The Yada Yada

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“The Yada Yada”
Seinfeld episode

Jerry's dentist, Dr. Tim Whatley
Episode no. Season 8
Episode 153
Written by Peter Mehlman & Jill Franklyn
Directed by Andy Ackerman
Guest stars Bryan Cranston, Suzanne Cryer, Jill St. John, Robert Wagner & Debra Messing
Original airdate April 24, 1997
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 Yada Yada" is the 153rd episode of the American NBC sitcom Seinfeld. The 19th episode of the 8th season, it aired on April 24, 1997.

[edit] Plot

George's girlfriend is big on using the phrase "yada yada yada." Jerry says that at least she is succinct and that it is like "dating the USA Today." Jerry's dentist, Dr. Tim Whatley, has converted to Judaism and is already making jokes that make Jerry uncomfortable. Jerry goes so far as to say that he only became Jewish to do so. Kramer and Mickey Abbott double date but cannot decide which woman is right for them. Elaine is a character reference for a couple who are trying to adopt, but the story she tells during an interview destroys all hope of adoption. George drops by Jerry's dental appointment; Mickey and Kramer continue to fight over who gets Karen or Julie; George determines that his girlfriend might be leaving out some significant details concerning her overuse of the phrase "yada yada." He gets her to fill in the details, and discovers more than he wants to know. Jerry confesses to a priest about what he thinks of Tim's conversion; George drops by Jerry's confession; Kramer decides on the right woman, and Mickey also decides to make his commitment. Tim hears about a dentist joke that Jerry told the priest, and deliberately prolongs an uncomfortable procedure. After hearing Jerry's complaints about Tim, Kramer accuses Jerry of being an "anti-dentite." Elaine lobbies on behalf of Beth and Arnie, and propositions the adoption official as an inducement. Beth's marriage nonetheless fails and she accompanies Jerry to Mickey's wedding; Elaine, now dating the adoption agent, is dismayed. Mickey's father (Robert Wagner), a dentist, calls Jerry an "anti-dentite bastard." Jerry is comforted by Beth, who reveals herself as racist and anti-Semitic.

[edit] Trivia

  • The episode was allowed by NBC to run longer than the usual thirty minutes, and its slightly above-average length was even boasted about in promos. An edited version airs in syndication, cutting out several small scenes and dialogues, but the full-length version is available on the "Seinfeld" Season 8 DVD collection.
  • One of the most oft-mentioned episodes of the series, specifically for its focus on the phrase "yada yada", which went on to be included in the Oxford English Dictionary.[1] Even before the Seinfeld episode, however, "yadda yadda" was a relatively common phrase, used notably by comedian Lenny Bruce, [2] among others. Most recently the phrase went on to be appropriated for Viva Pinata and modified as "pinata yadda yadda", spoken by Fergie Fudgehog in the second season opening sequence of the cartoon. ("Pinata yadda yadda" also appeared earlier in the series, as the name of Pinata Island's newspaper.)
  • The phrase originates with the 1950s "yackety-yack", 1940s vaudeville, and earlier. [3]
  • Even before this episode first aired, writer Peter Mehlman suspected that it would spawn a new Seinfeld catchphrase. However, his prediction regarding which phrase would catch on was slightly incorrect; he anticipated that it would be the phrase "anti-dentite" that people remembered most fondly.
  • The word yada is Hebrew for intimacy (literally, "to know"), so technically, when Elaine says, we went back to his place and "yada, yada, yada...." she means, "You know...", as in "you can fill in the blanks".

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ ABC News: 'Yada Yada' Makes the Dictionary
  2. ^ "Word for Word: Neology; In the Dictionary Game, Yada Yada Yada Is Satisficing to Some, Not Others", The New York Times, August 22, 1999. Accessed April 8, 2008.
  3. ^ Straight Dope Staff Report: What's the origin of "yadda yadda"?
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