The Nose Job

Is there any other sitcom where the entire plot of an episode originates from a casual conversation or, as was often the case with Seinfeld, a tactless remark? Not really, and that's probably because other sitcom writers know better than trying to ape the show's successful gimmicks.

The Nose Job is practically all about George dating a woman with a huge nose, which prompts the excessively earnest Kramer that a little surgery wouldn't be bad for her. While the nose subplot advances, Kramer and Elaine also come up with a scheme to get their hands on a jacket he desperately wants, and Jerry is tormented by his sexual attraction for a vacuous actress he doesn't really like that much as a person.

For sheer irreverence alone, this episode is a Season Three classic, the scene where Kramer makes the nose comment standing out as a prime example of how daring Seinfeld could be (and still is, as a matter of fact). Jokes about body parts. Even the most inappropriate ones, always fare well (a lesson Larry David carried on to Curb Your Enthusiasm), and the way Michael Richards and Jason Alexander act around that event still has to be equaled (is it any wonder Richards won an Emmy for his contributions in this season?).

Plus, The Nose Job contains the most audacious and entertaining dream sequence ever: Jerry's brain and penis playing chess to decide whether the comedian should dump his uninteresting girlfriend or not. Not even Woody Allen in his early, funny years was brave enough to write a scene like that.

Horrible writing. "Is it your contention that Shakespeare was an imposter?" Well the whole book was about how Shakespeare is an Imposter, and after reading the entire book the landlord didn't know?! It's like the Seinfeld writer wasn't even paying attention to what he was writing. And the scene that Jerry and Tawny K. are reading is gibberish, it doesn't even read like a real fake play. The entire episode feels like bad sitcom writing, and is full of camera tricks that are decidedly non-Seinfeld. And it has an 8/10 rating on IMDb? They must be friends of the landlord.

As a big fan who has watched the series many times, I can categorically state that the chess match between brain-Seinfeld and penis-Seinfeld has to be the absolute worst scene in all of Seinfeld. What were they thinking? Jerry can't act! Don't give him stuff to do by himself! Especially stuff that's not funny in the first place! The scene belongs in some third rate sitcom in the 70s! What is it doing in the best comedy series of all time? Other parts of the episode too suffer from some cheesy direction and dialogue. For example, the intercuts to the elevator don't work, and certain dialogues run a tad too long ("Shut up George" should have ended it; why the "Shut up?" "Yes" "Interesting" that follows?). Seems to me some cast member or someone wrote this one. It's just not right.

That said the main story with the nose job is a little funny. Still, an easy contender for one of the worst Seinfeld episodes.

I like the bit where Kramer tells her to get a nose job

Nowhere near the quality of the previous episodes, "The Nose Job" is more of a return to Season 2 of "Seinfeld" and focuses more around the hapless romances of George and Jerry.

George dates a woman he really likes, whose only repellent feature is her large nose, and he attempts to convince her in the most gentle of ways to get a nose job. Jerry dates a woman he met on a elevator; a woman he loathes but a woman who provokes irresistible sexual desires.

I found the George story-line entertaining, largely due to the brilliance of Jason Alexander. He has a special, rare comedic gift to make almost any line brilliant. When he feels guilty over his superficiality towards his girlfriend, he says "Oh man, I'm going straight to hell!". This line shouldn't be that funny, especially seeing as how its been said before, but Jason Alexander makes it humorous.

I wasn't as crazy about Jerry's story-line, the chess scene between penis-Jerry and brain-Jerry wasn't very amusing to me. I also enjoyed the small subplot of Kramer and Elaine, attempting to retrieve Kramer's favourite jumper.

A good episode, disposable entertainment but not an episode worthy of long term memory.