Starting with a clip from the previous episode, The Watch sets out to close the book on three very funny plot strands in Seinfeld's fourth year, with the help of a few foolproof comedy devices: Kramer, George and Uncle Leo.
The latter makes up the Jerry section of the script, as he is seen wearing a watch his nephew had previously thrown in the trash, which could lead to problems with Helen and Morty. While Jerry desperately tries to buy the watch back, George tracks down Russell Dalrymple to renegotiate the pilot deal, and Elaine has Kramer pose as her boyfriend (not much of a stretch, since he's already seen her naked) so she can break up with Dr. Reston. While carrying out the scheme, she also runs into one Crazy Joe Davola...
Effortlessly combining multiple plot elements into one golden comedy container, The Watch makes good use of regular players - Kramer's boyfriend act is a hoot - and new faces: McHattie is just as amusing as in the previous part, and Bob Balaban, a fine character actor who knows a great deal about show business reflecting on itself (he even played the real-life model for Dalrymple in a TV movie), makes a welcome return as NBC's best fictional executive, confirming that Larry David's idea for a season-long arc was a very good thing indeed. And it looks like Jerry was wrong: "To be continued" can work in comedy as well as in drama. As George certainly wouldn't say, it's all in the writing.
The latter makes up the Jerry section of the script, as he is seen wearing a watch his nephew had previously thrown in the trash, which could lead to problems with Helen and Morty. While Jerry desperately tries to buy the watch back, George tracks down Russell Dalrymple to renegotiate the pilot deal, and Elaine has Kramer pose as her boyfriend (not much of a stretch, since he's already seen her naked) so she can break up with Dr. Reston. While carrying out the scheme, she also runs into one Crazy Joe Davola...
Effortlessly combining multiple plot elements into one golden comedy container, The Watch makes good use of regular players - Kramer's boyfriend act is a hoot - and new faces: McHattie is just as amusing as in the previous part, and Bob Balaban, a fine character actor who knows a great deal about show business reflecting on itself (he even played the real-life model for Dalrymple in a TV movie), makes a welcome return as NBC's best fictional executive, confirming that Larry David's idea for a season-long arc was a very good thing indeed. And it looks like Jerry was wrong: "To be continued" can work in comedy as well as in drama. As George certainly wouldn't say, it's all in the writing.