Jerry receives a van as a gift from an unstable friend and must work out how to get rid of it without hurting his feelings. Elaine dumps Puddy for a man who turns out to be a TV mascot. Kramer decides to cancel his mail. George discovers his parents are avoiding him and freaks out.
Written by: Spike Feresten
Directed By: Andy Ackerman
Jerry’s is a very classic Seinfeld case of the characters going so far to avoid hurting someone’s feelings that they make the situation a thousand times worse. Admittedly, it’s to the point that one struggles with what to say about that aspect of it, given the show has delved into the idea so frequently. This is an interesting aspect of comedy, particularly long-running comedies; more often than not, you’re dealing with the same ideas over and over in different variations, and the struggle is to balance between keeping it fresh and keeping in the aesthetic you chose. Always Sunny makes it work with escalating farce plots within individual episodes and ripped-from-the-headlines plot points, alongside an implicit promise that the characters will never grow or change. Seinfeld is less self-aware on this level, but it does have that understanding. The real difference in this iteration is the use of a vehicle; Jerry points out he lives in New York and has no need of a van, even though admittedly it does do exactly what he needs it to do.
Elaine’s plot is pretty great; the great insight this show has into Elaine is that she’s just as impulsive as George but less self-aware about it, and the idea of her dumping Puddy for a guy because of forgotten memories of a bad TV commercial is so funny and appropriate to me, and her immediately regretting it the moment she discovers where it came from is even funnier. All the characters, in their own way, are looking to be on top at all times, and Elaine is the one who reacts most violently to the concept of discomfort. George thinks discomfort is the natural state of being he’s constantly trying to escape; Elaine thinks comfort is the natural state of etc that she’s always trying to get to.
Kramer’s take on that idea is a little different but very typical for him; the mild inconvenience of junk mail leads him to try and cancel his mail entirely. I understand this came from the rise of email at the time that led people to believe the post office would become entirely redundant; this is especially funny given the internet led to the rise of Amazon delivery, so if anything, the post office is more relevant than ever. From there, the show escalates in the wackier way it’s come to; Wilford Brimley as a supervillain Postmaster General representing a conspiracy of mailmen maintaining their position is fairly typical for the show at this point. It undermines the banal mystery of life we normally have, but it does feel like an extension of not really knowing how anything actually works.
TOPICS O’ THE WEEK
- “I’ve had it with these jackbooted thugs!” / “… Pottery Barn?”
- “So is he still nuts?” / “What do you think? They gave me a new car for ‘So! Who’s from outta town?’.”
- “Oh, like scrump.”
- George keeps a list of things his parents were right about, to keep them calm.
- “Well, I won’t fire him until I see if this new guy can, uh… handle the workload.”
- “We have an affair.” / “You’re going like that?” / “It’s creative black tie.”
- You know, not to judge, and he’s a great actor, but Toby Huss?
- “For sale… big juicy van…”
- “I’ll handle this, Violet. Why don’t you take your three hour break?”
- “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna make love to your mother.”
- “Right, quiet dignity. As opposed to, this:”
- “How many miles?” / “Two!”
- Kramer’s sense of play comes into him buying a car from Jerry. He’s committed to being the Smart Buyer even when it’s, you know, Jerry.
- “Much as I hate the idea of being a ‘van guy’, it’s much better than hanging out here with the nocturnal dirt people.”
- “Why did Kramer have to park the van out in the woods?” / “Isn’t it obvious? There are no parking meters out here.”
- “Newman?” / “Tell the world my story.”
- “Now you gotta sell this van.” / “Oh yeah.” This is a rare case of the plot managing to pay off onto a single line. I absolutely love all of Frankie’s anxiety fading away in the face of very obvious practicality.
Biggest Laugh:
Next Week: “The Merv Griffin Show”