Episode Diary 2-1: The Ex-Girlfriend

Storylines: George goes through a tough breakup process with his girlfriend, with whom Jerry starts a little fling afterwards. Jerry recommends that George goes to his chiropractor. Elaine inspires Jerry after dealing with an acquaintance that slowly drifted apart. Kramer raves about the cantaloupe he buys and is disgusted by the fruit Jerry buys.

Personal take: Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a fine actress, and her monologue about her encounter with the guy who stopped talking to her is the first true insight to her abilities. She does a great job of delivering the speech and putting her own personal “Elaine” touch/motions on the descriptions. I love the whole "Flesh and blood" joke that Jerry uses on George, and later Kramer uses on Jerry. Also in this episode is the continuing notion that Kramer is not a normal person, and that his views on how to handle certain situations is slightly skewed. 

Gaps in society: Is there a true etiquette for dating a friend’s ex? Probably not. But if ever there were a way to put a strain on a friendship and create awkward (though probably humorous) situations, dating your friend's ex is it. It's actually a little intriguing when Kramer suggests it's better for a friend to date your ex than a total stranger. If it's a friend, you can sort of know what your ex is up to and have intel on the post-break-up relationship. I think the way Jerry handled it was best. He goes to George and tells him upfront he wants to go out with George's ex. I personally never would want a friend to do that because it means I may have to deal with the ex far more than planned (since generally you don't want to see your ex after breaking up). But in some ways, it's a more mature way to handle the situation for both parties.

What can happen, though, is the ex will be flirty and such right in front of you simply to illicit responses from you. An ex dating your friend might be doing so simply to get back at you, depending on how things went down. At that point, the friend should get of the situation, but in all likelihood, he won't, thus causing the aforementioned strain on the friendship. Staying friends after being in a relationship is hard enough. Do so when your ex is dating friend is darn near impossible.

Bottom line: I don't think it's likely to work, and it generally is understood among people that a friend's ex is sort of off limits. But if handled properly, and if everyone for some reason can handle the situation, it's not totally impossible.

-Jerry talks about how hard it is to get off the phone with Marlene. This is an epidemic that needs to be stopped. People need to be sensitive of other people’s time (and minutes on their phone plan) and realize when they need to stop blabbing and get off the phone. Or at least try to pick up on cues from the other person that your time is up. It's actually conceited of the people calling to think that the person on the other line has nothing better to do than listen to them blab about whatever they want to.

 

Jerry’s bits: He’s always in traffic with “lane experts,” who are terrible drivers.

-His second bit about going to the doctor’s office is one of my five all-time favorite bits. From having to wait in the waiting room simply because it’s called the waiting room to being chosen to going to the next waiting room, the littler waiting room, is all just so funny. I laugh every time I see it.

His final bit is about how women need to like the guy’s job (which is why men make up the phony bogus names for their job) while guys often aren’t concerned with a woman’s job.

Best lines:

Jerry: You should do it like a band-aid, one motion, right off!

Jerry: Have you reread those books, by the way? You know, the second time you read “Moby Dick,” Ahab and the whale become good friends.

Tidbits:

Jerry’s buzzer tone was changed from season 1 to the one used the rest of the series....To this point, Kramer still hasn’t been seen outside the building....Marlene is played by the same actress who plays the waitress George tries to get with in “The Soup."

Running jokes/references/connections:

Kramer talks about Joe’s Fruit Stand, a place that makes a couple of returns throughout the series, most notably in “The Mango.” ... George leaves his books at Marlene’s apartment and really wants them back, though in Season 6’s “The Couch,” he can’t even get through the 90-page book “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Later in Season 8’s “The Fatigues,” George can’t read books at all, instead needing books on tape....Jerry mentions theatre operating rooms, which is where Kramer and Jerry go to see an operation in “The Junior Mint.” ... This is the first episode that shows Kramer’s love for golf when he takes an imaginary swing with a club.

Top 5 Moments of Season 1

(For future reference, this feature probably will be combined with the season wrap-up)

Season 1 may have only five episodes, but that doesn't mean there weren't several classic moments to remember. Here's a list of my top 5:

5) "When you're dead, you're dead. That's it, you're not going anywhere." - Old lady in video store in "The Stakeout". This was in reference to Jerry's material in a previous episode, something that became not only a trend on Seinfeld, but a staple of the show.

4) "Jerry, I have to tell you something. This is the dullest moment I've ever experienced." - George, in "The Seinfeld Chronicles" while he's staring at laundry being done. It's literally so boring to George, it's funny to us.

3) After Jerry gets robbed in "The Robbery", he and the police officer are talking about what's going to happen next.
Policeman: Well, we'll let you know if we find anything.
Jerry: You ever find anything?
Policeman: Nah.

2) The entire scene with Jerry and George staking out the lobby of the law office where Vanessa worked in "The Stakeout" was funny. From George first coming up with his fake character Art Vandelay to Jerry's and Vanessa's exchange to close the scene:
Jerry: So uh, do you date immature men?
Vanessa: Almost exclusively.

1) ""So they’re showing me on the commercial how to get out blood stains. Is this is a violent image to anybody, blood stains? You know, you've got a t-shirt with blood stains all over it, maybe laundry isn't your biggest problem right now. You might want to get the harpoon out of your chest first!" - Jerry, during a bit in "The Seinfeld Chronicles."
I've mentioned it before, but this is truly one of the best bits of his that I've ever seen. It's the perfect blend of material and delivery style that make for a funny moment. It's a little ridiculous, sure, but it's still hilarious.

What are some of your favorite moments from Season 1?

Season 1 Wrap-up

After the pilot, Seinfeld’s four-episode season was viewed as a terrible sign for the show. It was still in its infancy stage. Jerry and Larry didn’t know what the show was really going to be or the true direction it was going.

The fact that, for its time, Seinfeld was such a different show was probably the best thing it had going for it. To that point, sitcoms were all about cheesy setups and punch lines, and a show’s success was determined by how funny it was based on those. Seinfeld took a very different approach to humor. Jerry has said before he’s never known people to have that perfect punch line the way they’re seamlessly delivered on all other shows. Instead, he tried to make comedy about the storylines: where they’d go, how they’d get there, how they’d tie in together, and how relatable they would be to the audience. Of course, he’d work in some funny lines, but they seemed authentic. That really became the identity that made the show stand out from the rest.

No other shows had continuing storylines. No other shows broke away to stand-up routines that connected to the show. There were a couple risqué topics of conversation throughout the first five episodes that weren’t really said on TV. But Seinfeld became a show that went where no other show had gone before (no, I’m talking about Star Trek). As the seasons wore on, more and more taboo subjects were discussed. But they were done so in a way that was harmless and non-offensive, which is surprising for a show about how a comedian gets his material. Jerry became the kind of comic that both a mass audience and another group of comedians would be able to listen to and enjoy. He translated that to the show very well.

Episode Diary 5: The Stock Tip

Storylines: Elaine dates a man who has cats, which she’s allergic to. At first, she tries to “knock them off,” but in the end, she decides to give him an ultimatum. Jerry takes his girlfriend on a long weekend trip. George invests in a stock and sticks with it, even when it starts dipping.

Personal Take: The opening scene of this episode is probably the best glimpse from season 1 of what the show becomes. Jerry and George talk about whether Superman has super humor, the same way he has super strength and super speed. “Either you’re born with a sense of humor or you’re not, it’s not going to change,” George points out. “Why, why would that one area of his mind not be affected by the yellow sun of the Earth?” Jerry counters. To me, this is the essence of the show. It’s probably nothing to most people, but anything important to them is worth discussing in full detail. Sure, it's borderline nerdiness (don't make fun), but still.

There are a couple of other staples of Seinfeld that starts in this episode. The first comes up when Jerry starts discussing how annoying the people sitting behind him and his girlfriend Vanessa were at the movies. Jerry describes two attempts, the “half-turn” and the “full turn with the eye roll”, to get them to stop. Though not really significant examples, these are the first of many sort of made-up terms that pop up on Seinfeld that became a part of normal vernacular. I mean, Jerry uses those terms (and gives demonstrations of them) with the impression that they will be understood. Other more recognizable terms, like “Yada Yada,” stick more than these examples, but this episode was the start of something special.

The other staple that really became a defining trait was the fact that Vanessa reappeared on the show. In “The Stakeout,” the story is left with the audience understanding that she and Jerry are dating. So this episode continued that storyline, not something that was done on sitcoms at the time. Continual arching storylines got their start from Seinfeld, and this was the first example of it.

Other notes from this episode:

-Jerry is wearing a pink shirt for the first time. For some reason, he wears pink shirts a lot in the series.

-Why hasn’t Kramer’s rollout tie dispenser taken off? It’s a great idea (not that I’d need it, since I don’t even own a tie), which is one of the few great ideas he ever has.

- I think it’s hysterical that George orders tuna after Elaine gives Jerry a full spiel about why he shouldn't order the tuna.

-The episode ends with George taking back a dollar bill from the tip he gave the waitress after deciding to look at the receipt, probably the biggest sign of his cheapness to this point in the series.

Gaps in Society: This is more a personal revelation than directly pointed out from the episode, but I’ve realized something about friendship. If you want to test your friendship with someone, take a nine-hour drive to a destination, stay wherever it is for a day or weekend, then drive the nine hours back, all the while being engaged in conversation or activity. If you can still stand the sight of this person after that long, you know you’re friendship (or whatever other relationship) is good. Jerry and Vanessa’s trip had an unfair disadvantage when it rained and they couldn’t do anything but sit in the hotel room. But Jerry was warned beforehand by George (one of the few times George’s advice would’ve helped Jerry) that trips like that are relationship killers. They are, and that’s any relationship, not just a dating one, though that probably gets stressed the most.

Jerry’s bits:

He starts by talking how he doesn’t like getting the check at the end of the meal, because money has different meanings before and after eating. “We’re not hungry now. Why are we buying all of this food?”  he asks. His next bit is about dry cleaning and how the cleaning isn’t truly dry, but that they use liquid at some point. He closes with a bit on how he’d rather do the work and let his money rest than vice versa.

Best lines:

Elaine: George went to the hospital? He’s crazy.

Jerry: He’s crazy? You want to rub out a couple of cats.

Tidbits:

George’s source for the stock tip was recovering from a nose job while in the hospital. George mentions that people don’t recover quickly from a nose job, though in the episode “The Nose Job,” George’s girlfriend recovers quite quickly from it. Hm….

Running jokes/references/connections:

Jerry dates Vanessa, whom he first met in “The Stakeout.” It’s a rare case of Jerry seeing the same woman for more than one episode....This is also the first of several discussions the group has about long weekend trips.

Episode Diary 4: The Robbery

Storylines: Jerry’s apartment gets robbed while he’s away and Elaine house sits for him. Kramer leaves the door open that leads to the robbery. George shows Jerry a new apartment, but ends up wanting it himself.

Personal take: This is the closest the show gets to changing locales. It’s a classic staple of the great sitcoms. From “I Love Lucy” to “Cheers” to one of my favorites, “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” there’s always that main set piece that stays the duration of the show. I think it was early enough in the show that it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but now I can’t imagine the show taking place in a different apartment. I think the familiarity with the locations gives a certain continuity that shows otherwise didn’t have before Seinfeld.

As far as the coin-flipping debacle in this episode goes, there are a couple things to consider. First of all, if George had won the coin toss after it hit the counter, then he wouldn’t have said anything; however, I do agree with George. I would re-flip the coin. I love the choose game they play instead.

On a side note, I think it’s interesting that Elaine is upset about losing the deposit on the Uhaul like it just happened, even though it had to have been a while after that happened since the new people who took the apartment were all moved in and everything. It’s not a big deal, but I don’t think anyone thought of the time that would’ve lapsed.

Gaps in society: This is an obvious one. People get robbed. It happens. They go to the police. Nothing happens. If, for some reason, people try to take matters into their own hands, like Kramer does in the episode, that usually spells trouble. Where problems come in is if it isn’t your fault. Accidents happen, but someone needs to be held accountable for that (Kramer, in this case). I think he should’ve made Kramer buy all the stuff that was stolen, or at least a new TV.

The other odd situation about two friends wanting the same apartment usually involves more mature ways of being handled. Some might even compromise by sharing it as roommates (can you imagine George and Jerry as roommates?). But no, these two have to play games like little children to see who should get the apartment. Good stuff.

Jerry’s bits: He opens with how sticking up your middle finger is really arbitrary, and that he would feel worse if someone gave him the “toe” instead of the “finger.” His next one is about how policemen don’t really do anything after a robbery. He later talks about how kids resolve disputes by “calling it,” which is perfectly legitimate.

Best lines:

Policeman: Well Mr. Seinfeld, we’ll look into it, and we’ll let you know if we find anything.

Jerry: You ever find anything?

Policeman: No.

Elaine: Jerry, it’s a walk-in closet. Look, I’m walking in it…What do you think?

Jerry (after closing the closet door): I like that.

Tidbits:

This episode was the first one written by someone other than Jerry and Larry David…. This was the first episode that Kramer slides in. He did so because he was late for a cue. But from that, Kramer started to slide into Jerry’s place.

Running jokes/references/connections:

Elaine gets a break from her roommate, the waitress/actress, who isn’t seen until final episode of season 2 in “The Deal.”

Episode Diary 3: The Stakeout

Storylines: Elaine brings Jerry to a friend’s birthday party. In exchange, Jerry brings Elaine to a family wedding. At the birthday party, Jerry meets a girl who is a lawyer, but he doesn’t get her name or much other useful information. So he tracks down where she works and stakes out her lobby while waiting for her.

Personal take: Easily my favorite of the Season 1 episodes. It feels the most like the way the rest of the series goes. The group talks/consults with each other about what’s going on in their lives and tries to get a handle on the situation. Jerry gets the stakeout idea from his father. Elaine and Jerry share thoughts on the best location for a stakeout, etc.

Basically, they discuss ways to handle certain social situations pertinent to the stories in the episode. This becomes a backbone of the series. This is the first time Elaine and Jerry deal with each other in dating situations after they break up. At first, Elaine doesn’t handle the “spectacle” of Jerry flirting with another woman, and understandably so. Of course, she has moved on to another guy, too. Still, it’s awkward to be friends after a break-up, let alone discuss relationship stuff after that. But these two show that it can be done in a mostly natural way (mostly).

Gaps in Society: It’s comical seeing to what lengths people will go to track down a person for whatever reason, unless it’s stalking, which is another situation entirely. To me, it seems like a legitimate tactic to try. Sure, it’s transparent, but can’t that be a good thing? I guess in this day and age, people will consider it stalking, especially in the online scene....The other topic obviously is how a man and a woman can stay friends after dating. Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? No. And, perhaps most importantly, do many people try? That's probably 50-50. It's one thing to keep trying for the relationship, but once someone has said he/she doesn't want you in his/her life anymore, that pretty much puts the nail in the coffin on a post-breakup friendship.

Jerry’s bit: He starts out by talking about how women will write a check for stuff that costs $3, but it won’t take long because women write so many checks. “The checkbook comes out of a holster. ‘Who do I make it out to?’” Jerry says about women writing checks.

He later talks about how Plato came up with the idea for a plutonic relationship and named it after himself.

He concludes by comparing two people who have broken up with each other to two magicians who are trying to entertain each other.

Best lines:

Jerry: So, do you date immature men?

Vanessa: Almost exclusively.

Tidbits:

“The Stakeout” is the third episode in the season, but was aired before episode 2, “Male Unbonding.”... Jerry’s father is played by Phil Burns for the only time in the series. Barney Martin takes over the role the rest of the way.

References/running jokes/connections:

This is the first reference to Jerry and Elaine having dated before....An old woman says “When you’re dead, you’re dead. That’s it, you’re not going anywhere.” This is obviously a reference to Jerry’s material in the first episode about how you can’t over-die for the same reason you can’t over-wet or over-dry....This is the first of many references to George’s made-up alter ego, Art Vandelay, whose original purpose was to be a friend he and Jerry were meeting while on the stakeout....George also begins the running joke of pretending to be an architect....It’s the first of two times that the profession of being an importer-exporter is mentioned, the other being “The Cadillac.”