The Pilot, Part 1

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Seinfeld episode
"The Pilot, Part 1"
The cast of the pilot for Jerry.
Episode no.	63
Airdate	May 20, 1993
Writer(s)	Larry David
Director	Tom Cherones
Guest star(s)	Jeremy Piven, Mariska Hargitay, Larry Hankin & Peter Crombie
IMDb profile
Seinfeld - Season 4 August 1992 - May 1993
The Trip, Part 1 The Trip, Part 2 The Pitch The Ticket The Wallet The Watch The Bubble Boy The Cheever Letters The Opera The Virgin The Contest The Airport The Pick The Movie The Visa The Shoes The Outing The Old Man The Implant The Junior Mint The Smelly Car The Handicap Spot The Pilot, Part 1 The Pilot, Part 2
List of all Seinfeld episodes

The Pilot, Part 1 is the sixty-third episode of the hit sitcom Seinfeld. It aired on May 20, 1993 and is the fourth season finale. It is the first part of a two-part episode that is completed with "The Pilot, Part 2."

[edit] Plot

Jerry and George get the green light to produce Jerry, the pilot for the series based on their "nothing" lives. Russell Dalrimple, the president at NBC 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 an actor playing Kramer. The real Kramer has intestinal problems and, on his way to fix it, he gets delayed and is caused to "miss his chance." Jerry has an audition with the new "Elaine," a method actress interested in being Elaine in every way. The real Elaine has a problem with Monk's coffee shop, as they appear to be only hiring buxom waitresses, so she tries to get hired and files a report.

[edit] Trivia

• This two-part episode aired the same day as the finale of Cheers, whose timeslot would be claimed by Seinfeld at the start of the new fall season.
• Approximately 32 million watched this episode (both parts) when it initally aired, and the show became a major ratings grab for its next five seasons.
• The sample lines used by the actors in the audition sequences are real "Seinfeld" lines, taken from such earlier episodes as "The Pony Remark", "The Deal", "The Note", and "The Boyfriend, Part 1".
• Larry Hankin, who portrays the actor cast as Kramer on Jerry, had actually auditioned for the role of Kramer when Seinfeld began production. Larry David initially felt that Hankin best matched his idea of what the character would be like in comparison to his real-life inspiration, Kenny Kramer, but Michael Richards ultimately landed the role.
• Despite the fact that Elaine's character was omitted from the first draft of the Jerry pilot, she is included in the pilot as it is filmed. It's believed that this was Russel Dalrymple's unspoken suggestion from "The Shoes", a parallel to the real-life NBC network note given to Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David that required them to add a female cast member to "Seinfeld".