9 ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Plot Lines That Are a Little Too Close to ‘Seinfeld’ Episodes
Does it count as stealing if you steal from yourself? The current season of Curb Your Enthusiasm looks like it might be heading toward another finale in a courtroom, much like Seinfeld’s divisive final episode. If so, this wouldn’t be the first time a storyline or moment from Curb was a little too similar to one from Seinfeld.
To be clear, I’m not talking about Easter eggs. Easter eggs are usually fun — assuming they’re not too forced — and the Seinfeld season of Curb is my favorite season-long story arc. I’m talking about those Curb scenes that just seem like a slight variation of something from Seinfeld (if not lifted entirely). Here are nine of the most glaring examples…
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The Car Periscope
In the Season Seven Seinfeld episode “The Invitations” — which was the final episode written by Larry David before returning for the Seinfeld finale — Jerry imagines him and Kramer years into the future. Amidst this fantasy, Kramer proposes a car periscope to Jerry so that you can see the traffic ahead.
Meanwhile, in Season Eight of Curb, Larry and Jeff test drive a car with a periscope on it to see if they want to invest in the idea. In fairness, Larry claims that he thought of a car periscope years ago, but he never mentions that it was a Seinfeld plot line — that he wrote!
Ink-a-Dink vs. Eenie-Meenie
My friends at The Place to Be: A Seinfeld Podcast point out that the Ink-a-Dink scene in the Seinfeld episode “The Statue” is nearly identical to the Eenie-Meenie scene in “Lewis Needs a Kidney” from Curb.
The Funeral Hello
In “The Face Painter,” Jerry is unsure if someone is mad at him at a funeral, or if they simply gave him a “funeral hello.” In Curb, the exact same thing happens to Larry when Dr. Templeton (played by Bryan Cranston, who played Dr. Tim Whatley on Seinfeld) gives Larry a tepid hello at a funeral.
One Tuck, One No-Tuck
Another one from the hosts of The Place to Be: A Seinfeld Podcast, in the two-part Seinfeld episode “The Trip,” George gives explicit instructions to a hotel housekeeper not to tuck in his bed — “One tuck, one no tuck,” he explains. In the Curb episode “The Pickle Gambit,” Larry complains to the hotel manager about the beds being tucked in.
Jeff and Puddy’s Flying Habits
Both Jeff Greene and David Puddy are called out for staring forward for an entire flight, without reading a book or anything.
Berg v. Chang
When Larry is getting divorced from Cheryl in Season Eight of Curb Your Enthusiasm, he’s infuriated when he finds out that his lawyer, named “Berg,” isn’t Jewish, despite his name and frequent use of Yiddish phrases. It’s remarkably similar to when Jerry dated Donna Chang, a woman who wasn’t Chinese but didn’t mind making it seem like she was.
Noisy Outfits
Larry’s squeaky orthopedic shoes in Season Five of Curb seem like only a slight variation on George’s swooshing suit in Season Five of Seinfeld.
Getting a Waiter Fired
In “The Busboy,” George gets a waiter fired, then feels responsible for him afterwards. This happens twice on Curb. The first time is in Season Three with a babysitter, played by Cheri Oteri, who Larry gets fired when he uses the wrong bathroom. He then feels responsible for getting her a new job and convinces Susie to hire her. It happens again in Season 10 when Larry asks a bathroom attendant to leave the bathroom while he defecates. The attendant is fired for leaving his post, and Larry eventually succeeds at getting him a new job at the same restaurant.
Ladies’ Glasses
We’re only two episodes into the final season, but Larry’s already recycling some Seinfeld ideas. Most notably, in the final season premiere, Larry ends up wearing Auntie Rae’s glasses, which are very clearly meant for a woman, bringing to mind “The Glasses,” the Seinfeld episode George was sold a pair of womens’ glasses. Thought our eyesight was too bad to notice that one, huh, Larry?
