Jump to content

do you ever yearn?


Kel Varnsen

Recommended Posts

I was today years old when I realized an overlooked subtle joke in perhaps the show’s best monologue.  When George is recanting the encounter with the whale.  He refers to it as “he.”  He’s not a marine biologist so he’s obviously not expected to discern the difference.  But earlier in the episode, when he’s walking along the beach, one of the onlookers says the beached whale in need of help is a “she”, in all likelihood a faster witted person than George.  It plays into his ruse elegantly.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

I was today years old when I realized an overlooked subtle joke in perhaps the show’s best monologue.  When George is recanting the encounter with the whale.  He refers to it as “he.”  He’s not a marine biologist so he’s obviously not expected to discern the difference.  But earlier in the episode, when he’s walking along the beach, one of the onlookers says the beached whale in need of help is a “she”, in all likelihood a faster witted person than George.  It plays into his ruse elegantly.  

I said "EAAAASY BIG FELLA!"

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

And he also says, "He was ten stories tall if he was a foot."  But the onlooker in the previous scene says, "She's in distress" or "She's in pain" or "Somebody help her."  I don't know if it was just a script mistake because they wrote that thing the bit the night before taping and Jason only had a few moments to memorize it.  But knowing Larry, I think it was a little tiny joke planted to further demonstrate George's inadequacy.  Just go back and watch the back half of that episode.  Between that episode and the Contest, that's what launched the show.  I watched it in high school, because if felt edgy even though I didn't really "get it."  But I look back on Cheers, and Seinfeld, and the Tonight Show from the early 90's and remember when most corners of America could come together for smart material.  And now we're barely capable of onboarding Larry the Cable Guy's shit because it's too high-brow, tell you what, now that's funny right there, mmm-hmm, get 'er done.

Edited by YGIFS
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

S8E21 - The Muffin Tops - Another solid episode from top to bottom. The Real Kramer bus tour, George pretends to be a tourist and gets traded to Tyson Chicken, Jerry shaves his chest and Elaine suggests the "Top of the Muffin" idea to Mr Lippman.  

"It's beautiful! She makes all the plans. I'm not from around here, so it's OK if I'm stupid, and I'm not from around here so there's no messy breakups!"  

Peterman's book title "No Placket Required" is a riff on Phil Collins' album “No Jacket Required.” A placket is “an opening or slit in a garment, covering fastenings or giving access to a pocket, or the flap of fabric under such an opening.”

Peterman's book is published and Elaine let's Kramer know they used his stories for it. Kramer goes to the book signing and sits next to him to sign books. He takes a book from one of the people in line and she says "who are you?" to which he replies "I'm the real Peterman!"  After being thrown out, he starts The Real Kramer bus tour. This is of course based on the real Kenny Kramer's life story, who actually did sell the right to use his name to NBC for only $1000, back when the show was a pilot. After the show became a hit, he did start a ragtag bus tour called "The Kramer Reality Tour." The website can be found here: http://www.kennykramer.com/home.html  however it shut down during Covid and has not resumed. Up until that point, it had been running for about 25 years straight. My parents actually went on the Kenny bus tour back in the mid 00's, and they loved it. They said he was hilarious, friendly and quite a character, however instead of a 3 Musketeers they said they were given a Snickers to eat with a knife and fork. 

Kenny did ask to play Kramer in the Pilot for Seinfeld. He was denied by LD and Jerry, because they didn't have any say in it. However, Kenny did speak highly of Michael Richards character and performance, and said "I would never have thought to go sliding through doors and all the shtick that Michael does. He was brilliant. If I had gotten to play Kramer, the show would have gone straight down the crapper.” Here's the 3 of them back in the day:

image.png.fb7bedef40d15e1ec0301011da2146bc.png

Kenny did make 1 appearance on the show, he was one of the fans at the Rangers/Devils game in The Face Painter:

image.png.42925c499b7c0481101f90e93b713011.png

 

On a related note, apparently Jerry did go to High School with a George Costanza. A teacher did call him "Can't Stand Ya" and he had some other similarities to the character. That George Costanza did sue NBC for 100 million, but he lost the case as it was declared a frivolous lawsuit. He was ordered to pay $2500 in legal fees over it, and Jerry was quoted in response as saying "The universe would be out of kilter if someone named Costanza won anything.”

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe somebody can find it, I can’t.  Jerry or Jason gave an interview in the 2000s about how early on in the show (season 2 or 3), they’d find Michael backstage as they were heading home after reads or filming.  And he’d just be playing around with noises, facial expressions, hand gestures, sound effects, etc.  and it was in that moment they knew the character and the show was going to be altogether different, and spectacular.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

Those aren't for New Years, those are my everyday balloons. 

I always hated Jerry’s comment at the end about 2001 being the millennium. I knew at least one guy in college who made that point over and over again and it was annoying. People celebrated the change in the numerical year. A “millennium” party on Dec. 31, 2000 would be lame as shit.

Edited by 'stache
  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, 'stache said:

I always hated Jerry’s comment at the end about 2001 being the millennium. I knew at least one guy in college who made that point over and over again and it was annoying. People celebrated the change in the numerical year. A “millennium” party on Dec. 31, 2000 would be lame as shit.

Cubed.

That's good stuff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

Well, it seems that, uh, due to the vagaries of the production parameters, vis-à-vis the fragmenting of the audience due to cable television, carnivals, water parks...

Edited by 4th&Five
  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For all his non-verbal comedic gifts, when Michael Richards makes that popping sound and smacks the piece of paper after showing his cartoon editing to the gang; i lose my shit every time. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, YGIFS said:

For all his non-verbal comedic gifts, when Michael Richards makes that popping sound and smacks the piece of paper after showing his cartoon editing to the gang; i lose my shit every time. 

The one that slays me is Mr. Kruger:

 

I got a memo here from accounting saying there's no such thing as The Human Fund.

Well, there could be.

Buuut there isn't. (smacks paper)

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/29/2024 at 9:52 PM, Biff Tannen said:

Two months ago I saw a provocative movie on cable called The Net. With that girl from the bus. 

This reminded me of A funny thing I picked up on after decades.  When Frank Costanza yells about the Yankees trading Jay Buhner.  I was thinking about the one and only game I saw at Yankee stadium as a kid, with my dad when he was living in NYC.  We sat behind Buhner in RF.  Buhner was traded in 1988.  Frank shouts about it in like 1997.   Meaning he held onto that trade rage for a decade.  How Frank is that?  Serenity Now!!!!!

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)
14 hours ago, YGIFS said:

This reminded me of A funny thing I picked up on after decades.  When Frank Costanza yells about the Yankees trading Jay Buhner.  I was thinking about the one and only game I saw at Yankee stadium as a kid, with my dad when he was living in NYC.  We sat behind Buhner in RF.  Buhner was traded in 1988.  Frank shouts about it in like 1997.   Meaning he held onto that trade rage for a decade.  How Frank is that?  Serenity Now!!!!!

I loved the finale from first viewing.  My favorite callback was Frank again heckling Big Stein, standing up in open court and yelling out "How could you give twelve million dollars to Hideki Irabu?"

The pronunciation of Irabu - kind of like ih-rob-byoo - was just genius.

Edited by WBT
  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There’s a Rusty Kuntz/beefarino joke in here somewhere.  And something about Roger Mcdowell’s mom.  
 

 I think my favorite thread derail was when we made the lineup of baseball players mentioned on the show. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, YGIFS said:

There’s a Rusty Kuntz/beefarino joke in here somewhere.  And something about Roger Mcdowell’s mom.  
 

 I think my favorite thread derail was when we made the lineup of baseball players mentioned on the show. 

I found a way we can get Griffey and Bonds in the same outfield and it really wouldn't cost that much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^
Funny you should post that.  The neighbor kid nextdoor is like most 8 year olds, a very rambunctious lad.  We have our google fiber wire from the street kinda 'underground' running up the house.  And he and his friends like to dig around in our mutual sideyard and fuck around.  And choring yesterday, I noticed about a foot of exposed cable they had for some reason, dug up.  And the dad was apologetic.  "If anything's broken, we'll take care of the bill."  And I said, "Thanks for the service fee, but my main concern is I gotta be home between 8-2 or 2-8pm."  And then I made a joke about the cable guy saying "What if we made specific appointments like doctors or dentists?"  Thinking he'd get the Seinfeld reference.  He then said, after 5 years of living next door to one another, he's never watched the show.  So you'd think people would want to move away from Lobo, but now I'm seriously considering moving away from these lunatics.  

And then as fate would have it, we dialed up a re-run last night for Spring Break since our oldest wants to watch more Seinfeld with Mom & Pop.  It was the Yada episode.  And wife and I are cracking up.  And she's asking us why it's funny.  And I said, "Well, Barnes and his friends were digging around in our sideyard for some reason.  And yadayadayada, stay away from him and small animals."  Wife was not amused./csb

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Princess of somesuch bullshit in the UK was on the beach with Krueger.  And there was a beached whale.  And then Prince Charles got cancer but a Juilliard trained dermatologist couldn't diagnose it correctly.  And George lost a lot of hair, but not Prince George, but Costanza George.  And then some illicit photos were taken of everyone.  And then Kate, yadayadayada, she never mentioned the bisque.  Because British royalty don't discuss shellfish.  Are you new here or something?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Explain

Princess Kate Middleton hasn't been seen in public for a while, and her royal PR team tried to send out a picture of her photoshopped with her kids to say she's doing great. People caught on quickly that it was her exact pose from a magazine cover, and an obviously faked image, so there's this whole story about "What's wrong with her?" "Why is she hiding from public?" etc.  

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...