JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
A lot of strong performances in this one, but Kramer takes it for me. He is at his best when his meddling leads to mayhem, and that was on full display here. Plus he had the best line of the episode (and of all time in my mind) when he trashed Nana for passing out bum checks. And then he clinched it at the end by bitching about the tote bags and getting Nana to dole out a donation.
Best Storyline
I will go with the check cashing only because Kramer was a force throughout it, plus Elaine and Kramer mixing up Nana for Dan was a good touch. It also brought us the funny scene of Nana being up and ready to roll at 5:30AM.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Enough with the greeting cards! What is the obligation to always have to give a card with every gift? Some birthdays I received like six of the same card! Unless it is given as a nice thoughtful gesture and has a personal message written inside, do we need to waste the money and effort? What is the point? Why must I drop $4.99 just to attach a useless poem with my name on it to a gift? Just print a poem from the internet. Or write one yourself. I am taking a stand against the greeting card industry.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Dan and Noreen are a hot mess. Maybe they should just talk things out and maybe Dan should get an opetation so he doesn't sound like a fucking Disney Junior character. Also, Jerry should have tossed Kristen in the trash along with her useless card. Relationship Grade: $4.99/10
What Worked:
I enjoyed Kramer getting excited that the greeting card was from Hallmark; Also, the K-Man thinking he got a slice of the PBS donation pie was a good laugh, as was Jerry's aluminum siding retort; Elaine's botched Noreen phone call was great, especially her panicked disengagement, and the follow up shell game with both of them bitching out Elaine was funny too; Mr. Pitt wanting the gossip while carving up a candy bar; Jerry's stilted delivery during the PBS practice read; I am 100% with Jerome on the card situation, we have gone overboard with the cards; Kramer pushing Jerry to cash the checks was done in such a perfect Kramer way; I loved Jerry dismissing George's attempts to secure a Yankee as "do your thing where you lie to everyone"; The indirect flipping off was a funny thread throughout; Great debut for Mr. Morgan and I love George derisively asking how he eats his candy; I love how Nana is up and dressed at 5:30AM so she has plenty of time to get to the bank before it opens; The tease with the thug and Nana was well done; Uncle Leo is awesome is always and I liked how Kramer kept chiming in during the phone call; Kramer's line about Nana's bum checks is one of my all time favorites; I dug the chain of eating candy and cookies with utensils leading to more and more characters doing it; George & Danny's wild ride; Elaine telling Nana to drop dead; Kramer shutting down Dan was aces; The payoff with the broken middle finger was solid writing as was everyone eating their desserts with forks at the end
What Didn't Work
Minor quibble, but Jerry acts like he has been getting $10 checks for decades but it only amounted to $60? Get that math straight!; I hate how Jerry says "Nana"; The end with Leo freaking out about Nana's donation felt a bit unneeded
Key Character Debuts
Nana
Danny Tartabull
Dan, the High Talker
Mr. Morgan
Noreen
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "If I was flattering myself, I think I'd come up with someone a little less annoying than Noreen." - Jerry
- "Oh, who sent you a card?" - Kramer "I don't know." - Jerry "Open it, it's from Hallmark." - Kramer
- "Giddy-up! Alright! So now, how does that work? Now, what, I get a percentage of every pledge I bring in, right?" - Kramer "No, it's not aluminum siding, it's volunteer work. All the money goes to the station." - Jerry "Okay, yeah, alright, that sounds good, but I still get a tote bag though, right?" - Kramer "Yeah, and one of those foam beer can holders." - Jerry
- "Jerry, your grandmother gave you this gift. She wants you to spend the money, to have the fun that she can't have. Oh, this is tantamount to a slap in the face." - Kramer "Oh, get out of here." - Jerry "Jerry, a gift not enjoyed is like a flower that doesn't blossom." - Kramer
- "Oh, well, a mantel's a whole different story." - George "Absolutely." Jerry "If my parents had a mantel, I might be a completely different person." - George
- "Alright. I'll run it by a few people." - George "Alright, Do your thing, where you lie to everyone." - Jerry
- "He probably doesn't want to get chocolate on his fingers. That's the way these society types eat their candy bars." - George
- "A PBS fundraiser? I'm not gonna waste any of the players' time with that, besides the team already does so much promotion for channel eleven." - Mr. Morgan "Channel eleven? Forgive me for trying to class up this place, for trying to have the Yankees reach another strata of society that might not watch channel eleven." - George
- "Hey, the Bull owes me one, I helped him with his swing." - George
- "Absolutely. Pending approval of the script." - George "Excuse me?" - Jerry "Jerry, I'm Yankee management." - George "Yeah, I'd like to see the script too." - Kramer "You're just answering phones!" - Jerry "It would put me at ease." - Kramer
- "Your grandmother's on a very fixed income. What, are you broke?" - Uncle Leo
- "My fault? Your Nana is missing because she's been passing those bum checks all over town and she finally pissed off the wrong people." - Kramer
- "No one gives us the finger! We're Yankees!" - George
- "Well, I'm not leaving the premises without tote bags. I was promised tote bags and tote bags I shall have." - Kramer
- "I'm sorry. I mean, I know what it's like to be in love. Ties you up in knots. And Jerry is a very sexy man." - Kramer "What?" - Dan "Look, I'm not judging you. In fact, we here at PBS, we have many programs celebrating your lifestyle. Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, Gender Bending and Swinging in San Francisco. Before Stonewall about those dark ages when you couldn't come out of the closet, lest you be persecuted because of your, you know." - Kramer
- "As long as you've got your checkbook out, how about forking a little over to PBS? You watch the station, don't you? You don't want to be a freeloader." - Kramer
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Kramer subscribes to Fortune Magazine
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This one really surprised me. I remembered it being pretty good but I ended up laughing the whole way through. The weaving of stories and bits was masterful and it all paid off well in the end. The Nana scenes are some of my favorites of the entire series and I loved how nobody could tell her, Dan or Noreen apart. The PBS stuff was well done too as those pledge drives were such a big thing at the time. I continue to enjoy how George's Yankee job ties into various stories and we also got the debut of Mr. Morgan. There was lots to like here with plenty of laughs and good storytelling as this was definitely a very welcomed surprise. Now, drop dead! Final Grade: 8/10
Best Character
A lot of strong performances in this one, but Kramer takes it for me. He is at his best when his meddling leads to mayhem, and that was on full display here. Plus he had the best line of the episode (and of all time in my mind) when he trashed Nana for passing out bum checks. And then he clinched it at the end by bitching about the tote bags and getting Nana to dole out a donation.
Best Storyline
I will go with the check cashing only because Kramer was a force throughout it, plus Elaine and Kramer mixing up Nana for Dan was a good touch. It also brought us the funny scene of Nana being up and ready to roll at 5:30AM.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Enough with the greeting cards! What is the obligation to always have to give a card with every gift? Some birthdays I received like six of the same card! Unless it is given as a nice thoughtful gesture and has a personal message written inside, do we need to waste the money and effort? What is the point? Why must I drop $4.99 just to attach a useless poem with my name on it to a gift? Just print a poem from the internet. Or write one yourself. I am taking a stand against the greeting card industry.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Dan and Noreen are a hot mess. Maybe they should just talk things out and maybe Dan should get an opetation so he doesn't sound like a fucking Disney Junior character. Also, Jerry should have tossed Kristen in the trash along with her useless card. Relationship Grade: $4.99/10
What Worked:
I enjoyed Kramer getting excited that the greeting card was from Hallmark; Also, the K-Man thinking he got a slice of the PBS donation pie was a good laugh, as was Jerry's aluminum siding retort; Elaine's botched Noreen phone call was great, especially her panicked disengagement, and the follow up shell game with both of them bitching out Elaine was funny too; Mr. Pitt wanting the gossip while carving up a candy bar; Jerry's stilted delivery during the PBS practice read; I am 100% with Jerome on the card situation, we have gone overboard with the cards; Kramer pushing Jerry to cash the checks was done in such a perfect Kramer way; I loved Jerry dismissing George's attempts to secure a Yankee as "do your thing where you lie to everyone"; The indirect flipping off was a funny thread throughout; Great debut for Mr. Morgan and I love George derisively asking how he eats his candy; I love how Nana is up and dressed at 5:30AM so she has plenty of time to get to the bank before it opens; The tease with the thug and Nana was well done; Uncle Leo is awesome is always and I liked how Kramer kept chiming in during the phone call; Kramer's line about Nana's bum checks is one of my all time favorites; I dug the chain of eating candy and cookies with utensils leading to more and more characters doing it; George & Danny's wild ride; Elaine telling Nana to drop dead; Kramer shutting down Dan was aces; The payoff with the broken middle finger was solid writing as was everyone eating their desserts with forks at the end
What Didn't Work
Minor quibble, but Jerry acts like he has been getting $10 checks for decades but it only amounted to $60? Get that math straight!; I hate how Jerry says "Nana"; The end with Leo freaking out about Nana's donation felt a bit unneeded
Key Character Debuts
Nana
Danny Tartabull
Dan, the High Talker
Mr. Morgan
Noreen
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "If I was flattering myself, I think I'd come up with someone a little less annoying than Noreen." - Jerry
- "Oh, who sent you a card?" - Kramer "I don't know." - Jerry "Open it, it's from Hallmark." - Kramer
- "Giddy-up! Alright! So now, how does that work? Now, what, I get a percentage of every pledge I bring in, right?" - Kramer "No, it's not aluminum siding, it's volunteer work. All the money goes to the station." - Jerry "Okay, yeah, alright, that sounds good, but I still get a tote bag though, right?" - Kramer "Yeah, and one of those foam beer can holders." - Jerry
- "Jerry, your grandmother gave you this gift. She wants you to spend the money, to have the fun that she can't have. Oh, this is tantamount to a slap in the face." - Kramer "Oh, get out of here." - Jerry "Jerry, a gift not enjoyed is like a flower that doesn't blossom." - Kramer
- "Oh, well, a mantel's a whole different story." - George "Absolutely." Jerry "If my parents had a mantel, I might be a completely different person." - George
- "Alright. I'll run it by a few people." - George "Alright, Do your thing, where you lie to everyone." - Jerry
- "He probably doesn't want to get chocolate on his fingers. That's the way these society types eat their candy bars." - George
- "A PBS fundraiser? I'm not gonna waste any of the players' time with that, besides the team already does so much promotion for channel eleven." - Mr. Morgan "Channel eleven? Forgive me for trying to class up this place, for trying to have the Yankees reach another strata of society that might not watch channel eleven." - George
- "Hey, the Bull owes me one, I helped him with his swing." - George
- "Absolutely. Pending approval of the script." - George "Excuse me?" - Jerry "Jerry, I'm Yankee management." - George "Yeah, I'd like to see the script too." - Kramer "You're just answering phones!" - Jerry "It would put me at ease." - Kramer
- "Your grandmother's on a very fixed income. What, are you broke?" - Uncle Leo
- "My fault? Your Nana is missing because she's been passing those bum checks all over town and she finally pissed off the wrong people." - Kramer
- "No one gives us the finger! We're Yankees!" - George
- "Well, I'm not leaving the premises without tote bags. I was promised tote bags and tote bags I shall have." - Kramer
- "I'm sorry. I mean, I know what it's like to be in love. Ties you up in knots. And Jerry is a very sexy man." - Kramer "What?" - Dan "Look, I'm not judging you. In fact, we here at PBS, we have many programs celebrating your lifestyle. Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, Gender Bending and Swinging in San Francisco. Before Stonewall about those dark ages when you couldn't come out of the closet, lest you be persecuted because of your, you know." - Kramer
- "As long as you've got your checkbook out, how about forking a little over to PBS? You watch the station, don't you? You don't want to be a freeloader." - Kramer
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Kramer subscribes to Fortune Magazine
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This one really surprised me. I remembered it being pretty good but I ended up laughing the whole way through. The weaving of stories and bits was masterful and it all paid off well in the end. The Nana scenes are some of my favorites of the entire series and I loved how nobody could tell her, Dan or Noreen apart. The PBS stuff was well done too as those pledge drives were such a big thing at the time. I continue to enjoy how George's Yankee job ties into various stories and we also got the debut of Mr. Morgan. There was lots to like here with plenty of laughs and good storytelling as this was definitely a very welcomed surprise. Now, drop dead! Final Grade: 8/10
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