Seinfeld (TV Series) The Doorman (1995) User Reviews

The Mansserie

[Samuel-Shovel · 8/10 · 27 February 2018]

In "The Doorman", Jerry unintentionally gets into a feud with Mr. Pitt's doorman, culminating with the lobby's couch being stolen and Jerry taking the blame. George's parents separate and Frank comes to stay with him. George tries to figure out how to get rid of him. Kramer & Frank come up with an idea to sell male bras and George begins to worry that male breasts might be hereditary.

Another classic episode, the mansserie is a Seinfeld reference that has transcended the show's airtime. I always love it when Kramer tries to get some type of entrepreneurial business going. I am not as big of fan of the doorman subplot but I have to admit that Larry Miller is perfect for the role.

"You think you're better than me, don't you?"

[itamarscomix · 9/10 · 4 October 2011]

Season 6, Episode 17, "The Doorman"

An interesting thought that just occurred to me: for a while there, Jerry replaced George as the show's Larry David stand-in. In this episode and in "The Kiss Hello" he gets himself into situations that would have felt right at home on a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode.

"The Doorman is another classic 6th season episode, fueled mainly by two supporting actors: Jerry Stiller is as great as ever as Frank Constanza, and stand-up comic Larry Williams is hilarious and menacing as the titular doorman. The four leads almost seem to play second fiddle to those two, but Jerry and Kramer both have their moments to shine. It's an excellent and irregular episode that fits right into the sixth season.

Brilliant, hilarious and ingenious - rarely does an episode flow so well

[SLionsCricketreviews · 9/10 · 8 December 2015]

Just like "The Kiss Hello", "The Doorman" is highly underrated and utterly amazing. Every moment in this episode is cause for a laugh, and almost all attempts result in uproarious laughter. I have rarely seen an episode where all the little story-lines culminate in a near perfect episode.

The previous episode featured the wonderful Seinfelds, this episode features the more absurd Costanzas. It is always a delight to see Estelle Harris and Jerry Stiller return to a "Seinfeld" episode - this may be one of their best appearances to date. Frank goes into business with Kramer, after one of George's startling discoveries! This entire plot was handled wonderfully, just showing how deranged the Costanzas are! No wonder their son is the product that he is now.

Jerry begins to get on the wrong side of the doorman at the place that Elaine is house-sitting for Mr. Pitts. This plot was excellent, the doorman was as annoying a character as he was expertly portrayed by Larry Miller and wonderfully written. This character was insane enough to be a recurring antagonist for Jerry! Seinfeld himself shows considerable improvement in acting now. These are all positives!

Even the most insignificant of moments like Kramer "staging" a mugging was hysterical, and pays off excellently in the final moments of the episode.

I've found it remarkably difficult to review sitcom episodes with objective eyes, but "The Doorman" is an unbelievably funny episode of "Seinfeld". The season is finally soaring high above now.

Great Writing/Great Acting

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 8 January 2023]

Let me start by saying that Jason Alexander has one of the greatest faces in the history of comedy. He is the master of the long take. In this episode Jerry goes to Elaine's boss's apartment building and gets into a conflict with the doorman. This escalates into a series of uncomfortable confrontations with the guy. He get totally into Jerry's head. In the second plot, George's father (Jerry Stiller) is separated from his mother. When George and Kramer see him without his shirt, they discover that he has huge breasts. Kramer, never missing a chance to get into a business, designs a "mansierre." A bra for men. While this is going on, George believe he has the breast gene and will face the same problem. Finally, while Jerry takes over for the doorman, a couch gets stolen. The next scenes are to die for.

Guest starring Larry Miller

[safenoe · 8/10 · 28 February 2024]

Larry Miller guest stars as the Doorman, and it turns out he almost got selected to play George Costanza, and the rest is history. It's not the first time an actor who almost got a leading role got invited to play a supporting role. For example, in M*A*S*H you had James Cromwell make a guest appearance, after he was one of the finalists to play B. J. Hunnicutt. Anyway, the doorman playing mind games with Jerry and Elaine was hilarious and all too real, especially as you could relate this to some bus drivers who think they have all the power in the world because they wear uniforms behind a huge steering wheel.

Film Noir reference?

[edgycator · 6/10 · 11 April 2019]

Loved this episode on the whole. I did not pick up any reference in the literature to the scene where Elaine is trying to "get their stories straight" regarding the couch robbery. Is that scene an homage to any known movie scene? Sounds a little like Jimmy Cagney or some other Film Noir classic. Anyone know if this has been identified.? Great scene!