The Finale (Seinfeld episode)
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| Seinfeld episode | |
| "The Finale" | |
 The 'New York four' are led into prison at the end of "The Finale". |
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| Episode no. | 179-180 |
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| Airdate | May 14, 1998 |
| Writer(s) | Larry David |
| Director | Andy Ackerman |
| Guest star(s) | See Guest stars below |
| Seinfeld - Season 9 September 1997 - May 1998 |
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| List of all Seinfeld episodes | |
"The Finale" is the name given to the final two episodes of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It aired on May 14, 1998 to an audience of 76 million viewers.
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[edit] Plot
After finally striking a deal with NBC over their sitcom pilot, Jerry, Jerry and George are faced with having to leave New York City for California. Before doing so, they decide to take NBC's private jet to Paris with Elaine and Kramer, for one "last hurrah". Unfortunately, Kramer causes engine troubles by hopping up and down on the plane while trying to get water out of his ears, nearly killing the four friends in a crash. Upon what looks to be their final moments of life, George reveals he cheated in "The Contest", and Elaine tells Jerry "I've always loved you", but the pilot manages to steady the plane, so Elaine says "-nited Airlines." They make an emergency landing in the small, fictional town of Latham, Massachusetts.
While killing time in Latham, waiting for the plane to be repaired, they witness an overweight man getting carjacked at gunpoint. Instead of helping him, they crack jokes about his size while Kramer films it all on his camcorder, then they proceed to walk away. The victim notices this, and tells the reporting officer. The four main characters are then taken into custody for violating the Good Samaritan law that requires bystanders to help out in such a situation. The most serious violation punishment in the real world would be a mere $2500 fine, meaning the writers exaggerated the consequences of the offence.
A lengthy trial ensues, bringing back many characters from past shows as character witnesses testifying against the group for their "selfish" acts from throughout the series. The Virgin, the low-talker, the Bubble Boy, Babu Bhatt, the Soup Nazi, George Steinbrenner, Susan Ross' doctor from the night she died, the overweight man who was carjacked, and several others are called to the witness stand, among many more enemies and acquaintances. Attorney Jackie Chiles defends them with the defence that the witnesses are just trying to settle scores with the four and are really exaggerating, that the four did not want to get shot by the criminal, and even George's mother tries to get them released by offering to have sex with the judge. The four are found guilty, and sentenced to a year in prison, with Judge Arthur Vandelay (Art Vandelay - George's fictitious alter ego) proclaiming: "I can think of nothing more fitting than for the four of you to spend a year removed from society so that you can contemplate the manner in which you have conducted yourselves. I know I will."
In the final scene before the credits, the four main characters sit in a jail cell - strangely unfazed by what has just happened to them, still concerned mostly with the minutiae that preoccupied them beforehand. Jerry begins a conversation about George's shirt buttons, using lines from the very first episode of the series ("The second button is the key button. It literally makes or breaks the shirt..."). George then wonders if they have had that conversation before. Also, Kramer is very ecstatic about finally getting the water out of both his ears, which was the real cause of the near plane crash accident in the first place. Elaine still cannot believe they are in prison, but Jerry tells her they can get out on parole in six to seven months, which is the amount they will have to pay on the apartment, and he will attempt to have Jerry picked up again.
In a last bit of comedy during the credits, Jerry is seen wearing an orange jumpsuit, performing a stand-up routine of prison-related jokes. "So what is the deal with the yard? I mean when I was a kid my mother wanted me to play in the yard. But of course she didn't have to worry about my next door neighbor Tommy sticking a shiv in my thigh." He is eventually threatened by a heckler/fellow prisoner (voiced by Larry David). The final line of the series is Jerry, being yanked off stage, saying "Hey, you've been great, I'll see you in the cafeteria!"
[edit] Quotations
- Newman: All right, but hear me and hear me well. The day will come - oh, yes, mark my words, Seinfeld - your day of reckoning will come, when an evil wind will blow through your little play world and wipe that smug smile off your face! And I will be there, in all my glory, watching, watching as it all comes crumbling down!
- Prosecutor: State your name please.
Soup Nazi: Yev Kasem.
Prosecutor: Could you spell that?
Soup Nazi: NO! Next question. - Prosecutor: How long was his book overdue?
Mr. Bookman: 25 years. We don't call them delinquents after that long.
Prosecutor: What do you call them?
Mr. Bookman: Criminals. - Elaine: [before she is taken to prison] David! Don't wait for me!
David Puddy: [nonchalantly] Okay.
[edit] Trivia
- The working title for this show was "A Tough Nut To Crack" to throw off outsiders about the contents of the episode.[citation needed]
- This episode is generally seen as a homage to Albert Camus' novel The Stranger.[citation needed]
- Geraldo Rivera's (then) CNBC show was used for footage for the finale only.
- The conversation in prison, about the "second button being the most important", is the exact same conversation that begins the pilot episode. This causes George to remark, "Haven't we had this conversation before?" To this, Jerry responds, "Yeah, I think we have."
- This was actually the closest to a reunion for the sketch comedy, Fridays, they include Michael Richards (Cosmo Kramer), Larry David (co-creator, writer, and can be heard as a prisoner), Bruce Mahler (Rabbi Glickman), and Melanie Chartoff.
[edit] Reaction and ratings
The final Seinfeld was criticized by many for being vindictive towards the characters - who are shown to be amoral, selfish misanthropes - and, by extension, towards the audience who tuned in to watch them every week. Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker seemed to echo the majority sentiment in declaring the episode "off-key and bloated...Ultimately, Seinfeld and David's kiss-off to their fans was a loud, hearty, 'So long, suckers!'"[1] Others valued it for the perceived in-joke of the four characters being convicted and imprisoned on the charge that they did nothing, a play on the "show about nothing" mantra. One way or the other, the 1998 episode made TV history as the third most watched finale of a U.S. television series ever, behind only M*A*S*H in 1983, and Cheers in 1993, in front of Friends and Frasier both in 2004, Everybody Loves Raymond in 2005, and Will & Grace in 2006.
[edit] Guest stars
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