25 Days of Christmas Episodes – Day 1: Seinfeld, “The Strike” (Dec 1)
And let’s begin with an episode that is legitimately a classic:
Seinfeld – “The Strike”
Original airdate: 12/18/97
This is one of those Seinfeld episodes that everybody remembers. “The Soup Nazi”. “The Contest”. “The Yadda Yadda”. “The Strike” brings us two particular references that have become ingrained in the cultural consciousness: The Human Fund and Festivus.
Recently converted Tim Watley throws a Hanukkah party in the bumper, and that sets our various plots in motion. Jerry meets a girl who turns out to only be attractive from certain angles, Elaine gives a fake phone number to a guy on her almost-completed Atomic Sub card, and Watley makes a donation in George’s name to the International Childrens fund.
This last bit spurs George to give everybody in his office cards that claim that a donation has been made in their name to the Human Fund. (“Money for People”) This saves him the trouble of buying gifts for his co-workers. If you have ever worked in an office, you’re praising his genius at this very moment. This works better than most of George’s plans, until his boss gives him a check for the Human Fund in the amount of $20,000. When the accountants bust him on the fake charity, his excuse is that he doesn’t celebrate Christmas. Instead, he celebrates Festivus.
Festivus, a holiday created by Frank Costanza to protest the commercialization of Christmas, traumatized George as a child. The celebration involves an undecorated metal pole (“I find tinsel distracting”), the airing of grievances, and the annual Festivus Feat of Strength. Naturally, once Kramer gets wind of a new holiday, he’s completely enthralled.
Along the way, Kramer returns to work at the bagel place where he went on strike 12 years ago. He then promptly goes on strike once again because they won’t let him have the night off for Festivus. Meanwhile, Elaine undertakes a complex plot to get her sub card back, since she’s only one punch away from a free sub, and possibly a Captain’s hat. The plan involves an off-track betting parlor forwarding her calls to a bagel shop, and it works about as well as you’d expect.
It’s a classic Seinfeld episode, and it really resonates – you can still find Festivus cards for sale this time of year. It’s one of those references that everybody gets right away. Throw in Jerry’s two-faced girlfriend, and you have one of the really iconic installments.
Best Line – Frank, describing the shopping brawl that led him to create his new holiday, “As I rained blows on him, I knew there had to be a better way.”
Christmas Tropes:
Gifts – George to Watley: Yankees Tickets. Watley to George: A donation to the International Childrens Fund. George to everybody: A donation to the Human Fund. Random co-workers to George: Cuban cigars, cuff links.
References to other seasonal holidays – Duh. It opens with Watley’s Hanukkah party, and then spends the rest of the episode with Festivus. In fact, we don’t actually see a Christmas celebration.
Celebrity guests – The guy with Elaine’s fake number? Kids in the Hall’s Kevin McDonald. Also, Bryan Cranston, and Emmy winner this year for Breaking Bad, returns as Watley.
Learning a lesson – Proper lighting is very important in a relationship. And it turns out, people probably will investigate a fake charity.
Cheer-o-meter Score: Less cynical than most Seinfeld outings, and this is one of those episodes that everybody enjoys. The fact is, Festivus always gets a laugh. Let’s call it an 8.
