The Smelly Car

Hmmmmm. From the posts thus far, it doesn't look like I'll be in the majority on this one, but... after a couple of really good episodes (IMHO) - the Implants and The Junior Mints - I thought this one was quite a bit of a letdown. The two Seinfeldians I watched it with agreed - we just didn't think it was all that funny. I thought the whole BO storyline got dragged out a little too long, and it also started to get pretty ridiculous; I think a lot of the show's humor comes from the fact that they're always pretty-close-to-real-life situations that any of us might fall into. Granted, BO is certainly a problem, but after shampooing? And 12 hours of airing out? And a $250 cleaning job? "The Beast" just got carried away, I think. I must say, though, that I thought the George/Kramer lesbian storyline was hilarious - the scenes in the video store when George is trying to talk about "it" were really good. Not to mention the exchange which is sure to become an instant classic:

Elaine: Now let me get this straight. She's *never* been with a woman before in her life...

Kramer: I'm Kramer.

In spite of my reservations, though, at the very least an enjoyable half-hour.

Mike Jaeger Yale '93

I'd agree with another poster's reservations about the episode. In fact, I thought one of the worst lines in the show was the "I'm Kramer" line. Kramer's not supposed to be a charicature of himself. I thought it would have been much more effective if he'd just made one of his "suave guy" faces and said his usual "well, you know..."

I did like the last scene where Jerry parked his car and made a big show of tossing his keys in the window for the guy on the stoop.

David Basiji UW Bioengineering

I agree. Although I think all of the characters are hilarious, I especially look forward to watching Kramer. Not because he is 'playing up to his image', but because of the way he is...umm...well, Kramer. It just struck me as a line drummed up by the writers to 'feed off of his popularity'(Although he is quite a unique individual, part of his attraction is that he is not aware of it). I also thought the canned laughter on his entrance was a bit out of proportion.

Maybe I'm being a little nitpicky - so flame me!

[email] (tim.yost) writes:

[circumstantial evidence deleted]

You explain it....not them. And I still want to know why: a) something that odiferous didn't cause them to nearly fall over dead at the restaurant; b) how that food managed to go so bad in the 2-3 minutes between the time they left the restaurant and got into the car.

That's the whole POINT of detailing...they cover the ENTIRE car! Otherwise it would just be a car wash. Where did Elaine stash this stuff, under the engine?

And, most importantly....

WHERE ARE THE MAGGOTS??!??

--Aaron

In article [email] (tim.yost) writes:

... stuff deleted

Sounds perfect to me! Except that it might be slightly more 'Seinfeld-esque' to have just simply ended the show with Jerry finding out that Elaine had in fact left her food in the car. I seem to remember a couple of episodes ending with Elaine really screwing Jerry.

My only concern is that the odor overcame Elaine and Jerry while they were on their way home from dinner. This is not really enough time for the food to rot. Any other thoughts?

of course with elaine/jerry, all of this could have happened a couple of weeks before, but then wouldn't they have noticed the smell on the way to the restaurant!? no no... it had to be the valet, although the stinking up of car passengers is a bit overdone.

	This could not be the case because the smell started as soon
	as the left the parking lot.  Unless the chicken started
	to smell as soon as they put it in the doggie-bag.

Shaw

In [email] (tim.yost) writes:

Two very good points quoted above:

(1) That the "I'm Kramer" line was out of character. By having Kramer deliver that line, the character sort of admits that he is on a TV show. Some comedy makes that self-reference into good fun, but here it was unprecedented, and not funny.

(2) The very clever theory about the cause of the BO. While it has its weaknesses, pointed out by the author and some subsequent posts, it is far more plausible than the monster BO that was ostensibly the cause. Great idea Tim! I pride myself on guessing such things, and this one went right over my head. I'll bet that the discovery will be made via flashbacks in a show soon to follow.

I also liked the suggestion that the "Not that there's anything wrong with it" line should have appeared in the context of the lesbian jokes. Bloody discrimination that's what it is!

Bye for now. Dan

Big killer on this is.... the chicken would not have smelled BAD initially. When Jerry and Elaine left the restaurant the smell was so bad they had to stick their noses out the window.

Sorry, I don't buy it as the initial smell................

However, the continuing smell could have been caused by the left in the car doggie bag.....

My guess is Joey Davola's back!!!!

COz

Ahhh, so maybe there was a "second-stinker"

Brett

I turned to my wife while we were watching and said - it's rotten food - (I've done it!). I didn't make the doggie bag connection - your theory's good IMHO...

                    [ ... ]

I agree completely. The show was so-so, with the lesbian storyline being the highlight. Even though you could see it coming a mile away, it was still hilarious when George's two former girlfriends met in the diner. The look on George's face captures the character ... vintage Cantstandya.

Sounds like Jerry has been listening to his good buddy Howard Stern's show a little too much. Stern has a knack for trying to convert lesbian listeners into straight women...Most of the time he doesn't succeed but it makes for funny radio("Lesbian Dating Game" segment is very popular among mostly male audience in the cities where Stern's show is heard). My point is the lesbinian theme wasn't very original but was very funny..

-Mark

No he doesn't; he just tries to get them to try HIM. :)

I half expected George to say to Susan 'Not that there's anything wrong with that', after seeing her holding hands with Mona. But no such luck!

Laurie Marshall

I guess Susan is just following in her father's footsteps! Could be the trauma of the John Cheever letters that drove her to Mona.

[email] (LaTex software) writes:

Oh, I know -- that would have been PERFECT! I couldn't believe they didn't do it.

deb

I can't believe that no one has brought this up yet:

The stink is from Elaine's chicken (doggy bag)! She was holding it as they were waiting for the parking attendant, and even mentioned it.

Of course, you'd expect the car detailers/cleaners to spot or smell it.

Eric "I thought it was obvious" Jorgensen

[email] (Eric R Jorgensen) writes:

a) If it had been the chicken, the smell wouldn't have shown up for several days. Instead they noticed it almost immediately.

b) If it had been the chicken, they wouldn't have been able to eat it in the restaurant, much less take it home.

c) Doggy bags are MADE to hold in everything, including the smell. If it was left in the sealed bag, it could take weeks or MONTHS until the smell came out. Most likely they'd wonder where those hundreds of maggots are coming from before they noticed the smell.

Exactly.

--Aaron

I agree - the show was pretty weak. It's true that the show often does best at poking fun at real-life situations, but then again my favorite episode was probably "The Limo". Although "The Limo" had a lot of absolute absurdness to it, it seemed really inventive and creative -- and for some reason didn't wear its premise too thin. The absurdity of that story seemed to develop more and more. On the other hand, this Smelly Car episode didn't develop at all. The car was smelly and it made Seinfeld and friends smelly, and the next 30 minutes seemed to beat us over the head with the same gag over and over again. It seemed to try too hard to be funny, without having much to go on. Unlike "The Limo", "The Smelly Car" became too predictable and contrived: that the smell would stay with them, that Kramer would hook up with the lesbian girlfriend of George's ex -- and that Jerry's jacket would eventually turn her off, that both of George's exes would find each other attractive at the end, etc.

I also have to agree that the lesbian/video store scene was the funniest and somewhat redeeming. But I still think this was one of the weakest shows. Everyone has their off days.

greg

H A C K

	I agree. There is so much more they could of done along the BO theme
	when you have characters like George and Kramer. It could of been a
	disaster without the Lesbian thread.

	However, I remember an Urban Legend about a Corvette you could buy for
	$100 because a person was killed inside; left to rot in the hot
	dessert sun... by the time he was found, the car stank so much no one
	could stand to be inside.

So maybe the Valet bought the car?

I would agree that perhaps Seinfelder's are getting overcritical. To be a Seinfelder IS DEFINITELY NOT WRONG, because I'm a Seinfelder-wanna-be. But if you are critical to the point of not enjoying the show, then why watch???

Even though Kramer`s line was arguably out of character, I still thought it was a riot. Seinfeld is about the absurd things that happen in life. Life is not normal - mine isn't at least.

"It's detroying the lives of everyone in its path!"

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		HAGAR   (e-mail    [email])

	       "TV is chewing gum for the eyes."
                -- Frank Lloyd Wright