The Burning (19 Mar. 1998)

Jerry is stunned to learn that his new girlfriend has a mysterious "tractor story" that she is not telling him. Kramer and Mickey act out symptoms for medical school students, but Kramer ... See full summary »

Director:

Andy Ackerman

Writers:

Larry David (creator), Jerry Seinfeld (creator),

Stars:

Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Jerry Seinfeld	...	Jerry Seinfeld
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Elaine Benes
Michael Richards	...	Cosmo Kramer
Jason Alexander	...	George Costanza
Patrick Warburton	...	David Puddy
Danny Woodburn	...	Mickey
Daniel von Bargen	...	Kruger (as Daniel Von Bargen)
Cindy Ambuehl	...	Sophie
Henry Woronicz	...	Father Curtis
Ursaline Bryant	...	Dr. Wexler
Daniel Dae Kim	...	Student #1
Alex Craig Mann	...	Student #2
Brian Posehn	...	Artie
Alec Holland	...	Co-Worker #1
Suli McCullough	...	Co-Worker #2

Storyline

Jerry is stunned to learn that his new girlfriend has a mysterious "tractor story" that she is not telling him. Kramer and Mickey act out symptoms for medical school students, but Kramer gets repeatedly typecast. George perfects the showmanship art of going out on a high note during meetings at Kruger. Meanwhile, Elaine is stunned to learn that Puddy is religious, and he informs her that she's going to hell.

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Plot Keywords:

typecast | spinning in chair | lighting a cigarette | gonorrhea | jesus fish symbol | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 March 1998 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shapiro/West Productions, Castle Rock Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

23 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

This episode was dedicated to Lloyd Bridges who played the character Izzy Mandelbaum in the episodes "The English Patient" and "The Blood". He died 9 days before this episode premiered.

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Goofs

Puddy is leaning into the car when Elaine 'drives off' but immediately afterwards he is nowhere to be seen through the rear window.

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Quotes

Elaine: Here's one. I borrowed Puddy's car and all the presets on his radio were Christian rock stations.
George Costanza: I like Christian rock. It's very positive. It's not like those real musicians who think they're so cool and hip.
Elaine: So you think Puddy actually believes in something?
Jerry: It's a used car, he probably never changed the presets.
Elaine: Yes, he is lazy.
Jerry: Plus, he probably doesn't know how to program the buttons.
Elaine: Yes, he is dumb.
Jerry: So you prefer dumb and lazy to religious?
Elaine: Dumb and lazy, I understand.

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Connections

Referenced in Late Show with David Letterman: Katherine Heigl/Daniel Dae Kim/Runner, Runner (2010)

User Reviews

"The Old Switcheroo"

One of the funniest Season 9 Seinfeld episodes, "The Burning" has some of the best dialog in the series. And some of the best plot lines: Elaine's dilemma with Puddy's religious belief (Patrick Warburton's deadpan at its best); Kramer's acting out diseases for medical students; George's crazy employer Mr. Kruger (very funny Daniel von Bargen) and George's "going out on a high note"; best of all, Jerry's girlfriend and the mysterious "tractor story" (the resolution of that one is classic Seinfeld). When George asks him what a gander is, Jerry says that a gander is a goose who had "the old switcheroo" pulled on her. Incredibly silly stuff, but hilarious from start to finish.