When he’s not making us laugh on shows like “Harley Quinn” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (not to mention the ubiquitous reruns of “Seinfeld” and that episode of “Criminal Minds” where he has an amazing wig), Jason Alexander works behind the camera as a director, writer and producer. At this point in his considerable career, the actor and entertainer has completed several notable projects, including episodes of hit sitcoms like “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Young Sheldon,” as well as “Criminal Minds.”
Despite the strong quiz culture surrounding Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld’s masterpiece comedy, “Seinfeld,” many people don’t seem to actually know about Alexander’s contribution to the making of the series. He actually cut his teeth as a filmmaker in the season 3 episode “The Good Samaritan”, which became Alexander’s very first directorial credit in 1992. Later in the series, he also directed two episodes of, albeit cheesy, self-directing clips. – congratulatory clip shows – now a relic of a bygone television era – are so often ignored entirely by viewers that it’s unclear whether they really count as episodes (although the “Seinfeld” finale was kind of one). Fortunately, the “real” episode directed by Alexander is good.
Alexander began his directing career with The Good Samaritan
“The Good Samaritan” isn’t a “Seinfeld” classic, but it’s a fun watch worth revisiting, considering that Alexander was probably directing himself in all of his scenes. In it, Jerry (Seinfeld) attempts to build relationships with two unpredictable women – one the perpetrator of a hit-and-run, the other the victim. Meanwhile, George (Alexander) nearly breaks up a marriage after pointedly saying “God bless you” to an abductee who sneezed during a dinner with Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) and the couple. George begins having an affair with the woman, but ends up fleeing town in fear of her husband. Meanwhile, Kramer (Michael Richards), still on his own bizarre journey, begins having seizures every time he sees Mary Hartman on television.
The episode is perhaps best known for Kramer’s strange diagnosis, sneezing faux pas, and lines like “I’m speechless. Speechless! I have no speech!” In the long run, though, it’s an episode that expertly escalates the show’s hilarious, ever-repeated exploration of moral bankruptcy. At this point, we’re still a little shocked that George commits adultery or that Jerry’s initial sense of his moral obligation to report a dangerous driver falls apart when she turns out to be a pretty lady. Several seasons later, George would be in his final, terribly adorable form. on “Seinfeld”, unaware of the tragic death of his fiancée Susan thanks to cheap envelope glue. The show itself ended with a series finale which directly referenced the “Good Samaritan” laws which share a name with this episode’s title.
We have Alexander and episode writer Pete Mehlman to thank — as well as memorable guest stars like Melinda McGraw and Helen Slater — for this wacky descent into the entertaining and unforgivable pit of bad behavior in which “Seinfeld” thrived. Alexander undoubtedly has the answer too. on his CV to acknowledge some of the directing roles he landed in the years that followed. For his first post-Seinfeld directing project, he quickly made the jump to feature film, directing and starring in the now-forgotten comedy “For Better or For Worse.” This movie is currently not available to stream without rental or purchase, but you can now watch “The Good Samaritan” and the rest of “Seinfeld” on Netflix.
