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



Overview

User Rating:
9.1/10   245 votes
Director:
Andy Ackerman
Writers:
David Mandel (writer) &
Peter Mehlman (writer) ...
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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

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 backwards episode "The Betrayal" is based on a Harold Pinter play, "Betrayal", which also uses the same gimmick. Sue-Ellen Mishkie's fiancée in the episode is named Pinter in tribute to the playwright. 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:
Elaine Benes: You're not gonna believe what I got in the mail: invitation to Sue Ellen Mischke's wedding.
Jerry Seinfeld: Well, at least the wedding gown will give her some support.
Elaine Benes: Not the point. The wedding is in one week; I got this today.
Jerry Seinfeld: So you think it's a non-vite.
Elaine Benes: It's an un-vitation.
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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

Main series Episode guide Full cast and crew
Company credits IMDb TV section IMDb Comedy section
IMDb USA section Add this title to MyMovies

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