Seinfeld began to slide after their golden Fourth Season. Although the show would still occasionally achieve greatness the episodes were becoming broad and silly... as a viewer I found myself laughing at the outrageousness of the contrived premises and not at the premises themselves. "The Susie" is among the worst five episodes of Seinfeld.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a weak comedienne at best, is at her worst here. When her office co-worker Peggie mistakenly refers to her as "Susie," Elaine decides not to correct her but to play along. Dreyfus, whose only method for expressing anxiety was to cough weakly, allows Peggy to call her Susie and badmouth "this Elaine Benes character." We're supposed to be laughing at the impossible mix-up... the trouble is it isn't funny.

Kramer for no apparent reason decides to abandon daylight-savings time- a premise that is as rich as it is funny. Jerry runs into a freakish bald dwarf who years earlier called him "phony" and learns the man's become a bookie. George, anticipating Steinbrenner's upcoming Yankee formal ball, is avoiding his unhappy girlfriend so she won't be able to break up with him before the big event. As usual at this point in the series the subplots are little more than labored setups for a finale in which they all intertwine to middling effect. Kramer "represents" George's girlfriend and breaks up with George, Jerry wins a significant amount of money from the dwarf bookie who is unable to pay, and Kramer- as a result of his hilarious time change- is early.

This is all window-dressing to the main plot which features the unfunny Elaine leading a double identity at work as both herself and the nonexistent Susie. J. Peterman, clueless as ever, calls all three women- Elaine, Peggy and Susie- into his office to get the problem straightened out. What follows is a scene so stilted that all humor is drained... somehow Elaine is able to fool both Peterman and Peggy about the existence of Susie by talking in freakishly strange third-person sentences.

What finally caps off this terrible outing is the finale. Elaine feels that the Susie situation has gotten out of control, so she decides to "kill her off," and hold a fake funeral for a woman who never even existed. A casket is purchased, a memorial service held... and dozens of mourners show up to honor a woman who was never real. Elaine gives the eulogy, unfunny and overwrought, and J. Peterman rises to confess to having slept with Susie during a moment of unbridled passion. Is he a liar? Insane? It's never explained because the dwarf bookie bursts in, broken thumbs in a cast, convinced that Jerry is a master criminal and had Susie killed. The episode was so bad I was actually embarassed for everyone involved.

Jerry Seinfeld once said, "When you're working on a TV show suddenly bad ideas start to seem like good ideas..." I think that's the only way to explain this episode. It's dumb, it's unfunny and it's cartoonishly absurd. I'm a die-hard Seinfeld fan, but there were moments when even I could not deny how low the show had sunk... this was one of those times.

This episode stands not only as one of the best TAXI's but one of the best TV episodes ever. It has everything- comedy, drama, heartache and Latka.

Alex makes a date with Angela Matusa, the woman from Bobby's answering service. He comes into the garage telling everyone how great a conversation they had... if you've ever had a great phone call where you felt chemistry and a connection being made you can definitely relate. He tells the gang that he wants to ask this girl out but everyone warns him about the danger of the blind date. They have no idea.

When Alex shows up at Angela's place (apartment 3D, you may notice), he's greeted by an obese woman without makeup. She's surly and sarcastic, nothing like the woman Alex spoke to on the phone. She tries to goad Alex into leaving, mentioning her appearance and her weight, but being the perfect mensch Alex insists on taking Angela out.

Dinner is even worse. Angela is self-conscious and takes out her insecurities on Alex, accusing him of taking her out as his "good deed for the day." She winds up storming out and leaving him alone in the restaurant. What happens next is what defines not only the character of Alex Reiger but the heart of the show.

Alex goes back to see her again. He can't lie and tell her he's interested in her romantically but he feels obligated to reach out to this unhappy woman, to show her kindness and make her his friend. Alex is no saint but he's a man with a conscience... it may be his gift or it may be his curse. In the exchange with Angela we learn that deep down, beneath her weight and her fears, she is a truly beautiful woman who is lonely and unhappy. Alex makes her smile and makes that connection that can make all the difference in the world.

The episode made me think about all the Angela Matusas of the world. People who are isolated, unhappy, or alone. People who feel unloved... It makes me think of what the world might be like if we all reached out to even one person like this at some point in our lives. The episode is funny without being silly, and sad without being maudlin. It's a story so human and so moving that you'll forget you're watching a sitcom... it might be the quintessential Taxi episode- funny, sweet and real. You owe it to yourself to see this show.

[Note: The theme from TAXI- "Angela"- was originally written for this episode... the lonely piccolo opening was written by Bob James and conceived as Angela's theme- producers liked the tune so much they made it the theme of the entire series.]

"The One Where Ross Got High" is simply one of the best FRIENDS episodes ever. Thanksgiving was always special for the show and the series produced a number of great turkey day episodes but this one is in a class by itself. The entire episode is basically a one-set real-time holiday dinner, and each character has their own storyline and genuinely hilarious subplots: Monica hasn't told her parents that she's living with Chandler, and Chandler is horrified to find out the reason- Mr. and Mrs. Geller hate him. Joey and Ross want to eat as fast as they can to leave and join Joey's beautiful roommate and her dancer friends, and Pheobe develops a sudden and unexplained crush on Jack Geller (Elliot Gould). To top it all off Rachel is in charge of cooking desert- a traditional English trifle- and she unknowingly ruins the recipe with beef and peas.

It's so popular now to call the sitcom dead, to mock the idea of the live studio audience and the wacky neighbor, but this episode would silence even the coldest critic. Ross' confession to his parents that he smoked pot in college is hilarious, and their exaggerated reactions are as funny as they are true. "Ross..." says Mrs. Geller, melodramatic, "Drugs... divorced, again..."

But maybe funniest of all is everyone pretending to enjoy Rachel's disgusting desert so as not to hurt her feelings. Ross' line, "It tastes like FEET!" was perfect, and the various excuses given Rachel are priceless. The episode ends with a classic switch: The Gellers, who entered disliking Chandler, leave praising him and entrusting him to watch over their daughter and "misfit" son.

FRIENDS was frequently great but due to it's multiple storylines few episodes gelled this well and held together so beautifully. "The One Where Ross Got High" is bright, memorable, and surely one of the best episodes of the series.