SEINFELD - Season 3, Episode 16 - The Fix Up

“The Fix Up”

First Script Read: Sat, January 18, 1992

Filmed: Fri, January 24, 1992

Aired: 9:00 pm, Wed, February 5, 1992

Nielsen rating: 13.0

Audience share: 20

Directed: Tom Cherones

Writer: Elaine Pope (Also wrote season 3’s “The Truth” and season 4’ “The Cheever Letters”) and Larry Charles

Awards: Won Seinfeld’s first Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series

This episode aired before "The Boyfriend," but was written and filmed immediately after. I discuss this episode briefly in my post on "The Boyfriend." When Jerry and Elaine try to set up George with Elaine's friend, Cynthia, George's main concern is looks while Cynthia's is occupation. I'm probably reading too much Grantland, but let's break down all of the questions they ask ahead of the date SABREMETRICALLY! The episode switches back and forth from George and Jerry's conversation to Elaine and Cynthia's conversation, but we'll start with George's questions:

1. What does she look like?
2. How good looking?
3. Really good looking?
4. Would you take her out?
5. What about the body, what kind of body?
6. How nice?
7. Just nice?
8. Really good?
9. What about personality?
10. Smarter than me? I don't want anyone smarter than me.
11. Alright, let's see, let's see. What else. What else. Oh yeah, what does she do?
12. What kind of hair?
13. Flowing?
14. Is it flowing? I like flowing, cascading hair. Thick lustrous hair is very important to me.
15. Let me ask you this. If you stick your hand in the hair is it easy to get it out?
16. What about the skin? I need a good cheek, I like a good cheek.
17. Is there a pinkish hue?
18. Is she sweet? I like sweet. But not too sweet, you could throw up from that.

Now let's put those into categories:

1. Looks
2. Looks
3. Looks
4. Overall package
5. Looks
6. Looks
7. Looks
8. Looks
9. Personality
10. Intelligence
11. Occupation
12. Looks
13. Looks
14. Looks
15. Looks
16. Looks
17. Looks
18. Personality

 If my math is right, that comes out to:

• 13 questions about looks - 72%
• 2 questions about personality - 11%
• 1 question about the overall package - 5.5%
• 1 question about intelligence - 5.5%
• 1 question about occupation - 5.5%

Now let's do the same for Cynthia:

1. First of all, what does he do?
2. He's not working?! How come he's not working?
3. Why did he get fired?
4. Excuse me? [Asking to clarify Elaine's response that he tried to poison his boss]
5. Is he nuts?
6. What does he look like?
7. Fat. Is that what you're saying, that he's fat?
8. He's bald?
9. So he will be bald?
10. Has he ever been married?
11. Has he been close?
12. He didn't really try to poison his boss?

Categories:

1. Occupation
2. Occupation
3. Occupation
4. Personality
5. Personality
6. Looks
7. Looks
8. Looks
9. Looks
10. Ability to commit
11. Ability to commit
12. Personality

Math 'em:

• 4 questions about looks - 33%
• 3 questions about occupation - 25%
• 3 questions about personality - 25%
• 2 questions about ability to commit - 17%

Like George, most of Cynthia's questions are about George's looks. The number of questions she asks about personality are equal to those she asks about occupation. Still, the questions about personality come out of a concern for his inability to hold his job, you know, due to the whole poisoning his boss thing. (Elaine neglects to mention that she acted as George's accomplice for the act, back in "The Revenge." That might have deflected at least a little of Cynthia's skepticism about George's sanity.) Still, occupation is the first topic Cynthia covers. And her interest in George's looks is, as far as the episode shows us, far less substantial than George's interest in her looks. Again, assuming my math is right, George asks more questions about Cynthia's looks (13) than Cynthia asks total (12). 

 

I'll conclude by "correcting" the percentages to come up with the xGbDI (expected Gender-based Dating Interest) that, I believe, covers all of the males and females in Seinfeld, with the usual disclaimers about margin of error and outliers.

Male xGbDI

75% - looks

10% - personality

5% - overall package

5% - intelligence

5% - occupation

Female xGbDI

30% - occupation

30% - looks

25% - personality

15% - ability to commit