180 Trivia Tidbits for All 180 Episodes of ‘Seinfeld’

A little bit of everything for the show about nothing
180 Trivia Tidbits for All 180 Episodes of ‘Seinfeld’

“Wow, nine years, 180 shows, the same 12 boxes of cereal and millions and millions of dollars.”

That’s how Jerry Seinfeld introduced the last half of the final Seinfeld clip show, which aired just before the finale. While the series was never one to get sentimental, for fans, it’s hard not to be taken aback by the sheer breadth of the episodes and the laughs they provided. One hundred and eighty shows is a stunning accomplishment, and so, we assembled 180 trivia tidbits — one per episode — in an attempt to capture just how big Seinfeld was — and still is.

‘The Seinfeld Chronicles’

The Seinfeld pilot didn’t feature Elaine, as her character wasn’t created yet, but it did have a fourth cast member. Lee Garlington played Claire, the waitress at Pete’s Luncheonette (the precursor to Monk’s).

‘The Stake Out’

This was the first episode to feature Jerry’s parents. Liz Sheridan played Jerry’s mother Helen, but Barney Martin didn’t play his father yet. At the start, that honor went to Phil Burns, who Larry David decided was too laid-back for future appearances.

‘The Robbery’

While Elaine was in “The Stake Out,” this episode was shot first, meaning “The Robbery” was Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ first performance as Elaine.

‘The Stock Tip ’

To celebrate his victory after scoring big on a stock-market investment, George smoked a cigar. However, in Season Four, when George got Cuban cigars from Susan’s father, he told Jerry that they made him sick.

‘The Ex-Girlfriend ’

This episode was delayed a week because of the start of the Gulf War.

‘The Pony Remark ’

Both “The Pony Remark” and “The Deal” were nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series at the 1991 Emmys, making them the first of 11 episodes to receive such a distinction. Unfortunately, they lost out to an episode of Murphy Brown, which Seinfeld later crossed over with in Season Three.

‘The Jacket ’

This was the first and only appearance of Elaine’s father, played by veteran actor Lawrence Tierney. While David and Seinfeld liked him in the part, his bizarre behavior backstage caused them never to ask him back. During production of the episode, he pocketed a butcher knife from the set of Jerry’s kitchen and when Seinfeld confronted him about it, he pulled it out and held it over Seinfeld in a threatening motion.

‘The Phone Message ’

The ratings for this episode were so low — with “only” 13 million viewers — that Seinfeld was placed on a two-month hiatus after it aired.

‘The Apartment ’

“The Apartment” was the first time Elaine did her famous “Get Out” shove.

‘The Statue ’

George said he broke his mother’s statue as a child when he was using it as a microphone singing “MacArthur Park.” In an earlier draft of the script, the song was “There Ain’t No Cure for the Summertime Blues.”

‘The Revenge ’

This is Newman’s first appearance. However, he only appears off-screen, threatening to jump off the building. He was originally voiced by David, but Wayne Knight later recorded over David’s performance when this episode entered syndication. 

‘The Heart Attack ’

This episode marked the first mention of Kramer’s unseen friend, Bob Sacamano, as Kramer recounted a botched hernia operation Bob had.

‘The Deal ’

“The Deal,” which featured Jerry and Elaine working out a “friends with benefits” arrangement, was written in response to notes from NBC asking the show to pair up Jerry and Elaine. There were subtle digs at the network throughout, like when Kramer says, “Boy, I really liked you two better when you weren’t a couple.” The episode ended with them together, but by the next episode, they were split up again without explanation.

‘The Chinese Restaurant ’

NBC held “The Chinese Restaurant” for months, fearing the episode would be a disaster as it never left the one set. It’s now widely considered to be one of the show’s best episodes.

‘The Busboy ’

According to Seinfeld Secrets: An Insider Scoop About the Show, Castle Rock executive Glenn Padnick approached Seinfeld after this episode because his character didn’t have his own story. Padnick told Seinfeld he was being too generous with his co-stars and to always include a story for his character.

‘The Note ’

Aside from the pilot, “The Note” is the only episode to feature a different theme song, as scatting female vocalists were added to the standard Seinfeld theme. NBC wasn’t informed of this change, however, so they switched it back with the next episode.

‘The Truth ’

This was the first Seinfeld episode to be written by a female writer (Elaine Pope).

‘The Pen ’

Taking place in Florida with Jerry and Elaine visiting Jerry’s parents, this was the only episode without George. Kramer was also absent, but he was missing in “The Chinese Restaurant” as well as his character was only confined to scenes in the apartment building during that time.

‘The Dog ’

No real dog barks were used for Farfel, the annoying dog. Farfel was played by voice actor Tom Williams, who did voice work for cartoons like Batman: The Animated Series and movies like Rover Dangerfield.

‘The Library ’

Philip Baker Hall, who played Lt. Bookman in “The Library,” said his “life changed significantly” from the appearance, as it was the role people most often recognized him for.

‘The Parking Garage ’

The final scene, where Kramer’s car won’t start after hours of searching for it, was unplanned. Originally, Kramer was supposed to start the car and drive away, but the prop car wouldn’t start, making for a much funnier ending.

‘The Café ’

Babu’s finger-wagging as he says, “You bad man, you very very bad man,” became a running gag on the Seinfeld set for years after this episode aired.

‘The Tape ’

Dartmouth College used “The Tape,” along with the Simpsons episode “Bart the General,” in a study about the brain’s response to humorous content. 

‘The Nose Job ’

This was the first episode where Kramer went by his alter ego, Dr. Von Nostrand.

‘The Stranded ’

This episode was taped during Season Two, but because David was unhappy with it, it was held until the next season.

‘The Alternate Side ’

This is Seinfeld’s least favorite episode, as he said he was uncomfortable with the scenes where they were feeding a character who recently had a stroke.

‘The Red Dot ’

Alexander’s favorite line as George comes from “The Red Dot.” When his boss confronted him about having sex with the cleaning woman in his office, George said, “Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? I tell you, I gotta plead ignorance on this thing, because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing was frowned upon… You know, because I’ve worked in a lot of offices, and I tell you, people do that all the time.”

‘The Subway ’

For the first time, George was compared to the Death of a Salesman character Biff Loman, who George called the “biggest loser in the history of American literature.”

‘The Pez Dispenser ’

This episode featured the first mention of Kramer’s cologne idea, “The Beach.”

‘The Suicide ’

“The Suicide” was Knight’s first appearance as Newman.

‘The Fix-Up ’

“The Fix-Up,” written by Charles and Pope, was the first of just two episodes to win an Emmy for Outstanding Writing. The other was “The Contest.”

‘The Boyfriend: Part One ’

Before guest-starring in the two-part “The Boyfriend,” New York Mets legend Keith Hernandez had never seen Seinfeld.

‘The Boyfriend: Part Two ’

Seinfeld wanted Hernandez as the baseball player in the episode because Hernandez was his favorite player. (Seinfeld, of course, is a giant Mets fan.)

‘The Limo ’

Suzanne Snyder, who played the Hitler-loving “Eva” in “The Limo” would later return as Poppie’s daughter.

‘The Good Samaritan ’

This was the only episode directed by Alexander.

‘The Letter ’

The famous portrait of Kramer from “The Letter” was painted by Larry Salk, who painted the posters for many films including Superman III and House of Wax. Salk died in 2004.

‘The Parking Space ’

The actor who played the driver of the ice-cream truck in “The Parking Space” was Michael Costanza, Seinfeld’s friend and the inspiration behind George’s last name.

‘The Keys ’

In “The Keys,” Kramer appeared in an episode of Murphy Brown, a show created by Diane English. To repay the favor of doing the crossover, David and Seinfeld later appeared as themselves in English’s other series, Love & War.

‘The Trip: Part One ’

This was the first episode for Ruth Cohen, who played the cashier at Monk’s. She would go on to appear in the background of nearly every episode after this, making her Seinfeld’s most recurring guest star with 101 appearances in all.

‘The Trip: Part Two ’

Elaine doesn’t appear in either part of “The Trip” (to California) because Louis-Dreyfus was on maternity leave at the time.

‘The Pitch ’

George’s eventual fiancé, Susan Ross, first appeared in “The Pitch.”

‘The Ticket ’

“The Ticket” aired just after “The Pitch” as an hour-long special. Ironically, the two previous episodes, both parts of “The Trip,” didn’t air together.

‘The Wallet ’

Morty lost his wallet in this episode. It would be found 18 episodes later in the Season Four finale, “The Pilot.”

‘The Watch’

Jerry mentioned “The Bizarro World” in this episode, four seasons before “The Bizarro Jerry.”

‘The Bubble Boy’

George got into an argument with the Bubble Boy in this episode over a misprint on a Trivial Pursuit card. Some time later, the real Trivial Pursuit based a question in this scene.

‘The Cheever Letters’

“The Cheever Letters” marked the first of several appearances by Susan’s parents.

‘The Virgin’

This episode marked the first professional writing credit for the Farrelly Brothers.

‘The Contest ’

“The Contest” is David’s favorite episode. “That show changed something about how we were perceived in television land,” he has said. “It really catapulted us to another place. It moved us to another level. And the show got much more popular after that episode.”

‘The Airport ’

This was one of many episodes where David had a cameo. He played the voice of the guy on the plane who ordered a kosher meal.

‘The Pick ’

Newman appears for just 13 seconds in this episode, when he immediately noticed Elaine’s accidental nipple exposure on her Christmas card.

‘The Movie ’

This episode marked the first time the movie Rochelle, Rochelle was mentioned.

‘The Visa ’

When Brian George, who played Babu Bhatt, first got the script for his second episode, “The Visa,” he was excited because Babu was working at Monk’s and he figured Babu would become a recurring character. However, as he kept reading, he was soon disappointed to learn that Babu was getting deported.

‘The Shoes ’

This was the first episode where Seinfeld became a regular part of NBC’s Thursday night comedy lineup.

‘The Outing ’

When Estelle Harris was unavailable to film a scene during the taping of this episode in front of an audience, The Nanny’s Fran Drescher stood in for her. Harris then filmed her scenes later.

‘The Old Man ’

The old man’s name in this episode was “Sid Fields,” named for an actor on The Abbott and Costello Show, which Seinfeld has often cited as an influence on Seinfeld.

‘The Implant ’

In this episode, Kramer claimed to see author Salman Rushdie at the gym. Rushdie would later appear on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

‘The Junior Mint ’

A somewhat larger York Peppermint Patty was used in place of a Junior Mint for the scene in which the Junior Mint is falling.

‘The Smelly Car ’

Writer Peter Mehlman said the smelly car storyline was based on something that really happened to a friend of his.

‘The Handicap Spot ’

This was the first episode with Frank Costanza. However, actor John Randolph (read: not Jerry Stiller) originally had the part. The scenes with Frank were reshot for syndication.

‘The Pilot: Part One ’

Larry Hankin, who played Tom Pepper, the actor playing Kramer in the pilot Jerry and George made, auditioned for the part of Kramer for the original casting call of Seinfeld, losing out to Michael Richards.

‘The Pilot: Part Two ’

In an interview with Cracked, Hankin said of Richards, “Even though I was imitating him, I never really worked with him on the part. See, Michael is weird. He’s weird like I’m weird. Michael would rehearse in private, and he doesn’t like to give away his humor. He doesn’t like to do what he’s going to do on-screen in rehearsal — he’ll do something else.”

‘The Mango ’

The original title for this episode was “The Orgasm.”

‘The Puffy Shirt ’

The puffy shirt from this episode now hangs in the Smithsonian Museum.

‘The Glasses ’

This was one of three episodes in which Kramer was called a “hipster doofus.” The others were “The Handicap Spot” and “The Movie.”

‘The Sniffing Accountant ’

This episode was inspired by Seinfeld’s real-life accountant, who stole $50,000 from him.

‘The Bris ’

This was the last episode where the audience applauded when Kramer entered the room. After it happened on and off since episode 24, David begged live audiences not to do it anymore, as it disrupted the show’s comedic timing.

‘The Lip Reader ’

Marlee Matlin appeared as Laura, the lip reader, in this episode. However, a poster of Matlin in the show Reasonable Doubts could previously be seen in the offices of NBC.

‘The Non-Fat Yogurt ’

A central plot point in this episode was the New York City mayoral race between Rudy Giuliani and David Dinkins. Unlike Giuliani, who was featured in the episode, Dinkins didn’t want to appear and scenes with a Dinkins spokesperson were shot instead (though they were never used because Giuliani won). Phil Morris, who would later play Jackie Chiles, was cast as that spokesperson. Some speculate that, had Giuliani lost the race, Morris would never have become Jackie Chiles, though several actors would play two characters on Seinfeld.

‘The Barber ’

In place of the standard Seinfeld theme, selections from The Barber of Seville were used in this episode.

‘The Masseuse ’

In this episode, Elaine dated a man with the same name as a serial killer: Joel Rifkin. Among the new names she suggested is O.J. Ironically, O.J. Simpson would be accused of murder just a few months later.

‘The Cigar Store Indian ’

In “The Cigar Store Indian,” Estelle found a condom wrapper in her bed, revealing that George had sex there. However, according to the DVD extras of the episode, it was originally supposed to be a used condom, but that was deemed too gross.

‘The Conversion ’

For the brief exterior scenes shot in New York City, a stand-in was used for Kramer so that Richards wouldn’t have to be flown to New York.

‘The Stall’

This was one of only two episodes where Jerry used his computer. The other was “The Strongbox” in Season Nine.

‘The Dinner Party ’

The continuity on Jerry’s cookie was terrible in the bakery scene, as the black and white cookie kept switching which side was white and which was black. The number of bites kept changing, too.

‘The Marine Biologist’

“George pulling out the golf ball at the end of the marine biologist episode, that’s my favorite moment from the entire series,” Seinfeld once told Uproxx.

‘The Pie’

When Jerry was pretending to be Elaine’s lawyer, he made mention of the case “Winchell vs. Mahoney.” This was a reference to the ventriloquist Paul Winchell and his dummy, Jerry Mahoney.

‘The Stand In’

In his interview with Cracked, Danny Woodburn said of “The Stand In,” “I had one beef with the script — the ‘M-word’ in that first episode. When they said it, I didn’t want it to go unacknowledged. Originally, it was a casual mention by George, and there was no beat of Mickey going, ‘Listen pal!’ That was something I asked them to put in. At first, I improvised a speech that was maybe a little too preachy for them. They told me, ‘We never do any kind of ‘very special’ episode.’ But I told them, ‘I have a big problem with that word, and I need to have a reaction.’ So they said, ‘Okay, we’ll do something.’”

‘The Wife’

Courteney Cox appeared in this episode just six months before the debut of Friends.

‘The Raincoats: Part One’

Judge Reinhold was nominated for an Emmy for his guest-starring role as Aaron, the close talker.

‘The Raincoats: Part Two’

The inspiration for Jerry making out with a woman during Schindler’s List came about when Seinfeld learned that, while filming Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg would watch Seinfeld to elevate his mood.

‘The Hamptons’

In MEL Magazine’s oral history of “shrinkage,” Mehlman recalled how the word came about in the script, explaining, “I was struggling with the script; the second act just wasn’t coming together. So I was talking to Larry, and he suggested, ‘What if — instead of George getting to see Jerry’s girlfriend topless as a quid pro quo — what if she ends up seeing George naked and he’s just come out of the pool?’ So I said to Larry, ‘Oh, you mean, like, he’s got shrinkage?’ And Larry, with his fireproof comedic brilliance, says to me, ‘Yes, shrinkage, and use that word a lot.’”

‘The Opposite’

“The Opposite” was David’s first time providing the voice for George Steinbrenner.

‘The Chaperone’

This was the first episode directed by Andy Ackerman, who would go on to direct 87 episodes of Seinfeld. He replaced Tom Cherones, who had directed 80 episodes in the first half of the show’s run.

‘The Big Salad’

Newman had dinosaur pillows in this episode, a reference to his role as Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park.

‘The Pledge Drive’

Louis-Dreyfus’ half sister, Lauren Bowles, played a waitress in this episode.

‘The Chinese Woman’

David appeared in this episode as a man in a cape.

‘The Couch’

This episode marked Kramer’s 200th entrance.

‘The Gymnast’

Kramer mentioned his fear of clowns in this episode. In the movie Problem Child, Richards played a criminal who also hates clowns.

‘The Soup’

Not to be confused with “The Soup Nazi,” “The Soup” was a reference to Kenny Bania only ordering a soup when Jerry took him out to dinner. This was Bania’s first appearance. 

‘The Mom and Pop Store’

In an interview, guest star Jon Voight said of this episode, “They built the script out of an experience that the writer (Tom Gammill) had where he bought a car because it was sold to him as Jon Voight’s car that had a pencil in it, which turned out to be a doctor named Jon Voight and it wasn’t me. It was all part of the script. When I came to the set, the writer said, ‘Jon, could you do me a favor and walk around the corner with me, I want to show you something.’ We walked around the corner at Warner Bros.’ backlot and he showed me a Lebaron, and he said, ‘Did you ever own this car?’ I said, ‘No, I never did,’ and he was let down. So, the whole thing was that they had this experience of being sold this car that they thought was mine. It was very charming; the whole experience gave us this memorable episode of Seinfeld.”

‘The Secretary’

“The Secretary” made mention of the real-life MLB strike, which began in August 1994 and lasted seven months.

‘The Race’

This was the only episode, besides clips shows, to break the fourth wall, when Jerry said, “Maybe I will, Lois, maybe I will,” at the end of the episode.

‘The Switch’

It was in “The Switch” that we finally learned that Kramer’s first name was “Cosmo.”

‘The Label Maker’

This episode popularized the word “regift.”

‘The Scofflaw’

This is the first of two episodes where George wears a toupee. The other is “The Beard,” which is the next episode in continuity, even though they were separated by the two-part “The Highlights of 100” clip show.

‘The Highlights of 100: Part One’

The first clip shown in this episode is the salsa conversation from “The Pitch,” as it led to George’s idea of “a show about nothing.”

‘The Highlights of 100: Part Two’

“The Highlights of 100” two-parter were the first episodes of Seinfeld to not open with Jerry doing stand-up. Instead, it opened with him talking to the audience, introducing the clip show.

‘The Beard’

During the police lineup with Kramer, Kramer was going to break into “The Hokey Pokey” at the end of the scene, but the show couldn’t secure the music rights.

‘The Kiss Hello’

Seinfeld writer Carol Leifer had a cameo as a receptionist in this episode. Her and Seinfeld dated before Seinfeld, and she inspired the character of Elaine.

‘The Doorman’

The doorman was played by Seinfeld’s good friend Larry Miller, who auditioned for the part of George but didn’t get it.

‘The Jimmy’

Bryan Cranston, who played dentist Tim Whatley, improvised the part where he took a hit of the gas.

‘The Doodle’

“Mackinaw Peaches” were a made-up breed of peach when this episode aired in 1995. However, a new breed of peach was named “Mackinaw” in 2019 in honor of Seinfeld.

‘The Fusilli Jerry’

“The Fusilli Jerry” marked the first appearance of Patrick Warburton as David Puddy.

‘The Diplomat’s Club’

Elaine was fired by Mr. Pitt in this episode after working for him for less than a whole season, making it the shortest lived of her three jobs on Seinfeld.

‘The Face Painter’

Jon Lovitz’s character Gary Fogel, from “The Scofflaw,” is revealed to have died in this episode. While not seen, Jerry says he died in a car crash while adjusting his toupee.

‘The Face Painter’

This episode featured the first appearance of John O’Hurley as J. Peterman.

‘The Engagement’

After having separated in the previous season, Estelle and Frank Costanza were revealed to be back together in this episode. Originally, Estelle was supposed to have a romance with bra salesman Sid Farkus for several episodes, but as actor Patrick Cronin revealed on The Place to Be: A Seinfeld Podcast, the storyline was abandoned when Harris asked for more money for the would-be season-long story arc.

‘The Postponement’

This was the first non-clip show to not open with Jerry doing stand-up.

‘The Maestro’

“The Maestro” marked Phil Morris’ first appearance as Jackie Chiles.

‘The Wink’

Thomas Dekker played the sick boy in this episode who wanted Paul O’Neill to hit two home runs. Dekker previously played the boy Mickey stands in for in “The Stand In.”

‘The Hot Tub’

Steinbrenner mentioned that “The Mick,” Mickey Mantle, never liked him very much. Mantle died two months before this episode aired.

‘The Soup Nazi’

Larry Thomas, who played the Soup Nazi, told Cracked his favorite soup IRL is white clam chowder.

‘The Secret Code’

Peterman’s first name was revealed to be “Jacopo” in “The Secret Code.”

‘The Pool Guy’

This episode was dedicated to Rick Bolden, a musician who worked on the Seinfeld theme song.

‘The Sponge’

This episode originally had a B story about Kramer and Newman investing in a contraceptive company. Instead, Kramer’s story became about doing an AIDS walk.

‘The Gum’

David played a newsstand owner in this episode. It’s his final on-screen appearance in Seinfeld.

‘The Rye’

In a DVD extra, Seinfeld cited “The Rye” as his favorite episode.

‘The Caddy’

Armin Shimerman, who played the caddy, didn’t enjoy being on Seinfeld. He later called the cast “non-communicative, ugly, non-responsive” and “insular.”

‘The Seven’

Newman can be spotted wearing a wedding ring during one scene in this episode. At the time, Knight was married to makeup artist Paula Sutor.

‘The Cadillac: Part One’

Marisa Tomei’s full name is mentioned 26 times over the course of this two-part episode.

‘The Cadillac: Part Two’

While Seinfeld would always have a hand in writing the show, “The Cadillac” two-parter was the last time where he was credited with writing an episode (he co-wrote this one with David).

‘The Shower Head’

This is the episode that originated maybe the most beloved Seinfeld blooper ever, when Stiller couldn’t say “Del Boca Vista.”

‘The Doll’

This episode had the same title as a Season Two episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Both also involved the beheading of a doll.

‘The Friars Club’

Richards’ experience as a certified diver came in handy in this episode, as he was put into a sack, thrown into water and then had to escape.

‘The Wig Master’

Kramer’s pimp cane was a replica from the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.

‘The Calzone’

This episode featured another nod to Jurassic Park as a dinosaur poster was hung on Newman’s wall.

‘The Bottle Deposit: Part One’

The farmer was played by Ron Howard’s father, Rance Howard. He also appeared as a blind man in “The Glasses.”

‘The Bottle Deposit: Part Two’

When the farmer’s daughter shouted “Goodbye, Norman!” as Newman ran away from her father, the actress was actually flubbing the line. They kept it in, however, as her messing up Newman’s name was funnier.

‘The Wait Out’

Richards hurt his back in the scene where Jerry was helping him remove his jeans.

‘The Invitations’

This episode, which featured the death of Susan, was David’s final episode as showrunner and the last episode he wrote before returning two seasons later for the finale.

‘The Foundation’

“The Foundation” was dedicated to Marjorie Gross, a writer on the show who died of ovarian cancer in 1996.

‘The Bizarro Jerry’

In the Cracked oral history of “The Bizarro Jerry,” writer David Mandel explained that the man-hands story “was loosely based on my now wife. She has entirely normal-sized hands, but she grew up on a farm and she always said her hands were ‘farmy’ so that story grew out of that.”

‘The Little Kicks’

In Cracked’s conversation with Louis-Dreyfus, she revealed that people do sometimes ask her to do the Elaine dance when they see her on the street. However, she was sure to clarify, “I do not do the dance. I don’t do it.”

‘The Fatigues’

The music used in Frank’s Army flashback was “Adagio for Strings,” which was also used in Platoon.

‘The Checks’

The doctor in this episode was played by stand-up comedian George Wallace, a close friend of Seinfeld. Wallace was also Seinfeld’s best man at his wedding.

‘The Chicken Roaster’

A deleted scene from this episode featured the silhouette of Mr. Marbles holding a knife over Jerry.

‘The Abstinence’

This episode generated one of the most notorious bloopers from the series, when Jerry couldn’t get through the scene where Kramer had been disfigured by smoking.

‘The Andrea Doria’

When George was telling the tragedy of his life story, he referred to numerous events from previous episodes, including “The Subway,” “The Limo,” “The Hamptons,” “The Rye” and “The Invitations.”

‘The Little Jerry’

The breed of chicken that Little Jerry was is called “Old English Game Bantam.”

‘The Money’

Actor Sandy Baron, who played Jack Klompus in several episodes, awoke from a coma just a few days before this episode was shot.

‘The Comeback’

Many of this episode’s tennis scenes were filmed outdoors under a giant tent as there was a huge rainstorm going on during taping. The tent collapsed partway through production and an indoor set had to be built to complete the tennis scenes.

‘The Van Buren Boys’

Jerry’s girlfriend in this episode was played by Christine Taylor, who would go on to marry Stiller’s son, Ben, just a few years later.

‘The Susie’

George’s famous answering machine message was a parody of the theme from The Greatest American Hero.

‘The Pothole’

Seinfeld has said that “The Pothole” and “The Rye” were the most fun episodes to film.

‘The English Patient’

Lloyd Bridges, father of actors Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges, played the part of Izzy Mandelbaum in “The English Patient” and “The Blood.” Talking to MEL Magazine about what the role meant to his father, Jeff Bridges said, “I do know my dad was always game and ready to play. He was a wonderful comedian, a wonderful actor who loved to entertain.”

‘The Nap’

This was the first time David had returned to Seinfeld to voice Steinbrenner since his departure at the end of Season Seven.

‘The Yada Yada’

Speaking about the origin of the “Yada Yada” story, Mehlman told Cracked, “I had a random thought about a lunch I once had with an editor who used the phrase ‘yada yada.’ It later occurred to me that ‘yada yada’ could be used to blanket over all sorts of sins. Whatever the bad parts of a story were, the other person didn’t have to hear it.”

‘The Millenium’

Jerry dated a woman named Valerie, played by Lauren Graham, in this episode. Graham would later play Bridget, a woman Larry dated for several episodes in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

‘The Muffin Tops’

The Peterman Reality Tour story was inspired by Kenny Kramer, the man Kramer is based on. Looking to capitalize on Seinfeld, Kenny Kramer began doing tours around New York City talking about his life.

‘The Summer of George’

On playing the exaggerated version of herself on Seinfeld, Raquel Welch said it was “cathartic to play such a horrible ball breaker, but it’s also exhausting. I mean, I wouldn’t want to do it every day.”

‘The Butter Shave’

Newman was reading the book Alive in this episode, which is about cannibalism. He also fantasized about eating the butter-tanned Kramer.

‘The Voice’

“The Voice” was based on a real-life story from writer Spike Feresten, who imagined his girlfriend’s butt talking to him. He mentioned this to other writers on the show, and it became something of an inside joke. When the girlfriend found out, she had pretty much the same offended reaction as the character in the episode.

‘The Serenity Now’

This episode was based on real-life events experienced by writer Steve Koren. While driving with his arguing parents, his father shouted out “Serenity now!” as part of a rage-controlling exercise, and Koren wondered if shouting it was really supposed to help with rage.

‘The Blood’

“The Blood” writer Dan O’Keefe said that Izzy Mandelbaum wasn’t in his original draft, but when his Jerry story wasn’t working, fellow writer Jeff Schaffer suggested a story bringing back Lloyd Bridges’ elderly fitness instructor.

‘The Junk Mail’

Wilford Brimley played the Postmaster General in this episode. The scene where he threatens Kramer was a reference to the movie Absence of Malice where he played an Attorney General in a similar scene.

‘The Merv Griffin Show’

Seinfeld appeared on the real Merv Griffin Show in 1981.

‘The Slicer’

“The Slicer” marked the first appearance of George’s final boss, Kruger, played by Daniel von Bargen.

‘The Betrayal’

For Cracked’s oral history of “The Betrayal,” Mandel said that, originally, “we had a very different start for the Kramer story. The episode was going to begin by opening on Kramer’s tombstone, and you were going to find out that the only way Kramer could undo the FDR birthday wish curse was to fake his own death. That was the original idea, but at some point or another, a couple of other writers got in Jerry’s ear about the tombstone and convinced him it was too big. They were fucking wrong, though, and they’re fucking idiots, and I will never forgive them.”

‘The Apology’

Elaine’s curly hair returned in this episode.

‘The Strike’

Festivus was an IRL fake holiday made up by writer Dan O’Keefe’s father.

‘The Dealership’

In an interview for The Place to Be: A Seinfeld Podcast, Joel McCrary, who played the candy bar-stealing mechanic in this episode, said that he was asked not to be too much like David Puddy.

‘The Reverse Peephole’

This was the only episode where we met Jerry and Kramer’s temperamental landlord Silvio, played by Jon Polito.

‘The Cartoon’

After Kathy Griffin first appeared as Sally Weaver in “The Doll,” Griffin incorporated Seinfeld into her stand-up act, calling him rude. Seinfeld saw the bit and thought it was hilarious. He then asked Griffin to reappear on the show by way of a mean, insulting letter composed by him and the writers.

‘The Strongbox’


Kramer mentioned that his Army discharge papers are in his strongbox. In real life, Richards served in the Army as a medic in West Germany from 1970 to 1972. 

‘The Wizard’

When we saw the various editions of the Del Boca Vista newsletter in this episode reporting on Kramer’s run for condo board president, the smaller headlines were all nods to David. They included “Larry David Gets Hole in One!,” “Larry David Hurts Elbow” and “Larry David Never to Play Golf Again.”

‘The Burning’

This episode was dedicated to Lloyd Bridges, who died on March 10, 1998. His final appearance on television had been “The Blood.”

‘The Bookstore’

When Kramer and Newman were hiring homeless men to pull rickshaws, one of them introduced himself as “Rusty.” Kramer told him, “I once knew a horse named Rusty,” referring to the horse he fed Beef-o-Reeno in “The Rye.”

‘The Frogger’

While Kramer had a supporting role in George’s story in “The Frogger,” his own story was cut for time. It involved him courting a woman with the use of caution tape.

‘The Maid’

Kramer found himself at the intersection of 1st Avenue and 1st Street in this episode, which he referred to as “the nexus of the universe.” Presently, the Nexus Lounge can be found at that intersection. It was named for Kramer’s line.

‘The Puerto Rican Day’

This episode had 10 writers, which included every staff writer on the show at the time. Seinfeld wanted to give them all one more credit before David returned for the finale.

‘The Chronicle: Part One’

The first montage of clips was set to the theme from Superman: The Movie by John Williams. The very first clip was from just the previous episode, “The Puerto Rican Day,” showing the four of them stuck in traffic.

‘The Chronicle: Part Two’

In the second half of the clip show, Jerry introduced the clips to the audience much like he did for the first half. Kramer then interrupted and retrieved him, briefly saying “Hello” to the audience, making Jerry and Kramer the only two characters to break the fourth wall.

‘The Finale: Part One’

Seventy-six million people tuned into the finale of Seinfeld, making it the fourth most watched series finale ever after M*A*S*H, Cheers and The Fugitive.

‘The Finale: Part Two’

In 2014, Seinfeld defended the much-maligned finale, saying, “I was happy with the Seinfeld finale because we didn’t want to do another episode as much as we wanted to have everybody come back to the show we had so much fun with. It was a way to thank all of the people who worked on the show over the years that we thought made the show work. I don’t believe in trying to change the past, but I’m very happy with it.”

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