"Seinfeld" repeats migrated to Netflix on Oct. 1, meaning a new generation of fans have a chance to get introduced to an American classic. But where to begin? Here are my 10 favorite episodes, in order of preference, that I first shared back in 1998.
- "The Bubble Boy" (episode 45): George's most unlikely and hilarious nemesis was a cranky kid forced to live in a plastic bubble. During an outrageous Trivial Pursuit game, George ends up puncturing the kid's dome over a disputed answer ("Moors! Moops!") and has the whole town on his tail.
- "The Junior Mint" (episode 58): A splenectomy was never this much fun. Kramer and Jerry observe the surgery of Elaine's former, overweight boyfriend ("Let's go watch 'em slice this fat bastard up") and a piece of Kramer's candy drops into the patient's innards. This is also the one where all Jerry can remember about his new girlfriend's name is that it rhymes with a female body part (Mulva? Bovary?).
- "The Library" (episode 22): A long-overdue copy of "Tropic of Cancer" has Jerry butting heads with a library cop (Philip Baker Hall), George confronting his mean high-school gym teacher ("Can't standya!") and Kramer romancing a mousy librarian in an episode that's anything but by the book.
- "The Chinese Restaurant" (episode 16): Several episodes experimented with actual time, but none matched the ingenuity of this saga of the gang waiting not so patiently for a restaurant table. Kramer is not in this outing, a reminder that he wasn't a major player in the early years. Local note: When Jerry balks at going to a bad movie after dinner by himself, he quips, "What, am I going to make sarcastic remarks to strangers?" a possible reference to Twin Cities native Joel Hodgson, the original host of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and co-writer of Seinfeld's HBO special, "Stand-Up Confidential."
- "The Limo" (episode 35): Jerry and George assume fake names to snag a free limousine from the airport, only to be mistaken for Nazis. George is more than willing to play along, if it means scoring with a comely comrade. The outrageous, risky plot proves once and for all that this is a show about everything.
- "The Fix Up" (episode 12): George's problems with toilets starts here. This time, he quits a job because he is denied the keys to the executive bathroom. When the boss won't hire him back, George recruits Elaine to "slip him a mickey" in a masterful bar-room scene. Kramer gets his first real chance to shine when he seeks his own revenge on a laundromat by dumping cement in a washer.
- "The Bizarro Jerry" (episode 129): Of the last two slapstick-driven seasons, this is the only masterpiece, as Elaine runs with a new crowd who are improved versions of the regular gang. Michael Richards' physical schtick skills are on great display during after-work drinks with his new pals, when he masquerades as a corporate executive.
- "The Red Dot" (episode 29): George gets a great new job, then promptly loses it after having sex with the office cleaning lady. To appease the woman, he gives her a cashmere sweater with a dot that's nearly undetectable, which also describes the value this foursome places on friendship.
- "The Contest" (episode 49): Who is Master of Their Domain? Clearly, it's writer Larry David, who centered this edgy episode about who can abstain the longest from, uh, gratifying themselves, on a real-life experience. Perhaps the sitcom's single funniest event is observing how quickly Kramer drops out.
- "The Opposite" (episode 82): Elaine and George ostensibly wind up switching places - she loses her job, he gets hired by the Yankees - in this landmark episode. From here on out, George isn't quite as much of a loser, and Elaine starts her progression from being the most sensible of the pack into the foursome's meanest member.
