Elaine decides to be friends with Kevin, only to discover he and his friends are bizarro reverse versions of Jerry, George, and Kramer. Jerry discovers his new girlfriend has large hands. George uses a picture of Jerry’s girlfriend as a picture of Susan to impress women. Kramer accidentally works a real job.

Written by: David Mandel
Directed by: Andy Ackerman

I’m thinking that the post-David seasons of Seinfeld really are just exaggerating an element of the series that was always there. This, like episodes in previous seasons, has so many iconic moments that it just kind of breezes through with a pace and confidence far exceeding other shows; we have Bizarro Jerry, man hands (ugh, more on that later), Kramer working a real job, and the meat packing plant club all powered through like they’re nothing. Even the basic ideas of the episode are simply exaggerations of the show’s basic ideas – I’ve been noting this whole time how the show has a sub-meta attitude, where the characters aren’t really aware they’re in a sitcom but are basically aware of the ‘rules’ that organically come up. This pushes that to a bit more absurdism, with the most obvious part being the eponymous Bizarro Jerry.

It’s a stroke of cleverness to have Elaine be the one exploring the Bizarro world here; for one thing, it’s great to have the least nerdy character in the main cast to end up in the nerdiest situation, where we get her awkward learning and embrace of Superman lore (compare to that time Jerry dated a woman named Lois, gleefully referencing the character constantly). Even better, though, is that Elaine thinks she’s the smartest character in the group, so it’s extremely funny to have her turn out to be too mean and selfish to really fit in with the nice people.

Meanwhile, Kramer getting a real job is like Kramer sleeping in Jerry’s bed – a really obvious gag that also is extremely funny in practice. I do like that the episode also makes Jerry the butt of the joke in turning him into a miserable housewife to Kramer; there’s the risk of Flanderising Jerry into a, uh, bizarre version of himself, but I think it pays off here and is a simple extension of the character’s childishness. It’ll be interesting as we get in further and we find people’s different limits for the increased wackiness – George’s discovery of a club that turns into a meat-packing plant is an infamous bit of silliness, which I think partly comes from people misremembering it – I’d remembered it as alternating absurdly between the two, when in fact it only turns back into a meat-packing plant at the very end.

TOPICS O’ THE WEEK

• I too have to go with the alien zoo over the alien circus. I don’t want to have to do work if I don’t have to.
• “Favourite president: James Polk.”
• “Why would anyone want a friend?”
• The ‘man hands’ thing is one of the few Seinfeld edgy plots that I just don’t think works. Making fun of someone’s appearance like that isn’t really funny. Though I’ll give it up for “Would you prefer it if she had no hands at all?” / “Would she have hooks?”
• “How long have I been asleep? What year is it?”
• “Would you keep it down to a low roar? Some of us have to work in the morning.”
• “You know this is my crazy time of year!” / “… It’s your third day.”
• This is the first appearance of the “Who is this?” runner.
• “You cooked?” / “I ordered in, still effort.”
• Tim DeKay is so funny as Kevin in this episode – his earnestness makes all the niceness even funnier. You could say DeKay being a good actor adds to his Bizarroness.

Biggest Laugh:

Next Week: “The Little Kicks”