The Chicken Roaster
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"The Chicken Roaster" is the 142nd episode of the sitcom ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
''. This was the eighth episode for the eighth season, originally airing on November 14, 1996. The episode's story follows the mishaps which follow when
Kenny Rogers Roasters Kenny Rogers Roasters is a chain of chicken-based restaurants founded in 1991 by country musician Kenny Rogers and former KFC CEO John Y. Brown Jr., who was a former governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Brown had been an early investor in Ken ...
opens a branch in the characters' neighborhood. The restaurant's
neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...
shines into Kramer's apartment, disturbing first him and then
Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...
after they switch apartments, but Jerry opposes Kramer's efforts to shut the restaurant down since a college friend of his is assistant manager at the branch. Meanwhile, Elaine is in danger of being fired from J. Peterman after she misuses the company account for personal purchases. Much of the episode's plot was inspired by a real-life confrontation between a Kenny Rogers Roasters branch and a neighboring law office, and some scenes were filmed on location at a real Kenny Rogers Roasters branch.


Plot

A
Kenny Rogers Roasters Kenny Rogers Roasters is a chain of chicken-based restaurants founded in 1991 by country musician Kenny Rogers and former KFC CEO John Y. Brown Jr., who was a former governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Brown had been an early investor in Ken ...
restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
opens across the street from
Jerry Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...
's apartment building, with a gigantic red neon chicken atop the roof. The light from the sign beams into Kramer's apartment, keeping him from sleeping, so he hangs a banner saying "Bad Chicken" from his window in an attempt to get rid of the restaurant. To escape the red light, Kramer switches apartments with Jerry. Newman brings over a box of Kenny Rogers Roasters chicken, to which Kramer becomes addicted. Jerry cannot sleep in Kramer's apartment and takes on Kramer's mannerisms, while Kramer becomes more like Jerry. Jerry spots Newman buying
broccoli Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is cl ...
with his chicken at Kenny Rogers and deduces that Kramer is addicted, since Newman hates broccoli. Jerry confronts Kramer and forces him to move back into his apartment. Jerry runs into a college buddy named Seth, whom he persuades to blow off a business meeting to have lunch together. Seth becomes assistant manager at Kenny Rogers Roasters after losing his job due to blowing off the meeting. Elaine is audited by the J. Peterman accounting department after charging personal purchases to the Peterman account, including a
sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...
Russian hat for
George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
. Elaine is able to justify all her purchases as business expenses, except for George's hat, which cost $8,000 and must be returned. George gets a date with Heather, the saleswoman who sold the hat. Heather is annoyed by George, so he leaves the hat behind in her apartment as an excuse to come back, planning to win her over with sheer persistence. When George tries to reclaim it, Heather insists the hat is not in her apartment. As an act of revenge, he steals Heather's clock. Jerry directs Elaine to Kramer's friend Bob Sacamano, who sells Russian hats. However, the Peterman accountant is not fooled by the substitute hat, which is made of
nutria fur Nutria fur, also known as coypu fur, is used in the fashion industry. It comes from the nutria, a South American rodent and cousin of the beaver. History of the fur The nutria is a semi-aquatic mammal native to South America. It first became inte ...
. To save her job, Elaine sets off for
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
to seek the approval of J. Peterman himself, but Peterman refuses to approve her purchases without first seeing the hat. Jerry shakes the rain-soaked nutria hat while at Kenny Rogers Roasters, covering the food with fur and prompting a shutdown of the restaurant. The neon light goes off, and Kramer puts up a new banner, "Kenny Come Back". George thinks Heather is wise to his theft of her clock and willing to make a swap for the hat. When they meet on a park bench, however, Heather tells him she wanted to meet because she has become attracted to him. She leaves in disgust when she discovers her stolen clock in George's possession.


Production

Seth's blowing off an important meeting to catch up with Jerry was based on a real-life encounter the episode's writers
Alec Berg Alec Berg is an American television writer, director and executive producer. He wrote for the sitcom ''Seinfeld'' and is co-creator and executive producer of ''Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including ...
and
Jeff Schaffer Jeff Schaffer (born ) is an American film and television director, writer, and producer. Early life and education Schaffer and his brother Greg (also a film and TV writer and producer) were raised in the Warren–Howland, Ohio area, about east ...
had with a college buddy (also named Seth) while walking the streets of New York City in search of ideas. Berg and Schaffer recounted, "In the middle of lunch he was talking about his new job, how he was part of this panel that had just formed, and they were going to do this new big project. And we were like, 'Oh, that sounds exciting.' He goes, 'Yeah, that's actually... ooks at watch...kind of where I'm supposed to be now.' And we realized that he had blown this giant meeting just to see us. And we were really just being polite." Jerry and Seth's mutual friend Moochie was named after a high school friend of the real
Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...
. Berg and Schaffer had a friend named Billy who was living in Russia for a time and wanted to buy a Russian hat, but had been warned that some of the hats are actually made of
nutria fur Nutria fur, also known as coypu fur, is used in the fashion industry. It comes from the nutria, a South American rodent and cousin of the beaver. History of the fur The nutria is a semi-aquatic mammal native to South America. It first became inte ...
which flies everywhere if it gets wet. Berg and Schaffer became interested in working this into an episode, especially since they liked the phrase "rat hat". The episode's Kramer story was inspired by a real-life confrontation between a New York City branch of
Kenny Rogers Roasters Kenny Rogers Roasters is a chain of chicken-based restaurants founded in 1991 by country musician Kenny Rogers and former KFC CEO John Y. Brown Jr., who was a former governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Brown had been an early investor in Ken ...
and a neighboring law office. Berg and Schaffer had been wanting to do a story in which Kramer's apartment is bathed in red light for years, getting the idea from an apartment which Schaffer’s brother lived in; the apartment was bathed in red light from the Empire Hotel across the street. However, they were unable to develop the idea into a story until they heard of the law office which was hanging up signs like "bad chicken" due to the stench from a Kenny Rogers Roasters venting up into their office. The real Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant chain initially balked at this episode, claiming that the scene in which Jerry covers everyone's food with rat fur would be bad publicity. The writers claimed they would alter the storyline, but later admitted that they were lying and had no ideas for a rewrite. Kramer actor
Michael Richards Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor, writer, television producer, and comedian best known for playing Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom '' Seinfeld''. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first enterin ...
was virtually a
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
, so during the scene where Kramer eats chicken in bed, he actually only chewed chicken skin, and spat it out into a bucket between takes. According to director
Andy Ackerman Robert Andrew Ackerman (born September 19, 1956) is an American director, producer, and script editor who is best known for his work on '' Seinfeld'', ''The New Adventures of Old Christine'' and the HBO series '' Curb Your Enthusiasm''. He i ...
, Jerry Seinfeld pulled off his Kramer impersonation as perfectly on the first rehearsal as he does in the finished episode. Scenes which were filmed but deleted before broadcast include the silhouette of Mr. Marbles (Kramer's doll) approaching Jerry with a knife, George cleaning mustard off his sable hat, and Elaine tracking Peterman by noting Myanmar natives wearing clothes from the J. Peterman catalog.


Cultural references

J. Peterman's behavior in Burma is a parody of
Colonel Kurtz Colonel Walter Kurtz, portrayed by Marlon Brando, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film ''Apocalypse Now''. Colonel Kurtz is based on the character of a nineteenth-century ivory trader, also cal ...
in
Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
's ''
Heart of Darkness ''Heart of Darkness'' (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. The novel ...
'' and the film based on that novel, ''
Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella ''Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph Conr ...
''. When Jerry suggests that George approach Heather's door in "a wooden horse" as a better idea, he is referring to the
Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...
.


Critical response

Linda S. Ghent, Professor in the Department of Economics at
Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...
, discusses this episode in view of its economic themes, specifically those of externality and cost-benefit analysis. The
externality In economics, an externality or external cost is an indirect cost or benefit to an uninvolved third party that arises as an effect of another party's (or parties') activity. Externalities can be considered as unpriced goods involved in either co ...
here is the Kenny's neon sign: it advertises the restaurant, but it makes Kramer unhappy. But when he gets hooked on the food, he finds that the benefit of the chicken outweighs the cost of the neon glare. Eleanor Hersey, an English professor at
Fresno Pacific University Fresno Pacific University (FPU) is a private Christian university in Fresno, California. It was founded as the Pacific Bible Institute in 1944 by the Pacific District Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. The university awarded its first Bac ...
, discusses Peterman's company in her 1999 essay "It'll Always Be Burma to Me: J. Peterman on ''Seinfeld''," which begins with her premise: Hersey examines Elaine's wavering corporate ambitions, her relationship with her haughty, eccentric boss and the male power structure at the company, the seduction of consumers by way of clever advertising, and the significance of Peterman's and Kramer's attitudes toward
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. Pointing to Jerry's query to Elaine about what she gained from a trip to Mexico, "Anything you couldn't have gotten tearing open a bag of Doritos and watching ''
Viva Zapata! ''Viva Zapata!'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck, using Edgcomb Pinchon's 1941 book ''Zapata the Unconquerable'' as a guide. The cast includes Jean Pe ...
''?",) Hersey argues that ''Seinfelds silence about racial issues is not entirely silent and does, in fact, constitute a political statement.
Michael Richards Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor, writer, television producer, and comedian best known for playing Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom '' Seinfeld''. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first enterin ...
won his third and final
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for the series with this episode.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chicken Roaster Seinfeld (season 8) episodes 1996 American television episodes