The Outing (11 Feb. 1993)

A woman is eavesdropping on the conversation that Elaine has with Jerry and George at the coffee shop. Elaine decides to give the woman the impression that Jerry and George are a homosexual... See full summary »

Director:

Tom Cherones

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	...	Kramer
Jason Alexander	...	George Costanza
Liz Sheridan	...	Helen
Barney Martin	...	Morty
Estelle Harris	...	Estelle Constanza
Paula Marshall	...	Sharon
Kari Coleman	...	Allison
Anthony Mangano	...	Sailor
Ben Reed	...	Male Nurse
Lawrence Mandley	...	Manager (as Lawrence A. Mandley)
Charley J. Garrett	...	Man #1 (as Charley Garrett)
Deck McKenzie	...	Scott
David Gibbs	...	Man #2

Storyline

A woman is eavesdropping on the conversation that Elaine has with Jerry and George at the coffee shop. Elaine decides to give the woman the impression that Jerry and George are a homosexual couple. Unfortunately that woman is a reporter from NYU who is doing an interview with Jerry for the school newspaper. She goes to Jerry's apartment and the suspicions are confirmed when Jerry and George get in a fight over a piece of fruit. She publishes an article using the angle that Jerry and George are a homosexual couple. Things get even worse when Jerry's birthday gifts don't help his case any when Kramer gives Jerry a faulty two-line phone and George gets Jerry tickets to the musical "Guys And Dolls". George doesn't help his case any when he uses the homosexual angle of the article to get out of a bad relationship and his mother freaks out and is admitted to the hospital. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

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Plot Keywords:

eavesdropping | pay phone | birthday present | mistaken for gay

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 February 1993 (USA)

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shapiro/West Productions, Castle Rock Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Goofs

When George is visiting his mother in the hospital, the male nurse enters the room and gives Estelle's roommate, Scott a sponge-bath. U.S. hospitals do not have "coed" rooms, and Estelle and "Scott" would never be hospitalized in the same room together.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Jerry Seinfeld: [on homosexuality] Not that there's anything wrong with that!

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Connections

Featured in Seinfeld: Highlights of a Hundred (1995)

User Reviews

One of the Best of the Best

From one of the best sitcoms ever, a take on what it means to be thought of as gay.

As a gay man, it's my opinion that this Seinfeld episode is an extraordinarily sharp, clever, and brutally honest commentary on straight attitudes toward gay people.

Of course, I'm speaking about contemporary urban/suburban life where "liberal" or "tolerant" views are not only accepted, they're enforced. They're enforced by peer pressure; few would admit to homophobia or anything other than an accepting take on gay life. In a word: political correctness.

This episode exposes the hypocrisy that many straight people have about gay people. It happens every time Jerry (or any other character) says, "Not that there's anything wrong with that." What they're really saying, of course, is that there's EVERYthing wrong with that if THEY are being thought of as gay. Acceptance for these people only goes so far.

Thankfully, in the 15 or so years since this episode first aired, attitudes have become more enlightened. Me, myself, I think lot of the change is due to media exposure in general, and this episode of Seinfeld in particular.

Now if only some sitcom writer would come up with a similarly clever way to demolish the truly hurtful phrase: "That's so gay" . . . .