The Chicken Roaster

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“The Chicken Roaster”
Seinfeld episode

Kramer heading back to the "red planet."
Episode no. Season 8
Episode 142
Written by Alec Berg & Jeff Schaffer
Directed by Andy Ackerman
Original airdate November 14, 1996
Season 8 episodes
Seinfeld - Season 8
September 1996 - May 1997
  1. "The Foundation"
  2. "The Soul Mate"
  3. "The Bizarro Jerry"
  4. "The Little Kicks"
  5. "The Package"
  6. "The Fatigues"
  7. "The Checks"
  8. "The Chicken Roaster"
  9. "The Abstinence"
  10. "The Andrea Doria"
  11. "The Little Jerry"
  12. "The Money"
  13. "The Comeback"
  14. "The Van Buren Boys"
  15. "The Susie"
  16. "The Pothole"
  17. "The English Patient"
  18. "The Nap"
  19. "The Yada Yada"
  20. "The Millennium"
  21. "The Muffin Tops"
  22. "The Summer of George"
List of Seinfeld episodes

"The Chicken Roaster" is the 142nd episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 8th episode for the 8th season. It aired on November 14, 1996.

[edit] Plot

A Kenny Rogers Roasters chicken restaurant opens across the street from Jerry's apartment building, complete with a gigantic red neon chicken atop the roof. While scoping out the new restaurant, Jerry runs into an old college buddy named Seth, whom he persuades to blow off a business meeting in order for them to go have lunch together. Elaine, acting as the Peterman Catalog president, has fun charging numerous expensive purchases to the Peterman account, including a new Russian hat for George. Jerry learns that the meeting Seth blew off was vital to Seth keeping his job. Elaine gets called out by the Peterman accounting department for her impulsive charges to the company account. George, donning his new hat, brags about his prospective date with Heather, the saleswoman who sold the hat to him. He explains that if the prospect of a second date looks slim, he'll simply pull a "leave-behind" as an excuse to come back. The light from the Kenny Rogers Roasters sign beams right into Kramer's apartment. Elaine is able to justify all her recent purchases as business expenses, except for George's hat, which cost a staggering $8,000. Jerry learns that Seth has lost his job. The bright red chicken light takes its toll on Kramer's sleeping schedule, so he proposes that he and Jerry swap apartments. Heather is unimpressed by George, so he leaves his new hat behind in Heather's apartment. Elaine needs the hat to justify her purchase, but when George tries to reclaim it, Heather insists that she doesn't have it. Jerry discovers that Seth is working as the assistant manager at Kenny Rogers Roasters. Kramer hangs a banner from his window protesting the restaurant in an attempt to get rid of the neon sign.

Jerry and Kramer switch apartments, and Kramer takes the opportunity to invite Newman over. Newman brings over a box of Kenny Rogers chicken, to which Kramer unwittingly lets himself get addicted. George and Elaine still can't find the hat in Heather's apartment, and as an act of revenge, George secretly steals Heather's clock. Jerry finds himself unable to sleep in Kramer's apartment and gradually takes on Kramer's mannerisms, while Kramer becomes more like Jerry. Jerry directs Elaine to a source for a replacement hat to make up for the one George lost. However, the Peterman accountant isn't fooled by the substitute hat, which is made of nutria fur. To save her job, Elaine sets off for the jungles of Burma to seek the approval of J. Peterman himself. George thinks that Heather is wise to his theft of her clock and is willing to make a swap for the hat. Jerry sees Newman buying enough chicken for two people at Kenny Rogers and discovers that Kramer is hooked on the stuff. In the Burmese jungle, Elaine locates Peterman, but he can't approve her purchases without seeing the hat either. George learns that Heather is actually interested in him and really does not have his hat. She breaks it off when she discovers her stolen clock in George's possession. Jerry shakes Elaine's rain-soaked rat hat while at Kenny Rogers Roasters, covering the food with rat fur and prompting a shutdown of the restaurant. Though the neon light finally goes off, Kramer loses access to his beloved Kenny Rogers chicken.

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The real Kenny Rogers Owner, Heather Kramer, was born in Ohio and became one of the greatest claims to fast food restaurant history.
  • The real Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant chain initially balked at this episode, claiming that the scene in which Jerry accidentally covers everyone's food with rat fur would be bad publicity. The writers claimed they would alter the storyline, but ultimately did not.
  • After Kramer moves into Jerry's apartment, Jerry's usual Superman statue on the bookshelf is replaced with Kramer's fusilli Jerry statue, first seen in Season 6's "The Fusilli Jerry".
  • J. Peterman's behavior in Burma is a direct parody of Kurtz in the film Apocalypse Now.
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