George schemes to take naps at work. Elaine’s boyfriend buys her an ergonomic mattress. Kramer begins swimming in the East River. Jerry hires an indecisive handyman.

Written by: Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin
Directed by: Andy Ackerman

The episode’s plots end up tripping up a lot earlier here than they normally do – Elaine lends Kramer her mattress, gets it back, and it already smells like the East River. What I love about Seinfeld plotting is how organic it is – the criss-cross feels like a natural direction to take the plot, and a satisfying use of tiny ideas. Any other show would build itself entirely out of the scene where Elaine and Hal discuss stupid names for ergonomic furniture stores and perhaps even make some rhetorical point out of it (I’ve started watching Bob’s Burgers, and it strikes me as a scene that would make the basis of a plot that ends with someone, probably either Bob or Louise, saying they probably shouldn’t have made fun of someone for that); for Seinfeld, it’s a puzzle piece. It occurs to me that the pleasure of Seinfeld is that basically every episode is “Three Hundred Big Boys”, haha – imagine a show with the depth of references of Futurama and the discipline of Seinfeld.

George’s plot is another that ends up revealing the absurdity of the post-David years – beloved commentor Raven Wilder observed recently that they start in a familiar place but go so much further, and you can see that here too. Season two George might have hidden under his desk to nap, but he wouldn’t have built a whole bed down there, and it wouldn’t have led to a bomb disposal team cutting it open. The way comedy shows escalate is so fascinating to me, because the only place where I’ve seen fans respond well to it is Always Sunny, where the bizarre status quo mutating over the years as the Gang became more and more disconnected from reality was built into the concept. One thing that works much better for Seinfeld than anything else is the way it builds up a mythology over the years – more characters and people that it draws on – and even then, that’s something Always Sunny and possibly The Simpsons beats it on.

TOPICS O’ THE WEEK

• “And yet it’s the most socially acceptable form of murder.”
• “I love a good nap. Sometimes it’s the only thing getting me out of bed in the morning.”
• “Those places have the stupidest names.” […] “Not this one.”
• “Sounds like a really cool fort.”
• “It’s been a long night. You go home and get some sleep!” / “If that’s what you want.” / “That’s what I want.”
• “You think he was expecting a roll in the supportive hay?”
• “Over there, that’s Brooklyn. That’s where Spike Lee lives.” This is one of the few scenes that has none of the main cast – certainly the last I remember since “The Trip” back in season four.
• “Technically, Norfolk has more gross tonnage.”
• Steinbrenner is so funny because he’s so agreeable.
• “Oh man, I’m on the wrong floor again.”
• “Let me tell you something – it’ll be years before they find another place to hide more cheese in pizza.”
• Very George for him to push his luck by sleeping under the desk again.
• “You gotta call a doctor or… at least, roll this thing offa me…” That’s gotta be Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s best line delivery, or at least the most interesting.
• “It’s just empty calories and male curiosity, eh, Georgie?”

Biggest Laugh:

Next Week: “The Yada Yada”