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Seinfeld

The Pen

  • Episode aired Oct 2, 1991
  • PGPG
  • 22m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
S3.E3
  • S3
  • E3
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  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Barney Martin, and Liz Sheridan in Seinfeld (1989)
  • Comedy
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."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."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."
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Tom Cherones
  • Writers
    • Larry David
    • Jerry Seinfeld
  • Stars
    • Jerry Seinfeld
    • Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    • Barney Martin
Top credits
  • Director
    • Tom Cherones
  • Writers
    • Larry David
    • Jerry Seinfeld
  • Stars
    • Jerry Seinfeld
    • Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    • Barney Martin
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 8User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Barney Martin, and Liz Sheridan in Seinfeld (1989)
    Sandy Baron and Barney Martin in Seinfeld (1989)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jerry Seinfeld
    Jerry Seinfeld
    • Jerry Seinfeldas Jerry Seinfeld
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    • Elaine Benesas Elaine Benes
    Barney Martin
    Barney Martin
    • Morty Seinfeldas Morty Seinfeld
    Liz Sheridan
    Liz Sheridan
    • Helen Seinfeldas Helen Seinfeld
    Sandy Baron
    Sandy Baron
    • Jack Klompusas Jack Klompus
    Ann Morgan Guilbert
    Ann Morgan Guilbert
    • Evelynas Evelyn
    • (as Ann Guilbert)
    Len Lesser
    Len Lesser
    • Uncle Leoas Uncle Leo
    Annie Korzen
    Annie Korzen
    • Dorisas Doris
    Magda Harout
    Magda Harout
    • Stellaas Stella
    Roger Nolan
    • The Chiropractoras The Chiropractor
    Tucker Smallwood
    Tucker Smallwood
    • The Photographeras The Photographer
    Larry David
    Larry David
    • Heckleras Heckler
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Tom Cherones
    • Writers
      • Larry David
      • Jerry Seinfeld
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —garykmcd
    • testimonial dinner
    • roast
    • black eye
    • retirement community
    • cigar smoking
    • 3 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genre
      • Comedy
    • Certificate
      • PG
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      On the DVD interview, Jason Alexander confesses he was furious with Larry David for not writing him into this episode, and insisted that he must be in every future episodes, even just for a bit part.
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      Elaine Benes: Stella!

    • Connections
      Featured in Seinfeld: Highlights of a Hundred (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      Seinfeld Theme Song
      Written by Jonathan Wolff

    User reviews8

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Pure, irresistible nonsense
    That Seinfeld's strength came mainly from its observational humor, which covered every possible topic, no matter how trivial, became a real benchmark from Season Three onwards. The Pen, in particular, shows exactly how insane the program's wit could become.

    Unusually, the episode doesn't take place in New York. Instead, it's all the way down to Florida, where Jerry's parents live. Since there will be a dinner in honor of the old man, Jerry decides to pay a visit, and takes Elaine with him. Once there, he engages in a casual conversation with a neighbor regarding an "astronaut pen", which he is later given as a gift. The weekend rapidly deteriorates starting with the next morning, when the neighbor in question begins to insist the pen be returned.

    A pen. That's right, a pen. With the notable exception of Tarantino, no one would be able to center a whole movie around that subject without hitting a narrative dead end. Fortunately this is TV comedy, where only 22 minutes are required, and Larry David, who wrote this story, is a genius in making the most boring item the core of a perfect gag mechanism, which is why the scenes where Jerry and everyone else argue about the pen are as hilarious as Elaine and Morty Seinfeld experiencing the side effects of a rather uncomfortable couch.

    Sure, some viewers might be turned off by the complete absence of Kramer (who was missing in The Chinese Restaurant too) and George (a fact that irritated Jason Alexander so much he threatened to quit unless he was included in every other show, even in a one-scene gig), but come on, really, who needs them when we've got Elaine spoofing Marlon Brando's epic "Stellaaaaaa!" in a way not even The Simpsons would have gotten away with? It's absolute nonsense, from start to finish, but that's why it's so darn funny.
    helpful•36
    7
    • MaxBorg89
    • Apr 10, 2008

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 2, 1991 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Shapiro/West Productions
      • Castle Rock Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      22 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 4:3

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