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 with a tie this week as I thought both Jerry and George were great. Jerry was on fire with his one liners and how indignant he was with Tim Whatley. I also loved how dismissive he was of Arnie when Beth came crying to him. George was a lot of fun too trying to crack the yada, yada code and the two scenes where he stalked Jerry were so well done on a meta level.
Best Storyline
The yada, yada is infamous but I thought the Whatley stuff was the best. The premise was really unique and executed so well, in big part thanks to the genius of Bryan Cranston. The church scene was a lot of fun too and it all tied in to the final scene and paid off so well with Beth, Jerry's dream girl, exposing herself as a wicked racist.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Just because your parents are little people, do you have to marry one? No, be your own woman Karen/Julie! If you wanna bang the K-Man, go for it!
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
I think that adoption agent would have treated Elaine like the queen she is. Forget the looks, Elaine, marry for happiness. It worked for Charlotte in Sex in the City! Relationship Grade: Yada/10
What Worked:
I really liked the George and Jerry desert island discussion while pissing; Yada yada; Always great to see The Mick in the house and his "we'll look like idiots" line was great, as is he and Kramer picking up women at The Gap; 100% cotton... and some wool; George stalking Jerry at his dentist appointment is great meta stuff; Tim's Jewish joke gusto is tremendous; I always pop when Jerry trolls telemarketers; Kramer and Mickey not knowing their dates names was funny and their near brawl was really great; Kramer and Mickey fighting over the seats at the restaurant gets me every time, especially when Kramer leans with his elbow on the table; George and Kramer's back to back "I gotta do something" was well executed; Jerry calling the nun "mother" and his whole performance in the confessional; Funny twist having Karen's parents be little people; George popping in the confessional was amazing; Jerry and Kramer's talk about little people was good and that was topped by the anti-dentite stuff; Mickey's dad snubbing Kramer can calling out Jerry was fantastic; Beth slays that final line; Nice payoff at the end with both women ending up with the wrong guy
What Didn't Work
Why does Jerry ask George if he knows Tim Whatley when we saw a whole fiasco about George getting invited to his Thanksgiving Eve party instead of him; Elaine's alcoholic joke about her dad felt a bit too serious; The last line is great but how does Beth not know Jerry is Jewish? She didn't know his last name by this point?
Key Character Debuts
- Marcy
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "You know, a friend of mine thought she got Legonare's disease in the hot tub." - Marcy "Really? What happened?" - George "Oh, yada yada yada, just some bad egg salad. I'll be right back." - Marcy
- "No, "yada yada" is good. She's very succinct." - Jerry "She is succinct." - George "Yeah, it's like you're dating USA Today." - Jerry
- "Yada yada yada" becomes an instant pop culture catchphrase
- "I gotta get on that internet. I'm late on everything." - Jerry
- "Tell me about it. We just picked up two women at the Gap." - Kramer
- "I like your shirt." - Karen "Oh, thank you. It's 100% cotton, and some wool." - Mickey
- "I like Merlot." - Mickey "I love Merlot." - Karen "I'm crazy about Merlot." - Julie "I live for Merlot." - Kramer "We're out of Merlot." - Waiter
- "All right, it is cavity time. Ah, here we go. Which reminds me, did you here the one about the rabbi and the farmer's daughter? Huh?" - Tim "Hey." - Jerry "Those aren't mahtzah balls." - Tim
- "Jerry, it's our sense of humor that sustained us as a people for 3000 years." - Tim "5000." - Jerry "5000, even better. Okay, Chrissie. Give me a schtickle of fluoride." - Tim
- "Speaking of exes, my old boyfriend came over late last night, and, yada yada yada, anyway. I'm really tired today." - Marcy
- "Don't you see what Whatley is after? Total joke telling immunity. He's already got the two big religions covered, if he ever gets Polish citizenship there'll be no stopping him." - Jerry
- "Listen to this. Marcy comes up and she tells me her ex-boyfriend was over late last night, and "yada yada yada, I'm really tired today." You don't think she yada yada'd sex." - George "I've yada yada'd sex." - Elaine "Really?" - George "Yeah. I met this lawyer, we went out to dinner, I had the lobster bisque, we went back to my place, yada yada yada, I never heard from him again." - Elaine "But you yada yada'd over the best part." - Jerry "No, I mentioned the bisque." - Elaine
- "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Dr. Whatley. I have a suspicion that he's converted to Judaism just for the jokes." - Jerry "And this offends you as a Jewish person." - Father "No, it offends me as a comedian." - Jerry
- "What about all your Jewish jokes?" - Jerry "I'm Jewish, you're not a dentist. You have no idea what my people have been through." - Tim "The Jews?" - Jerry "No, the dentists. You know, we have the highest suicide rate of any profession?" - Tim "Is that why it's so hard to get an appointment?" - Jerry
- "Well, Mickey and her have a lot more in common. you know her parents are little people?" - Kramer "Oh, small world. So little people can have not little people children?" - Jerry "Oh yeah, and vice versa. Mother Nature's a mad scientist, Jerry." - Kramer
- "You think that dentists are so different from me and you? They came to this country just like everybody else, in search of a dream." - Kramer "Kramer, he's just a dentist." - Jerry "Yeah, and you're an anti-dentine." - Kramer "I am not an anti-dentine!" - Jerry "You're a rabid anti-dentite! Oh, it starts with a few jokes and some slurs. "Hey, denty!" Next thing you know you're saying they should have their own schools." - Kramer "They do have their own schools!" - Jerry "Yeah!" - Kramer
- "Hey, where's Marcy?" - Jerry "She, uh, went shopping for some shoes for the wedding and, yada yada yada, I'll see her in six to eight months." - George
- "That's Dr. Abbott, D.D.S. Tim Whatley was one of my students. And if this wasn't my son's wedding day, I'd knock you teeth out you anti-dentite bastard." - Dr. Abbott "What was that all about?" - Beth "Oh, I said something about dentists and it got blown all out of proportion." - Jerry "Hey, what do you call a doctor who fails out of med school?" - Beth "What?" - Jerry "A dentist." - Beth "That's a good one. Dentists." - Jerry "Yeah, who needs 'em? Not to mention the Blacks and the Jews." - Beth
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Debra Messing returns as Beth Lookner, last seen in The Wait Out (S7, E23)
- Legendary actor Robert Wagner plays Dr. Abbott
- Famous actress Jill St. John plays Mrs. Abbott
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This episode held up much better than I anticipated. There were a few things that keep it from really hitting that upper echelon but I laughed out loud a ton watching it through. The yada yada stuff is legendary in Seinfeld lore but I thought the Whatley storyline really brought the heat. It was filled with a fun cameos and paid off with a tremendous punchline. Mickey and Kramer did a solid job in their story as well as they are always a great physical comedy duo but also had some strong dialogue to support it. Plus I am a big mark for the meta stuff with George tracking down Jerry to talk. I wasn't expecting to like this one that much but yada yada it ended up being pretty damn great. Final Grade: 9/10
Best Character
I am going with a tie this week as I thought both Jerry and George were great. Jerry was on fire with his one liners and how indignant he was with Tim Whatley. I also loved how dismissive he was of Arnie when Beth came crying to him. George was a lot of fun too trying to crack the yada, yada code and the two scenes where he stalked Jerry were so well done on a meta level.
Best Storyline
The yada, yada is infamous but I thought the Whatley stuff was the best. The premise was really unique and executed so well, in big part thanks to the genius of Bryan Cranston. The church scene was a lot of fun too and it all tied in to the final scene and paid off so well with Beth, Jerry's dream girl, exposing herself as a wicked racist.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Just because your parents are little people, do you have to marry one? No, be your own woman Karen/Julie! If you wanna bang the K-Man, go for it!
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
I think that adoption agent would have treated Elaine like the queen she is. Forget the looks, Elaine, marry for happiness. It worked for Charlotte in Sex in the City! Relationship Grade: Yada/10
What Worked:
I really liked the George and Jerry desert island discussion while pissing; Yada yada; Always great to see The Mick in the house and his "we'll look like idiots" line was great, as is he and Kramer picking up women at The Gap; 100% cotton... and some wool; George stalking Jerry at his dentist appointment is great meta stuff; Tim's Jewish joke gusto is tremendous; I always pop when Jerry trolls telemarketers; Kramer and Mickey not knowing their dates names was funny and their near brawl was really great; Kramer and Mickey fighting over the seats at the restaurant gets me every time, especially when Kramer leans with his elbow on the table; George and Kramer's back to back "I gotta do something" was well executed; Jerry calling the nun "mother" and his whole performance in the confessional; Funny twist having Karen's parents be little people; George popping in the confessional was amazing; Jerry and Kramer's talk about little people was good and that was topped by the anti-dentite stuff; Mickey's dad snubbing Kramer can calling out Jerry was fantastic; Beth slays that final line; Nice payoff at the end with both women ending up with the wrong guy
What Didn't Work
Why does Jerry ask George if he knows Tim Whatley when we saw a whole fiasco about George getting invited to his Thanksgiving Eve party instead of him; Elaine's alcoholic joke about her dad felt a bit too serious; The last line is great but how does Beth not know Jerry is Jewish? She didn't know his last name by this point?
Key Character Debuts
- Marcy
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "You know, a friend of mine thought she got Legonare's disease in the hot tub." - Marcy "Really? What happened?" - George "Oh, yada yada yada, just some bad egg salad. I'll be right back." - Marcy
- "No, "yada yada" is good. She's very succinct." - Jerry "She is succinct." - George "Yeah, it's like you're dating USA Today." - Jerry
- "Yada yada yada" becomes an instant pop culture catchphrase
- "I gotta get on that internet. I'm late on everything." - Jerry
- "Tell me about it. We just picked up two women at the Gap." - Kramer
- "I like your shirt." - Karen "Oh, thank you. It's 100% cotton, and some wool." - Mickey
- "I like Merlot." - Mickey "I love Merlot." - Karen "I'm crazy about Merlot." - Julie "I live for Merlot." - Kramer "We're out of Merlot." - Waiter
- "All right, it is cavity time. Ah, here we go. Which reminds me, did you here the one about the rabbi and the farmer's daughter? Huh?" - Tim "Hey." - Jerry "Those aren't mahtzah balls." - Tim
- "Jerry, it's our sense of humor that sustained us as a people for 3000 years." - Tim "5000." - Jerry "5000, even better. Okay, Chrissie. Give me a schtickle of fluoride." - Tim
- "Speaking of exes, my old boyfriend came over late last night, and, yada yada yada, anyway. I'm really tired today." - Marcy
- "Don't you see what Whatley is after? Total joke telling immunity. He's already got the two big religions covered, if he ever gets Polish citizenship there'll be no stopping him." - Jerry
- "Listen to this. Marcy comes up and she tells me her ex-boyfriend was over late last night, and "yada yada yada, I'm really tired today." You don't think she yada yada'd sex." - George "I've yada yada'd sex." - Elaine "Really?" - George "Yeah. I met this lawyer, we went out to dinner, I had the lobster bisque, we went back to my place, yada yada yada, I never heard from him again." - Elaine "But you yada yada'd over the best part." - Jerry "No, I mentioned the bisque." - Elaine
- "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Dr. Whatley. I have a suspicion that he's converted to Judaism just for the jokes." - Jerry "And this offends you as a Jewish person." - Father "No, it offends me as a comedian." - Jerry
- "What about all your Jewish jokes?" - Jerry "I'm Jewish, you're not a dentist. You have no idea what my people have been through." - Tim "The Jews?" - Jerry "No, the dentists. You know, we have the highest suicide rate of any profession?" - Tim "Is that why it's so hard to get an appointment?" - Jerry
- "Well, Mickey and her have a lot more in common. you know her parents are little people?" - Kramer "Oh, small world. So little people can have not little people children?" - Jerry "Oh yeah, and vice versa. Mother Nature's a mad scientist, Jerry." - Kramer
- "You think that dentists are so different from me and you? They came to this country just like everybody else, in search of a dream." - Kramer "Kramer, he's just a dentist." - Jerry "Yeah, and you're an anti-dentine." - Kramer "I am not an anti-dentine!" - Jerry "You're a rabid anti-dentite! Oh, it starts with a few jokes and some slurs. "Hey, denty!" Next thing you know you're saying they should have their own schools." - Kramer "They do have their own schools!" - Jerry "Yeah!" - Kramer
- "Hey, where's Marcy?" - Jerry "She, uh, went shopping for some shoes for the wedding and, yada yada yada, I'll see her in six to eight months." - George
- "That's Dr. Abbott, D.D.S. Tim Whatley was one of my students. And if this wasn't my son's wedding day, I'd knock you teeth out you anti-dentite bastard." - Dr. Abbott "What was that all about?" - Beth "Oh, I said something about dentists and it got blown all out of proportion." - Jerry "Hey, what do you call a doctor who fails out of med school?" - Beth "What?" - Jerry "A dentist." - Beth "That's a good one. Dentists." - Jerry "Yeah, who needs 'em? Not to mention the Blacks and the Jews." - Beth
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Debra Messing returns as Beth Lookner, last seen in The Wait Out (S7, E23)
- Legendary actor Robert Wagner plays Dr. Abbott
- Famous actress Jill St. John plays Mrs. Abbott
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This episode held up much better than I anticipated. There were a few things that keep it from really hitting that upper echelon but I laughed out loud a ton watching it through. The yada yada stuff is legendary in Seinfeld lore but I thought the Whatley storyline really brought the heat. It was filled with a fun cameos and paid off with a tremendous punchline. Mickey and Kramer did a solid job in their story as well as they are always a great physical comedy duo but also had some strong dialogue to support it. Plus I am a big mark for the meta stuff with George tracking down Jerry to talk. I wasn't expecting to like this one that much but yada yada it ended up being pretty damn great. Final Grade: 9/10
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