JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
This was a real toss up between the Big Four. Elaine's slow descent into hunger-induced madness was really well played, capped by her gnawing on the coffee cake in the hospital room. George started slow but peaked big time at the end when he was harassing the psychic in the hospital room. Kramer's pep talks about coma etiquette and freaking out on Martin about his vacuum were awesome. Jerry was a steady force throughout, trying to fight off his attraction to Gina out of respect for Martin, all while defending his manhood at every turn. If I have to choose, I will go Kramer because his scenes made me laugh out loud the most but this was a tight race across the board.
Best Storyline
The Gina/Martin/Jerry love triangle was good, but I am going with George's paranormal journey because it was a perfect summation of what George is about. He goes out on a limb to make himself happy, gets dragged into paranoia by a psychic, gives up his vacation and then it all backfires at the end when the trip was awesome. Add in the hospital scene and this storyline takes the prize for me.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should you bang a chick if her boyfriend is in a coma? Depends how friendly you are with the boyfriend. Or how scared you are of him. Martin seemed like a real badass that frightened Jerry and while Gina was hot, she was kind of a bitch with her constantly goading Jerry about his manhood. Jerry should have hit it and then dumped her and sent Kramer to pull Martin's plug. It felt like we were watching the internal struggle between Paranoid, Whiny Jerry and No Soul, Cool Jerry throughout. Worlds are colliding!
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Gina is hot and her relationship with Jerry is quite steamy and hot. She is a seductress, wanting to make out with Jerry on top of her boyfriend while he is in a coma. She is also kind of a bitch. Tap it, Jerry and don't worry about the rest. She will be moving to the Village with Martin soon enough anyway. Relationship Grade: 5/10
What Worked
Jerry leaving his trash outside Kramer's door was random and made me laugh; Jerry hemming and hawing about getting his robe before checking on Martin was a good bit; The coma etiquette discussion was good and unique, including Kramer's standard for how long they have to get out of it; George and the Psychic was a good scene, especially since George is exactly the type to get roped in by this and he was tortured when he got thrown out due to Elaine without finding out why his trip is a bad idea; The Stooges bit cracked me up; Starving, hallucinating Elaine was well done as was Kramer yelling at Martin about his vacuum cleaner; Kramer and Newman show off their instant chemistry; Newman being a smarmy gossip hound that caves for treats was a strong debut; The climactic hospital scene was great, between George harassing the psychic and the Martin/Jerry brawl; Classic George in the end, bailing on his trip, which ended up being awesome for Kramer, which is also Classic Kramer.
What Didn't Work
George going to the Cayman Islands without having income is an odd George move; Gina is hot, but she is a bit of a weirdo, constantly threatening Jerry's manhood.
Key Character Debuts
Newman
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Have you ever fasted?" - Elaine "Once, I didn't have dinner until nine o'clock...that was pretty rough!" - Jerry
- "I've had a lot of other paranormal stuff happen to me!" - George "You're a little paranormal" - Jerry
- "Psychics, vacations, how about you get a job?" - Jerry
- "What kind of a man are you?" - Gina "I'm a man who respects a good coma." - Jerry
- "Lupus? Is it lupus?" - George
- "What will you do if Martin wakes up? Run away like a mouse?" - Gina "No, more like the Three Stooges at the end of a movie" - Jerry
- "Hello Newman." - Jerry
- "I don't care much for the beach... I freckle..." - Newman
Oddities & Fun Facts
- We see Kramer's apartment door from the hallway view for the first time
- Jerry notes that both of George's parents are bald
- Kramer brings up Dr. Kavorkian as a news topic of the day
- George mentions having a brother
- "Hello, Newman" count: 1
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I will say I was very pleasantly surprised with this one. I wasn't sure what to expect so I was prepared for another solid double, a good episode with some laughs but nothing that stands out. I was wrong. I really liked this one a lot. It was smart, crisp and all wove together tremendously. I liked Jerry a lot here with his quick witted responses to Gina busting his balls constantly and Kramer was really funny too. This worked so well because each character was placed in scenarios that made perfect sense. Basically, the absolute definition of each character was on display here, especially George. This was all so George. After a disappointing last outing, I thought they bounced back very strongly here. Final Grade: 7/10
Best Character
This was a real toss up between the Big Four. Elaine's slow descent into hunger-induced madness was really well played, capped by her gnawing on the coffee cake in the hospital room. George started slow but peaked big time at the end when he was harassing the psychic in the hospital room. Kramer's pep talks about coma etiquette and freaking out on Martin about his vacuum were awesome. Jerry was a steady force throughout, trying to fight off his attraction to Gina out of respect for Martin, all while defending his manhood at every turn. If I have to choose, I will go Kramer because his scenes made me laugh out loud the most but this was a tight race across the board.
Best Storyline
The Gina/Martin/Jerry love triangle was good, but I am going with George's paranormal journey because it was a perfect summation of what George is about. He goes out on a limb to make himself happy, gets dragged into paranoia by a psychic, gives up his vacation and then it all backfires at the end when the trip was awesome. Add in the hospital scene and this storyline takes the prize for me.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should you bang a chick if her boyfriend is in a coma? Depends how friendly you are with the boyfriend. Or how scared you are of him. Martin seemed like a real badass that frightened Jerry and while Gina was hot, she was kind of a bitch with her constantly goading Jerry about his manhood. Jerry should have hit it and then dumped her and sent Kramer to pull Martin's plug. It felt like we were watching the internal struggle between Paranoid, Whiny Jerry and No Soul, Cool Jerry throughout. Worlds are colliding!
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Gina is hot and her relationship with Jerry is quite steamy and hot. She is a seductress, wanting to make out with Jerry on top of her boyfriend while he is in a coma. She is also kind of a bitch. Tap it, Jerry and don't worry about the rest. She will be moving to the Village with Martin soon enough anyway. Relationship Grade: 5/10
What Worked
Jerry leaving his trash outside Kramer's door was random and made me laugh; Jerry hemming and hawing about getting his robe before checking on Martin was a good bit; The coma etiquette discussion was good and unique, including Kramer's standard for how long they have to get out of it; George and the Psychic was a good scene, especially since George is exactly the type to get roped in by this and he was tortured when he got thrown out due to Elaine without finding out why his trip is a bad idea; The Stooges bit cracked me up; Starving, hallucinating Elaine was well done as was Kramer yelling at Martin about his vacuum cleaner; Kramer and Newman show off their instant chemistry; Newman being a smarmy gossip hound that caves for treats was a strong debut; The climactic hospital scene was great, between George harassing the psychic and the Martin/Jerry brawl; Classic George in the end, bailing on his trip, which ended up being awesome for Kramer, which is also Classic Kramer.
What Didn't Work
George going to the Cayman Islands without having income is an odd George move; Gina is hot, but she is a bit of a weirdo, constantly threatening Jerry's manhood.
Key Character Debuts
Newman
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Have you ever fasted?" - Elaine "Once, I didn't have dinner until nine o'clock...that was pretty rough!" - Jerry
- "I've had a lot of other paranormal stuff happen to me!" - George "You're a little paranormal" - Jerry
- "Psychics, vacations, how about you get a job?" - Jerry
- "What kind of a man are you?" - Gina "I'm a man who respects a good coma." - Jerry
- "Lupus? Is it lupus?" - George
- "What will you do if Martin wakes up? Run away like a mouse?" - Gina "No, more like the Three Stooges at the end of a movie" - Jerry
- "Hello Newman." - Jerry
- "I don't care much for the beach... I freckle..." - Newman
Oddities & Fun Facts
- We see Kramer's apartment door from the hallway view for the first time
- Jerry notes that both of George's parents are bald
- Kramer brings up Dr. Kavorkian as a news topic of the day
- George mentions having a brother
- "Hello, Newman" count: 1
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I will say I was very pleasantly surprised with this one. I wasn't sure what to expect so I was prepared for another solid double, a good episode with some laughs but nothing that stands out. I was wrong. I really liked this one a lot. It was smart, crisp and all wove together tremendously. I liked Jerry a lot here with his quick witted responses to Gina busting his balls constantly and Kramer was really funny too. This worked so well because each character was placed in scenarios that made perfect sense. Basically, the absolute definition of each character was on display here, especially George. This was all so George. After a disappointing last outing, I thought they bounced back very strongly here. Final Grade: 7/10
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