There’s some really awful tape noise at the start of this tape, but it settles down quickly enough, straight into the episode, which is jarring because the first thing we see is the Castle Rock end-ident, then the episode starts. This episode is The Betrayal. It’s a structural homage to a Harold Pinter play called The Betrayal, where the scenes are played in reverse order.
Jerry, Elaine and George are at a wedding, and obviously things go wrong, but we start off with the effects, and only gradually, as the earlier scenes come round, do we discover why everyone is so upset.
Mike McShane makes a guest appearance.
The next episode is The Apology. A friend of Elaine is apologizing to people he’s wronged, as part of his 12 step AA programme, and George is expecting an apology from him for a minor slight. He’s played by James Spader.
Naturally, George obsesses when the apology never comes.
Next it’s The Dealership. Jerry is buying a car from Elaine’s boyfriend Puddy (Patrick Warburton).
In The Reverse Peephole, Newman and Kramer are reversing their peepholes, to protect them from ambush. Jon Polito plays the building superintendent. Update: I was shocked to read today that Jon Polito has died, aged only 65. This one definitely counts to my blog death-watch, I’m afraid.
In The Cartoon, Jerry is at odds with an actress, played by Kathy Griffin.
In The Strong Box Jerry has some cufflinks that belonged to Jerry Lewis, and the key is swallowed by his neighbour’s parrot.
In The Wizard, Jerry gives his dad an electronic organiser, and Elaine is dating a guy who Jerry thinks is black, but George thinks is white. Jerry’s Dad seeks to install Kramer as the president of his Condo. With some spinning newspaper gags which contain Larry David references.
In The Burning, Elaine discovers that Puddy is religious by the radio stations on his car radio. Daniel Dae Kim off of the Babylon 5 spin-off Crusade appears as a student doctor.
For reasons that defy understanding, only the first half of this episode is on this tape. At the ad break, another new episode starts. This was my recording cock-up, but an unusual one to make.
The next episode is The Bookstore. Jerry gets Uncle Leo arrested for shoplifting. There’s a bit of a Cape Fear parody going on.
Then the last episode on this tape is The Frogger. George and Jerry visit a pizza parlour in their old neighbourhood, and George discovers that the Frogger machine still has his high score on it.
After this episode the recording stops, and underneath there’s a bit of Friends. The tape ends shortly after this.
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