JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
I will go with Elaine here as she cruised through every scene she was in. Her careless dismissal of George in his time of need was just tremendous, she was great with the pharmacist and I always love the scene of her grilling Billy. Plus "sponge worthy" is an epic catchphrase.
Best Storyline
The Kramer AIDS walk stuff was a fun backdrop but the big story here is the search for sponges as it includes Elaine, George, Susan and even Jerry by the end. "Blood tests...immaculate!"
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
If Susan was out of sponges and George hates the condom just use an alternative method, such as the ever popular pull out. Grow up George, you man child, and ejaculate as man was intended: into some tissues or onto someone's stomach.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
The real reason Billy shouldn't be considered sponge worthy is that he goes by "Billy". Relationship Grade: 0/10
What Worked:
Kramer sets the tone for his ribbon beliefs out of the gate; The speedboat diversion by Jerry is good stuff; Jerry changing the size on the tag of his pants is peak Jerry; The callback to George hiding the secret ATM code was a nice touch; Jerry lying to George about meeting Lena; Kramer being terribly out of shape right before the AIDS Walk is great; The montage of Elaine looking for sponges and her buying the whole case; George and Jerry are great at the dinner table during the double date; Kramer's poker party looks like a hell of a time; Billy kind of looks like James the Wake Up Call Guy; Elaine refusing to help George out and then shoving him out the door; I love that Elaine is basically resigned to having sex without trying to get pregnant just 60 more times in her life; It is great that Jerry can't reconcile how good Lena is; Jerry's "on the other hand" comment as Elaine walks in was killer; Cedric & Bob return! Elaine grilling Billy is a classic scene; Jerry's botched lie really screwed him, he has to do better in that spot
What Didn't Work
Why is Susan scoping out the tag on Jerry's jeans; Jerry overreacted to George's comment, he didn't need to tell him about the unlisted number at all; Why does Susan give George shit about not knowing what birth control she uses? How would he know if she never told him?; George's condom issues are so weird, why not just have it opened ahead of time if it is such a major issue getting it torn apart in the heat of the moment?; Why is it too late? Did George lose his erection or did he blow his load while lying on his stomach?
Key Character Debuts
- N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "I tell ya, there's some people, they just wear a ribbon and they think they're doin' something? Not me. I talk the talk, and I walk the walk, baby." - Kramer
- "You're a taking person." - Elaine "That's why I should date a giving person. If I date a taking person, everyone's taking, taking, taking, no one's giving - it's bedlam." - Jerry
- "How's the...sexual chemistry?" - Jerry "Haven't been in the lab yet. But I am birth control shopping today." - Elaine
- "Hello, Lena? Hi, it's Jerry Seinfeld. How did I get your number? I met a guy that knows you, he gave it to me...I don't remember his name. Think it began with a W, maybe a Q. I wasn't paying that much attention, I'd just come from shopping for a speedboat..." - Jerry
- "This is totally different! That was my secret, this is Jerry's secret! There's...there's attorney-client priveleges here! If I play it by your rule, no one'll ever confide in me again, I'll be cut out of the loop!" - George
- "Well, Kramer was right. My friend Kim told me the sponge is off the market." - Elaine "So what are you gonna do?" - George "I'll tell you what I'm gonna do - I'm gonna do a hard-target search. Of every drug store, general store, health store and grocery store in a 25-block radius." - George
- "It's All-Tempa-Cheer." - Jerry "I use Planet. It's bio-degradable and doesn't pollute the oceans." - Elaine "Yeah, the oceans really are getting very sudsy." -George
- "Can you wrap up all the left-overs on the table, please? I always take the left-overs. I work in a soup kitchen every morning at 6 a.m." - Lena "They serve soup at 6 a.m.?" - Jerry "Yeah. That's all they have." - Lena "Do the bums ever complain? "Soup again?"" - Jerry "I'd get tired of it." - George "How could you not?" - Jerry
- "Oh, you gotta be kiddin'! You see those two ladies I got showin'? Do they look scared?!" - Kramer
- "Elaine, can I just explain something to you very privately here? Susan and I have been together many, many times now, and just between you and me, there's really no big surprises here, so...make-up sex is all that I have left." - Susan "I'm sure you'll have another fight, George." - Susan
- "You leave me no choice! You're the media now as far as I'm concerned!" - Jerry "C'mon Jerry, please! It won't happen again." - George "If you were in the mafia, would you tell her every time you killed someone?" - Jerry "Hey, a "hit" is a totally different story." - George
- "I mean, I admire the hell out of her. You can't have sex with someone you admire." - Jerry "Where's the depravity?" - George "No depravity! I mean, I look at her, I can't imagine she even has sex." - Jerry
- "Spongeworthy" becomes a pop culture catchphrase
- "Yes, yes - before they went off the market. I mean, now I've got to re-evaluate my whole screening process. I can't afford to waste any of 'em." - Elaine "You know, you're nuts with these sponges. George is gettin' frustrated!" - George
- "Well, we've gone out several times, we obviously have a good rapport. I own a very profitable electronics distributing firm. I eat well. I exercise. Blood tests - immaculate. And if I can speak frankly, I'm actually quite good at it." - Billy "You going to do something about your sideburns?" - Elaine "Yeah, I told you...I'm going to trim my sideburns." - Billy "And the bathroom in your apartment?" - Elaine "Cleaned it this morning." - Billy "The sink, the tub, everything got cleaned?" - Elaine "Everything, yeah. It's spotless." - Billy
- "She said I wasn't sponge-worthy. Wouldn't waste a sponge on me!" - Jerry "That condom killed me. Why do they have to make the wrappers on those things so hard to open?" - George "It's probably so the woman has one last chance to change her mind." - Jerry "You never run out, do you?" - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
- George refers to himself in the third person, a callback to "The Jimmy" (S6, E19)
- The Today Sponge was actually pulled off shelves in 1995 when the FDA changed manufacturing standards that affected its production. It would return to shelves in the US in 2009.
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
There is some good stuff in here but there were also some slow scenes and decent sized plotholes mixed in too. The George stuff really irritated me and made no sense. Who actually does all that during sex? Tearing condoms open right before you climax? And then I am still confused why he has to stop when it gets opened. The whole thing was a real leap. Elaine was great and Kramer had some good laughs, but not as many as usually delivers. Plus, what time did that poker game end? Or did Lena show up at 7AM after her trio to the soup kitchen? Just shave those fucking sideburns, Billy. Final Grade: 6/10
Best Character
I will go with Elaine here as she cruised through every scene she was in. Her careless dismissal of George in his time of need was just tremendous, she was great with the pharmacist and I always love the scene of her grilling Billy. Plus "sponge worthy" is an epic catchphrase.
Best Storyline
The Kramer AIDS walk stuff was a fun backdrop but the big story here is the search for sponges as it includes Elaine, George, Susan and even Jerry by the end. "Blood tests...immaculate!"
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
If Susan was out of sponges and George hates the condom just use an alternative method, such as the ever popular pull out. Grow up George, you man child, and ejaculate as man was intended: into some tissues or onto someone's stomach.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
The real reason Billy shouldn't be considered sponge worthy is that he goes by "Billy". Relationship Grade: 0/10
What Worked:
Kramer sets the tone for his ribbon beliefs out of the gate; The speedboat diversion by Jerry is good stuff; Jerry changing the size on the tag of his pants is peak Jerry; The callback to George hiding the secret ATM code was a nice touch; Jerry lying to George about meeting Lena; Kramer being terribly out of shape right before the AIDS Walk is great; The montage of Elaine looking for sponges and her buying the whole case; George and Jerry are great at the dinner table during the double date; Kramer's poker party looks like a hell of a time; Billy kind of looks like James the Wake Up Call Guy; Elaine refusing to help George out and then shoving him out the door; I love that Elaine is basically resigned to having sex without trying to get pregnant just 60 more times in her life; It is great that Jerry can't reconcile how good Lena is; Jerry's "on the other hand" comment as Elaine walks in was killer; Cedric & Bob return! Elaine grilling Billy is a classic scene; Jerry's botched lie really screwed him, he has to do better in that spot
What Didn't Work
Why is Susan scoping out the tag on Jerry's jeans; Jerry overreacted to George's comment, he didn't need to tell him about the unlisted number at all; Why does Susan give George shit about not knowing what birth control she uses? How would he know if she never told him?; George's condom issues are so weird, why not just have it opened ahead of time if it is such a major issue getting it torn apart in the heat of the moment?; Why is it too late? Did George lose his erection or did he blow his load while lying on his stomach?
Key Character Debuts
- N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "I tell ya, there's some people, they just wear a ribbon and they think they're doin' something? Not me. I talk the talk, and I walk the walk, baby." - Kramer
- "You're a taking person." - Elaine "That's why I should date a giving person. If I date a taking person, everyone's taking, taking, taking, no one's giving - it's bedlam." - Jerry
- "How's the...sexual chemistry?" - Jerry "Haven't been in the lab yet. But I am birth control shopping today." - Elaine
- "Hello, Lena? Hi, it's Jerry Seinfeld. How did I get your number? I met a guy that knows you, he gave it to me...I don't remember his name. Think it began with a W, maybe a Q. I wasn't paying that much attention, I'd just come from shopping for a speedboat..." - Jerry
- "This is totally different! That was my secret, this is Jerry's secret! There's...there's attorney-client priveleges here! If I play it by your rule, no one'll ever confide in me again, I'll be cut out of the loop!" - George
- "Well, Kramer was right. My friend Kim told me the sponge is off the market." - Elaine "So what are you gonna do?" - George "I'll tell you what I'm gonna do - I'm gonna do a hard-target search. Of every drug store, general store, health store and grocery store in a 25-block radius." - George
- "It's All-Tempa-Cheer." - Jerry "I use Planet. It's bio-degradable and doesn't pollute the oceans." - Elaine "Yeah, the oceans really are getting very sudsy." -George
- "Can you wrap up all the left-overs on the table, please? I always take the left-overs. I work in a soup kitchen every morning at 6 a.m." - Lena "They serve soup at 6 a.m.?" - Jerry "Yeah. That's all they have." - Lena "Do the bums ever complain? "Soup again?"" - Jerry "I'd get tired of it." - George "How could you not?" - Jerry
- "Oh, you gotta be kiddin'! You see those two ladies I got showin'? Do they look scared?!" - Kramer
- "Elaine, can I just explain something to you very privately here? Susan and I have been together many, many times now, and just between you and me, there's really no big surprises here, so...make-up sex is all that I have left." - Susan "I'm sure you'll have another fight, George." - Susan
- "You leave me no choice! You're the media now as far as I'm concerned!" - Jerry "C'mon Jerry, please! It won't happen again." - George "If you were in the mafia, would you tell her every time you killed someone?" - Jerry "Hey, a "hit" is a totally different story." - George
- "I mean, I admire the hell out of her. You can't have sex with someone you admire." - Jerry "Where's the depravity?" - George "No depravity! I mean, I look at her, I can't imagine she even has sex." - Jerry
- "Spongeworthy" becomes a pop culture catchphrase
- "Yes, yes - before they went off the market. I mean, now I've got to re-evaluate my whole screening process. I can't afford to waste any of 'em." - Elaine "You know, you're nuts with these sponges. George is gettin' frustrated!" - George
- "Well, we've gone out several times, we obviously have a good rapport. I own a very profitable electronics distributing firm. I eat well. I exercise. Blood tests - immaculate. And if I can speak frankly, I'm actually quite good at it." - Billy "You going to do something about your sideburns?" - Elaine "Yeah, I told you...I'm going to trim my sideburns." - Billy "And the bathroom in your apartment?" - Elaine "Cleaned it this morning." - Billy "The sink, the tub, everything got cleaned?" - Elaine "Everything, yeah. It's spotless." - Billy
- "She said I wasn't sponge-worthy. Wouldn't waste a sponge on me!" - Jerry "That condom killed me. Why do they have to make the wrappers on those things so hard to open?" - George "It's probably so the woman has one last chance to change her mind." - Jerry "You never run out, do you?" - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
- George refers to himself in the third person, a callback to "The Jimmy" (S6, E19)
- The Today Sponge was actually pulled off shelves in 1995 when the FDA changed manufacturing standards that affected its production. It would return to shelves in the US in 2009.
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
There is some good stuff in here but there were also some slow scenes and decent sized plotholes mixed in too. The George stuff really irritated me and made no sense. Who actually does all that during sex? Tearing condoms open right before you climax? And then I am still confused why he has to stop when it gets opened. The whole thing was a real leap. Elaine was great and Kramer had some good laughs, but not as many as usually delivers. Plus, what time did that poker game end? Or did Lena show up at 7AM after her trio to the soup kitchen? Just shave those fucking sideburns, Billy. Final Grade: 6/10
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