The Boyfriend (Seinfeld)

"**The Boyfriend**"
"The Boyfriend"
Seinfeld episodes
Episode nos.	Season 3; Episodes 17/18
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Larry David & Larry Levin
Production code	315/316
Original air date	February 12, 1992
Running time	42 minutes
Guest appearances
	Keith Hernandez as himself; Wayne Knight as Newman; Carol Ann Susi as Carrie; Roger McDowell as himself; Rae Allen as Ms. Sokol; Lisa Mende as Carol; Stephen Prutting as Michael; Richard Assad as Cab Driver; Melanie Good as Tall Woman;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Fix-Up"	Next →; "The Limo"
	Seinfeld season 3
	List of episodes

"The Boyfriend" (also known as "The New Friend") is an hour long episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It makes up the 34th and 35th episodes of the show, and 17th and 18th episodes of the show's third season.^[1] It first aired on February 12, 1992. ^[1] In the "extras" section of the Season 3 DVD, Jerry Seinfeld says it is his favorite episode. The first extended episode of the series, it was later split into two parts for syndication; the original version can be seen on the season 3 DVD and Netflix.

Plot[edit]

Part 1[edit]

Jerry meets an idol of his—former New York Mets baseball player Keith Hernandez (appearing as himself)—and wants to make a good impression. Meanwhile, George is out of time on his unemployment benefits and he works harder than ever on his scheme to get a 13-week extension. He tells the unemployment office that he was close to a salesman job with Vandelay Industries, a made-up company that makes latex products and whose address and phone number are actually Jerry's. He asks Jerry to answer each phone call as "Vandelay Industries," which he does with his own alias, "Kal Varnsen." Upon finding out Jerry has befriended Keith, Kramer and Newman accuse Keith of spitting on them after a past Mets game by the players parking lot at Shea Stadium; however, Jerry supports a "second-spitter theory" in which Keith is not involved. George's Vandelay ruse is up after an out-of-the-loop Kramer answers Jerry's phone and tells the officer it's an apartment. Keith asks Jerry about Elaine's relationship status, then makes a date with her, breaking a date he previously made with Jerry.

Part 2[edit]

George tries to curb losing his benefits by taking the officer's daughter (Carol Ann Susi) out for a date. She dumps George by the end of the second date after she realizes he has no prospects, which causes him to express to Jerry his desire to date a tall woman. Jerry becomes jealous that Keith is spending more of his time dating Elaine. Elaine ends the relationship because he smokes. When Keith asks Jerry to help him move his furniture, Jerry considers this too large a favor given how little time they've known each other and ends their friendship. At that moment, Kramer and Newman arrive and confront Keith about the "spitting incident". Keith remembers the incident and tells them that he saw the real spitter: Mets relief pitcher Roger McDowell. Kramer and Newman then remember that they had taunted McDowell throughout the game and the pair apologize to Keith, and offer to help move his furniture. George rushes in with one last desperate attempt to win over his unemployment officer by getting Keith to meet her, but he is too late. As he mopes, a tall woman appears with his wallet, which he had dropped on the sidewalk outside, causing George to give a happy smile.

Production[edit]

The "spitting incident" depicted in the story is a parody of the 1991 film JFK. Jerry presents the "magic loogie theory", a reference to the "magic bullet theory" featured in the film. The recount of the incident in the episode resembles the Zapruder film in JFK, as it uses the same color and photography effects. The episode features Wayne Knight (as Newman), who appeared in JFK in the same position as the scene it depicts.

In the episode, Elaine seems to have no idea about how game 6 of the 1986 World Series finished until Keith tells her about it. In the DVD commentary, Julia Louis-Dreyfus admitted that she actually attended the game.

In the original script, the actual spitter was going to be Darryl Strawberry, but due to Strawberry having legal issues at the time of production, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld believed that it wouldn't look good for Strawberry's image to be portrayed as spitting on fans, so Roger McDowell, a friend of Keith Hernandez, was written in Strawberry's place.

An alternative ending was filmed where the tall woman gives George his wallet, and George thanks her then shows her the door. When she asks George if he wants anything else, George, after a pause, shakes his head "No" and closes the door on her. When Jerry looks at him in disbelief, George shrugs, "Not my type," causing Jerry to roll his eyes in exasperation.

Reception and legacy[edit]

TV Guide ranked the episode fourth in their 1997 list of the 100 Greatest TV Episodes of All Time.

On June 23, 2010, Jerry Seinfeld called four innings of a Mets game at Citi Field against the Detroit Tigers on SportsNet New York, reuniting him with Hernandez, now an analyst for SNY.^[2]^[3] During that time, he revealed that if Hernandez had turned them down they would have asked Gary Carter to take his place.

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "Seinfeld Season 3 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
^ Sandomir, Richard (June 23, 2010). "No Joke: Seinfeld Likes Mets' Chances". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
^ Sanchez, Jesse (June 18, 2010). "Seinfeld to grace Mets booth Wednesday". MLB.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.

External links[edit]

"The Boyfriend" at IMDb

[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 3 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[2] Sandomir, Richard (June 23, 2010). "No Joke: Seinfeld Likes Mets' Chances". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-09-03.

[3] Sanchez, Jesse (June 18, 2010). "Seinfeld to grace Mets booth Wednesday". MLB.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.

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v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "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"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode