Afternoon Baseball

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Season/Episode: Season Five, Episode One
Airdate: 09/16/93
Writer: Larry David, Lawrence H. Levy
Director: Tom Cherones
Famous guest stars/recurring characters: Lisa Edelstein (also in "The Masseuse," now on "House")
Awards: Nominated, Outstanding Writing (comedy), Outstanding Directing (comedy), 1994 Emmy Awards
Quotes: "We have to have sex to save the friendship!"

Every great comedy needs an occasional counterbalance, something to ground its characters and make them not contemptible, or at least contemptible in a funny way.
Also, as comedies are based around people who spent an inordinate amount of time together, there has to be something that shows you why this is the case.
Too much of it, and you get maudlin or "very special." Too little, and you get mean-spirited or pointless.

"Seinfeld" was always about doing too little -- its unofficial motto was "No hugging, no learning," after all -- but even this show cracked a few times to demonstrate why these four bizarre people would tolerate each other. The references to old times growing up was enough to solidify George and Jerry. Kramer was the next-door neighbor, which could just about settle it.
But his using of all Jerry's stuff and his constant, taking, intrusive presence? The answer to why Jerry might tolerate that was handled well, if a bit directly, in the three-part arc "The Keys" and "The Trip" part 1 and 2.
It went too far in the Season 2 finale, "The Deal," when the show was still finding its angle. Elaine and Jerry either have to date or disappear. The show wisely dropped the plot immediately for the next year.

But "The Deal" did provide opportunities for episodes such as the Season Five opener, "The Mango," that tackled their unique relationship while not straying from the "no lessons" mantra -- in other words, it's still wickedly funny and nothing overshadows the laughs.

First, though, let's talk about the word, which, along with the move to the "Cheers" timeslot, was what people were REALLY talking about the next day. The show was nominated for an Emmy in part, I would think, because it's the closest Jerry and Elaine came to "breaking up," but it was mostly because of the whole liberal use of orgasm in speaking and plotting. Elaine doesn't have them but fakes them, Jerry misdiagnoses them, George can't give them (or, in the end, believe he can) and Kramer can fake them, too, though his vitality in all aspects of life is explained by his expansive fruit palate bought from what seems like an entirely ordinary neighborhood market. The episode is like an orgasm of the use of the word orgasm.

Little notes: I want to know if Kramer and Jerry ever got un-banned from Joe's, though. Kramer does mention the place in the following episode, so it's possible. Given Kramer's love of food, you'd think the show could have found a way back there. It was the only episode Lawrence H. Levy wrote, so maybe that had something to do with it.
Who calls up anybody, much less an ex, and says, "Did you have orgasms with me?" Fantastic.
Kramer lights his cigar on the stove, and then says he can give pointers on "pressing those buttons." Jerry calls it "sexual perjury" and compares Elaine's acting to Meryl Streep. Thankfully, we haven't seen Streep doing lots of those type of scenes in recent years.
Sadly, I think this episode might be overlooked by the later, Puddy-era episode where Jerry shares his "move" he used with Elaine, which would seem to completely nullify ... actually, why are we thinking too much about this?
George's girlfriend, Karen, doesn't get much to do in this episode, but she plays the part well. The risotto thing seems to confuse George more than help, and it isn't the best image to put in someone's mind. Maybe that's the point, though. As for the actress, she was also Sam Seaborn's call-girl girlfriend on "West Wing."

As for Jerry and Elaine, she's treated like one of his girlfriends -- you know, where they're great except for one little thing that he blows up into something huge, and then they find out, get disgusted and storm out forever. It's even more pronounced because she wickedly one-upped him, both in lying to him and in her reveal at the diner. George was never so happy (or willing to order cake) as when he saw Jerry's jaw drop.
The difference between Elaine and the other 124 or so girlfriends is that instead of walking out the door, she says, "I'll give you 30 minutes, let's go."
Seems too direct and not funny, but it works. If you're just watching for the humor, it's there. If you're looking for an affirmation of their relationship, whatever the hell it is, it's there too.
The payoff is even better. What other show would have, through a piece of mango, George's woes magically transfer themselves to Jerry, with the result that Elaine's busy reading a magazine? Until she wants some mango. End scene.
I think it's episodes like this that make critics and fans wonder, "Why the hell doesn't Elaine free herself from this bunch of losers? She's better than them." And Jerry's willingness to let her leave proves that. But she doesn't want to be any better -- having them around allows her to sink to that level without shame -- and thankfully so. Judging from the pilot (the real one), a show without her wouldn't be nearly as good.

Labels: classic-review, seinfeld