The Raincoats (Seinfeld)

"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 fifth 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), who lives with her parents. 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; in reality, Jerry's parents never liked George's parents, saying they can't stand them and need a "buffer zone." Jerry is frustrated 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 to them, 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 due to their "plans" and assume that they (the Seinfelds) don't like them. By the time Rachel calls Jerry back, his parents have already returned 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; throughout the night, Elaine is quite annoyed since Aaron brought the Seinfelds. Later, George spots the group riding in a buggy as he is getting into a taxi, upsetting him.

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.

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 visibly angered.

When Jerry arrives back at his apartment, Helen and Morty quiz him about the film and Jerry tries to bluff his way through, and mostly succeeds. 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, now George has no money and no clothes.

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 in the afternoon 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 to him.

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, making Frank upset. Kramer then sees a mouse and he and Frank run into another room.

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 clothes 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 film 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, Aaron goes into an Schindler-type monologue, occasionally using the same phrases.

Jerry goes by Rachel’s apartment, but her father tells him that he has forbidden her from seeing Jerry again after explaining that his "heavy-set" 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 Jack Klompus never fixed the broken window. Newman comes into the shop and Jerry, angry that he sabotaged his relationship with Rachel, confronts him and chases him out into the street. George is in Paris with Joey who is giving him a hard time, as they wait in vain for Joey's father to show up. Helen and Morty go on a cruise and discover that the Costanzas are on the same one.

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, Jerry's mother (Helen Seinfeld) says it.

References

External Links

1. "The Raincoats". Internet Movie Database. 

Seinfeld episodes Season 1 "The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip" Season 2 "The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy" Season 3 "The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend" "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys" Season 4 "The Trip" "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot" Season 5 "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" "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite" Season 6 "The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100" "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy" Season 7 "The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac" "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit" "The Wait Out" "The Invitations" Season 8 "The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George" Season 9 "The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strong Box" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle" "The Finale" Indicates two-part episode