Seinfeld (season 2)

Seinfeld Season 2

The front cover of the Seinfeld: Season 1 & 2 DVD boxset. The first two seasons were sold together as one boxset.

Country of origin

United States

Network

NBC

Original run

January 23, 1991 – June 26, 1991

No. of episodes

DVD release date

Region 1:November 23, 2004
Region 2:November 1, 2004
Region 4:October 18, 2004

Previous season

Season 1

Next season

Season 3

Season two of Seinfeld, an American television series created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, began airing on January 23, 1991 on NBC, a U.S. broadcast television network. It comprises 12 episodes and concluded its initial airing on June 26, 1991. The DVD boxset for season 1 & 2 was released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in Region 1 on November 23, 2004, thirteen years after it had completed broadcast on television.¹ It was also released in Region 2 on November 1, 2004 and on October 18, 2004 in Region 4. As well as every episode from the two seasons, the DVD release features bonus material including deleted scenes, exclusive stand-up material, and commentaries.²

Production

Awards

Season two received three Emmy nominations. The episodes "The Pony Remark" was nominated for "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series" and "Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series"; the episode "The Deal" was also nominated for "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series".⁷

Episodes

Title

Director

Writer(s)

Original airdate⁸

Production code⁹

Season#

Series#

"The Ex-Girlfriend"

Tom Cherones

Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld

January 23, 1991

201

Jerry begins seeing George's ex-girlfriend, Marlene, whom George finds annoying. Marlene breaks up with Jerry after seeing his act.

"The Pony Remark"

Tom Cherones

Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld

January 30, 1991

202

Jerry makes an off-color remark ("I hate anyone who ever had a pony when they were growing up!") at an aunt's dinner, which subsequently may have led to her death. Much to the disgust of Elaine, he has difficulty deciding whether to go to her funeral, or to a championship softball game. Meanwhile, Kramer and Jerry bet over whether or not Kramer will rebuild his apartment so that it has multiple levels. Kramer changes his mind and decides not to build levels, arguing that since he didn't attempt it, the bet was invalid.

"The Jacket"

Tom Cherones

Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld

February 6, 1991

205

Jerry wears an expensive jacket when he meets Elaine's father, who object to Jerry wearing the jacket inside out as they walk a short distance during a snowfall. The jacket is ruined.

"The Phone Message"

Tom Cherones

Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld

February 13, 1991

207

George is concerned when his girlfriend doesn't return his calls. He begins leaving angry messages on her machine. Later, he discovers she was out of town. Before she can hear the messages and break up with George, he and Jerry create a plan to get into her apartment and switch the tape. The plan (barely) succeeds, just in time for George to learn that she already heard the messages and found them funny, adding that she "loves jokes like that."

"The Apartment"

Tom Cherones

Peter Mehlman

April 4, 1991

208

Elaine is depressed about the low quality of her apartment, when Jerry overhears the two managers of his building discussing a death that makes an apartment available. Shocked by the low rent, Jerry immediately tells Elaine that he will be able to get her the apartment. Though at first excited, Jerry later realizes how intrusive Elaine might become. Meanwhile, George hears about the effect a man with a wedding ring has on a woman, and starts wearing one to see what happens. This plan backfires, as he discovers that wearing the ring is actually causing women who would otherwise date him to reject him.

"The Statue (Pilot)"

Tom Cherones

Larry Charles

April 11, 1991

210

Jerry receives some old possessions of his grandfather. Among them is a statue that looks just like one George's family had, until George broke it. Jerry promises that George can have it, but leaves it in his apartment for a few days. Jerry later has his apartment cleaned by Ray, the boyfriend of Rava, a client of Elaine's. Jerry and Elaine see the statue at Ray's apartment, and put together that Ray stole it. Dressed as Joe Friday, Kramer pretends to be a cop and retrieves the statue from Ray. The statue is returned to a grateful George, but George winds up dropping it when Kramer gives him a friendly slap on the back.

"The Revenge"

Tom Cherones

Larry David

April 18, 1991

212

George quits his job after tiring of his demanding boss; he immediately regrets his decision. Hence, he returns to the workplace, pretending that the event had never occurred, but is fired. Jerry is irked to discover that the money he had hidden in his laundry bag went missing subsequently to his going to the laundromat. He immediately blames the owner, who claims no responsibility, pointing to a sign that states this. Jerry is furious, and, with the help of Kramer, plots to pour a bag of cement into the washing machine. After the prank was pulled, Jerry's money turned up in Kramer's laundry bag. George, with help with Elaine, also plots revenge against his former boss, which ends up costing him a chance to get his job back.

"The Heart Attack"

Tom Cherones

Larry Charles

April 25, 1991

211

George thinks he is having a heart attack but actually needs a tonsillectomy, leading Kramer to recommend a holistic healer as an alternative. George goes with Kramer's advice, and when George, Kramer and Jerry meet the holistic healer, he gives George tea to fix his tonsil problem. George gets sick from drinking the tea and is rushed to the hospital. The ambulance gets into an accident on the way, with George and Jerry later seen in neck braces (George also has his tonsils removed).

"The Deal"

Tom Cherones

Larry David

May 2, 1991

213

Elaine and Jerry renew their sexual relationship after coming across a soft-core pornographic film, but to protect their friendship, they set ground rules for future escapades. They pride themselves on having finally come up with the perfect template for having sex while remaining friends, though George doubts their deal can work. On Elaine's birthday Jerry inadvertently offends Elaine by giving her $182 in cash as a gift. Kramer, on the other hand, gets Elaine a bench she had wanted. Jerry wants to end the agreement, but Elaine admits that she wants a full-fledged relationship and can no longer conform to the established rules. Realizing that he and Elaine can't simply go back to being friends that easily, Jerry sticks with romantic relationship.

"The Baby Shower"

Tom Cherones

Larry Charles

May 16, 1991

204

Elaine holds a baby shower for a friend at Jerry's apartment. George is excited, because he finds the baby shower to be the perfect opportunity to "tell off" the woman who gave him "unequivocally, the worst date of [his] life" by pouring Bosco chocolate sauce on his red sweater. These plans prove unsuccessful, as he cannot muster the courage necessary to do so. Ironically, a woman at the party does to Jerry what George had planned to do. Meanwhile, Kramer tries to convince Jerry to pirate cable television to watch the Mets home games. When the Russian cable providers show up, they ruin the shower.

"The Chinese Restaurant"

Tom Cherones

Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld

May 23, 1991

206

Jerry, George and Elaine decide to get dinner without reservations at a Chinese restaurant before seeing Plan 9 From Outer Space but are repeatedly stymied by the maître d'. After they are repeatedly told they will receive a table in "5, 10 minutes", a starving Elaine mentions that she is so hungry that she would eat food off of another patrons plate. So, Jerry wagers $50 if she does. Elaine approaches a table and tells them her friends would give her $50 to eat one of their egg-rolls and she was willing to give them $25 of it. They question her as she walked away, losing the wager. Jerry, having lied to his uncle that he couldn't make it to dinner, sees his uncle's receptionist at the restaurant. Realizing his cover is blown, he decides that he might as well call his uncle and have dinner with him after all. George, who has his own troubles with pay phone etiquette, and Elaine are more than willing to leave. After they do, the maitre d' calls their party.

"The Busboy"

Tom Cherones

Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld

June 26, 1991

203

Jerry, George, and Elaine are at dinner when a menu on an adjacent table catches on fire. George puts it out and explains to the manager that the busboy left the menu too close to a candle and Elaine jokingly declares she is never eating there again. The busboy is subsequently fired, upsetting Elaine and George. George and Kramer later go to his apartment to apologize, only to accidentally let his cat out of the apartment. A few days later, the busboy comes to see George, and tells him that there was an explosion at the restaurant, killing five employees, including the busboy hired to replace him. He thanks George for saving his life, only to be seriously injured on his way out of the building, getting in a fight with a boyfriend Elaine is trying to dump.

References