The Pilot (Seinfeld)
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"The Pilot" is the two-part
season finale A season finale (British English: series finale; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will attempt to ...
of the fourth season of the American sitcom ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
''. It is the 23rd and 24th episode of the fourth season and the 63rd and 64th episode overall. It was written by series co-creator
Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...
and directed by
Tom Cherones Thomas Harry Cherones, Jr. ( ; born September 11, 1939) is an American television director, director and Television producer, producer of several TV series. He is best known for his work on ''Seinfeld'', where he directed 81 of the 86 episodes ...
, and originally aired on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
on May 20, 1993. The two-part episode aired at an earlier time, 8:00 p.m., to leave room for the two-hour series finale of ''
Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...
'', whose timeslot was subsequently claimed by ''Seinfeld'' at the start of the 1993-94 season in September 1993. About 32 million people watched both parts of "The Pilot" when it initially aired. An additional 2 million watched the first part but not the second, and 3 million more watched the second part but not the first.


Plot


Part 1

Jerry and George get the green light to produce ''Jerry'', the
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
for the series based on their "nothing" lives. Russell Dalrymple, the president at
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
behind the pilot, is obsessed with Elaine. George is obsessed with a potentially cancerous white spot on his lip and a box of raisins taken by Tom Pepper, the actor playing Kramer. The real Kramer appears to audition for the role of Kramer but has an urgent need to use the men’s room. Unable to use various public facilities, he makes his way to his apartment through Central Park but is further delayed by being mugged and "misses his chance," resulting in constipation. Jerry has an audition with Sandi Robbins, a method actress interested in being Elaine in every way, including insisting being called Elaine and even dating Jerry (and breaking up with him in Part 2). Jerry points out to the real Elaine that Monk's coffee shop appears to be only hiring buxom waitresses, so she tries to get hired, and when the owner turns her down, she files a report with the Equal Employment Opportunity office.


Part 2

Rehearsals for the pilot begin. NBC executive Russell Dalrymple's obsession with Elaine begins to affect his work. She tries to let him down gently by saying she can't be in a relationship with a high-powered man and would prefer to be with someone selfless, such as a member of
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
. Kramer resolves his constipation by administering himself an enema. George thinks that his white spot has been diagnosed as cancer and freaks out at NBC, only to discover that he misunderstood the diagnosis. At the taping of the pilot, "Crazy" Joe Davola leaps out of the audience and onto the set while yelling " Sic semper tyrannis!" The director and actors also become increasingly annoyed by George's kibitzing, and Jerry discovers that he is not as good at acting as he is at standup. The pilot airs and numerous characters from past episodes of the season comment on it. Although Jerry and friends are pleased by the quality of the pilot, mere moments after it airs Rita Kearson phones to inform them Russell has absconded and she has taken over as NBC's president, immediately canceling ''Jerry''. George and Jerry blame Elaine for causing Russell to leave. Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine convene at Monk's, where Elaine spots the men from the Equal Employment Opportunity office eating. When she scolds the owner of the cafe for only hiring large breasted women, he explains that they are all his daughters. In order to prove himself worthy of Elaine, Russell joins Greenpeace and is lost at sea during a botched assault on a whaling ship. As the cover for the ''Jerry'' pilot script floats away along with the former NBC president, one of Russell's shipmates vows to find Elaine and tell her about Russell's actions in fighting the whalers.


Production

The character of Russell Dalrymple, played by
Bob Balaban Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. Aside from his acting career, Balaban has directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films, and was one of the pro ...
, is based on NBC executive Warren Littlefield. In 1996, Balaban was cast as Littlefield in the HBO movie, '' The Late Shift''. Numerous guest stars from previous episodes of ''Seinfeld'' made cameos in the episode, watching and commentating on Jerry's pilot as it airs, specifically Brian Doyle-Murray as Mel Sanger, Tony Amendola as Salman Rushdie,
Teri Hatcher Teri Lynn Hatcher (born December 8, 1964) is an American actress best known for her portrayals of Lois Lane on the television series ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1993–1997). She also played Paris Carver in the ''Production ...
as Sidra Holland, Jon Hayman as Donald Sanger, Nicholas Hormann as
Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...
, Jennifer Campbell as Tia Van Camp, Bill Erwin as Sid Fields,
Wayne Knight Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played recurring roles such as Newman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996â ...
as Newman, Jane Leeves as Marla Penny,
Barney Martin Barney Martin (March 3, 1923 – March 21, 2005) was an American actor, best known for playing Morty Seinfeld, father of Jerry, on the sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1991–1998). He also played supporting roles in Mel Brooks's '' The Producers'' (1967 ...
as
Morty Seinfeld This is a list of characters who appeared on ''Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in main roles or multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Overview ;Overview : = Ensemble cast, Main cast ...
,
Liz Sheridan Elizabeth Ann Sheridan (April 10, 1929 – April 15, 2022) was an American actress. While best known for her roles as the nosy neighbor, Mrs. Ochmonek, on the sitcom '' ALF'' (1986–1990), and Jerry's mother, Helen, in ''Seinfeld'' (1990–1998 ...
as Helen Seinfeld,
Rick Overton Richard Overton (born August 10, 1954) is an American actor and screenwriter. His writing credits include ''Dennis Miller Live'' (1994–2002), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award, while his acting credits include '' Gung Ho'' and '' O ...
as The Drake, Elizabeth Dennehy as The Drakette, Heidi Swedberg as Susan Ross, and Ping Wu as Ping.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilot, The Seinfeld season 4 episodes 1993 American television episodes Seinfeld episodes in multiple parts Television episodes written by Larry David