The Comeback (Seinfeld)
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"The Comeback" is the 147th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 13th episode for the 8th season. It aired on January 30, 1997.
The episode was written by Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin and was directed by David Owen Trainer.
Like many episodes of Seinfeld, this episode contains a plotline for each of the main characters. George Costanza goes to great lengths to deliver a retort to a coworker (the eponymous comeback). Jerry Seinfeld knows the secret of a worker from a tennis club pro shop — that he is a bad tennis player. After seeing a movie, Cosmo Kramer decides he needs a living will. Elaine Benes has a tragic romance with the worker at a video rental place with whom she has the same taste in movies.
Plot
George Costanza uses the term “jerk store” as a part of a comeback to one of his coworkers at the New York Yankees named Riley. When Riley catches George stuffing himself with shrimp cocktail at a meeting, Riley remarks: "Hey George, the ocean called; they're running out of shrimp." Slow-witted George cannot think of a comeback until later, while driving to the tennis club to meet Jerry. His comeback is: "Oh yeah Riley? Well, the Jerk Store called, and they're running out of you." George suffers from l'esprit de l'escalier and becomes obsessed with recreating the encounter so that he can make use of his comeback.
Jerry, Elaine and Kramer disapprove of "jerk store" as a comeback mainly because "there are no jerk stores." Elaine suggests, "Your cranium called. It's got some space to rent." Jerry offers, "The zoo called. You're due back by six." Kramer finally suggests that George simply tell Riley that he slept with his wife.
After discovering that Riley was let go from the Yankees and now works for Firestone, George flies to Akron, Ohio, sets up a meeting, and brings a tray of shrimp just to try out the jerk store line. When he says it, however, Riley shoots back with "What's the difference? You're their all-time best seller." George, unprepared for this ends up using Kramer's line "Oh yeah? ...Well I had sex with your wife!" He is then told that Riley's wife is in a coma.
During the end credits, George is seen driving towards the airport, muttering to himself that he could not think of another comeback, when he utters, "The life support machine called...", and in an ecstatic fit, whips his Buick Regal into a U-turn to head back to Firestone to deliver yet another comeback.
Milos (Jerry Seinfeld)
Jerry meets George at a private tennis club to play tennis. He goes to the pro shop where he is pressured into buying a brand new racquet by the worker there — an Eastern European man named Milos. Later, while playing at a different club with Elaine, Jerry discovers that Milos is a horrible tennis player. In Jerry's eyes, this undermines Milos' credibility as a salesman.
When Jerry confronts Milos at the pro shop, he offers to do anything in exchange for Jerry not revealing his secret. Jerry implies that if Milos sets him up with an attractive woman that they see in the shop, he will be silent. Later Jerry runs into the woman, who is named Patty, waiting for him outside his apartment. She initially comes on strong, but backs out and reveals that she is Milos' wife. The incident makes her lose respect for Milos.
In a new deal, Milos wants Jerry to let him win in a game of tennis to regain Patty's respect. During, the game, Milos becomes boastful and gloating. Jerry begins to play harder and triggers a sequence of events that results in Kramer in the hospital (see below).
Vincent's picks (Elaine Benes)
Elaine runs into Kramer at Champagne Video, while browsing the staff picks. Elaine is a fan of Vincent's picks, with whom she has the same taste in movies. (Kramer characterizes Vincent as an arthouse goon). Later, while watching Vincent's latest pick, he calls her on the telephone. Elaine becomes romantically interested in him, but is unable to meet him in person.
On a subsequent visit to the video store, Kramer convinces Elaine to forego Vincent's pick in favor of a Gene pick, Weekend at Bernie's II. Vincent feels betrayed by this and terminates their relationship. He sends her the play button from his VCR, and stops making picks.
After Elaine rents the Vincent's pick that she spurned in favor of Weekend at Bernie's II, Vincent agrees to meet her at his apartment if she brings some things from the store. The stuff he wants includes vodka, cigarettes and fireworks. When she is at his apartment, he refuses to open the door all the way so Elaine can see him. A woman walks up who turns out to be Vincent's mom. She says that Vincent is 15 years old. Elaine takes the vodka from the bag and walks off.
Kramer's living will (Cosmo Kramer)
While at the video store, Kramer rents The Other Side of Darkness, a (fictional) straight-to-video movie that deals with a woman in a coma. Frightened by the movie, he has a living will drawn up. At first he considers making Jerry his executor, but decides that he is too sentimental after Jerry refuses to throw away his old tennis racquet. He decides Elaine should be his executor instead and they meet with a lawyer named Shellbach (played by Ben Stein).
After Kramer finishes watching the movie (when the woman miraculously comes out of the coma), he decides he needs to get his living will annulled. But he misses his appointment with Shellbach because he drives so slow in fear of getting in an accident. He learns that he can catch up with Shellbach at the tennis club. When he catches up with him, a sequence of events caused by Jerry and Milos' tennis game causes a ball machine to fire at Kramer at top speed. Kramer collapses and ends up in the hospital. When Elaine visits him, looking for an outlet for her VCR, she unplugs a large plug. Kramer wakes up, and seeing the plug, he thinks Elaine is removing his life-support.
A slightly baffling element to this episode is that Kramer claims not to have known that a coma victim may regain consciousness despite having previously witnessed Martin regain consciousness from his coma in The Suicide.