juanmaffeo

To be honest I've never really watched this show as a kid, probably because it was a little old by the time I was growing up. I have glympses of memories watching it, but it was definitely not a regular watch for me.

So, with the goal of catching up with an integral part of the Nickelodeon boom and the cartoon renaissance of the early 90s, I gave the pilot a chance and it certainly didn't dissapoint.

Right from the get go, the first image you see is a POV of Tommy waking up to the sight of his parents. Immediately the show carves its own path with a visual identity that distorts the perspective and has no real interest in depicting places in a realistic way. And that applies to the show in general, it's not about grand stories or exciting action, it's about moments and characters. I mean, this episodes is essencially about the parents trying to have a decent birthday party, oblivious to the babies adventure: trying to eat dog food so they can become dogs.

The genius lies in its simplicity. And the show is executed well above the standard for kids shows. The adults are neither paragons of morality nor stupid assholes, they are flawed human beings. Totally relatable characters. And the babies are just overflowing with imagination and a carefree attituted. Between these two realities you get a terribly dinamic and entertaining show.

Plus the music is made by the leader of Devo. What else can you ask for?

There's something about this episode that kept me coming for more and I finally found what it is: realism. I noticed that specifically in the first seasons Seinfeld was really concerned about the realistic quality of the situations the gang experienced, hence, you can always find a Seinfeld referenced to quote in any given real situation. But, as I said, that is more notorious in the first 5 seasons (almost unseen in the last 2) and The Truth is a perfect example of this 'realistic quality'.

Apart from being a ridiculously entertaining episode, The Truth manages to tackle several situations that help build a realistic world within Seinfeld and to further explore their characters. George is dating a pretentious 'artist', Jerry is being audited and Kramer and Elaine are having trouble since he started dating Elaine's roommate. Every single storyline has this realistic quality and gives a sense of depth to each character to the point that you actually believe these people are experiencing this things.

To begin with, there is something about watching Jerry deal with tax problems that makes him extremely human and relatable. I couldn't see this kind of plot line in the latter seasons no matter what. His comments about the sticky situation all ring true and are actually funny and poignant. George problem with the papier-maché artist is just hilarious. We all know these kind of people and every thing George says about it is just on point. And my favorite of the bunch is Kramer and Elaine's story. I don't know what is it, but seeing Elaine deal with a very common issue like your roommate's boyfriend or antics is so refreshing and Julia's performance sells it perfectly. Also I kind of love the fact that Kramer cooks tomato sauce and makes a mess out of it and who couldn't love the picture of Kramer and Tina dancing to tribal music. Bizzardly lovely.

Overall, a perfectly rounded episode with relatable and funny situations and great performances.

The Deal is the perfect example of how the first two Seinfeld seasons operated: you got the clever stories, the clever dialogue, the sexual themes, the relatable situations and you also had the inconsistent tone and slow pace. The Deal is kind of a mixed bag (specially taking into consideration the heights the show would reach).

Larry David and Tom Cherones manage to break more new ground in the first five minutes than most shows do in their entire run. They simultaneously changed what was appropriate for TV (at least to that date) and made as perfect as a set up could be. Along with The Chinese Restaurant, in season 2 Seinfeld took two giant steps that changed their status from wannabe show to innovating series. Seriously, the opening conversation between Jerry and Elaine was so beyond its time that it was almost to much for them to handle and you see that in the progression of the episode. After that opening scene we get maybe an even better conversation between Jerry and George that paved the way to many of these characters' conversations.

But of course, just like the majority of season 2 (except for The Chinese Restaurant) the uneven choices in tone get in the way. Suddenly the plot changes from irreverent relationship commentary to soup opera melodrama and it just doesn't click. It is most shocking having seen the whole series and one very concerned in avoiding these situations ("no hugging, no learning"). That phrase right there is betrayed several times, at times even in a literal way (2 hugs and a closing lesson).

So yeah, overall The Deal is an episode that broke new ground but one Seinfeld wasn't quite sure what direction to take to.