JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
George and Jerry share this one as both were just fantastic throughout. Their back and forth dialogue was top notch with George wavering from confident to scared to cocky to embarrassed to happy and Jerry having to deal with him the whole time. They really advanced to the next level in this one as the whole episode was nearly perfect and it was mainly due to the dialogue between these two. All of the discussion around show possibilities right through George blowing the pitch and Jerry ripping him apart were classic through and through. A genuinely great two man display of awesome.
Best Storyline
The pitch, naturally. It was a brilliant storyline and cribbed right from real life, which makes it even better. With the way the material was written and delivered, it was clear that it was based on their real life experiences on the topic. The delivery was so quick and on point from start to finish here and there were zero wasted scenes.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Who is more at fault for Kramer puking on Susan? Those in the show seem to blame the K-Man, because obviously he did the puking but why is Jerry letting milk that is THAT sour just chill in his refrigerator? Especially since he is a known clean freak. Poor form, Jerry, and it may cost you a TV show and your buddy a chance at love.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Justin: George and Susan. So much more to come. Relationship Grade: Sour Milk/10
What Worked
I always loved the toilet paper discussion; All of the inane TV show pitches to each other throughout the episode were really good for a laugh; Jerry blowing up Newman's spot with the crappy deal after saying he wouldn't was awesome; That is only topped by Kramer willingly trading a busted radar detector and Newman eventually getting a ticket because it was broken; The coffee shop scene where Jerry and George decide on the premise of the pitch is iconic; Joe Davola is out of his mind in a real scary, yet great way and Jerry screwing up and telling him about Kramer's party was a whiff for him; George going from scared to super cocky and blowing the pitch and spelling of Russell's last name was out classic George moment of the show; Russell is a dick too, again in a fun way; The whole pitch scene is tremendous; Jerry's exasperated psychiatrist speech to George is A-plus material; Jerry's handling of the telemarketer was inspirationally great; Kramer throwing up on Susan was a tremendous capper to everything.
What Didn't Work
No Elaine outside of one cameo; Susan's wardrobe is brutal.
Key Character Debuts
Stu Schirmack
Jay Crespi
Crazy Joe Davola
Susan Ross
Russell Dalrymple
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "What did they do for toilet paper in the Civil War? Wonder what toilet paper was like in the 1860s. Did they carry it in rolls in their duffel bags?" - George
- "They should have a toilet-paper museum. Would you like that? So we could see all the toilet-paper advancements down through the ages. Toilet paper during the Crusades. The development of the perforation. The first six-pack." - Jerry
- We see the comedy club bar for the first time
- George is very confident in his ability to spell last names
- "You want an idea? Here's an idea. You coach a gymnastics team in high school, and you're married. Your son is not interested in gymnastics, and you're pushing him." - George "Why should I care if my son's into gymnastics?" - Jerry "You're the teacher. It's only natural." - George "But gymnastics is not for everybody." - Jerry "I know, but he's your son." - George
- "People, they wanna watch freaks. This is a can't miss." - Kramer
- "Are you reneging out of the deal? Are you reneging? - That's a renege." - Newman "Stop saying reneging." - Kramer "Well, you're reneging." - Newman "Okay, okay. I'm not reneging." - Kramer
- Jerry and George decide to pitch a show about nothing to NBC
- "Everybody's doing something. We'll do nothing." - George "We go into NBC, tell them we got an idea for a show about nothing." - Jerry "Exactly."- George "'What's your show about?' - I say, 'Nothing'". - Jerry "There you go." - George "I think you may have something here." - Jerry
- "You better think again, MoJumbo." - Kramer
- "There's no guarantees in life." - Kramer "No, but there's karma, Kramer." - Newman "Karma Kramer?" - Jerry
- "They're just TV executives" - Jerry " They're men with jobs, Jerry! They wear suits and ties. They're married. They have secretaries!" - George
- Jerry continues to not think before he says something, leading to problems for others
- George claims to have written an Off Broadway show called La Cocina
- "No! No! Nothing happens!" - George "Well, something happens." - Jerry "Well, why am I watching it?" - Russell "Because it's on TV." - George "Not yet." - Russell
- "A regular psychiatrist couldn't even help you. You need to go to, like, Vienna or something. You know what I mean? You need to get involved at the university level. Like where Freud studied, and have people looking and checking up on you. That's the kind you need. Not the once-a-week for 80 bucks. No. You need a team. A team of psychiatrists, working round the clock thinking about you, having conferences. Observing you, like the way they did with the Elephant Man. That's what I'm talking about. That's the only way you're gonna get better." - Jerry
- "I thought the woman was kind of cute." - George "Hold it. I really wanna be clear about this. Are you talking about the woman in the meeting? Is that the woman you're talking about?"- Jerry "Yeah. I thought I might give her a call. I don't meet that many women. I meet, like, three women a year. I mean, we've been introduced. She knows my name." - George "It's completely inappropriate." - Jerry "Why? Maybe she liked me. I mean, she She was looking right at me. I think she was impressed. We had good eye contact through the whole meeting." - George
- "If Hitler had vomited on Chamberlain he still would have given him Czechoslovakia. - Jerry "Chamberlain. You could hold his head in the toilet, he'd still give you half of Europe." - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
N/A
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I can't say enough good things about this episode. The writing was fantastic and it tells you how good George and Jerry were that an episode could be this awesome with virtually no Elaine and basically no Kramer. There were tons of iconic moments and quotes sprinkled in and Jerry's rant to George about therapy is one of my all time favorites. We are also starting off the growing wave of running characters getting more run and appearances starting in this season. In the past we have had good guests, but most were on and done. Here, we get four debuts of characters that will be on multiple times and one major rookie outing in Susan. Even the minor stuff delivered here, with Kramer and Newman's failed trade and the quick scene with Elaine and her boyfriend foreshadowing the troubles to come with Davola. Great effort all around. After a middling premier, Season Four is officially off and running. Final Grade: 9/10
Best Character
George and Jerry share this one as both were just fantastic throughout. Their back and forth dialogue was top notch with George wavering from confident to scared to cocky to embarrassed to happy and Jerry having to deal with him the whole time. They really advanced to the next level in this one as the whole episode was nearly perfect and it was mainly due to the dialogue between these two. All of the discussion around show possibilities right through George blowing the pitch and Jerry ripping him apart were classic through and through. A genuinely great two man display of awesome.
Best Storyline
The pitch, naturally. It was a brilliant storyline and cribbed right from real life, which makes it even better. With the way the material was written and delivered, it was clear that it was based on their real life experiences on the topic. The delivery was so quick and on point from start to finish here and there were zero wasted scenes.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Who is more at fault for Kramer puking on Susan? Those in the show seem to blame the K-Man, because obviously he did the puking but why is Jerry letting milk that is THAT sour just chill in his refrigerator? Especially since he is a known clean freak. Poor form, Jerry, and it may cost you a TV show and your buddy a chance at love.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Justin: George and Susan. So much more to come. Relationship Grade: Sour Milk/10
What Worked
I always loved the toilet paper discussion; All of the inane TV show pitches to each other throughout the episode were really good for a laugh; Jerry blowing up Newman's spot with the crappy deal after saying he wouldn't was awesome; That is only topped by Kramer willingly trading a busted radar detector and Newman eventually getting a ticket because it was broken; The coffee shop scene where Jerry and George decide on the premise of the pitch is iconic; Joe Davola is out of his mind in a real scary, yet great way and Jerry screwing up and telling him about Kramer's party was a whiff for him; George going from scared to super cocky and blowing the pitch and spelling of Russell's last name was out classic George moment of the show; Russell is a dick too, again in a fun way; The whole pitch scene is tremendous; Jerry's exasperated psychiatrist speech to George is A-plus material; Jerry's handling of the telemarketer was inspirationally great; Kramer throwing up on Susan was a tremendous capper to everything.
What Didn't Work
No Elaine outside of one cameo; Susan's wardrobe is brutal.
Key Character Debuts
Stu Schirmack
Jay Crespi
Crazy Joe Davola
Susan Ross
Russell Dalrymple
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "What did they do for toilet paper in the Civil War? Wonder what toilet paper was like in the 1860s. Did they carry it in rolls in their duffel bags?" - George
- "They should have a toilet-paper museum. Would you like that? So we could see all the toilet-paper advancements down through the ages. Toilet paper during the Crusades. The development of the perforation. The first six-pack." - Jerry
- We see the comedy club bar for the first time
- George is very confident in his ability to spell last names
- "You want an idea? Here's an idea. You coach a gymnastics team in high school, and you're married. Your son is not interested in gymnastics, and you're pushing him." - George "Why should I care if my son's into gymnastics?" - Jerry "You're the teacher. It's only natural." - George "But gymnastics is not for everybody." - Jerry "I know, but he's your son." - George
- "People, they wanna watch freaks. This is a can't miss." - Kramer
- "Are you reneging out of the deal? Are you reneging? - That's a renege." - Newman "Stop saying reneging." - Kramer "Well, you're reneging." - Newman "Okay, okay. I'm not reneging." - Kramer
- Jerry and George decide to pitch a show about nothing to NBC
- "Everybody's doing something. We'll do nothing." - George "We go into NBC, tell them we got an idea for a show about nothing." - Jerry "Exactly."- George "'What's your show about?' - I say, 'Nothing'". - Jerry "There you go." - George "I think you may have something here." - Jerry
- "You better think again, MoJumbo." - Kramer
- "There's no guarantees in life." - Kramer "No, but there's karma, Kramer." - Newman "Karma Kramer?" - Jerry
- "They're just TV executives" - Jerry " They're men with jobs, Jerry! They wear suits and ties. They're married. They have secretaries!" - George
- Jerry continues to not think before he says something, leading to problems for others
- George claims to have written an Off Broadway show called La Cocina
- "No! No! Nothing happens!" - George "Well, something happens." - Jerry "Well, why am I watching it?" - Russell "Because it's on TV." - George "Not yet." - Russell
- "A regular psychiatrist couldn't even help you. You need to go to, like, Vienna or something. You know what I mean? You need to get involved at the university level. Like where Freud studied, and have people looking and checking up on you. That's the kind you need. Not the once-a-week for 80 bucks. No. You need a team. A team of psychiatrists, working round the clock thinking about you, having conferences. Observing you, like the way they did with the Elephant Man. That's what I'm talking about. That's the only way you're gonna get better." - Jerry
- "I thought the woman was kind of cute." - George "Hold it. I really wanna be clear about this. Are you talking about the woman in the meeting? Is that the woman you're talking about?"- Jerry "Yeah. I thought I might give her a call. I don't meet that many women. I meet, like, three women a year. I mean, we've been introduced. She knows my name." - George "It's completely inappropriate." - Jerry "Why? Maybe she liked me. I mean, she She was looking right at me. I think she was impressed. We had good eye contact through the whole meeting." - George
- "If Hitler had vomited on Chamberlain he still would have given him Czechoslovakia. - Jerry "Chamberlain. You could hold his head in the toilet, he'd still give you half of Europe." - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
N/A
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I can't say enough good things about this episode. The writing was fantastic and it tells you how good George and Jerry were that an episode could be this awesome with virtually no Elaine and basically no Kramer. There were tons of iconic moments and quotes sprinkled in and Jerry's rant to George about therapy is one of my all time favorites. We are also starting off the growing wave of running characters getting more run and appearances starting in this season. In the past we have had good guests, but most were on and done. Here, we get four debuts of characters that will be on multiple times and one major rookie outing in Susan. Even the minor stuff delivered here, with Kramer and Newman's failed trade and the quick scene with Elaine and her boyfriend foreshadowing the troubles to come with Davola. Great effort all around. After a middling premier, Season Four is officially off and running. Final Grade: 9/10
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