JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
I am going to go with Jerry this time around. George was funny but pretty limited in his parts and same for Kramer. I liked Newman quite a bit and a weak Jerry performance could have netter him his first award. But, Jerry was great. The Uncle Leo scenes and fallout were so good, as were the scenes with the police officer at the diner. Mix in his dodging of Davola, and he was really on point throughout.
Best Storyline
I have really enjoyed all the NBC scenes, but we only got one here so I will agree with Andrew and go with Jerry's family issues. Uncle Leo is always so delightful to watch and Jerry's mother calling him while at NBC just wrapped everything so perfectly. They had set the stage so beautifully that her calling made all the sense in the world even though it is an insane thing to do. FREE PAJAMAS!
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should Kramer have footed the bill for the speeding ticket? It was only $75 and he did sell Newman a known faulty radar detector. Newman should have pressed him more ahead of time to save the effort of arguing his way through traffic court. But we all know there was zero chance Kramer was forking over that cash.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Not much going on here at all. Leo does love those pajamas though. Relationship Grade:
Pajamas/10
What Worked
Kramer talking in Italian randomly always makes laugh; The running Ted Danson comparisons that kick off here are some of my favorite bits of the show history; Uncle Leo is phenomenal, as are his free pajamas; I also liked Jerry ranting about how angry Uncle Leo was that they had to bail; Watching Newman trying to weave his way through lies to the judge while concussed Kramer was in another world was really funny; The scenes at NBC continue to kill especially George having to lie about losing the La Cocina script; Jerry getting a call from his mother while at NBC to get bitched out about being rude to Uncle Leo was so awesome; The issues between Jerry and the cop always crack me up, especially since the cop is played by Officer Tackleberry; Newman going through all this hassle for $75 is pretty funny, as is the big pratfall by both at the end of the court scene.
What Didn't Work
Susan sending a bill for $18 is pretty cheap considering her family money and job and George agreeing with my take pleased me; The psychiatrist annoys me for some reason; Newman examining witnesses as the defendant seems a little off; I don't get why the officer couldn't just escort Jerry and George out and then come back in to eat.
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Can you get vomit out of suede?" - George
- "Yo Yo Ma!" - Kramer
- "All right, we'll be a little late, I,m not taking a cab." - George "I'll pay for it." - Jerry "It's not the money!" - George "Well, what is it you object to? The comfort? The Speed? The convenience?" - Jerry
- "He used to be in the pajama business. I used to be able to get pajamas for free. I used to come over and get pajamas all the time!" - Uncle Leo "Oh yeah, yeah I remember..." - Jerry "The funny thing is: I can't wear 'em. I get too hot. I sleep in my underwear and a t-shirt. If it gets too hot, I just get the t-shirt off! Anyway, Danny says to me: 'You need any pajamas?'" - Uncle Leo
- "You know, I know plenty of people in Hollywood too!" - Uncle Leo
- "I was never able to become a banker." - Kramer "Banker! So you're killing yourself because your dreams of becoming a banker have gone unfulfilled. You-you-you-you can't live without being a banker." - Newman "Yeah, yeah. If I can't be banker, I don't wanna live." - Kramer "You must be banker." - Newman "MUST be banker." - Kramer "Okay, we'll go with the banker story." - Newman
- "The story is the foundation of all entertainment. You must have a good story otherwise it's just masturbation." - George
- "That's a pile of judgment there." - George
- "I had gone up to Westchester. I go there every Tuesday. I do charity for the blind in my spare time for the Lighthouse. I was in the middle of a game of Parcheesi with an old blind man and I excused myself to call my friend as he was very depressed lately because he never became a banker." - Newman "I don't understand." - Judge "You see, it'd been his lifelong dream to be a banker and he uh, just the day before he was turned down by another bank. I believe it was the Manufacturer's Hanover on Lexington and 40th Street. That was the third bank to turn him down so I was-I was a little concerned. I wanted to see how he was doing. Well, Your Honor, he was barely audible. But I distinctly recall him say..." - Newman "Yo-Yo Ma!" - Kramer "So I sped home to save my friend's life and I was stopped for speeding. Yes, I admit I was speeding but it was to save a man's life. A close friend. An innocent person who wanted nothing more out of life than to love, to be loved and to be a banker." - Newman "So then he didn't kill himself." - Judge "No sir. He did not. But only by the grace of God. He's in the courtroom today" - Newman
- "That's insulting! Ted Danson makes eight hundred thousand dollars an episode." - George "Oh, would you stop with the Ted Danson?" - Jerry "Well, he does." - George "You're nuts!" - Jerry "I'm sorry. I can't live knowing Ted Danson makes that much more than me. Who is he?" - George "He's somebody." - Jerry "What about me?" - George "You're nobody." - Jerry "Why him? Why not me?" - George "He's good, you're not." - Jerry "I'm better than him." - George "You're worse, much much worse." - Jerry
- "Pilot? So what do you make for something like that? Fifty? Sixty thousand?" - Newman 'What's the difference? The money is not important." - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
- David Graf of Police Academy fame portrays the police officer
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
There were some good scenes in this one, but it was definitely a set back from the gold mine that was the previous installment. Jerry was great here and I loved the Danson, Leo and cop bits, but as an overall package it was a bit of wheel spinning. Now that the pilot is officially a go, the real fun should begin. Final Grade: 5/10
Best Character
I am going to go with Jerry this time around. George was funny but pretty limited in his parts and same for Kramer. I liked Newman quite a bit and a weak Jerry performance could have netter him his first award. But, Jerry was great. The Uncle Leo scenes and fallout were so good, as were the scenes with the police officer at the diner. Mix in his dodging of Davola, and he was really on point throughout.
Best Storyline
I have really enjoyed all the NBC scenes, but we only got one here so I will agree with Andrew and go with Jerry's family issues. Uncle Leo is always so delightful to watch and Jerry's mother calling him while at NBC just wrapped everything so perfectly. They had set the stage so beautifully that her calling made all the sense in the world even though it is an insane thing to do. FREE PAJAMAS!
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should Kramer have footed the bill for the speeding ticket? It was only $75 and he did sell Newman a known faulty radar detector. Newman should have pressed him more ahead of time to save the effort of arguing his way through traffic court. But we all know there was zero chance Kramer was forking over that cash.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Not much going on here at all. Leo does love those pajamas though. Relationship Grade:
Pajamas/10
What Worked
Kramer talking in Italian randomly always makes laugh; The running Ted Danson comparisons that kick off here are some of my favorite bits of the show history; Uncle Leo is phenomenal, as are his free pajamas; I also liked Jerry ranting about how angry Uncle Leo was that they had to bail; Watching Newman trying to weave his way through lies to the judge while concussed Kramer was in another world was really funny; The scenes at NBC continue to kill especially George having to lie about losing the La Cocina script; Jerry getting a call from his mother while at NBC to get bitched out about being rude to Uncle Leo was so awesome; The issues between Jerry and the cop always crack me up, especially since the cop is played by Officer Tackleberry; Newman going through all this hassle for $75 is pretty funny, as is the big pratfall by both at the end of the court scene.
What Didn't Work
Susan sending a bill for $18 is pretty cheap considering her family money and job and George agreeing with my take pleased me; The psychiatrist annoys me for some reason; Newman examining witnesses as the defendant seems a little off; I don't get why the officer couldn't just escort Jerry and George out and then come back in to eat.
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Can you get vomit out of suede?" - George
- "Yo Yo Ma!" - Kramer
- "All right, we'll be a little late, I,m not taking a cab." - George "I'll pay for it." - Jerry "It's not the money!" - George "Well, what is it you object to? The comfort? The Speed? The convenience?" - Jerry
- "He used to be in the pajama business. I used to be able to get pajamas for free. I used to come over and get pajamas all the time!" - Uncle Leo "Oh yeah, yeah I remember..." - Jerry "The funny thing is: I can't wear 'em. I get too hot. I sleep in my underwear and a t-shirt. If it gets too hot, I just get the t-shirt off! Anyway, Danny says to me: 'You need any pajamas?'" - Uncle Leo
- "You know, I know plenty of people in Hollywood too!" - Uncle Leo
- "I was never able to become a banker." - Kramer "Banker! So you're killing yourself because your dreams of becoming a banker have gone unfulfilled. You-you-you-you can't live without being a banker." - Newman "Yeah, yeah. If I can't be banker, I don't wanna live." - Kramer "You must be banker." - Newman "MUST be banker." - Kramer "Okay, we'll go with the banker story." - Newman
- "The story is the foundation of all entertainment. You must have a good story otherwise it's just masturbation." - George
- "That's a pile of judgment there." - George
- "I had gone up to Westchester. I go there every Tuesday. I do charity for the blind in my spare time for the Lighthouse. I was in the middle of a game of Parcheesi with an old blind man and I excused myself to call my friend as he was very depressed lately because he never became a banker." - Newman "I don't understand." - Judge "You see, it'd been his lifelong dream to be a banker and he uh, just the day before he was turned down by another bank. I believe it was the Manufacturer's Hanover on Lexington and 40th Street. That was the third bank to turn him down so I was-I was a little concerned. I wanted to see how he was doing. Well, Your Honor, he was barely audible. But I distinctly recall him say..." - Newman "Yo-Yo Ma!" - Kramer "So I sped home to save my friend's life and I was stopped for speeding. Yes, I admit I was speeding but it was to save a man's life. A close friend. An innocent person who wanted nothing more out of life than to love, to be loved and to be a banker." - Newman "So then he didn't kill himself." - Judge "No sir. He did not. But only by the grace of God. He's in the courtroom today" - Newman
- "That's insulting! Ted Danson makes eight hundred thousand dollars an episode." - George "Oh, would you stop with the Ted Danson?" - Jerry "Well, he does." - George "You're nuts!" - Jerry "I'm sorry. I can't live knowing Ted Danson makes that much more than me. Who is he?" - George "He's somebody." - Jerry "What about me?" - George "You're nobody." - Jerry "Why him? Why not me?" - George "He's good, you're not." - Jerry "I'm better than him." - George "You're worse, much much worse." - Jerry
- "Pilot? So what do you make for something like that? Fifty? Sixty thousand?" - Newman 'What's the difference? The money is not important." - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
- David Graf of Police Academy fame portrays the police officer
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
There were some good scenes in this one, but it was definitely a set back from the gold mine that was the previous installment. Jerry was great here and I loved the Danson, Leo and cop bits, but as an overall package it was a bit of wheel spinning. Now that the pilot is officially a go, the real fun should begin. Final Grade: 5/10
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