I’ve now finalized my third (and final) Seinfeld list. (Here are the links to list #1 and list #2.) This one, of course, is my favorite episodes. I had a hard time narrowing the list down to 10 (or even 20, including the honorable mentions). There were a few obvious ones, those I knew would be at the top of the list. Others were harder to choose. There are many that could be on the list, and if I did this again in six months, a year, whatever, it might change a little. But for now, this is the list.

Favorite Episodes

1. The Soup Nazi (1995)
   This is a favorite of many. As I think I’ve mentioned, one of the strengths of the entire series was the people (besides the primary four) that came in week to week and made the show better. This show had several that appeared on my previous lists (Newman, Kenny Bania, Cedric & Bob, and the Soup Nazi himself.) It was hard to pick ten that were my favorite, but it was easier to pick #1. I knew this would be it. And it was the only episode I chose in the top 10 that aired past season 4 and 1993.
2. The Boyfriend (1992)
   This was my favorite of the first half of the series. It was a one-hour episode, and it was aired around the time of Stone’s JFK movie, which was parodied in the episode. Keith Hernandez, George’s unemployment, Vandelay Industries, June 14, 1987, the “second-spitter” - it’s a classic. “And you want to be my latex salesman.”
3. The Pen (1991)
   This is a great episode featuring Jerry’s parents. This is the only episode in which Kramer and George are both absent. Again, several characters from my previous lists appear in this one - Morty, Helen, Leo, and Jack Klompus. The Florida community in which the elder Seinfelds reside gets turned upside down when Jerry accepts an “astronaut pen” from Klompus. The interaction between all of the older folks just cracks me up every time. (The commentary on the DVD’s is worth listening to as well.)
4. The Chinese Restaurant (1991)
   Like a handful of other episodes (including The Pen), Jerry’s apartment doesn’t appear in this episode (and neither does Kramer). The threesome spend the epsiode waiting for a table at a restaurant, and engage in some hilarious conversations. George’s description of his “impending intestinal requirement” during an intimate time with his girlfriend just kills me.
5. The Implant (1993)
   Elaine claims Jerry’s girlfriend may be “playing with confederate money,” but later finds out first hand (so to speak) that she’s wrong. George travels home with girlfriend Betsy which leads to his famous confrontation with her brother “Timmy” over double-dipping his chip. This episode also contains one of my favorite lines from the entire series. When Elaine tells Jerry she thought he was a leg man, Jerry responds with “A leg man? Why would I be leg man? I don’t need legs. I have legs.”
6. The Junior Mint (1993)
   Jerry is dating a girl whose name he cannot recall (aka “Mulva”) and he and Kramer are invited to watch the surgery of Elaine’s friend along with medical students. During the surgery, they argue over a junior mint, which Jerry knocks from Kramer’s hand and ends up inside the patient, who later has a “miraculous” recovery. “It’s chocolate, it’s peppermint, it’s delicious! It’s very refreshing!”
7. The Outing (1993)
   Elaine notices some young girls are eavesdropping on her, George and Jerry in the coffee shop, and starts giving them something to talk about - that George & Jerry are gay. Unfortunately, it turns out that one of them is an NYU reporter with whom Jerry has an interview scheduled. The scene with Jerry and George arguing over fruit in his apartment during the interview is pretty classic. So many phrases have been embedded into pop culture by this show, and this episode produced what is probably one of the most well-known, and one that I still hear used often: “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
8. The Contest (1992)
   This episode is often voted the favorite of people. I admit it was not one of my favorites for a while - probably just because of the subject matter. And, I honestly just don’t laugh as much at it as others. But I eventually decided it still deserved to be in the top 10.
9. The Bubble Boy (1992)
   Jerry, Elaine, George and Susan get sidetracked during a trip to Susan’s father’s cabin after meeting Mel Sanger at the coffee shop. Mel is the father of Donald “the bubble boy” and asks Jerry to pay him a visit. “Moops!” “Moors!”
10. The Parking Garage (1991)
    This one was not unlike The Chinese Restaraunt - they spend an entire episode doing nothing but walking around in a parking garage looking for their car. It’s these kinds of shows that made you realize it really was a “show about nothing.” And yet it was still hilarious. The final scene was supposed to be the four driving off in the car, but when filming, the car wouldn’t start. And there’s your final scene - much better than what was written.

So, there you have it. My top 10 favorites. And now, here are my honorable mentions, in order of original air date:

• The Cafe (1991) - the first appearance of Babu Bhatt, and George has Elaine take an IQ test for him.
• The Limo (1991) - Jerry and George pose as “Murphy and O’Brien”, unaware of who O’Brien really is.
• The Marine Biologist (1994) - Thanks to Jerry, George must pretend to be a marine biologist (which, of course, backfires.)
• The Hamptons (1994) - the four spend the weekend in the Hamptons because “you’ve gotta see the baby”, while Jerry’s girlfriend sees George naked. (”I was in the pool!!”)
• The Opposite (1994) - George decides to do the opposite of what his instincts tell him - with surprising and hilarious results.
• The Bizarro Jerry (1996) - Elaine meets bizarro Jerry, George and Kramer; George finds the “forbidden city”; Kramer inadvertantly ends up with a job; and Jerry dates “man-hands”.
• The Yada Yada (1997) - George’s girlfiend “yada-yada’s” over a lot of important information while Jerry believes Tim Whatley has converted to Judiasm just for the jokes.
• The Strike (1997) - George is forced into once again celebrating the holiday Frank created - “A Festivus for the rest of us!”
• The Burning (1998) - Elaine finds out that Puddy is religious and that she’s going to hell.
• The Finale (1999) - the four are tried and convicted because of “The Good Samaritan” law, as characters from throughout the series appear to take the stand against them.

A few things I noticed as I completed the list:

• Of my top ten, eight of the ten were from seasons 3 and 4. I guess those are my favorite seasons, and truth be told, the middle of the series produced some of the best episodes. I think there’s no question about that.
• Of my ten honorable mentions, eight of those ten were from seasons after 3 and 4.
• I’ve always loved Kramer - he and George are in a dead heat for my favorite character on the show (I go back and forth.) However, two of the episodes in my top five were Kramer-less. And one was George-less. Odd that I would pick those, but that’s just they way it ended up.
• Newman, my favorite recurring character, is only in two of these episodes. Being in over 40 total, I was surprised he wasn’t in more than two.
• Several of my favorite single-appearance and recurring characters didn’t appear in any of the following episodes. I don’t think that means anything, just something else I noticed.

So, there’s some useless trivia about this list.

That’s it for the lists. We’ll be going to see Jerry live in 2 days, and I’ll try to post a review of the concert either on Friday or over the weekend.