The Truth

In the Seinfeld universe, who do you blame when something goes terribly wrong? That's right: George. As noble as his intentions may seem to be, rest assured he will inevitably screw everything up. This episode is no exception.

The something that goes terribly wrong? That would be Jerry getting inspected by the IRS. George's mistake? He tells the truth to his girlfriend about how he feels, and his confession leads to her being locked up in an asylum. Too bad, especially since she never got around to helping Jerry with the tax papers. On a brighter (?) side, Kramer accidentally sees Elaine naked.

In fact, the latter incident turns out to be the best scene in the whole episode (big surprise - it's Kramer!), as the adorable goof-ball recounts the chain of events to Jerry and justifies his mistake ("I thought it was a closet!" he says referring to Elaine's room). Also memorable: Elaine complaining about the way Kramer cooks pasta and uses her couch for intimate moments with his girlfriend ("Yeah, she likes the couch!").

Finally, with hindsight, The Truth contains a superb hint of one of the best plot lines of Season Four: as George and Jerry discuss the tax problem, the former mentions that the worst thing he had ever done to a woman was that he drove her to lesbianism, not to a madhouse. Judging from later shows, he never learned from his mistake, but then again, if he did, he wouldn't be the character we all cherish for his selfish idiocy, would he?

I like the bit a bad breakup leads to tax troubles

"The Truth" was written by Elaine Pope and directed by David Steinberg both of whom would only feature in a few additional writing/directing credits for the show. It's an interesting point, I think, to make given that "The Truth" is really the first episode in the series that was entirely helmed by crew members who would not maintain a particularly long lasting career with the series and therefore might not be as attuned to the sensibilities of the show. And yet, "The Truth" is very entertaining and funny and another good indicator of the third season of 'Seinfeld' as the point where the show really picked up. There's plenty to credit about Elaine Pope's fine script but it's also worth crediting the third season premiere as the point where the show really gained its voice and this episode rides that momentum high very nicely.

As with "The Note", the world of 'Seinfeld' is suddenly brimming with energy and characterization, dialogue and pacing are very well established here. All the storylines work very well, though none work anywhere near as well as that of George breaking up with a woman and calling her pretentious when she asked him for the truth about his reasons to break-up with her. It's just another absolutely classic George Costanza predicament and Jason Alexander once again knocks it out of the park. The scene in which he unleashes all his criticism of the girl he's dating is one of the show's funniest moments thus far courtesy of both Elaine Pope who realizes where 'Seinfeld' truly excels at and Jason Alexander for his impeccable delivery. He really has come to embody the character with these early season three episodes and it's no wonder that few characters in all of sitcom are arguably as beloved as he.

The other storylines are all very good supporting material. There's Jerry, who has unwisely put his faith in George dating the woman who happens to be an accountant after his recent tax gets audited. There's Elaine who is becoming fed up with Kramer and her roommate's sexual activities in her apartment. And lastly, there's a really minor side-plot of Kramer who finds a windshield on the side of the road and decides to make a coffee table out of it for his new girlfriend!

The central attraction of this episode is undeniably George and writer Elaine Pope wisely understands this and builds up an episode that adequately supports that storyline. Jerry's tax issue is seamlessly blended into the narrative and there's plenty of humour watching the scenario unfold after George breaks up with the girl. Kramer gets some outlandish material and as a result, we are treated to some wonderful Michael Richards physicality. Even Elaine finally is starting to get some material of her own, however small it may be so far, it works very well.

I simply found "The Truth" to be very entertaining. It helps that 'Seinfeld' is certainly on the rise as early into the third season as it is and as a result, this episode is brimming with life and energy. The show no longer feels like the stagnant cringe-fest of the first two seasons and now feels like a show on the rise towards legendary status. The dialogue is strong, the characters are developing into their now renowned personalities and the chemistry between the stars is really forming. Even more impressive is the fact that this episode was written and directed by two people who made their debut for the series here and ended up doing very little for the series as a whole, at least as far as episodes are concerned. And yet, they formed a stellar team and perfectly understood what 'Seinfeld' does best.

Valerie Mahaffey is one of my favorite actresses playing eccentric (but beautiful) characters. She is a former accountant and George brings Jerry's documents so she can assist him in an IRS audit. Instead, George insults her and everything goes haywire. The scene in the depression clinic is to die for. Elaine is staying with Kramer and there is notable tension. Excellent.

Single Favorite Line: (George's girlfriend, Patrice, quoting Thomas Carlyle in the highest toned, high-flown manner imaginable) "Who so only belongs to his age, references only it's popinjays and mumbo jumbos"

Notable Guest Stars: Valerie Mahaffey (as Patrice), Siobhan Fallon (as Kramer's girlfriend / Elaine's roommate, Tina)

Memorable Exchange: (Elaine pops into Jerry's apartment excited...) E: "Kramer!" - K: "Wha-" - E: "-Do me a favor will ya' --if you insist on making pasta in my apartment, please don't put the pasta sauce on the pasta while it's in the strainer --all the little squares have hardened red sauce in them!..." (Jerry looks up, bemused) - E: "What's so funny?" - J: "It's funny" - E: "Huh? huh -it's a riot Alice!" - K (very confused): "When do YOU put the sauce on?" - E: "ANY OTHER TIME!" - K (thinking for a beat): "No, no -I like to strain the sauce" - E:..."And I could really live without the tribal music and make-out sessions in the living room.." - K: "Yeah..Tina LIKES the couch!"

Key Topics: *Pretension * IRS audits *Nakedness *Coffee Tables *Insanity *African Jungle Love

Part I Didn't Like: The falling on the homemade glass coffee table was a tad too predictable.

Very Nice Touch: Everything about Valerie Mahaffey's performance was spot-on beautiful.

7 of 10 --a keeper, showing the best traits of the program