored lip; Poor Kramer has to miss the pilot filming to stay "close to home base"; Kramer's enema celebration was well earned; Elaine finding Morty's wallet was a great callback; I have always enjoyed the pilot itself, along with all of the random people from the season watching it at home; John Ritter's cousin is so randomly great; Sal Bass and Sidra was awesome and enjoyed Newman passed out with baseball on instead of the pilot; It was fitting that Russell went insane because of Elaine, causing the show to get cancelled, when flaunting Elaine in front of him was what got them back in the game, perfect way to wrap things up; Of course I feel bad he probably died, but what can you do
What Didn't Work
Was it written in the script that Kramer enters rooms in a maniacal way or how else would these potential K-Man know to come in the room that way; Kramer running and looking for bathrooms was clearly a stunt double and took me out of the season; The big boobed waitress angle had some good moments and I believe was a take on a real story in the news at the time, but it felt really shoehorned in to keep Elaine busy in this episode and didn't totally click; Elaine referencing her female friends is random since it is pretty well established she doesn't have any throughout the majority of the show's run; Elaine's interview shirt isn't much worse than most of her clothing choices honestly; I want to punch the idiot who says "Yeah he flies a plane" when the studio host asked what a pilot was
Key Character Debuts
- Michael Barth a/k/a "George"
- Sandi Robbins a/k/a "Elaine"
- Tom Pepper a/k/a "Kramer"
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "We have one with a bright young comedian, Jerry Seinfeld." - Russell "Oh yeah, oh yeah. I've heard of him. He's that "Did you ever notice this? Did you ever notice that?" guy." - Elaine
- "Again with the sweat pants?" - Jerry "What? I'm comfortable." - George "You know the message you're sending out to the world with these sweat pants? You're telling the world: "I give up. I can't compete in normal society. I'm miserable, so I might as well be comfortable."" - Jerry
- "What are you like a sadist? No matter how bad somebody feels, you can make 'em feel worse. I bet you're rooting for a tumor." - George
- "Yeah. What are we looking at here? Is this guy like a real loser?" - Michael
- "It's like a bald convention out there! (she saw George) Sorry. I, uh, made a faux pas." - Melissa "No you didn't. He knows he's bald." - Jerry "So how about that guy wearing sweat pants? I mean did he do that for the part or does he walk around like that?" - Melissa
- "She's an eskimo, actually." - Jerry "Oh, my God..." - Elaine "She came down from Juno by sleigh, she was in the Iditarod. Got to the finish line, just kept going. She's got the dogs with her in the hotel room." - Jerry
- "I haven't seen four women like this together outside of a Russ Meyer film." - Jerry
- "Hey that's life. Good-looking men have the same advantages. You don't see any handsome homeless." - Jerry
- "Cancer? Is it cancer? Do I have cancer?" - George "Well I don't know what it is." - Doctor
- "How could you be a doctor and not say "get outta here"? It should be part of the training at medical school: "Cancer? Get outta here!" "Go home! What are you crazy? It's a little test. It's nothing. You're a real nut. You know that?" I told you that God would never let me be successful. I never should've written that pilot. Now the show will be a big hit, we'll make millions of dollars, and I'll be dead. Dead Jerry. Because of this." - George
- "Can't you at least die with a little dignity?" - Jerry "No I can't. I can't die with dignity. I have no dignity. I want to be the one person who doesn't die with dignity. I live my whole life in shame. Why should I die with dignity?" - George
- "Well, she's fascinated with Greenland. She enjoys teasing animals, banlon, and seeing people running for their lives. She loves throwing garbage out the window, yet she's extremely dainty." - Jerry
- "She likes talking during sex." - Jerry "Oh... dirty talking?" - Sandi "No. Just chitchat, movies, current events, regular stuff." - Jerry
- "Now sex, I like the bottom. Let them do all the work." - Kramer
- "Let me give you a word of advice. O.K.? I want you to stay away from me. I don't wanna talk to you, and I don't wanna hear anymore of your stupid little notes and suggestions. I don't like you. So if you got any other problems whether it's raisins, prunes, figs, or any other dried fruit, just keep it to yourself and stay out of my way, O.K.?" - Tom Pepper
- "I tried bran-- 40%, 50% 100%. The bran isn't working for me." - Kramer
- "Well my friend, it may be time to consider the dreaded apparatus." - Jerry "Pfft! Hold it right there. If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, you're wasting your time. I am not Jerry, under any circumstances, doing any inserting in that area." - Kramer "Oh, it's not that bad!" - Jerry "Yes it is." - George
- "This is George Costanza, I'm calling for my test results. Negative? Oh, my God. WHY! WHY! WHY? What? What? Negative is good? Oh, yes of course! How stupid of me. Thank you. Thank you very much." - George
- "Listen. I know we've had our problems in the past, but we got a show to do tonight. Time to pull together as a team. Life's too short. I say, let's let bygones be bygones. If you took the raisins, if you didn't take the raisins-- They weren't even my raisins. I was just curious because it seems like a strange to do to walk into a room, audition, and to walk out with a box of raisins. Anyway, whatever. If you ever want to tell me about it, the door to my office is always opened. In the event that I get an office. You'll come in, we'll talk about the raisins. We'll have a nice laugh." - George "How would you like it if I just pulled your heart out of your chest right now, and shoved it down your throat?" - Tom
- "It's what John Wilkes Booth yelled out when he shot Lincoln." - Jerry "Really? What does it mean?" - George "It means: "Death to tyrants"." - George
- "You went for the big "E"." "Wet and wild." - Kramer
- "Ah, that Jerry's a funny guy. Huh? Got to love the Sein!" - The Drake "Hate the Sein!" - Allison
- "You know Jerry I really like this guy who's playing the butler." - Elaine "Oh yeah. He's good. You know he's John Ritter's cousin." - Jerry
- "How could anyone not like him?" - Helen
- "I didn't know that he'd fall for me and I'd drive him insane. I mean, you know, that's not my fault." - Elaine "Yes it is! You're very charming!" - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Future TV and movie star Jeremy Piven portrays George in the pilot
- Elaine's favorite movie is Shaft, according to Jerry
- Larry David portrays one of the Greenpeace members
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I really loved this season. It was loaded with tremendously memorable episodes, characters and moments and was the season that saw the show move from "really damn funny, you should watch this" to "everyone is talking about Seinfeld at work or school the next day" status. This episode was well written and paid off multiple stories from throughout the season, right down to Morty's wallet from the early episodes. Seeing Sal Bass trying to find out about Sidra's breasts still has me laughing. Tom Pepper was awesome too, and even if the rest of the episode had stunk, he easily could have carried it, as I thought he was that good. I am glad they tried the experiment of having the whole season center around an ongoing story because it worked well and was mixed in with just enough random one-off installments as well. Season four is in the books and now we look to see if they can ride the momentum to greater heights or crumble under the pressure of the heightened expectations of a breakout season. Final Grade: 8/10
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