The Invitations (16 May 1996)

It's finally time for George and Susan's wedding. George doesn't think he can go through with the wedding. But when Susan puts George in charge of the wedding invitations, George gets the ... 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
Janeane Garofalo	...	Jeannie
Heidi Swedberg	...	Susan Ross
Stephen Root	...	Mr. Lager
Victor Raider-Wexler	...	Doctor
John Riggi	...	Teller
Sue Goodman	...	Clerk
Julie Claire	...	Waitress
Fred Goehner	...	Delivery Guy

Storyline

It's finally time for George and Susan's wedding. George doesn't think he can go through with the wedding. But when Susan puts George in charge of the wedding invitations, George gets the cheapest ones in the lot, knowing that the glue for the envelopes is cheap. Unfortunately for Susan, the glue is also toxic and licking the envelopes has fatal consequences. Meanwhile, Jerry courts a woman just like him named Janeanne Steinberg and holds up his end of George's "pact" (see episode "The Engagement").

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Plot Keywords:

envelope | returning character killed off | wedding proposal | death of fiancee | toxic envelope | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 May 1996 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Venice Pier, Ocean Walk Front at Washington Boulevard, Venice, Los Angeles, California, 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

In light of the anthrax scares in the US in late-2001, the planned syndicated rerun of the episode "The Invitations" (originally aired on 16 May 1996) on 22 Oct 2001 was cancelled. Since that time, it has been reported (on summer 2002) that the episode has reappeared in some markets.

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Goofs

When Jerry imagines himself and Kramer as the only ones not married, he explains how terrible the idea of a parascope in the car is and he has his glasses in his hand. As the shot goes behind Jerry, the glasses are on his face.

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Quotes

Jerry Seinfeld: So I guess... you're not getting married.
George Costanza: Yeah...
Jerry Seinfeld: But...
George Costanza: Yeah?
Jerry Seinfeld: Well, now I'm engaged.
George Costanza: Yeah.
Jerry Seinfeld: Well, I thought we'd both be getting married.
George Costanza: Hey, what can I tell you?
Elaine Benes: Alright...
George Costanza: Come on, let's get some coffee.
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Seinfeld: The Finale (1998)

User Reviews

Season 7: Doesn't get back to classic levels but is still a funny and enjoyable season

The 7th season of this show sees careers relatively stable but offers the biggest changes in the realm of the relationship. In particular, George decides to capture the married life and all the happiness it brings and proposes to former girlfriend Susan – who accepts. Of course George being George there is always a downside to this that he cannot shake off and it is this thread that forms the backbone for the majority of the season.

Season 7 maintains the standard of season 6 which is generally good news although in my opinion this standard is below that of previous seasons which were better. Still, I still found much to enjoy in this season and the majority of the episodes work well even if only a handful would make it onto a "greatest episodes" list. The writing keeps the observational tone and continues to deal with social conventions and niceties within the frame of the sitcom, but it is less of a focus now. Instead we have more event and character driven plots where things happen and people do things. I describe it badly, but it can be seen in many episodes where events or devices are used to create the plot for that episode and there is less debate over scenarios compared to the amount of time scenarios play out.

This is not to suggest it has totally moved away from doing what it does, but there is noticeably more reliance on characters like Kramer and Newman getting up to stuff. This is still funny though, because they are both very funny characters but it does contribute to the feeling that the show is not quite as acerbic and clever as it once was – this is a show that did an entire episode on masturbation and frequently pushes the envelope whereas in this season it doesn't quite do anything of the kind even if it remains funny.

The cast by this point are wearing characters they will never get rid of and feel totally natural. The standout for me this season was Richards as he is given more time to do his unique character and he pulls off many great pratfalls and expressions. Alexander's George is as good as before and his thread amused me throughout. Louis-Dreyfuss and Seinfeld himself continue to do what they do to good effect.

Overall season 7 doesn't manage to lift the show back to the heights of the 4th or 5th season, but it doesn't let it slide either. Maintaining the standard from the 6th season, the show is a little less daring, smart and observational but still has what made it "Seinfeld" and it gets this essence into the plots and characters that make up each episode. Only a few classics in there but it is still a funny season.