Jerry signs up for a PBS pledge drive and Kramer volunteers to take calls. Jerry cashes cheques from his grandmother’s various cards, causing her to be overdrawn and going missing in the process of working it out. Elaine upsets both her friend and her friend’s boyfriend when she tries to work out if she was hitting on Jerry, only to be confused when the high-voiced boyfriend answers a call. George picks up and spreads the habit of eating chocolate bars with a knife and fork, and gets offended by various people giving him the finger.
Written by: Tom Gammill & Max Pross
Directed by: Andy Ackerman
I don’t know what I like more – Seinfeld embracing a very simple story that goes insane, or Seinfeld like this, with an absolute density of ideas. Jerry alone has three different stories going that all keep colliding! If there’s one weakness, it’s that individual stories can struggle to hit as hard; Elaine’s horror at seeing people eating finger food with knives and forks doesn’t feel quite as insane as it could. But I do enjoy the upside of feeling like you’re moving through a single insane world where bizarre things can bounce off each other; Jerry’s Nanna calling and Elaine mistaking her for the high-talker is a great moment, especially because it clicks for her about a minute later what’s happened.
George is a minor but crucial element of this episode; him chasing down a guy who flipped him off isn’t much of a plot even by this show’s standards, but I love how he acts now that he has a bit of power and success. George eating a chocolate bar is the pinnacle of Jason Alexander’s ability to portray George puffing himself up in pure smugness; it’s a deservedly iconic moment because he’s fully sneering, as if only a naive fool could think to eat a Snickers with their hands! Look at the header image – he’s putting his back into it! He carries himself all through this episode with this energy; a man who is, as he observes, makin’ it up but getting away with it. Seinfeld and Friends together created a wave of situation comedies where the ‘situation’ was a particular set of characters, and this season is showing the advantage of that; changing up the situation can bring out different elements of the character.
TOPICS O’ THE WEEK
- This opens with a great acting moment where Kramer acts cute when he greets Elaine and she plays along, exasperated. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss’s performance has been on fire this season, still using her rubber face but calibrating it precisely for each moment. She’s an interesting contrast with Alexander; he’s extremely nuanced in his decisions, often making the smallest choices, while she’s always going 100% but attuned to the moment. In this episode, her face after saying “political cartoons” is my favourite.
- Kramer instantly assuming he’s both getting a percentage of the pledges and effectively a PBS employee are very Kramer. He’s a hustler, but a hustler who is in it for the principle of the thing, and of course disconnected from reality.
- I do actually hold onto cards I get from work, mainly as a memento of the places I enjoyed.
- The scene of Jerry’s Nanna being given directions by a random tough guy has become a popular template for memers, as has “Stop the show!”.
- “Your grandmother’s on a very fixed income!”
Biggest Laugh:
Next Week: “The Chinese Woman”