"The Statue" features what is arguably one of Kramer's greatest moments in all of 'Seinfeld' where he puts on the guise of being a NYPD officer in order to infiltrate and the apartment of someone who may or may not have stolen the titular statue from Jerry's apartment in order to retrieve it. It is Michael Richards' most complete moment yet in the series and both dialogue and performance are arguably the best in the series yet. But defining moment aside, I find "The Statue" largely underwhelming and in retrospect, it feels very far off from what a 'Seinfeld' episode should be.
The supporting characters, in this episode Rava and her university boyfriend are far too colourful as far as their personalities are concerned and they hog far too much of the episode's screentime that I find the entire affair really gets bogged down. In a better and slightly later episode in the series, the supporting characters would be a lot more grounded to make way for the show's central characters to really shine and unfortunately, outside of Kramer (and to a lesser extent, George) there's far too little of value for the other key players, in this case Jerry and Elaine.
I simply do not enjoy the interactions between Jerry/Elaine and Rava/boyfriend in that they feel completely overwritten, both the scenes themselves and the supporting characters in this episode and unfortunately the problem with overwritten supporting characters into the world of 'Seinfeld' at this point is that the series is yet to really establish itself and as such, there's an intense disconnect for me personally with regards to what I'm watching.
I do adore some of the references that this episode and a couple of the earlier episodes from this second season with regards to George's parents, another one of the few key highlights so far in the series for my money. George's parents, despite not making their appearances until the fourth and fifth seasons, are perfectly written here.
One other minor point to mention is that I think this is the single worst Jerry Seinfeld piece of stand-up that I can remember on the series. Perhaps the third season or the second half of this second season may produce something worse but I found this to be an entirely sloppy and cringe-inducing fest. The opening stand-up and the transparent 'interaction' with his audience was very awkwardly handled. And this as someone who generally enjoys his stand-up but here, it adds very little both in terms of humour and connection with the plot.
"The Statue" is decent at best I think, and once again I'm being very generous with the star rating here as I understand the flaws here are largely due to 'Seinfeld' taking a while to really settle into itself. "The Statue" really doesn't work for me, but nor do I loathe it, and if I'm being honest, I love the idea that 'Seinfeld' was a show that took its time to really establish itself. It makes the story of its triumph into pop culture all the more endearing.
The supporting characters, in this episode Rava and her university boyfriend are far too colourful as far as their personalities are concerned and they hog far too much of the episode's screentime that I find the entire affair really gets bogged down. In a better and slightly later episode in the series, the supporting characters would be a lot more grounded to make way for the show's central characters to really shine and unfortunately, outside of Kramer (and to a lesser extent, George) there's far too little of value for the other key players, in this case Jerry and Elaine.
I simply do not enjoy the interactions between Jerry/Elaine and Rava/boyfriend in that they feel completely overwritten, both the scenes themselves and the supporting characters in this episode and unfortunately the problem with overwritten supporting characters into the world of 'Seinfeld' at this point is that the series is yet to really establish itself and as such, there's an intense disconnect for me personally with regards to what I'm watching.
I do adore some of the references that this episode and a couple of the earlier episodes from this second season with regards to George's parents, another one of the few key highlights so far in the series for my money. George's parents, despite not making their appearances until the fourth and fifth seasons, are perfectly written here.
One other minor point to mention is that I think this is the single worst Jerry Seinfeld piece of stand-up that I can remember on the series. Perhaps the third season or the second half of this second season may produce something worse but I found this to be an entirely sloppy and cringe-inducing fest. The opening stand-up and the transparent 'interaction' with his audience was very awkwardly handled. And this as someone who generally enjoys his stand-up but here, it adds very little both in terms of humour and connection with the plot.
"The Statue" is decent at best I think, and once again I'm being very generous with the star rating here as I understand the flaws here are largely due to 'Seinfeld' taking a while to really settle into itself. "The Statue" really doesn't work for me, but nor do I loathe it, and if I'm being honest, I love the idea that 'Seinfeld' was a show that took its time to really establish itself. It makes the story of its triumph into pop culture all the more endearing.