JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
Everyone, they all rocked it, nobody lagged behind. Jerry was crisp, George was scheming, Kramer was all over the place, Elaine was at a loss for words, Aaron was gracious and standing too close, Morty was trying to make scrilla, Helen was annoyed, Frank was out of his mind, Estelle was angry, Newman was sneaky, Rudy was pissed, Klompus is incompetant, Mrs. Klompus is a witch, Rachel was horny, Rachel's dad was a douche and Alec... back off man! Excellence.
Best Storyline
I will go with raincoats since it touched so many other parts of the episode. Morty going into the lore of the birth of the Executive set the tone that was capped by Frank screwing him over thanks to his "moth ridden cabana wear". A storyline 35 years in the making.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
What is George's obligation to Alec? We don't know how close of friends they are. Can't George just be honest: he would be a really shitty Big Brother. Alec clearly doesn't know him that well or else he wouldn't bother asking. So if they aren't that close, why get into that deep of a lie? Come on, Costanza!
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Jerry and Rachel just want to bang and they can't. I respect that. Relationship Grade: Necking/10
What Worked:
George's enthusiasm about living with your parents catching on was so soul crushing because you knew how hard he wanted to believe it; the Jeopardy line always cracks me up as does the Saks dig; George is at his scheming best in this one between the France plot and the vintage clothes jig; Kramer's bump off the door knob; The feud between the Seinfelds and the Costanzas fires up here; The Close Talker; I love how absurdly over-the-top nice Aaron is in contrast to his close talking issues; Poor Frank with his head in the sand over their friendship with the Seinfelds; Paella!: And also, the Costanzas continue to dominate; Tippi Tippi Dayday always makes me laugh; The Executive!; The Paris plan backfiring is classic George; Aaron in bed reminiscing over the Seinfelds with Elaine; Jack Klompus!; I will not tolerate infestation!; George dishing Frank's cruise wear to Rudy was well done and I love how George found out about the Seinfelds dinner plan lies; George being forced to defend his parents was a nice twist; The My Fair Lady montage was great; Rachel certainly has it going on; I love Jerry's disdain for Klompus and Jack bringing up the pen was a nice callback; The Costanzas freaking out over the Seinfeld diss right into the cruise conversation was tremendous; Newman catching Jerry & Rachel getting at it during the movie was perfect booking; George driving the wedge between Kramer and Morty was good and their subsequent discussion was perfect; I loved Helen busting out a "Hello Newman"; Frank attacking Kramer is glorious; I love the underlying mouse storyline in the Costanza home; I also love how Klompus can't get anything right; The poor Seinfelds; Aaron's final Schindler like monologue was gold and a great way to tie things up; The final payoffs were all fantastic too, with the break-in at the Seinfelds, Jerry chasing Newman and the final meet-up on the cruise ship
What Didn't Work
Alec is really pushy and using his little brother to lay it on is a bit much; Doris Klompus is a bitch; Helen using "necking" annoys me; Jerry is way too nice letting George take the tickets without any sort of payment
Key Character Debuts
Aaron the Close Talker
Rudy
Rachel
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
"You don't understand, I haven't been together with Rachel for like three weeks. First I was on the road, then my parents show up, I'm getting a little uh backed up." - Jerry
- "Maybe this will become like a cool thing, living with your parents." - George "Ya, then maybe baldness will catch on. This will all be turning your way." - Jerry
- "Hey did you notice they moved where they do the interview on Jeopardy now?" - Jerry "Ya it used to be right in the middle of single Jeopardy and now they do it right after single Jeopardy." - George "Ya, it's much better isn't it?" - Jerry "Oh, no comparison." - George
- "He wants this guy to think he's in Paris." - Jerry "Why?" - Helen "Because George is a deeply disturbed individual." - Jerry
"It's from the Sachs Fifth Avenue in Miami." - Helen "Mmm, I'm gonna remember that if I'm ever in Florida." - Kramer "Ya, or if you're ever on Fifth Avenue here in New York City, you could get some there." - Jerry
- "Well uh that doesn't surprise me, ya i bought these at Rudy's. It's a used clothing store. See when people like you die, the widows they bring in their wardrobes, they make a bundle." - Kramer
- "Well they're so loud, they're always fighting it's uncomfortable, you never notice?" - Helen "No I notice but they're from your age group I didn't know you could detect abnormal behavior among your own kind." - Jerry
- The Close Talker reaches pop culture
- "Again with the pepper? What do you gotta use all the pepper for?" - Frank "Ah keep quiet." - Estelle "What are you trying to set my mouth on fire?" - Frank
- "Well he's from the impressionist school, you know like Monet, Manet, Tippi Tippi Dayday." - Jerry
- "I sure did. Raincoats were my business. The Executive was a classic, these haven't been made in twenty years." - Morty "Why would they? Nobody bought them then." - Helen
- "Where will you stay?" - Alec "An apartment complex, the uh the Eiffel Towers." - George
- "You had fun with Mr. and Mrs. Seinfeld." - Elaine "Yea, they bought me a coke." - Aaron
- "He also came up with an idea for a brimless rain-hat but that never materialized." - Jerry
- "No it was a spur of the moment. Well you know Morty likes to fly by the seat of his vintage pants." - Kramer
- "Ok, fine. It's going to be very interesting, very interesting if they don't show up tonight. You know my mother made all this Paella." - George "What is that anyway?" - Jerry "It's a Spanish dish. It's a mlange of fish, an meat with rice. Very tasty." - George
- "This is some office. What's the square footage?" - Morty
- "There is something wrong with the key. The key doesn't work." - Jack "You gotta jiggle it a little bit. I jiggled it. I jiggled it for fifteen minutes. " - Morty "Tell him to come down here and get his own packages. You have nothing better to do then worry about his boxes." - Doris "You gotta pull on the knob as you turn it." - Morty "Get the hell outta here with your knob." - Jack
- "What about the end, with the list?" - Morty "Ya that was some list." - Jerry
- "Paella? I'll be there!" - Kramer
- "What leg work?" - Morty "Oh, there's leg work." - Kramer
- "It is a tad askew." - Jerry "I mean they're your parents and you don't do anything. So why is this stranger doing it?"- Elaine "I've hardly been out to dinner with them." - Jerry "See, See, I can't even say anything you know because all he's really doing is being nice but but nobody is this nice, this is like certifiably nice." - Elaine "You're right he's insane." - Jerry "Yes, he's insane, that's what I think." - Elaine
- "You were making out during Schindler's List?" - Elaine
- "What, do I have to spell it out for ya? He was moving on her like the storm-troopers into Poland." - Newman; "Jerry was necking during Schindler's List?" - Helen "Yes! A more offensive spectacle I cannot recall. Anyway I just really came up to get some detergent." - Newman
- "Hello Morty, listen that key doesn't work. It's no good." - Jack
- "You know, I was thinking today. I never liked those Seinfelds anyway, he's an idiot all together." - Estelle
- "That's my cabana shirt, you stole my shirt you son of a bitch! George you let your friends go up in my attic and steal my clothes?" - Frank
- "Oh it's a orgiastic feast for the senses." - Kramer
- "This watch, this watch could've paid for their whole trip. This ring, this ring is one more dinner I could've taken them out to. Water, they need some water." - Aaron
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Actor Judge Reinhold portrays Aaron the Close Talker
- Schindler's List was very popular at the time and this episode plays off everyone imploring others to see it
- Jack Klompus brings up the astronaut pen to Jerry, a callback to The Pen (S3, E5)
- Aaron's final monologue is an allusion to Oscar Schindler fretting over not being able to help more Jews during the Holocaust
- Larry David provides the voice over for one of the Nazis in the Schindler's List viewing scene
- While filming Schindler's List in Europe, Steven Spielberg often requested episodes of Seinfeld to help him get through some of the difficult parts of filming
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This was really a perfect episode. They filled the hour up easily with great line after great line. The storylines all clicked and wove in and out seamlessly and everyone held up their end of the bargain. Aaron and Rudy were great in their guest roles and having the Costanzas and Seinfelds at war was brilliant. Jerry was really on point here with his one liners and George was at his scheming best. Toss in a flabbergasted Elaine and an aloof K-Man and you got it all. This has always been one of my all time favorite episodes thanks to its memorable moments and quotability from start to end. The only question that remains is: How did everyone not crack up during the close talking scenes? Final Grade: 10/10
Best Character
Everyone, they all rocked it, nobody lagged behind. Jerry was crisp, George was scheming, Kramer was all over the place, Elaine was at a loss for words, Aaron was gracious and standing too close, Morty was trying to make scrilla, Helen was annoyed, Frank was out of his mind, Estelle was angry, Newman was sneaky, Rudy was pissed, Klompus is incompetant, Mrs. Klompus is a witch, Rachel was horny, Rachel's dad was a douche and Alec... back off man! Excellence.
Best Storyline
I will go with raincoats since it touched so many other parts of the episode. Morty going into the lore of the birth of the Executive set the tone that was capped by Frank screwing him over thanks to his "moth ridden cabana wear". A storyline 35 years in the making.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
What is George's obligation to Alec? We don't know how close of friends they are. Can't George just be honest: he would be a really shitty Big Brother. Alec clearly doesn't know him that well or else he wouldn't bother asking. So if they aren't that close, why get into that deep of a lie? Come on, Costanza!
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Jerry and Rachel just want to bang and they can't. I respect that. Relationship Grade: Necking/10
What Worked:
George's enthusiasm about living with your parents catching on was so soul crushing because you knew how hard he wanted to believe it; the Jeopardy line always cracks me up as does the Saks dig; George is at his scheming best in this one between the France plot and the vintage clothes jig; Kramer's bump off the door knob; The feud between the Seinfelds and the Costanzas fires up here; The Close Talker; I love how absurdly over-the-top nice Aaron is in contrast to his close talking issues; Poor Frank with his head in the sand over their friendship with the Seinfelds; Paella!: And also, the Costanzas continue to dominate; Tippi Tippi Dayday always makes me laugh; The Executive!; The Paris plan backfiring is classic George; Aaron in bed reminiscing over the Seinfelds with Elaine; Jack Klompus!; I will not tolerate infestation!; George dishing Frank's cruise wear to Rudy was well done and I love how George found out about the Seinfelds dinner plan lies; George being forced to defend his parents was a nice twist; The My Fair Lady montage was great; Rachel certainly has it going on; I love Jerry's disdain for Klompus and Jack bringing up the pen was a nice callback; The Costanzas freaking out over the Seinfeld diss right into the cruise conversation was tremendous; Newman catching Jerry & Rachel getting at it during the movie was perfect booking; George driving the wedge between Kramer and Morty was good and their subsequent discussion was perfect; I loved Helen busting out a "Hello Newman"; Frank attacking Kramer is glorious; I love the underlying mouse storyline in the Costanza home; I also love how Klompus can't get anything right; The poor Seinfelds; Aaron's final Schindler like monologue was gold and a great way to tie things up; The final payoffs were all fantastic too, with the break-in at the Seinfelds, Jerry chasing Newman and the final meet-up on the cruise ship
What Didn't Work
Alec is really pushy and using his little brother to lay it on is a bit much; Doris Klompus is a bitch; Helen using "necking" annoys me; Jerry is way too nice letting George take the tickets without any sort of payment
Key Character Debuts
Aaron the Close Talker
Rudy
Rachel
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
"You don't understand, I haven't been together with Rachel for like three weeks. First I was on the road, then my parents show up, I'm getting a little uh backed up." - Jerry
- "Maybe this will become like a cool thing, living with your parents." - George "Ya, then maybe baldness will catch on. This will all be turning your way." - Jerry
- "Hey did you notice they moved where they do the interview on Jeopardy now?" - Jerry "Ya it used to be right in the middle of single Jeopardy and now they do it right after single Jeopardy." - George "Ya, it's much better isn't it?" - Jerry "Oh, no comparison." - George
- "He wants this guy to think he's in Paris." - Jerry "Why?" - Helen "Because George is a deeply disturbed individual." - Jerry
"It's from the Sachs Fifth Avenue in Miami." - Helen "Mmm, I'm gonna remember that if I'm ever in Florida." - Kramer "Ya, or if you're ever on Fifth Avenue here in New York City, you could get some there." - Jerry
- "Well uh that doesn't surprise me, ya i bought these at Rudy's. It's a used clothing store. See when people like you die, the widows they bring in their wardrobes, they make a bundle." - Kramer
- "Well they're so loud, they're always fighting it's uncomfortable, you never notice?" - Helen "No I notice but they're from your age group I didn't know you could detect abnormal behavior among your own kind." - Jerry
- The Close Talker reaches pop culture
- "Again with the pepper? What do you gotta use all the pepper for?" - Frank "Ah keep quiet." - Estelle "What are you trying to set my mouth on fire?" - Frank
- "Well he's from the impressionist school, you know like Monet, Manet, Tippi Tippi Dayday." - Jerry
- "I sure did. Raincoats were my business. The Executive was a classic, these haven't been made in twenty years." - Morty "Why would they? Nobody bought them then." - Helen
- "Where will you stay?" - Alec "An apartment complex, the uh the Eiffel Towers." - George
- "You had fun with Mr. and Mrs. Seinfeld." - Elaine "Yea, they bought me a coke." - Aaron
- "He also came up with an idea for a brimless rain-hat but that never materialized." - Jerry
- "No it was a spur of the moment. Well you know Morty likes to fly by the seat of his vintage pants." - Kramer
- "Ok, fine. It's going to be very interesting, very interesting if they don't show up tonight. You know my mother made all this Paella." - George "What is that anyway?" - Jerry "It's a Spanish dish. It's a mlange of fish, an meat with rice. Very tasty." - George
- "This is some office. What's the square footage?" - Morty
- "There is something wrong with the key. The key doesn't work." - Jack "You gotta jiggle it a little bit. I jiggled it. I jiggled it for fifteen minutes. " - Morty "Tell him to come down here and get his own packages. You have nothing better to do then worry about his boxes." - Doris "You gotta pull on the knob as you turn it." - Morty "Get the hell outta here with your knob." - Jack
- "What about the end, with the list?" - Morty "Ya that was some list." - Jerry
- "Paella? I'll be there!" - Kramer
- "What leg work?" - Morty "Oh, there's leg work." - Kramer
- "It is a tad askew." - Jerry "I mean they're your parents and you don't do anything. So why is this stranger doing it?"- Elaine "I've hardly been out to dinner with them." - Jerry "See, See, I can't even say anything you know because all he's really doing is being nice but but nobody is this nice, this is like certifiably nice." - Elaine "You're right he's insane." - Jerry "Yes, he's insane, that's what I think." - Elaine
- "You were making out during Schindler's List?" - Elaine
- "What, do I have to spell it out for ya? He was moving on her like the storm-troopers into Poland." - Newman; "Jerry was necking during Schindler's List?" - Helen "Yes! A more offensive spectacle I cannot recall. Anyway I just really came up to get some detergent." - Newman
- "Hello Morty, listen that key doesn't work. It's no good." - Jack
- "You know, I was thinking today. I never liked those Seinfelds anyway, he's an idiot all together." - Estelle
- "That's my cabana shirt, you stole my shirt you son of a bitch! George you let your friends go up in my attic and steal my clothes?" - Frank
- "Oh it's a orgiastic feast for the senses." - Kramer
- "This watch, this watch could've paid for their whole trip. This ring, this ring is one more dinner I could've taken them out to. Water, they need some water." - Aaron
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Actor Judge Reinhold portrays Aaron the Close Talker
- Schindler's List was very popular at the time and this episode plays off everyone imploring others to see it
- Jack Klompus brings up the astronaut pen to Jerry, a callback to The Pen (S3, E5)
- Aaron's final monologue is an allusion to Oscar Schindler fretting over not being able to help more Jews during the Holocaust
- Larry David provides the voice over for one of the Nazis in the Schindler's List viewing scene
- While filming Schindler's List in Europe, Steven Spielberg often requested episodes of Seinfeld to help him get through some of the difficult parts of filming
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This was really a perfect episode. They filled the hour up easily with great line after great line. The storylines all clicked and wove in and out seamlessly and everyone held up their end of the bargain. Aaron and Rudy were great in their guest roles and having the Costanzas and Seinfelds at war was brilliant. Jerry was really on point here with his one liners and George was at his scheming best. Toss in a flabbergasted Elaine and an aloof K-Man and you got it all. This has always been one of my all time favorite episodes thanks to its memorable moments and quotability from start to end. The only question that remains is: How did everyone not crack up during the close talking scenes? Final Grade: 10/10
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