Fans discuss "The Limo" episode, praising it as an undiscovered gem and debating whether George Costanza is Jewish based on religious references and stereotypical character elements.
Hi...I'm back...
I just saw an episode in syndication I had never seen before...George and Jerry were caught in a limo with a coupla Nazis. When did this originally air?
I was laughing so hard there were tears! An undiscovered gem...lets get some feedback on trhis episode...what do y'all think???
"The Limo" aired on 2-26-92
No way is George Jewish...as I've said before, the writers would be clear about his religion if they wanted us to "know" what religion he was. However, after following this thread for a while, I've come up with this theory: the Jews posting to this newsgroup don't think he's Jewish, while the Gentiles are mixed about it. That is to say, if you're Jewish, no way do you think George is Jewish!
What say you?
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David, I agree with your assessment of George's stereotypical parents, all the way down to the Mah Jong playing. But do you think the writers would have a Jewish man using the expression "Mother of God"? Or giving Christmas gifts to his parents? I think not, not if they wanted us to be certain and clear that he was Jewish. I think they're toying with us by having many stereotypical Jewish elements, and others that are not typically Jewish. What do you think?
The Greeek Orthodox theory still rings truest with me.
[email] (David A Shulman) wrote:
George is based on Larry David, but you don't know if Larry David is Jewish. Therefore, everything on which George is based is Jewish.
Jesus Christ, I hope you're not studying law.
Have they (the characters) ever said straight out that Jerry (the character) is Jewish? It's been implied several times, the stongest just last night (2/15) when Uncle Leo was concerned about anti-Semitism.
What seems odd to me is in the O'Brian episode when Kramer falsely concludes that Jerry is a Nazi Elaine does not say "Are you nuts? Jerry's Jewish. How could he be a Nazi?" My guess is that they (the producers) are purposely downplaying that aspect of the character so as to avoid an endless stream of Jewish jokes. (Ever see Jackie Mason? It gets old real fast.)
The last two weeks have been a bit disappointing. The last original 'Seinfeld' "gutbuster" was the episode with the bra. However, usually when there are some weaker weeks, they come back and surprise you with a brilliant one! J. Carlson
"Edward C. Bennett" wrote:
I guess that this comes down to one basic issue -- if Jerry doesn't practice, is he still a Jew in the strict sense? For a more practical answer, Uncle Leo is Jerry's mother's brother which would make her Jewish. By Judaic tradition (law?) the religion of the children is determined by the religion of the mother. That would technically make Jerry Jewish.
Hanson
On the PC episode, after the Chinese mailman got mad that Jerry asked him where the Chinese restaurant was, Jerry said "I don't fly off the handle when someone asks me where Israel is!"
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As a goy who never saw a Jew until he was 25 & then married one and lived nearly exclusively with Jewish Americans for 15 yers, I say: Amen!