We count down the defining moments from George, Elaine, Jerry and Kramer
5. The Puffy Shirt
Season 5, Episode 2
What happens: After mishearing the hushed tones of Kramer’s girlfriend, Jerry accidentally agrees to wear the titular puffy shirt when appearing on The Today Show.
Why it’s great: Embarrassment doesn’t get much purer than this, and we’re more than happy to giggle at Jerry’s misfortune.
Best line: George: “Borrowing money from a friend is like having sex. It just completely changes the relationship.”
4. The Chinese Restaurant
Season 2, Episode 11
What happens: The gang wait for a table in a Chinese restaurant, and their frustration at the long wait becomes the entire episode. Elaine gets fed up and eats food off another diner’s plate.
Why it’s great: Seinfeld became known as ‘the show about nothing’, and The Chinese Restaurant shows this to be true in the best and funniest way. An entire episode set in the entrance to the restaurant, the cast manages to carry a hilarious episode on the flimsiest plot imaginable, setting the building blocks for what would follow across seven more series’.
Best line: Elaine: “Ya know, its not fair people are seated ‘first come first served’, it should be based on who’s hungriest.”
3. The Opposite
Season 5, Episode 21
What happens: One for the super fans, The Opposite sees George and Elaine turning into each other. In George’s mind, he believes that since every decision he’s ever made has been wrong, he’ll do the opposite.
Why it’s great: Amplifying everything that makes their pair of personalities so great to begin with, this episode is Seinfeld-ception, and dives deep into these truly hilarious characters with bloody brilliant results.
Best line: Summing up the episode succinctly, Jerry says: “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.”
2. The Soup Nazi
Season 7, Episode 6
What happens: The Soup Nazi, one of Seinfeld‘s most iconic side characters, stars in this episode of the same name. He makes soup so good that it drives Jerry out of a relationship and drives Elaine to expose his recipes after being banned from the shop.
Why it’s great: As good as a standalone special as it is a part of the show as a whole, The Soup Nazi brings the wildest sides out of Jerry and Elaine, making himself a Seinfeld legend in the process.
Best line: Elaine: “I don’t think George has ever thought he’s better than anybody.”
1. The Contest
Season 4, Episode 11
What happens: George’s mother finds him doing… well, it’d be rude to mention. The episode then revolves around the gang betting who can go the longest without doing the unmentionable.
Why it’s great: A masterclass in innuendo, The Contest is a hilarious episode packed with euphemisms and rudeness that hasn’t dimmed over time. Comedy at its finest.
Best line: Jerry: “We have to do it. It’s part of our lifestyle. It’s like, uh.. shaving.”
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