Episode 20: The Puerto Rican Day

Episode #176; 9:20


Our Summary

The Puerto Rican Day Parade stops all traffic, causing Jerry's Black Saab to be stranded in Manhattan. Jerry gets into a fight with Maroon Golf and tries to watch the Mets game. Elaine tries to find a way home, but is unable to do so. Kramer tries to find a bathroom and ends up estomping the flag. Finally, George tries a one liner at a movie, but gets upstaged by a laser pointer.



Our Commentary

This last episode of sorts is a strange but funny one. It seemed so fast and had some funny parts, but does not make the Top 50. We get Jerry's real life good friend Mario Joyner, who appears as a character named Lamar, which is funny b/c he appeared as Jerry's friend, playing himself in 7:1 The Engagement. We get the super gay puerto rican street toughs who are hilarious as usual with their "estomp". We also get writer Marc Hirschfeld as Ellis. We have Kramer hopping into the wrong car, the grand marshall of the parade, the stare-ahead, which I use all the time as well, calling the people by the names and colors of their cars, vaya con dios, Kramer telling Jerry that he hasn't worked a crowd as big as the movie theater in a while, capping off season nine nuttiness with everyone thinking that the laser pointer is clever and hilarious, and finally a classic Kramer crazy explanation like ripping off the post office b/c it's a "write off" for them in 8:5 The Package that is so hilarious it must get a line by line treatment:

KRAMER: You want to get outta here? Here's what we do. We leave the car here, we take the plates off, we scratch the serial number off the engine block, and we walk away. (So far so good)
JERRY: Walk away?
KRAMER: You've got insurance. You tell them that the car was stolen, and then you get another one free. (Sounds a bit fishy)
JERRY: Isn't there a deductible? (Valid question)
KRAMER: All right, what is your deductible? (Valid counter-question)
JERRY: I don't know. (Valid answer)
KRAMER: Yes, because they've already deducted it. (Valid . . . WHAT?)
JERRY: From what? (Completely appropriate question to previous insane answer)
KRAMER: The car, which we're leaving. So the net is zero. See you pocket the money, if there is any, and you get a new car. (Possibly the most insane statement ever uttered by a human being, yet probably the most hilarious one)
JERRY: We're not leaving the car!
KRAMER: All right. If you refuse to grow up and scam your insurance company, you'll have to work this out with maroon Golf.

HILARIOUS. Then we have Elaine's line of "Hey, I went to Tufts! That was my safety school! So don't talk to me about hardship.", George's "I can't be blind, Jerry The blind are courageous.", and then Kramer as Pennypacker, which must get the treatment:

KRAMER: Yes, uh, I'm interested in the apartment.
SALES WOMAN: Yes! Come in, come in.
KRAMER: Ok.
SALES WOMAN: I'm Christine Nyhart.
KRAMER: Oh. Delicious to meet you. (Delicious!)
SALES WOMAN: Did the broker send you over?
KRAMER: Uh, yes, most likely, yes. I'm, uh, H.E. Pennypacker. I'm a wealthy industrialist and philanthropist and, uh, a bicyclist. ( BICYCLIST!) And, um, yes, I'm looking for a place where I can settle down with my, uh, peculiar habits, and, uh, the women that I frequent with. (sniffing wall) Mmm. Mombassa, hmm?
SALES WOMAN: The asking price is $1.5 million.
KRAMER: Oh, I spend that much on after shave. (Hilarious) Yes, I buy and sell men like myself every day. (HILARIOUS) Now, I assume that there's a waterfall grotto?
SALES WOMAN: No.
KRAMER: How about a bathroom?
SALES WOMAN: It has 4.
KRAMER: Yes, and where would the absolute nearest one be?
SALES WOMAN: Just down the hall.
KRAMER: Oh, thank you.

Then we have Lamar's dis "You know, I don't think I've ever seen a man driving a Saab convertible. Still haven't." and Jerry's retort of "Ho ho!", Jerry's "What seems to be the problem, officer?", and then Jerry at the apartment as Kel Varnsen:

SALES WOMAN: Mr. Varnsen, if you like the apartment, I should tell you I've also had some interest from a wealthy industrialist.
JERRY: Not Pennypacker!
SALES WOMAN: You know him?
JERRY: I wish I didn't. Brace yourself, madam, for an all-out bidding war. But this time, advantage Varnsen!

Then we have the group of people trying to cross with Elaine being people in a boat trying to get into America, and finally, George, Kramer, and Jerry all ending up in the apartment together, with George's Art Vandelay saying "Well, this is a lovely apartment. Lovely! My kids are gonna go crazy. I, uh, I wonder if I could see the bathrooms. Preferably one with some paint thinner and, uh, some rags?" and then:

JERRY: Oh, hello...
GEORGE: Art.
JERRY: Mr. Vandelay, of course.
SALES WOMAN: You two know each other?
Kramer bursts through the door.
SALES WOMAN: Mr. Pennypacker!
KRAMER: Uh, yes, uh, I--I wanted to, uh, stop by and make sure that my shark tank fits-- uh, hello. (Shark tank!!)
SALES WOMAN: Mr. Pennypacker, this is Mr. Vandelay, And you know Mr. Varnsen.
KRAMER: Uh, Varnsen.
JERRY: Pennypacker.
KRAMER: Vandelay.
GEORGE: Pennypacker. Varnsen.
JERRY: Vandelay. Wait a second. Mr. Pennypacker, if you're here, and Mr. Vandelay is also here, then who's watching the factory?
KRAMER: The factory?
JERRY: The Saab factory?
KRAMER: Jerry, that's in Sweden. (HI - LA - RI - OU - S!)
George turns on the TV as Jerry runs to the window just in time to see a mob attacking his car.
JERRY: My car!
KRAMER: Well, you know, it's like this every day in Puerto Rico. (A hilarious line used over and over in this episode and in real life)
GEORGE: Jerry, the Mets lost.
JERRY: I love a parade!

We cap the episode off with Kramer telling Jerry that he can't deduct the car now that it's totalled, Jerry's "Somebody remember where we parked" link to 3:6 The Parking Garage, Kramer's "This was a fun day. It's nice to get out." as this is one of the few episodes where they did not go into Jerry's house. "The foursome walk off as a laser lights up George's rear end." Beautiful ending to an episode that ends Season 9 unofficially, even though it didn't make the Top 50, I treated it like a Top 25 episode, b/c of it's Seinfeld ending status and that it only appeared on TV when it first aired, as it was later banned b/c the Puerto Ricans were angry at the estomping of their flag. Overall, nice episode.

Adam - Coming soon


EPISODE GUIDE from Jerry Seinfeld: The Entire Domain by Kathleen Tracy

176."The Puerto Rican Day" (May 7, 1998)

SUMMARY Because of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George get stuck in traffic on the way home from a Mets game. Elaine is desperate to make it home in time to watch 60 Minutes, her weekend wind-down program. Jerry and another driver get into a feud. George tries to make a movie audience laugh but is upstaged, and stalked, by a laser pointer. Kramer infuriates the Puerto Rican community when he accidentally sets their flag on fire.

OF SPECIAL NOTE NBC was forced to issue an apology to the Puerto Rican community, many members of which were offended by the use of the flag as a comic prop in the episode.

DIRECTOR Andy Ackerman

TELEPLAY Alec Berg, Jennifer Crittenden, Spike Feresten, Bruce Eric Kaplan, Gregg Kavet, Steve Koren, David Mandel, Dan O'Keefe, Andy Robin, and Jeff Schaffer

GUEST CAST Mario Joyner (Lamar); Dayton Callie (Cabbie); James Karen (Mr. Canterman); Helen Carey (Mrs. Christine Nyhart); Yul Vasquez (Bob); John Paragon (Cedric); Jenica Bergere (Leslie); Monica Allison (Gaff); Marcelo Tubert (Father); Armando Molina (Amigo); Tom Agna (Gary); Tom Dahlgren (Priest); Bert Rosario (Man); Raoul N. Rizik (Parade Goer); Scott Conte (Sketch Guy); Mimi Cozzens (Mrs. Canterman); Alison Martin (Lucy); Marc Hirschfeld (Ellis); Chip Heller (Policeman)


Stats


2nd Siyum

Celebrities (*Real)
Bob Murphy (The fourth and hopefully, not final, correction/addition made by
                    the great Eric Bienenfeld.) - 9:20 The Puerto Rican Day

GEORGE
Ho Ho = 11 (plus 1 Jerry in 9:20 The Puerto Rican Day Parade)

Errors
In 7:6 The Soup Nazi, the street toughs names are Bob and Ray while in 7:9 The Sponge and 9:20 The Puerto Rican Day, they are named Cedric and Bob

Stuff That Happened to Bob Sacamano
He made a fortune off of those (the paddle with the ball and the rubber band). He came up with the idea for the rubber band. Before that, people would just hit the ball, and it would fly away.


3rd Siyum

Full Script