Seinfeld: The Nose Job Recap with Episode Writer, Peter Mehlman

Listen to the Podcast: Subscribe: Seinfeld Podcast in iTunes  |  Seinfeld Podcast RSS Feed Rob Cesternino and Akiva Wienerkur continue their journey to watch every Seinfeld episode as they discuss Season 3, Episode 9 “The Nose Job” with episode writer, Peter Mehlman. Rob Cesternino and Akiva Wienerkur were sure not to butcher this week’s podcast as they welcomed a big guest from the world of Seinfeld. In addition to breaking down “The Nose Job”, which first aired November 20, 1991, Peter Mehlman, the writer of the episode called in to share some stories from his days writing for the iconic show. With no time for current Seinfeld news in this action packed recap, they delve right into the episode. Jerry’s opening standup is a bit about how the pharmacist window is on a platform above everything else. Rob thought it was only loosely related to the plot, and seemed a little “hacky”. The episode starts at the newsstand, which Rob thought was the first time we see a more expansive set. George and Jerry are talking about how Jerry was able to get a woman’s phone number in 60 seconds during an elevator ride. George asks him how he does it, and the scene cuts to Jerry telling the woman he is responsible for the crop circles in England, though she has no idea what he’s talking about. Jerry points out to George some spinach in his teeth, and George realizes that he had it stuck in there during his job interview earlier. The scene flashes back to the interview, where the interviewer is cringing at the spinach in his teeth. George then starts to tell Jerry about his girlfriend Audrey’s nose. Jerry agrees that it’s a “schnoz”, but thinks George should try not to worry about it. Rob pointed out that the premise of this episode is all about the obsessing over a small imperfection. Akiva mentioned how the show The League had a similar storyline just recently. Next, at Jerry’s apartment, they are all eating pizza with Audrey. Kramer brings up how the guy who took back the jacket is now in jail, and he needs Elaine to come along on this caper to get it back. Akiva pointed out how Elaine is always plugged in to the caper story in these first few seasons. Rob noted that this is the first time we hear Kramer refer to his alias Peter Van Nostrand. When Audrey starts talking about all the beautiful women in New York City, Kramer tells her that she’s as pretty as them, she just needs a nose job. Rob really appreciated how great everyone’s reaction was to this. After some standup from Jerry, the next scene is George at Elaine’s apartment, where Audrey is staying. They start talking about the idea of her getting a nose job. George does a not so subtle job of convincing her it’s a good idea. Elaine comes in admonishing him for it, but George still tries to sell it. In the next scene, Jerry and George are at the coffee shop celebrating that he’s convinced Audrey to get the nose job, while simultaneously feeling like he will be going to hell for it. They also talk about Jerry’s situation with Isabel, the woman from the elevator, and how he hates her as a person, but is so attracted to her physically. He describes it as a chess match between his penis and his brain. They cut to a scene with Jerry giving Kramer Isabel’s number because he doesn’t trust himself not to call her anymore. They are back at Elaine’s apartment as Audrey is going to take the bandages off her nose. As she reveals to them her new nose, they all quickly discover that her nose is dented, with Kramer telling her she got butchered. George is so taken aback that he faints. After they revive George,