Seinfeld: The Stranded | Episode 27 Recap Podcast

Rob Cesternino and Akiva Wienerkur didn’t have to wait until two in the morning for Kramer to get together and recap “The Stranded”, the latest episode in their journey through the Seinfeld series.  “The Stranded” was the 10th episode of the third season, first airing November 27, 1991.  This episode was originally shot in season two, but Larry David wasn’t happy with it and decided to shelve it until the next season.  Rob and Akiva agreed with Larry’s take, assuring right off the bat that it will be ranked in the bottom ten of Akiva’s list.

Akiva had a bit of news to share before they started in on the recap.  Jerry is in the new Chris Rock movie Top Five.  Rob heard Jerry on Alec Baldwin’s podcast this week, where Jerry shared a story about how comedian Jackie Mason told Jerry he was going to be a huge star very early on in his career.

The opening standup had Jerry doing a bit about the pharmacy.  Rob and Akiva enjoyed the joke about the cold medicine options and how the human body picture on the wall uses lightening bolts and red squiggly lines to describe pain.

As the episode opens, Jerry and George are at the pharmacy, where George is picking up something to help him get rid of fleas.  Rob found it strange that they don’t bring this up in the episode again after the opening scene.  While there, George invites Jerry to come with him to a work party out in Long Island.  Jerry doesn’t want to go, but George talks him into it by telling him they’ll be women at the party.

When George goes to pay for the flea medicine, the clerk gives him back change for a ten dollar bill, but George is sure that he paid with a twenty.  He first politely points it out, but when the clerk rebuffs him, he gets aggravated enough that the security guard has to escort him out.  He assures the clerk as he’s drug out that he will be back for his money.

The next scene has Jerry, George and Elaine out at the party on Long Island.  Rob and Akiva wondered how they talked Elaine into going.  Jerry and Elaine recognize this party will be boring, so they come up with a signal that will alert the other to get them out of an excruciating conversation, which is patting themselves on the head.  Jerry quickly gets into a conversation he wants out of, and immediately goes to the signal.  Elaine is simultaneously having a terrible conversation, patting her head as well.  Jerry notices and comes over to save her.

Still at the party, George and Jerry are talking, George mentioning that he’s hitting it off with Ava, a woman from his office.  The scene cuts to Elaine sitting next to a pretentious woman going on and on about her fiancé, wondering where her baby is.  Elaine says the famous line, “maybe the dingo ate your baby”.  George meanwhile asks Jerry if he can take Ava home in his car, since she told him she wants him to make love to her.  Jerry agrees, based on a 90s version of bro code.  When Jerry asks George what his response was to “I want you to make love to me” was, George responds, “I long for you”, which he was embarrassed about.

As George and Ava are ready to leave, Jerry informs Elaine that they’ll have to find another ride, citing the code.  As George is walking Ava out, Elaine notices she has on a real fur coat, which spurs an argument between the two ladies.  Akiva and Rob discuss their opinions on wearing fur and being vegetarian.  Both agreed that they aren’t overly sensitive to the topic, but would rather not face the wrath of those who are.  Jerry calls Kramer to come pick them up, but hours later, Jerry and Elaine are the only ones left at this house waiting for Kramer, while the party hosts uncomfortably wait along with them.  Steve, the man throwing the party, is the now famous actor Michael Chiklis.  Rob and Akiva mentioned how much of a scumbag the character he plays is.

Kramer finally finds the house, but informs Jerry and Elaine that the top on his convertible is broken, so they’ll have to drive down the expressway with the top down in 40 degree weather.  Back at Jerry’s apartment, he’s on the phone with George, planning to go to the pharmacy, since he caught a cold from riding in Kramer’s car.  As he goes to leave, Steve from the party shows up, since Jerry had insincerely offered him a place to stay in the city to make up for getting stranded at his house until all hours.  When Jerry tells him he is about to leave, Steve thinks Jerry is just trying to blow him off.  Jerry welcomes him to stay while Jerry’s out.

Back at the pharmacy, George is complaining about how uncomfortable he is now at work since he’s dating Ava.  He feels like his only option at this point is to quit.  Back at Jerry’s apartment, Kramer comes in while Steve is hanging out watching television.  Steve asks Kramer if there is any booze in the place, to which Kramer says he’ll bring some over from his apartment.  Back in the pharmacy, George figures out how to make up for being short changed their last visit by stealing Jerry’s cold medicine.  He immediately gets caught by the security guard though.  Back at Jerry’s apartment, Kramer and Steve are drinking.  Steve mentions that they should call up an escort service, and Kramer recites a number to call, though he’s not interested.

When Jerry gets back to his apartment, Steve is with his escort Patti.  His ride back to Long Island has shown up, and he quickly leaves, not paying off his escort.  Jerry is left to pay Patti, and as he does, the police come in and arrest him for soliciting prostitution.  Elaine walks in on all this as it’s happening, and asks Patti if her fur coat is real.  The cops and Jerry all turn away, not wanting a part of that argument.

In the next scene, Jerry and George are talking about their police visits, comparing their thoughts on the nice and rude officers there.  The final standup from Jerry is a funny bit about the difference between a big favor and a small favor based on the length of the pause after “I need a favor”.

Both agreed that “The Stranded” could not work in 2014.  They could have easily taken an Uber, or Kramer could have used MapQuest for the directions.  Akiva slotted “The Stranded” at 163 on his rankings list.  Akiva wouldn’t argue if someone wanted to call it the worst, while Rob thought that any of the episodes in the bottom ten could qualify.  Both agreed that any of the worst Seinfeld episodes still have some redeeming qualities, considering it’s one of the greatest sitcoms of all time.

The guys had a few emails sent their way this past week that they go over.  The first is from Hunter, who asks if George is Jewish.  He had read several things that claim George may be half Jewish, considering Frank Costanza is clearly Catholic.  Akiva remembers that Estelle Costanza refuses to ride in a German car in one episode.  He also felt, based on Larry David and Jason Alexander both being Jewish, it stands to reason.  Rob noted that in the early days of Seinfeld, critics thought that the show was too Jewish, and not having George be a full fledged Jewish person was possibly an early note that the show writers got stuck with.

Johnny De Silveira wondered how far a drive it is from Long Island to Manhattan.  Depending on the time of day, and what part of each area you are going, it could take about 40 to 50 minutes.  They both warned not to fall asleep on the Long Island Railroad, as you could end up at the last stop in Long Island.

Lastly, Chester wondered why Jerry would let some random guy sit in his apartment while he wasn’t there, and also, why wouldn’t the guy want to go out and about with Jerry if he was there to hang out with this famous comedian.  Rob and Akiva both felt that Steve’s goal was to get drunk and get prostitutes, but when Jerry wasn’t living that life, he decided to just do that himself.  Chester also points out a few of the inaccuracies from this season two episode being aired out of sequence, and wondered how Ava got to the party if George takes her home.  Rob thinks that maybe Ava lived nearby in Long Island, and took a cab ride to Steve and Jenny’s.

Next week, the guys will recap “The Alternate Side”, where Kramer will say the iconic line, “these pretzels are making me thirsty”.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast by going to postshowrecaps.com/seinfeldITunes, where you can rate and review the podcast, or you can check out the new home of rhap and post show recaps at podcastone.com  Get your questions to the guys by emailing [email protected], and you can also follow Rob and Akiva on twitter @robcesternino and @keev26.