The Switch (5 Jan. 1995)

Elaine loans Mr. Pitt's expensive tennis racket racket to an executive from Doubleday who hints there may be a job opening for Elaine soon. When the woman injures her arm, Elaine can't ... 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	...	Kramer
Jason Alexander	...	George Costanza
Wayne Knight	...	Newman
Sheree North	...	Babs
Gail Strickland	...	Landis
Charlotte Lewis	...	Nina
Jann Karam	...	Sandi
Terry Sweeney	...	Keith
Heather Medway	...	Laura
Clive Rosengren	...	Mr. Clotworthy
Jacqueline M. Houston	...	Lorraine
Cheryl Francis Harrington	...	Waitress
Tish Smiley	...	Woman

Storyline

Elaine loans Mr. Pitt's expensive tennis racket racket to an executive from Doubleday who hints there may be a job opening for Elaine soon. When the woman injures her arm, Elaine can't quite get the racket back. Jerry's girlfriend never smiles or laughs at his jokes but her roommate laughs at everything he says so he contemplates the switch. George comes up with an idea as to how he might get away with it. George's girlfriend, a model, eats like a horse but never puts on weight. Kramer suggests she might be bulimic. The gang learns Kramer's first name, thanks to his mom Babs.

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Plot Keywords:

tennis racket | promiscuous mother | sex with friend's mother | ménage à trois | caught having sex | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 1995 (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

The title comes from Jerry's attempt to dump the girl he is dating (non-laugher) for her roommate (the laugher).

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Goofs

Ms. Landis says she tore her "humeral epicondylitis", but humeral epicondylitis is a syndrome describing inflammation of the elbow tendons, and is not a muscle itself.

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Quotes

Jerry: So what happened with Kramer's mother?
George Costanza: It's all worked out. Nina and I will have dinner Thursday at the restaurant where Babs works.
Jerry: What's she like?
George Costanza: Oh, she's a *Kramer*. And uh, while I was there I, uh, happened to pick up another juicy little nugget about our friend.
Elaine: Ah, I'm ready what?
Jerry: What is it?
George Costanza: I, uh, got the first name.
Elaine: You found out Kramer's first name?
Jerry: I've been trying to get it out of him for ten years! What is it?
George Costanza: Cosmo.
[...]

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Connections

References Frankenstein (1931)

User Reviews

"Do you ever just get down on your knees and thank God that you know me and have access to my dementia?"

Season 6, Episode 11, "The Switch"

"The Race" was a tough act to follow, and yet it was followed by "The Switch" which remains one of the best episodes of Seinfeld's entire run. The episode has a terrific script, culminating in two brilliant dialogs between Jerry and George in the middle and ending of the episode, regarding the titular switch. The relationship humor feels like it might belong in season 5, but the way it uses music and editing places it in the more intricately produced season 6.

Interestingly, the element that got most of the attention when the episode was first released doesn't seem that interesting now - it's the first time Kramer's first name was revealed. It's not as shocking a reveal as it was back then, but the scene is still terrific, especially Michael Richards' acting in it. As a side note, there's also the gorgeous Charlotte Lewis as, probably, the most beautiful girlfriend George ever had.