"Seinfeld" The Revenge (1991)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Tom Cherones

Writers:

Larry David (creator) &
Jerry Seinfeld (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Seinfeld" (1990)

Original Air Date:

18 April 1991 (Season 2, Episode 7)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

George takes revenge on his boss for not hiring him back after he quit and being rude to him, and Jerry and Kramer take revenge on a dry cleaner after Jerry accuses him of stealing $1,500 from his laundry bag. |

Plot Keywords:

Neurotic | Eccentric | Stand Up Comedian | Friendship | Neighbor

Cast

Jerry Seinfeld	...	Jerry Seinfeld
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Elaine Benes
Michael Richards	...	Kramer
Jason Alexander	...	George
Fred Applegate	...	Levitan
John Capodice	...	Vic
Teri Austin	...	Ava
Patrika Darbo	...	Glenda
Marcus Smythe	...	Dan
John Hillner	...	Greeny
Deck McKenzie	...	Bill

Runtime:

23 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (video rating)

Company:

Shapiro/West Productions

Trivia:

George being barred from the bathroom was inspired by writer Larry Charles's use of the private bathroom in Seinfeld and Larry David's office.

David + Alexander = Costanza!

It is universally known that several of Seinfeld's most brilliant/absurd ideas were based on the writing team's real-life experience. To be more specific, no one contributed more personal stuff than series co-creator Larry David, on whom the George Costanza character is heavily based. In fact, it is reported that when Jason Alexander once complained about the lack of realism in one of George's scenarios, Larry went mad and replied: "This happened to me once, and this is exactly how I reacted!". The Revenge, one of the best episodes of Season Two, shows how to what degree art could imitate life.

Not very unexpectedly, George's first appearance is bound to have him make an ass of himself: he storms into his boss's office and announces he is quitting his job over some stupid toilet incident. A few hours later he comes to regret his decision, and returns to work the following day, pretending nothing happened. This same thing happened to Larry David when he was a writer on Saturday Night Live, and the plan didn't work out. But unlike Larry, who realized it was better to move on, George wants revenge, and starts plotting with Elaine. As for Jerry, his main concern is listening to Kramer's rants about a suicidal neighbor named Newman.

The Revenge, alongside The Apartment, contains the best George moments of the show's second year, ranging from funny (the scene where Jerry comments on his job prospects) to pant-wettingly unmissable (the opening attack on the boss), with plenty of juicy support from Elaine (telling the idiotic boss she's a nudist is a stroke of genius). In addition, it is the first time we hear of Newman, a character who became an indelible part of the series from Season 3 onwards, and though he is only heard but not seen, he is hilarious (interesting fact: Larry David provided Newman's voice at first, only to be replaced by Wayne Knight in the syndicated version of the episode), as are Kramer's reactions to his presence. But in the end, there's only one king of comedy in this story: and that's a chubby, cheap, balding loser known as Costanza, "Lord of the idiots". Not that there's anything wrong with that...