The Engagement (Seinfeld episode)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

IMDb profile
Seinfeld episode
"The Engagement"
Jerry and George at the coffee shop.
Episode no.	111
Airdate	September 21, 1995
Writer(s)	Larry David
Director	Andy Ackerman
Seinfeld - Season 7 September 1995 - May 1996
The Engagement The Postponement The Maestro The Wink The Hot Tub The Soup Nazi The Secret Code The Pool Guy The Sponge The Gum The Rye The Caddy The Seven The Cadillac, Part 1 The Cadillac, Part 2 The Shower Head The Doll The Friars Club The Wig Master The Calzone The Bottle Deposit, Part 1 The Bottle Deposit, Part 2 The Wait Out The Invitations
List of all Seinfeld episodes

"The Engagement" is the seventh season opener (along with the one-hundred and eleventh overall episode) of the popular NBC series Seinfeld. It aired on September 21, 1995

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

George breaks up with a woman after she beats him in a game of chess. When he tells Jerry about it, they both realize that they have done nothing with their lives and decide they're going to make some changes. When Jerry tells Kramer about his talk with George, Kramer tells Jerry that getting married or having a family is a "man-made prison," and Jerry changes his mind. Elaine comes in and tells Jerry and Kramer that a barking dog is keeping her from getting a good night's sleep. Kramer says he knows someone who can "fix her problem".

They go to see Newman. After seeing Newman's clear disdain for dogs, Elaine becomes unsure if she really wants to go through with his plan. She is undecided at the moment, but later calls Newman back and says she wants to do it. Jerry takes his girlfriend Melanie out to dinner, but is bothered when she eats her peas one at a time.

George, after contemplating what to do with his life all afternoon, finally decides to visit his old girlfriend Susan Ross. When she buzzes him up and answers the door, he asks her to marry him. The next day, George visits Jerry to tell him the news - he's getting married (after hours of convincing). All seems well until Jerry informs him that he broke up with Melanie because of the way she ate her peas. George is angry that Jerry didn't keep his side of the "pact" to change, made the day before at Monk's. But Jerry convinces him he should be happy that he's engaged.

Later that night, Elaine, Kramer and Newman get in a van and prepare to steal the dog. Jerry goes to George's apartment and asks if he's ready to go see a movie (Firestorm with Harrison Ford), but George tells him Susan wants to see a different movie (The Muted Heart with Glen Close and Sally Field). It is at this time that George is showing signs of regret about his decision.

Newman returns to the van with the dog and Elaine is surprised that it is so small. They try to get it to bark to verify if it the right dog, but to no avail. Kramer drives them far away from the city, before finally stopping near Monticello. He gets out and leaves the dog at a random doorstep, but it rips a piece of his shirt (The Rudy's vintage shop) before he can let it go. Back home after the movie, Jerry calls George to inform him that a Yankees game is being rerun if he wanted to watch it, but Susan wants him to come to bed and watch an episode of Mad About You that she taped. George again voices his annoyance at Jerry that he backed out on the pact.

The dog manages to find its way back to its house and owner, carrying the piece of Kramer's shirt it had ripped and Elaine is again woken up during the night by its barking. The next day, Jerry tells her the news of George's engagement. With the shirt scrap as evidence, police officers visit Kramer and Newman and arrest them for dognapping. The episode ends with Kramer, Newman and Elaine sitting in the back of a police car. Elaine decides to make some changes.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

This episode aired the same day as The Single Guy, which is actually created by Julia Louis-Dreyfus's husband Brad Hall, as well as Caroline in the City.
This marks the series' return to season-long story arcs, something previously only done in season 4. The following two seasons would also feature running plots established in their premieres, such as George's involvement in "The Foundation" and Elaine's relationship with David Puddy.
When caught by the police for kidnapping the dog Newman comments "What took you so long?" which are reportedly the first words David Berkowitz (aka The Son of Sam) said upon his arrest.
While filming the scene in which Elaine yells at the dog, Julia Louis-Dreyfus accidentally shouted herself hoarse. Rather than postpone filming or have Julia redub her lines later, the staff wrote her laryngitis into the script, and thus, Elaine speaks hoarsely throughout the entire episode.
The man with whom Jerry discusses the best action scenes in Firestorm is played by Mario Joyner, one of Jerry Seinfeld's real-life friends. In fact, he also returns in the 9th season episode "The Puerto Rican Day", this time, as a man Jerry gets in an argument with for the entire episode.

[edit] Quotes

Jerry: What kind of lives are these? We're like children. We're not men.
George: No, we're not. We're not men.
Newman: (when cops show up at his door) What took you so long?
George: You know, it was really wrong of you to back out on that deal.
Jerry: I didn't make a deal. I just shook your hand.
George: Yeah, well that's a deal where I come from.
Jerry: We come from the same place.
(coming out of the movie theater after seeing The Muted Heart)
George: (unenthusiastic) Yes, it was very, very good.
Susan: Oh, do you think he'll ever find her again?
George: Oh, I sure hope so.
(Jerry and a friend come out of the theater nearby after seeing Firestorm)
Jerry: How about when Harrison Ford jumped out of that plane, and he was shooting back at them as he was falling?
Friend: What about that underwater escape?
Jerry: Oh, man!
Kramer: What do you think they'll do to us?
Newman: Don't worry.When we get there the whole place will be crawling with mailmen ...we'll be out on the street by lunch.