The Pen

Jerry and Elaine go to Florida to visit his parents who live in a retirement community. They are dropped in the middle of some hilarious dynamics. First of all, it is horribly hot and the old folks won't use the air conditioner. Then there is a brouhaha over an astronaut pen that can write upside down. Finally, Elaine sleeps on a hide-a-bed and that awful bar gives her a horrible back problem. It is a week from hell. And so wonderful. We also get to meet a couple characters who will appear again.

The bit of Elaine being introduced to Jerry's aunt "Stella!" is hilarious.

Elaine and Jerry trip down to Florida to scuba-dive and attend a dinner in Morty's honor as the outgoing president of the condo association.

Elaine injures her back trying to fall asleep on the pull-out sofa bed, pops one of Morty's muscle relaxant drugs, and as a result, goes completely loopy and does a mean Marlon Brando impression when Introduced to aunt Stella.

Elaine could be as neurotic as George, as funny as Jerry, and as physical as Kramer. Julia is a damn good actress. I remember laughing so damn hard when I first watched this. Still funny each time I watch it again.

I like the bit where Elaine was going STELLA STELLA

Single Favorite Line: (Elaine, in misery on the convertible sofa, after a 360o horizontal flip of extreme discomfort): "I'm sweetin' here...I'm in bed! SWEETING!"

Notable Guest Stars: Barney Martin (as Monty, the Indian-Pen-Giver), Liz Sheridan (as Helen Seinfeld), Sandy Baron (as Jack Seinfeld), Ann Guilbert (as Del Boca Vista neighbor, Evelyn), and Len Lesser (as uncle Leo)

Memorable Exchange: (at Kitchen Table, Pa Seinfeld gives directions to son for the Scuba Diving launch) Jack: "Stay on the 95 South, to Biscaine Blvd., then you make a left turn -put your blinker on immediately, there's an a-buuut-meant there. Then your going to merge over carefully, but stay on Biscaine --DON'T GET OFF BISCAINE" - Jerry: (nodding head)"Stay. On. Biscaine" - Helen: "Your going underwater?!" - Jerry: "Yes, generally, that is where scuba diving is done." - Helen: "What do you want to go under water for!--What's down there that's so special?" - Jerry: "Whats so special up here?"

Key Topics: *Florida Retirement Communities * Parents * Generosity (false) *Guilty Acquiescence *Heat

Part I Didn't Like: hard to find fault with this super-tight episode, but - What? No phone call to Kramer or George -- what were they up to ?

Extra Nice Touch: The challenge to make a very satisfying episode, sans Jason Alexander or Michael Richards, is met admirably, thanks to the wonderful volleys of dialogue, to do mostly with the petty politics of Condo Culture Retirees!

7 of 10 --nice, interesting change of tone and place

I think this is a very good episode and just like with the two previous episodes of this season, "The Pen" worked surprisingly better for me a second time around. That said, this might be my least favourite of the three episodes so far purely for the fact that it is missing another additional zany element to this episode that would have made it even more dynamic. 'Seinfeld' has already experienced itself without Kramer in the acclaimed "The Chinese Restaurant" and while George somewhat tempered what otherwise could have been a particularly detrimental element to that episode, he too is unfortunately missing in this episode. "The Pen" features neither Kramer, nor George, arguably the two most memorable and dynamic characters whose sheer presence pretty much elevates any episode.

Thankfully, we have the Florida characters coming in to cover some necessary ground. Jerry's parents are absolutely a delight, Jack Klompus who is introduced here and Uncle Leo too makes a return. Each of these characters adds a particularly valuable dynamic to the episode that makes it an often hilarious ride but George and Kramer are such unique and irreplaceable entities to 'Seinfeld' that no compensation feels like enough compensation. It's just a pity given how good Larry David's screenplay here is that the Kramer and/or George element could not be integrated.

All that aside, this is an extremely funny episode. It largely centres on a pen, as the title would have you believe, and the episode pulls it off spectacularly. More and more, 'Seinfeld' is becoming "a show about nothing" even if creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld did not necessarily intend for the show to earn itself that label. It is just abundantly clear watching the first three episodes of this season, and "The Pen" confirms this belief even further, that 'Seinfeld' is finally finding its stride. The way in which Klompus' astronaut pen weaves in and out of the episode's narrative is particularly funny, as is Elaine's dilemma in this episode after she injures her back sleeping on the Seinfelds' sofa bed. Nothing feels particularly expendable within this twenty two minute episode and almost everything has that 'punch' factor. A notable example of this would be the episode beginning with Morty Seinfeld complaining about the missing scotch tape and even how effortlessly and naturally that pays off, almost not calling attention to itself. This is classic 'Seinfeld', even if it is 'Seinfeld' without neither George nor Kramer.

I adore "The Pen". Where the episode may not have quite the same pacing or energy of the previous episodes for my money, the writing is particularly strong and it needed to be strong if the episode were to work without both Kramer and George. Jason Alexander, as is particularly known now, was especially infuriated to have been left out of this episode that he threatened to quit if his character were ever written out of another episode. George Costanza was based on Larry David and Jason Alexander seemingly channelled his inner Larry David. It has now come full circle.