The Caddy

THE CENTRAL PREMISE OF EVERY "SEINFELD" EPISODE: Four sinners--Jerry, George, Elaine, Kramer--are trapped in a hell that resembles New York City, condemned to repeat for eternity the punchline from Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit": "Hell is--other people." They are not evil people, which is why their hell is a metropolis teeming with amenities to sustain them and luxuries to tempt them. They are merely vain, shallow, petty, selfish, jaded, blasé urbanites who trivialize anything of substance into throwaway punchlines that treat serious subjects as jokes at someone else's expense. Thus, in a city of eight million people, their every desire is quashed by persons destined to thwart them and who conveniently arrive on cue to do so. "Seinfeld" is not a show about nothing. It is a show about nihilism. There is a difference.

SO WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH "THE CADDY"? With a long drive straight down the fairway, "The Caddy," gets the "Seinfeld" crew onto the green, where they just need to go for the cup. Make that two cups, at least a size C for catalyst if not a D for distraction, as scripters Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin craft an intricate setup that fits like a form-fitting brassiere, enabling the second half of this outrageously audacious tale to deliver its comeuppances to anyone who acted like, well, a boob during this enormously entertaining episode, which is just about everyone.

Elaine runs into Sue Ellen Mischke (Brenda Strong), her frenemy from back in Maryland who just happens to be an heiress to the Oh Henry candy-bar fortune, strutting down the street wearing no bra under her top. On tall, statuesque Sue Ellen, that is indeed noticeable. So, for Sue Ellen's birthday Elaine buys her a bra, which Sue Ellen wears like a top under her open blazer. In public. Hold that thought, because George, having had his keys locked in his car at work at Yankee Stadium for a few days, now has his boss Mr. Wilhelm (Richard Herd) and their uber-boss George Steinbrenner believing that he's been working so hard that he deserves a promotion. Naturally, George decides to go out of town for a few days with Susan (Heidi Swedberg); as he tells Jerry, being in the office can only hurt his chances for promotion.

Where does "The Caddy" fit into the setup? Stan (Armin Shimerman) is the titular golfing assistant advising Kramer on his golf game, which is good enough to have him turn pro on the senior circuit. When George realizes that advertising flyers might be piling up on his car's windshield, thus indicating his absence, he implores Jerry to check and repair as needed. Jerry takes Kramer with him. They discover the car covered in flyers and bird droppings. While returning to Yankee Stadium in George's now-spiffy car, they spot Sue Ellen strutting down the street with just her bra on underneath her blazer. Understandably distracted, they crash, with Kramer injuring his arm, thus jeopardizing his budding pro-golf career. Upon learning that Sue Ellen is an heiress, Stan the caddy advises Kramer to "go for the green": sue Sue Ellen.

There's your setup, with the payoff pulling in ambulance-chasing attorney Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris), the Johnnie Cochran knockoff who enacts the climactic spoof lifted from the O. J. Simpson murder trial, albeit based on bum advice from one of the boobs who get burned in the riotous "The Caddy," whose various ingredients blend into a delicious treat fit to be eaten with a knife and fork as just about everyone gets their just desserts(sic). Of course the whole thing rests on unbelievable coincidences. What else is new? This is "Seinfeld," not real life. What matters is that Kavet and Robin, abetted by Andy Ackerman's slick direction, execute their narrative hand-waving so seamlessly in "The Caddy" that they get the ball onto the green and into the cup. Or two.

POINT TO PONDER: Confirmation bias is the tendency to accept only facts and opinions you agree with. It is extremely difficult to avoid. Are reviews "helpful" only if they validate your confirmation bias? Are they "not helpful" if they contradict it? Thus, a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down seems only to indicate agreement or disagreement with respect to confirmation bias and not whether a review is or isn't "helpful."

George begins to get accolades from the Yankees for putting in long hours. Actually he has locked his keys in his car and hasn't been driving. But the bosses are impressed that he never leaves. As a matter of fact he is about to get a promotion. So George, who always looks a gift horse in the mouth, runs off with his girlfriend, but circumstances force Jerry and Kramer to go get his car, which they crash. Meanwhile, a woman Elaine hates meets her on the street and invites her to a birthday party. This leads to a new trend in lingerie and its wearability. It also leads to the assumption that George is dead. Great scene when George Steinbrenner breaks the news to the Costanzas.

God Brenda is beautiful here! Never though she lookes so good at young age. Good episode as allways.

Was later one of my fav actors so was suprized to see her here. Did an amazing job as usually.

I like the bit where they see the girl in the bra and crash the car

Another highlight from Season 7, this episodes shines with enjoyment. It's got to be one of the most entertaining and fast-paced episodes of the season. There's so much going on and everything is on the same level of quality.

We got two main stories. On one hand, we got George's storyline which is incredibly dense compared to previous episodes. Because he locked the car with the keys in it, Mr. Wilhem thinks that he's putting in extra hours. That's a killer idea right there. Also, I love that George decides to take a few days off to the cabin with Susan. It's like a momentary lapse of time in which he's happy with the relationship. The other story is Elaine and her "Lex Luthor", Sue Ellen Mishky. This character is so insane and yet so plausible that it lends itself for numerous gags. Jerry and Kramer tie this story with George's by crashing George's car at the sight of Sue Ellen using a bra as a top. So then they decide to sue her and we get a more that welcome reappearance from the great Jackie Chiles.

The episode flows smoothly from one storyline to the other, it has a perfect pace, a good chunk of excellent supporting characters and a little, yet important advance in the season's arc.