When he's making us laugh on shows like Harley Quinn and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (not to mention the ever-present Seinfeld reruns and that Criminal Minds episode where he has an amazing wig), Jason Alexander is working behind the camera. as a director, writer and producer. To this point in his considerable career, the actor and artist has helmed several notable projects, including episodes of hit sitcoms like Everybody Hates Chris and Young Sheldon, plus, yes, Criminal Minds.

Despite the strong trivia culture surrounding Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld's masterpiece, the comedy Seinfeld, many people don't seem to actually know about Alexander's directorial contributions to the show. He actually cut his teeth as a director on the season three episode "The Good Samaritan," which became Alexander's first directorial credit in 1992. - Greeting shows - now a relic of TV's bygone era - are so often skipped entirely by viewers that it's unclear whether they really count as episodes at all (even if The "Seinfeld" finale was one of a kind). Thankfully though, the "real" episode that Alexander directed is good.

The Good Samaritan isn't a Seinfeld classic, but it's a fun watch worth repeating with the knowledge that Alexander probably directed all of his scenes himself. In it, Jerry (Seinfeld) tries to establish relationships with two unpredictable women - one the perpetrator of the collision, the other the victim. Meanwhile, George (Alexander) nearly ends his marriage after snapping "God bless you" to a sneezed-out woman during dinner with Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the couple. George begins to have an affair with the woman, but ends up fleeing the city in fear of her husband. Meanwhile, Kramer (Michael Richards), on his bizarre journey, begins having seizures every time he sees Mary Hartman on television.

The episode is perhaps best remembered for Kramer's strange diagnosis, fake sneezing, 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 and constantly one-shot exploration of moral bankruptcy. At this point, we're still a little shocked that George is committing adultery, or that Jerry's initial sense of moral obligation to report a dangerous driver crumbles when she turns out to be a beautiful lady. A few seasons later, George will be in his final scary-kind form on "Seinfeld," shrugging off the tragic death of his fiancee Susan thanks to cheap envelope glue. The show even ended with a series finale which directly reference the "Good Samaritan" laws that share a name with this episode's title.

We have Alexander and episode writer Pete Mehlman — plus memorable guest stars like Melinda McGraw and Helen Slater — to thank for this maddened climb up the ladder to the hilariously unforgiving pit of "Seinfeld" bad behavior. on his resume to give thanks for some of the directing gigs he's landed in the years since. For his first directorial project since Seinfeld, he made a quick leap into feature film work, working on and starring in the now-forgotten comedy For Better or Worse. That movie isn't currently available to stream without renting or buying, but you can now watch The Good Samaritan and the rest of Seinfeld on Netflix.