JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
It is hard not to give it to Frank Costanza here, but Kramer made me laugh the most consistently. His sheer joy at being near Bette Midler, his jaunt around NYC looking for Italian Ice, his maniacal key jingling and monologue ripping Jerry, George & Gennice and then completely taking over Bette Midler's recovery were all fantastically executed. He was on point and closed out the season on a strong note.
Best Storyline
The nail salon stuff was really good thanks to Frank and the fact of how real the situation felt, but I can't go against Kramer & Bette. Their chemistry was amazing and thanks to six seasons of Kramer character development, it all felt very natural and real that he would act the very way that he did. That fucking key jingling and "... or it's your ass, buster" get me every time.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should George be allowed to play in the show league game? He doesn't work for The Improv and he doesn't perform there. He is a ringer. And a hanger on. Sit in the bleachers, George, or start hitting the stage and cracking some jokes.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Kramer and Bette are meant to be together. What a dynamic couple. They seriously have the strongest chemistry of any couple on this show since Jerry and Courtney Cox. I could watch them sing and eat Italian Ice all day long. Relationship Grade: My Wings/The Wind
What Worked:
Jerry debating to himself about consoling Gennice was a nice start; I always enjoy when Jerry and George are suddenly stars or participants in random stuff, like softball here; That noise of excitement Kramer makes about Bette Midler; The reemergence of Rochelle, Rochelle is great; "Sunny tell knock knock joke" always makes me laugh just for the delivery; Gennice riding the pine because Bette was playing was great; Kramer running through New York looking for pineapple Italian Ice was fun; Just Cherry, Lemon and Tutti-Frutti!; George meeting with Jerry on the mound was good; This is not my kind of guy; George's home run is one of my favorite scenes of the season, capped with Kramer coddling Bette with the melting Italian Ice; Gennice assuming Jerry and George whacked Bette on purpose was a nice twist; Kramer's epic rant was awesome, including him unlocking all the doors and shaking the key ring; The slow reveal by Kim that she was Frank's long lost love was really well done; Kramer and Bette in the hospital is so good; PETERMAN; Jerry, Gennice and George in the cab slowly losing it; Macaroni Midler!; The final Tonya Harding scene is good way to wrap things up
What Didn't Work
Gennice really is unbearable; How did Elaine track Frank down for lunch so quickly; The weird dub of Kramer singing to Bette on the field always bugged me; Kramer wheeling Bette out of the hospital is a little too much to accept; Who the hell notifies someone that the grandmother died via telegram?
Key Character Debuts
- Bette Midler
- J. Peterman
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Bette Midler is going to be in the park today? Yeeee. Jerry, don't tease me." - Kramer
- "Oh, understudies are a very shifty bunch. The substitute teachers of the theater world." - Kramer
- "Just once I would like to tell someone they stink. You know what? I doidn't like the show. I didn't like you. It just really stunk. The whole thing…real bad. Stinkaroo. Thanks for the tickets though." - Jerry
- "He sold religious articles the statues of Jesus, the virgin Mary, that were manufactured in Korea." - Jerry "George, does your father speak Korean?" - Jerry "Yeah, he once bumped into reverend Yung Sun Moon." - George
- "No pineapple. Just Cherry, Lemon and Tutti-Frutti" - Ice Cream Vendor
- "I once talked to the reverend Yung Son Moon. He bought two Jesus statues from me. He's a hell of a nice guy." - Frank "Uh, ha..." - Elaine "Ever see that face on him? Like a biiiiiig apple pie." - Frank
- "No, I feel I need to unburden myself. I loved her very deeply. But the clash of cultures was too much. Her family would not accept me." - Frank "Mr. Costanza, I, …" - Elaine "Maybe it was because I refused to take off my shoes. Again, the foot odour problem. Her father would look at me and say, " eno enoa juang ". Which means, "this guy - this is not my kind of guy"." - Frank
- "So my dear you think you can get to Broadway. Well, let me tell you something. Broadway has no room for people like you. Not the Broadway I know. My Broadway takes people like you and eats them up and spits them out. My Broadway is the Broadway of Merman, and Martin, and Fontaine, and if you think you can build yourself up by knocking other people down... ...GOOD LUCK..." - Kramer
- "A turkey sandwich. A side of slaw, … you want whit e meat or dark?"- Kramer "White meat." - Bette "Yeah, white meat. And if I see one piece of dark meat on there. It's your ass buster." - Kramer "Get me one of those Black and White cookies." - Bette "Yeah, all right, yeah… They don't have any. But don't worry I'm going to get you one somewhere." - Kramer "Good. Because if I don't get a Black and White cookie I'm not going to be very pleasant to be around." - Bette "Now that's impossible." - Kramer
- "So what? Somebody dropped an egg on my head as I went into my building last night." - George "Hey, I'm being heckled on stage. People are yelling out Gillooly!" - Jerry
- "Wait. Wait. I know you. You knocked Bette Midler out of Rochelle Rochelle the Musical. I want you creeps out of my cab." - Cabbie "Hey, I had nothing to do with it." - Jerry "Get out of my cab. You should go to prison. You should be in prison for the rest of your life. Get out, each of you. Each and every one of you get out of my cab." - Cabbie
- "Then in the distance I heard the bulls. I began running as fast as I could. Fortunately I was wearing my Italian Captoe Oxfords. Sophisticated yet different; nothing to make a huge fuss about. Rich dark brown calfskin leather. Matching leather vent. Men's whole and half sizes 7 through 13. Price $135.00." - Peterman
- "Here you got a telegram. Well, look who's here." - Stagehand "Listen buddy..." - Jerry "What are you going to do? Break my legs? You don't scare me. You or your goons." - Stagehand
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Rochelle, Rochelle was previously referenced in The Movie (S4, E15) & The Smelly Car (S4, E22)
- J. Peterman is portrayed by long time actor John O'Hurley
- Macaroni Midler and The Stop Short move are both callbacks to The Fusilli Jerry (S6, E21)
- The Gennice/Bette Midler storyline is taken from the Tonya Harding arranged attack on Nancy Kerrigan prior to the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
There is so much good mixed in here but as a complete package I think it falls just a little short of the overall standard we have come to expect since season four. Bette Midler was tremendous and I can't get enough of her and Kramer. Frank always delivers and George was a lot of fun too. There are some strong one liners and unique camera shots and scenery in this one, which help bump the grade up. The Tonya Harding stuff was timely and all tied up nicely but Gennice was so awful to watch across the board. Maybe that was the point. Plus... Peterman debuts! Season six is a wrap and it has been a great one that delivered a lot of memorable episodes. We enter the final third of the series and take a very unique turn right off the bat. Final Grade: 7/10
Best Character
It is hard not to give it to Frank Costanza here, but Kramer made me laugh the most consistently. His sheer joy at being near Bette Midler, his jaunt around NYC looking for Italian Ice, his maniacal key jingling and monologue ripping Jerry, George & Gennice and then completely taking over Bette Midler's recovery were all fantastically executed. He was on point and closed out the season on a strong note.
Best Storyline
The nail salon stuff was really good thanks to Frank and the fact of how real the situation felt, but I can't go against Kramer & Bette. Their chemistry was amazing and thanks to six seasons of Kramer character development, it all felt very natural and real that he would act the very way that he did. That fucking key jingling and "... or it's your ass, buster" get me every time.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should George be allowed to play in the show league game? He doesn't work for The Improv and he doesn't perform there. He is a ringer. And a hanger on. Sit in the bleachers, George, or start hitting the stage and cracking some jokes.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Kramer and Bette are meant to be together. What a dynamic couple. They seriously have the strongest chemistry of any couple on this show since Jerry and Courtney Cox. I could watch them sing and eat Italian Ice all day long. Relationship Grade: My Wings/The Wind
What Worked:
Jerry debating to himself about consoling Gennice was a nice start; I always enjoy when Jerry and George are suddenly stars or participants in random stuff, like softball here; That noise of excitement Kramer makes about Bette Midler; The reemergence of Rochelle, Rochelle is great; "Sunny tell knock knock joke" always makes me laugh just for the delivery; Gennice riding the pine because Bette was playing was great; Kramer running through New York looking for pineapple Italian Ice was fun; Just Cherry, Lemon and Tutti-Frutti!; George meeting with Jerry on the mound was good; This is not my kind of guy; George's home run is one of my favorite scenes of the season, capped with Kramer coddling Bette with the melting Italian Ice; Gennice assuming Jerry and George whacked Bette on purpose was a nice twist; Kramer's epic rant was awesome, including him unlocking all the doors and shaking the key ring; The slow reveal by Kim that she was Frank's long lost love was really well done; Kramer and Bette in the hospital is so good; PETERMAN; Jerry, Gennice and George in the cab slowly losing it; Macaroni Midler!; The final Tonya Harding scene is good way to wrap things up
What Didn't Work
Gennice really is unbearable; How did Elaine track Frank down for lunch so quickly; The weird dub of Kramer singing to Bette on the field always bugged me; Kramer wheeling Bette out of the hospital is a little too much to accept; Who the hell notifies someone that the grandmother died via telegram?
Key Character Debuts
- Bette Midler
- J. Peterman
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Bette Midler is going to be in the park today? Yeeee. Jerry, don't tease me." - Kramer
- "Oh, understudies are a very shifty bunch. The substitute teachers of the theater world." - Kramer
- "Just once I would like to tell someone they stink. You know what? I doidn't like the show. I didn't like you. It just really stunk. The whole thing…real bad. Stinkaroo. Thanks for the tickets though." - Jerry
- "He sold religious articles the statues of Jesus, the virgin Mary, that were manufactured in Korea." - Jerry "George, does your father speak Korean?" - Jerry "Yeah, he once bumped into reverend Yung Sun Moon." - George
- "No pineapple. Just Cherry, Lemon and Tutti-Frutti" - Ice Cream Vendor
- "I once talked to the reverend Yung Son Moon. He bought two Jesus statues from me. He's a hell of a nice guy." - Frank "Uh, ha..." - Elaine "Ever see that face on him? Like a biiiiiig apple pie." - Frank
- "No, I feel I need to unburden myself. I loved her very deeply. But the clash of cultures was too much. Her family would not accept me." - Frank "Mr. Costanza, I, …" - Elaine "Maybe it was because I refused to take off my shoes. Again, the foot odour problem. Her father would look at me and say, " eno enoa juang ". Which means, "this guy - this is not my kind of guy"." - Frank
- "So my dear you think you can get to Broadway. Well, let me tell you something. Broadway has no room for people like you. Not the Broadway I know. My Broadway takes people like you and eats them up and spits them out. My Broadway is the Broadway of Merman, and Martin, and Fontaine, and if you think you can build yourself up by knocking other people down... ...GOOD LUCK..." - Kramer
- "A turkey sandwich. A side of slaw, … you want whit e meat or dark?"- Kramer "White meat." - Bette "Yeah, white meat. And if I see one piece of dark meat on there. It's your ass buster." - Kramer "Get me one of those Black and White cookies." - Bette "Yeah, all right, yeah… They don't have any. But don't worry I'm going to get you one somewhere." - Kramer "Good. Because if I don't get a Black and White cookie I'm not going to be very pleasant to be around." - Bette "Now that's impossible." - Kramer
- "So what? Somebody dropped an egg on my head as I went into my building last night." - George "Hey, I'm being heckled on stage. People are yelling out Gillooly!" - Jerry
- "Wait. Wait. I know you. You knocked Bette Midler out of Rochelle Rochelle the Musical. I want you creeps out of my cab." - Cabbie "Hey, I had nothing to do with it." - Jerry "Get out of my cab. You should go to prison. You should be in prison for the rest of your life. Get out, each of you. Each and every one of you get out of my cab." - Cabbie
- "Then in the distance I heard the bulls. I began running as fast as I could. Fortunately I was wearing my Italian Captoe Oxfords. Sophisticated yet different; nothing to make a huge fuss about. Rich dark brown calfskin leather. Matching leather vent. Men's whole and half sizes 7 through 13. Price $135.00." - Peterman
- "Here you got a telegram. Well, look who's here." - Stagehand "Listen buddy..." - Jerry "What are you going to do? Break my legs? You don't scare me. You or your goons." - Stagehand
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Rochelle, Rochelle was previously referenced in The Movie (S4, E15) & The Smelly Car (S4, E22)
- J. Peterman is portrayed by long time actor John O'Hurley
- Macaroni Midler and The Stop Short move are both callbacks to The Fusilli Jerry (S6, E21)
- The Gennice/Bette Midler storyline is taken from the Tonya Harding arranged attack on Nancy Kerrigan prior to the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
There is so much good mixed in here but as a complete package I think it falls just a little short of the overall standard we have come to expect since season four. Bette Midler was tremendous and I can't get enough of her and Kramer. Frank always delivers and George was a lot of fun too. There are some strong one liners and unique camera shots and scenery in this one, which help bump the grade up. The Tonya Harding stuff was timely and all tied up nicely but Gennice was so awful to watch across the board. Maybe that was the point. Plus... Peterman debuts! Season six is a wrap and it has been a great one that delivered a lot of memorable episodes. We enter the final third of the series and take a very unique turn right off the bat. Final Grade: 7/10
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