The Pen 

Jerry and Elaine travel to Florida for a dinner in honor of his father. Jerry gets into an argument with a neighbor of his parents over an "astronaut pen."

Director:

Tom Cherones

Writers:

Larry David (created by), Jerry Seinfeld (created by)

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 (credit only)
Jason Alexander	...	George Costanza (credit only)
Barney Martin	...	Morty
Liz Sheridan	...	Helen
Sandy Baron	...	Jack Klompus
Ann Morgan Guilbert	...	Evelyn (as Ann Guilbert)
Len Lesser	...	Leo
Annie Korzen	...	Doris
Magda Harout	...	Stella
Roger Nolan	...	The Chiropractor
Tucker Smallwood	...	The Photographer

Storyline

Jerry and Elaine visit his parents in Florida and to attend a dinner in honor of his father. They meet the neighbors, Jack and Doris, and after Jerry admires Jack's astronaut pen, he offers it to him, which Jerry gladly accepts. He didn't really want to give it to him which leads to non-stop gossip. It all leads to an interesting dinner. Elaine meanwhile has an uncomfortable night on the pull-out bed - the lack of air conditioning doesn't help - hurting her back. Desperate to go back to New York, she is told by a chiropractor she has to stay for another 5 days.

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Plot Keywords:

testimonial dinner | roast | black eye | retirement community | cigar smoking | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1991 (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?

Trivia

Ann Morgan Guilbert (Evelyn) and Sandy Baron (Jack) previously appeared together in an episode of Hey, Landlord (1966).

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Goofs

The pen shown in this episode is the bullet pen, made by Fisher. Although it does write upside down and in extreme temperatures, the bullet was not the pen used by NASA and taken into space. It was Fisher's AG7, a retractable pen and the first one invented by Fisher in 1966, that NASA used on all manned space flights.

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Quotes

Elaine Benes: Stella!

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Connections

Spoofs A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

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Soundtracks

Seinfeld Theme Song
Written by Jonathan Wolff

User Reviews

A Trip to Some Stifleing Paradise

Single Favorite Line: (Elaine, in misery on the convertible sofa, after a 360o horizontal flip of extreme discomfort): "I'm sweetin' here...I'm in bed! SWEETING!"

Notable Guest Stars: Barney Martin (as Monty, the Indian-Pen-Giver), Liz Sheridan (as Helen Seinfeld), Sandy Baron (as Jack Seinfeld), Ann Guilbert (as Del Boca Vista neighbor, Evelyn), and Len Lesser (as uncle Leo)

Memorable Exchange: (at Kitchen Table, Pa Seinfeld gives directions to son for the Scuba Diving launch) Jack: "Stay on the 95 South, to Biscaine Blvd., then you make a left turn -put your blinker on immediately, there's an a-buuut-meant there. Then your going to merge over carefully, but stay on Biscaine --DON'T GET OFF BISCAINE" - Jerry: (nodding head)"Stay. On. Biscaine" - Helen: "Your going underwater?!" - Jerry: "Yes, generally, that is where scuba diving is done." - Helen: "What do you want to go under water for!--What's down there that's so special?" - Jerry: "Whats so special up here?"

Key Topics: *Florida Retirement Communities * Parents * Generosity (false) *Guilty Acquiescence *Heat

Part I Didn't Like: hard to find fault with this super-tight episode, but - What? No phone call to Kramer or George -- what were they up to ?

Extra Nice Touch: The challenge to make a very satisfying episode, sans Jason Alexander or Michael Richards, is met admirably, thanks to the wonderful volleys of dialogue, to do mostly with the petty politics of Condo Culture Retirees!

7 of 10 --nice, interesting change of tone and place