https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PosBEPAVH_M

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After a few days delay, Rob and Akiva reconvened to discuss the season two episode of Seinfeld called “The Apartment”. It aired on April 4, 1991, after the show was on a six-week hiatus. NBC decided to switch Seinfeld’s time slot to after Cheers, which Akiva pointed out was the best thing that could have happened to the show. Before getting started on the plot, the guys talked about a few shows they could cover after the run of Seinfeld episodes, and Akiva said he’d like to do a podcast about all the shows NBC has had in the spot after the big hit 9 o’clock shows, like Boston Common, Veronica’s Closet or The Single Guy.

Akiva did some extra research about the episode. It was not written by Larry David and Jerry, but a magazine writer named Peter Mehlman, who would go on to write 18 episodes in the show’s run. Akiva felt the episode was a bit off kilter from the usual style of the show. Rob watched some DVD extras about how Mehlman formed the idea for the plot. The original idea was to have Elaine move out of the city, but Jerry didn’t want her to. Larry and Jerry thought it better to have the premise of Elaine moving into Jerry’s building instead.

The opening credits standup has Jerry talking about painting his apartment, and how he thinks it gets smaller each time he paints. Rob and Akiva both thought that this bit didn’t correlate to the episode and was some of Jerry’s weaker material.

The first scene opens with Kramer showing off a different look, having moussed his wild hair down. Elaine invites Jerry to a “Marathon brunch”. Outside in the hallway, Harold and Manny, who Akiva and Rob believe to be the co-supers, are talking about how Jerry’s upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Hudwalker had died. They were looking for someone to rent the place, and it’s only $400 a month, an insanely low amount for an apartment in Manhattan. Jerry mentions how Elaine is looking for a place. Rob wondered if Harold and Manny had a romantic relationship, but Akiva felt that in 1991, TV wasn’t going there yet. Rob also pointed out that the actor who played Harold played the great role of Otho in the movie Beetlejuice.

Jerry comes back in to his place and teases Elaine with the big news he has. When he tells her the lady upstairs died and her apartment is for rent at a cheap price, they celebrate. Akiva said it was classic Seinfeld, celebrating death. This scene was the first ever time Elaine does her iconic “get out!” push of Jerry. Immediately after telling Elaine about the apartment, Jerry starts regretting it, lamenting about Elaine potentially popping in unexpectedly all the time.

In the next scene, George is walking out of Monk’s alone and bumps into Jerry. Rob noticed that it was one of the only times he remembered seeing a scene of the exterior of the coffee shop. Jerry explains to George how he screwed up telling Elaine to move in upstairs. George tells him he’s doomed. He’ll have to sneak into his apartment like a cat burglar and have to go back to his date’s place instead of taking them to his, referring to it as a permanent road trip where he’ll lose his “home field advantage”. Rob agreed with George’s take, finding it important to be at home where you know where everything is in that type of situation.

George then argues with Jerry that since he just left, he can’t go back into Monk’s. Rob and Akiva debate what’s worse, going to a diner or going to the movies alone. Rob said he had no social hang-ups, and wouldn’t mind either. While in the coffee shop, Jerry tries to come up with ways of talking Elaine out of moving in to his building. All he can come up with is that the water flow is too weak,