Plot Outline:
One of the most watched television shows of the 90's, "Seinfeld"
is a true-to-life comedy series that follows the events of a group of
friends. The group consists of Jerry Seinfeld, a stand-up comedian who
questions every bizarre tidbit about life, George Costanza, a hard-luck
member of the New York Yankees organization, Elaine Benes, a flashy woman
who is not afraid to speak her mind, and Cosmo Kramer, an extremely eccentric,
lanky goofball. Another very notable member of the show is Newman, a chubby
mailman, friend of Kramer, and, almost always, nemesis of Jerry. Other
sources of comedy appear in the form of the parents of both Jerry and
George.
Why we like him?
Seinfeld changed the television sitcom forever and provided us with hours
of laughter and endless catch phrases to add to our repertoire.
Why is he famous?
After he made his mark as a stand-up comedian, Jerry Seinfeld went on
to create, write and star in one of the most successful television programs
of all-time. Seinfeld was one of a handful of shows throughout history
to leave an indelible mark on popular culture.
By virtue of a show about "nothing," Jerry Seinfeld has carved
a permanent place in contemporary society. Hit status is coveted by every
entertainer in show business yet realized by an infinitesimal few. Who
is not familiar with the term "master of your domain," "close
talker," "ribbon bully," or "Festivus"?
Even the most casual observer of his landmark television show Seinfeld
is aware of the social impact that he had with fellow creative genius
Larry David. Millions tuned in Thursday nights for almost a decade to
watch Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer in action and every episode served
as water-cooler fodder the next morning.
The following sound files are small and you can listen/watch them by
clicking on the link and waiting or you can save them to your hard disk
by right-clicking then picking "Save Target As..."
"That's why I don't have cable in my house. Because of that naked
station. If I had that in my house, I would never turn it off. I wouldn't
sleep, I wouldn't eat. Eventually, firemen would have to break through
the door. They'd find me sitting there in my pajamas with drool coming
down my face." -George
"I am so busy doing nothing... that the idea of doing anything --
which as you know, always leads to something -- cuts into the nothing
and then forces me to have to drop everything." -Jerry Seinfeld
There is no such thing as "fun for the whole family." -Jerry
Seinfeld You know you're getting old when you get that one candle on the
cake. It's like, "See if you can blow this out." -Jerry Seinfeld
"When you look annoyed all the time, people think that you're busy."
- George, in "The Hot Tub"
"The point, George, is she likes you."
"Oh, so what. I'd rather she hate me and thought I was good looking."
- Elaine and George, in "The Doodle"
"I don't get that whole suicide machine. There's no tall buildings
where these people live? They can't wrap their lips around a revolver
like a normal person?" - Jerry, in "The Suicide"
"My whole life has been a complete waste of time."
"And there's so much more to go."
- George and Jerry, in "The Truth"
"I've driven women to lesbianism before, but never a mental institution."
- George, in "The Truth"
"We made out at the table like our plane was going down." -
Elaine, in "The Bookstore"
"Is it my imagination, or do really good-looking women walk a lot
faster than everybody else?"
- George and Elaine, in "The Handicap Spot"
"George, if you're going to be in a creative field, you're going
to have to learn how to deal with criticism."
"How's this for criticism... Ummm... You stink. How do you like that
criticism?"
- Therapist and George, in "The Shoes"
"Divorce is very difficult, especially on the kids. Of course, I'm
the result of my parents having stayed together, so you never know."
- George, in "The Shoes"
"You know, revulsion has now become a valid form of attraction."
"Well, then you're driving me wild."
- Elaine and Jerry, in "The Little Kicks"
"I'm the bad boy. I've never been the bad boy."
"You've been the bad employee, the bad son, the bad friend."
"Yes. Yes, yes."
"The bad fiance, the bad dinner guest, the bad credit risk."
"Okay, the point is made."
"The bad date, the bad sport, the bad citizen. The bad tipper!"
- George and Jerry, in "The Little Kicks"
"You know, if you take everything I've done in my entire life and
condense it down into one day, it looks decent." - George, in "The
Muffin Tops"
"Conformity's an obsession with me." - George, in "The
Pie"
"Sometimes when I think you're the shallowest man I've ever met,
you somehow manage to drain a little more out of the pool."
- Elaine, to Jerry, in "The Implant"
"Why do I always have the feeling everybody's doing something better
than me on Saturday afternoons?"
- Jerry, in "The Parking Garage"
"Do women know about shrinkage?"
"What do you mean, like laundry?"
"No..."
"Like when a man goes swimming... Afterwards..."
"It shrinks?"
"Like a frightened turtle."
"Why does it shrink?"
"It just does."
"I don't know how you guys walk around with those things."
- George, Elaine and Jerry, in "The Hamptons"
"Why do they call it a wedgie?"
"Because the underwear is pulled up from the back until... it wedges
in."
"They also have an Atomic Wedgie. Now the goal there is to actually
get the waistband on top of the head. It's very rare."
"Boys are sick."
"What do girls do?"
"We just tease someone until they develop an eating disorder."
- Elaine, George and Jerry, in "The Library"
"And she said yes?"
"Well, it took a couple hours of convincing, but I was persistent."
- Jerry and George, who asked Susan to marry him, in "The Engagement"
"This is what I like, see? You come home and your parents are in
your bed!" - Jerry, in "The Stakeout"
"Every day it's something else with you. I don't know anything about
you any more. Who are you? What kind of life are you leading? Who knows
what you're doing? Maybe you're making porno films."
"Yeah. I'm Buck Naked." - George's mother and George, in "The
Outing"
"I always get the feeling that when lesbians look at me, they're
thinking, 'That's why I'm not a heterosexual.'"
- George, in "The Subway"
"I don't want hope. Hope is killing me. My dream is to become hopeless.
When you're hopeless you don't care. And when you don't care, that indifference
makes you attractive."
"So, hopelessness is the key?"
"It's my only hope."
- George and Jerry, in "The Fix-Up"
"If you can't say something bad about a relationship you shouldn't
say anything at all."
- George, in "The Stand-In"
"I spend so much time trying to get their clothes off, I never thought
of taking mine off."
- George, in "The Stand-In"
"Instead of doing a wash, I just keep buying underwear. My goal is
to have over 360 pair. That way I only have to do wash once a year."
- George, in "The Phone Message"
"The jerk store called, they're running out of you!" - George,
in "The Comeback"
Trivia
Jerry Seinfeld has a collection of over 500 sneakers. They are all
white.
Jason Alexander (George) was always fitted with a suit one size too
small [in Seinfeld], to make his character look "uncool"
The character of Cosmo Kramer is based on Kenny Kramer, a man who
worked across the hall from co-creator Larry David. In a self-confessed
move to cash-in on the sitcom's popularity, Kenny Kramer formed the
"Kramer Reality Tour", an officially-recognized New York City
tour which visits the real-life locations often featured in the sitcom.
Did you know that the first line of the first episode (The Seinfeld
Chronicles) is the same as the last line of the final episode? Jerry
tells George, "See, now to me, that button is in the worst possible
spot. The second button literally makes or breaks the shirt. Look at
it, it's too high, it's in no-man's land". In the first episode
George and Jerry are in the coffee shop when he says it, and in the
final episode they are in the jail cell.
Elaine Benes wasn't in the pilot (The Seinfeld Chronicles) After that
episode aired they decided that they needed a female character to kind
of balance out the three males.
The "Kramer Entrance" was actually an accidental discovery?
He was late for his cue, so he accidentally slid through the door. Everyone
thought it was funny and decided to keep it.
In the episode where Elaine dates a man named Joel Rifkin, she tries
to have him change his name, since Joel Rifkin is also the name of a
brutal serial killer. One of the initial suggestions for a new name
was O.J. This episode was shot in 1993, a year before the O.J. Simpson
murders!!
In Jerry's apartment, he has a picture on the wall of a black Porsche
911 catching air going over a hill. In real life, Jerry is an avid Porsche
fan and collector.
The episode where Newman grills Jerry about mail fraud is a parody
of Basic Instinct (1992).
As Kramer became more popular, his entrance applause grew so prolonged
that the cast complained it was ruining the pacing of their scenes.
Directors subsequently asked the audience not to applaud so much when
Kramer entered.
The apartment used for exterior shots of "129 West 81st"
New York is not actually in New York at all, but is 757 New Hampshire
Ave., West Hollywood, California. There's a Taco Bell directly across
from it.
The night before the final episode, ABC aired an episode of "Dharma
& Greg" (1997) in which the couple tries to have sex in public
because everyone will be indoors watching the "Seinfeld" finale.
The Bubble Boy (Donald Sanger) was played by an old man, John Hayman.
Kramer was named Kessler in the first episode while
Seinfeld was named The Seinfeld Chronicles.
While it's true that both TV Jerry and real-life Jerry
are big fans of Superman, and that references to Superman (and other
comic book super heroes) are regular occurrences on the show, it is
not true that every episode includes a reference. Between the Superman
refrigerator magnet,the Superman figurine on the shelf by Jerry's
stereo, and the frequent spoken references, at least 80 or 90% of
the episodes include a reference, but not all.
Good Manners According
To Seinfeld Episodes:
Don't double-dip the chip you already bit.
Scoop small food such as corn niblets or peas with your fork. Don't
prong them one at a time.
If a guest brings food, such as a loaf of bread, to your dinner party,
serve it.
Don't degift (take back something you gave), regift (give away something
you received), issue an unvite or nonvitation (to someone you hope won't
attend your function) or overthank (by calling with a day-after thanks
if you said thanks the night before).
When in a movie theather, observe the empty "bufferzone seat"
between you and the person beside you.
Don't pee in the shower at the health club.
And for goodness' sake, don't remove a TV GUIDE from someone's home
-- it may be part of a collection.
Don't double park! You might block someone in. If you do, leave a
note. According to George, this is how dictatorships start.
If you are invited to a dinner party, bring something such as wine
and cake (not pepsi and ringdings).
No one is more picky when it comes to dating than Jerry. Over the years,
he's struck up relationships with a variety of woman, only to eventually
dump them for reasons perhaps only a psychiatrist could understand.
For eating peas one at a time.
For being liked by his parents.
For having been with and dumped by Newman!
For shushing him in front of the TV.
For not tasting his pie.
For appearing to own only one dress.
For having man hands.
For being "too perfect" that her friends kept saying, "its
so nice he's doing this for her."