Although it is hard to believe, May 14, 2008 will mark the 10th anniversary of the last Seinfeld episode. And, equally hard to believe, is that the show is more popular now than it was in the 1990s, evidenced in large part by the numerous sales of the Seinfeld DVDs and a new “Scene It” DVD board game due out this fall.
In the ten years since it last aired, the show has taken on a life of its own. Unlike any other sitcom before or since, so many of the show’s catchphrases have entered into American lexicon and woven their way into American pop culture. Even the casual Seinfeld observer is familiar with “Not that there’s anything wrong with that”; “Shrinkage”; “Master of your domain”; “No soup for you!”; and “Yada, yada, yada.”
So, in honor of the greatest show on Earth (sorry Ringling Brothers), here is the definitive list of the top ten Seinfeld Episodes, in descending order.
10. The Chicken Roaster
A Kenny Rogers Roasters moves in across the street from Kramer, causing a blinding, red, neon light to enter his apartment. Elaine charges a little too much to the Peterman expense account, including a sable hat for George. George leaves the hat behind at a woman's apartment in the hopes of getting a second date with her. The move backfires when he can't find the hat. So, in a role reversal with Kramer, Jerry talks with Bob Sacamano, and discovers that he can get a nutria hat in Battery Park for $40.
9. The Junior Mint
Jerry dates a woman whose name he can't remember. The name rhymes with a female body part. Mulva? Bouverie? Elaine visits a former boyfriend in the hospital, who she becomes interested in again because he's no longer fat. The friend gets operated on, and Kramer convinces Jerry to go along with him to see the operation. During the operation, Kramer and Jerry knock a Junior Mint down into the patient. Delores!
8. The Pothole
Jerry knocks his girlfriend's toothbrush into the toilet, and she uses it before he can tell her about it. George's keys get buried under a pothole. Elaine uses a janitor's closet as her address so that she can get food delivered from China Panda. Kramer adopts a highway mile and widens the lanes, which has a disastrous effect, especially on Newman. "Oh, the Humanity!"
7. The Dinner Party
Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer head to a dinner party. Jerry and Elaine stop off at the bakery to get a chocolate bobka, but they forget to take a number and must settle for a cinnamon bobka. While there, Jerry loses his non-vomit streak of 14 years. Kramer and George go to a liquor store to buy some wine, but have to wait in the freezing cold for a double parker (he looked like Sadam Hussein).
6. The Boyfriend
Jerry meets baseball star Keith Hernandez and really likes him. George tries to get another extension on his unemployment benefits, so he tells the agent that he is close to getting a job with Vandelay Industries, which manufactures latex. Kramer and Newman despise Keith because they are convinced that he once spat on them after a game. Jerry, however, says there has to have been a second spitter, because to believe Kramer and Newman's account, it had to be "one magic loogie." Jerry becomes jealous of Elaine because Keith breaks his "date" with Jerry to go out with her. Meanwhile, Keith asks Jerry to help him move, but Jerry ultimately backs out because he says it's too soon in their relationship.
5. The Marine Biologist
Jerry tells an old college friend that George is a marine biologist, despite the fact that George has "always wanted to pretend to be an architect." A Russian writer throws Elaine's organizer out of a limo window, and it hits a passerby in the head. Kramer hits golf balls at the beach, one of which ends up landing in the blow hole of a whale that George must save since, after all, he is a marine biologist.
4. The Hamptons
The gang goes out to the Hamptons to see "the baby," which turns out to be the ugliest baby they've ever seen. Elaine is confused when the baby's doctor describes both her and the baby as "breathtaking." Everyone sees George's girlfriend topless before he does. Kramer gets arrested for pulling a full lobster trap out of the ocean. Jerry's girlfriend walks in on George changing clothes. Ordinarily he wouldn't mind. but because of the cold water, there was significant shrinkage.
3. The Subway
The gang heads in different directions via subway, and in typical Seinfeldian fashion, nothing goes right--except for Kramer. Jerry goes to retrieve his stolen car at Coney Island, but gets sidetracked with a fat, naked man that he met on the subway. Elaine is on her way to attend a lesbian wedding, but her train gets stuck in a tunnel. George has a big job interview, but is lured to a hotel by a seductress who handcuffs him to the bed and robs him. Kramer is heading to court, but gets sidetracked because he hears a tip on a horse that is racing that day. He bets on the horse and wins.
2. The Contest
George's mother is in the hospital because she threw her back out when she caught George . . . well, you know, he was alone. This incident prompts the gang to bet on who can remain "master of your domain" the longest.
1. The Outing
Elaine causes an NYU reporter to think that Jerry and George are gay , "not that there's anything wrong with that." So, Jerry and George spend the entire episode trying to convince the reporter otherwise. The problem worsens when the Associated Press picks up the story. George's mother throws her back out again after she reads the article. Incidentally, the scene where Jerry finds out that his two-line phone is a "piece of junk" is one of the greatest.
Jeff Stanglin - Jeff Stanglin is an attorney and freelance writer from Dallas. He writes on many subjects, including the law, politics, sports, and the ...
