The Raincoats (Seinfeld)

"The Raincoats"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 18/19
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Tom Gammill Max Pross Larry David Jerry Seinfeld
Production code	519/520
Original air date	April 28, 1994
Guest stars
Judge Reinhold, Michael G. Hagerty, Sandy Baron & Melanie Smith
Season 5 episodes
September 1993 – May 1994 "The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats, Part 1" "The Raincoats, Part 2" "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
List of Seinfeld episodes

"The Raincoats" is a two-part episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 82nd and 83rd episode. This was the 18th and 19th episode for the 5th season. The episode was first shown on NBC on April 28, 1994.

The episode was written by Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Larry David, and Jerry Seinfeld and it was directed by Tom Cherones.

Plot, part 1

Jerry and George are in Monk's discussing his parents staying with him for three days until they leave for Paris and how he is dying for some private time with his girlfriend Rachel (Melanie Smith). Alec approaches them with an offer to join the Big Brother program. George reluctantly agrees to look after young Joey (Jason Manary).

Back at Jerry’s apartment, George asks Helen and Morty if they could send a postcard to Alec from Paris, so it looks like he is in Paris, thus getting out of the Big Brother program. George then tells them that Frank and Estelle (who is making paella) want them over for dinner before they leave, but they claim they have plans for the night (Jerry's parents never liked George's). Jerry is frustrated that they lied about having plans because now his parents will be home and he can’t have Rachel over. Elaine brings her new boyfriend, Aaron (Judge Reinhold) up to the apartment. Aaron is a close-talker: a person who stands unusually close to others when speaking, in essence disrupting the person's personal space. Aaron volunteers to escort Jerry’s parents on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which Jerry and Elaine find quite weird. As they leave, Jerry quickly tries to phone Rachel but she is not home. Meanwhile the Costanzas seem puzzled by the Seinfelds' declining a dinner invitation. By the time Rachel calls Jerry back, his parents are already home. Kramer greets Helen and Morty. Morty then notices Kramer’s raincoat, which is the Executive (a belt-less raincoat, created by Morty years ago). Kramer then goes on to explain they are a hot item at Rudy’s Antique Boutique.

Morty makes plans to get Jack Klompus to send up the boxes of old Executives up to New York City before he leaves for Paris. Meanwhile George tells Alec that he suddenly must go to Paris. Alec replies that this is great news: Joey’s estranged father lives in Paris but Joey is too scared to fly alone. Elaine questions Aaron regarding his actions with Helen and Morty.

George goes down to Rudy’s to sell Frank’s old clothes, pretending that his father has died. Kramer arrives and explains to George how he and Morty went into business over dinner last night; this alerts George that the Seinfelds lied about having ‘plans’. Kramer proceeds to arrange with Rudy the deal regarding the Executives.

As George confronts Jerry about lying about having plans, Elaine reveals that Aaron is taking her to see a stage production of My Fair Lady. Aaron soon arrives with Helen and Morty in tow. That night, George spots the group riding in a buggy as he is getting into a taxi.

Jack Klompus has trouble retrieving the Executives from the garage. Meanwhile Frank realizes that his vacation clothes are missing. Back at Rudy’s, the clothes are being burned as they're discovered to be moth-ridden.

Plot, part 2

Jerry and Rachel go to see Schindler's List but cannot help making out since they have not been alone in such a long time. Newman, also in the cinema, spots them and is aghast.

When Jerry arrives back at his apartment, Helen and Morty quiz him about the film and Jerry tries to bluff his way through. George goes back to Rudy’s to buy back his father’s clothes. After giving Rudy the money back, Rudy tells George that he burnt them because they were moth-infested.

Newman, as expected, informs Helen and Morty that Jerry was making out with Rachel during Schindler's List. Jerry, in "trouble," realizes that Newman would be the one responsible for it. Jack Klompus rings again to tell Morty that he had to break a window to get into the garage and that the Executives will be in New York City by 2:00 the next day. Morty decides that the trip to Paris will have to wait; since their flight is at 3:00 they will not be able to make it as the business deal is more important.

Kramer arrives at the Costanzas' for paella. Frank notices that Kramer is wearing one of his missing vacation shirts, which forces George to confess that he sold his vacation wear.

George asks Jerry for the tickets to France, as they are non-refundable and the Seinfelds won't be using them, he can get a free trip to Paris and become a hero in the Big Brother organization. Meanwhile, Rudy refuses to buy the Executives from Kramer and Morty; after the ordeal with Frank's clothes, he now has a policy of not buying off the street. Frank appears at Rudy’s and argues with Morty. At the airport, Jerry and Elaine say farewell to Morty and Helen as they leave to return to Florida. Aaron goes crazy, thinking he could have done more to help them while they were in New York City. This is an allusion to the movie Schindler's List in which the title character, Oskar Schindler, is in a state of anguish for not being able to do more to help the doomed Jews during the Holocaust. In fact goes into an Oskar-type monologue, occasionally using the same phrases.

Jerry goes by Rachel’s house, but her father tells him to go away after explaining that his postman informed him of his "behavior" at Schindler's List with Rachel.

Back at Monk’s, Jerry tells Elaine that when his parents got home they had been completely robbed because Klompus never fixed the window. Newman comes into the shop and Jerry confronts him and chases him out into the streets. George is in Paris with Joey who is giving him a hard time. Helen and Morty go on a cruise and discover that the Costanzas are on the same one.

Quotes

• Jerry (Beginning of show): I really feel as human beings, we need more training in our basic social skills.

Conversational Distance, don't you hate these people that talk to you they talk into your mouth like you're a clown at a drive-through?
And handshakes is the worst, there's absolutely no guidelines for handshakes.
You know these people; too strong, too weak, sometimes they give you the three-quarter handshake, just the fingers.
Early release, late release, sometimes people will dispute your release, you let go they're hangin' on.
I have actually said to people 'Hey, the handshake is over!'
Too many pumps, coming in too high, too sweaty, coming from too far away.
Sometimes a guy will give you a strong grip, late release, and pull you in for the too close conversation.
To him I say 'That's three strikes; you're out!'

• Jerry: I happened to watch you coming out of Schindler's list the other night.

Newman(nervous): Oh, were you there?
Jerry: Yes, I was.
Newman: P.. Powerful film.
Jerry: Yes, shocking brutality, don't you think?
Newman(ever more nervous): Shocking.
Jerry: Yeah, well that was nothing!
Newman: Arghh!! (runs away, Jerry chases after him.)

Notes

Jerry Seinfeld commented that the references to Schindler's List were included after learning that Steven Spielberg got so depressed while filming the movie that he would watch tapes of Seinfeld episodes to cheer himself up.^[1]

This is the first episode where someone other than Jerry says "Hello, Newman". In this case, Helen says it.

References

1. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLW0bM38Kks&NR=1