IMDb > "Seinfeld" The Betrayal (1997)
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"Seinfeld" The Betrayal (1997)



Overview

User Rating:
9.1/10   272 votes
Director:

Andy Ackerman

Writers:

David Mandel (writer) &
Peter Mehlman (writer) ...
more

Contact:

View company contact information for The Betrayal on IMDbPro.

TV Series:

"Seinfeld" (1990)

Original Air Date:

20 November 1997 (Season 9, Episode 8)

Genre:

Comedy more

Plot:

The infamous "backwards episode". Elaine decides to spite her old college roommate Sue Ellen Mischkie by taking her... more | add synopsis

User Comments:

A very clever parody of Harold Pinter's movie "Betrayal." more (3 total)


Cast

  (Episode Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:PG (video rating)


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

The expression "You can stuff your sorries in a sack, mister" is used throughout this episode and is a reference to an "Odd Couple" episode entitled "Strike Up the Band or Else." more

Goofs:

Continuity: In the pilot episode Michael Richards' character is named "Kessler" (it would be changed to "Kramer" in the second episode) and Jerry refers to him by that name. Continuity error, possibly intentional. In episode 9.8 there is a flashback to the first meeting between Jerry and Richards' character, which occurs prior to when episode 1 takes place. Jerry says something like, ". . . you must be Kessler," and the reply is, "Actually, it's Kramer." If the conversation portrayed in episode 9.8 took place it's unlikely that Jerry would have referred to him as "Kessler" in the pilot episode. more

Quotes:

Nina Stengle: George, you've been wearing those boots since I met you. You're not gonna wear them to the wedding, are you?
George Costanza: No.
[snorts]
George Costanza: I'm gonna wear black shoes.
more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pineapple Express (2008) more


FAQ

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11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful.
A very clever parody of Harold Pinter's movie "Betrayal.", 10 April 2007
10/10
Author: TrentinaNE from Boston, MA

This episode is based on the movie "Betrayal" by Harold Pinter (winnerof the Nobel Prize for Literature, 2005). The movie starred Jeremy Irons and Ben Kingsley as long-time friends and business associates. As the movie opens, Irons's character meets with Patricia Hodge, the wife of Kingsley's character, to reminisce about an affair they'd broken off about a year earlier. The movie then moves backward in time until the closing scene that occurs just before Irons and Hodge embark on their affair. At every moment, the audience knows more than the characters do, which gives the story a compelling poignancy.

Seinfeld takes this conceit to hysterically funny levels by continually introducing "prior" information that makes what we just saw happen "later" all the funnier. The episode incorporates some inside jokes as well: there are several "love triangles" going on (Elaine, Susan, Pinter form one; Jerry, George, and Nina the other) and of course, the character of Pinter is an homage to Harold Pinter. The fact that they all go to India for the wedding may be a nod to Kingsley's heritage (he's half Indian).

Very creative and very funny, this episode proved that "Seinfeld" could be fresh and innovative even in its 9th season.

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Related Links

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