Top 10 Small Details You Never Noticed in Seinfeld
#10: O. J., a Name That Will Never Be Infamous “The Masseuse”
Like the rest of the country at the time, the “Seinfeld” writers were obsessed with the O. J. Simpson trial. Jackie Chiles is actually a direct parody of Johnnie Cochran. Even before the Simpson murder case, “Seinfeld” unintentionally foreshadowed the famed athlete’s fall from grace. In “The Masseuse” episode, Elaine dates a man named Joel Rifkin. Since he shares the same name as a notorious serial killer, Elaine suggests several alternatives while reading from a magazine, including O. J. If Joel did change his name to O. J., he’d probably would’ve changed it again almost seven months later when Simpson was arrested. Ironically, not everyone knows who Joel Rifkin is nowadays, but O. J. Simpson remains a household name for all the wrong reasons.
#9: Bizarro Jerry Statue “The Bizarro Jerry”
Jerry has made it no secret that he’s a huge Superman fan. We’re kind of surprised that he didn’t notice the resemblance between Becky Gelke and Supergirl, seeing how they share actress Helen Slater in common. Jerry’s Superman statue is one of his apartment’s most recognizable decorations. So, it only makes sense that Jerry’s Bizarro counterpart would possess the opposite. Elaine develops a friendship with her kindly ex-boyfriend Kevin, who’s deemed the “Bizarro Jerry.” Elaine comes to see what Jerry is talking about when she arrives at Kevin’s Fortress of Solitude. It’s a backwards version of Jerry’s apartment with a unicycle hanging on the wall instead of a bike and, most notably, a Bizarro Superman statue. What’s next? David Puddy as the Man of Steel?
#8: Green 22 “The Parking Garage”
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Unable to shut down an actual parking garage for this classic episode, the crew constructed a replica and dismantled the show’s set in the process. Using mirrors and camera tricks, they made the garage look bigger than it was. Michael Richards went the extra mile, insisting on carrying a box with a real air conditioner inside. Speaking of Kramer, he says early on that they parked in Green 22, but Jerry says it was the orange section. When they do finally find the car, it’s in the green section around the 20s. So, if the gang just listened to Kramer, they could’ve avoided a series of misadventures. Of course, even if they did, the car still wouldn’t have started, which wasn’t originally in the script.
#7: Jerry’s Apartment Number Various
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If you’re a “Seinfeld” superfan, you’ll know that Jerry lives in apartment 5A. If you’re a next-level fan, you likely noticed that Jerry’s apartment number has changed a couple of times. During the show’s infancy, Jerry lives in Apartment 411. In the Season 2 episode, “The Phone Message,” the number changes to 3A. One episode later, the apartment number appears as 5A for the first time, remaining that way for the rest of the series. What could this all mean? Well, Season 4 Episode 11 is “The Contest,” arguably the show’s best episode. Jerry hangs out with 3 friends and 5 is the number of episodes in the first season. So, this all amounts to… absolutely nothing, which we guess is fitting for this show.
#6: Cosmo Kessler? “The Seinfeld Chronicles”
It’s surreal watching the “Seinfeld” pilot now. There’s no Elaine, Jerry and George converse at Pete’s Luncheonette rather than Monk’s Café, and Kramer is named Kessler. Jerry’s wacky neighbor is based on co-creator Larry David’s former neighbor, Kenny Kramer. David initially resisted calling the character Kramer, but the name was too perfect to pass up. Kenny Kramer thus made several demands, including that he play Kramer. When that didn’t pan out, he started “Kramer’s Reality Tour.” Both of these real-life incidents inspired storylines in Season 4 and Season 8. The writers also explained the Kessler mix-up in a Season 9 flashback when Jerry meets Kramer. By the way, the apartment number was 5A when Jerry first moved in!
#5: A Fusilli Collection Various
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Kramer spends most of his time at Jerry’s abode, but occasionally we glimpse through Apartment 5B’s reverse peephole. Even in his own apartment, Kramer likes to keep Jerry close, hanging his headshot near the entrance. That’s not the only eyebrow-raising item you might find when Kramer opens his door. Who keeps a kitchen pot on a shelf like that? But what do you expect from a guy who cooks in the shower? Whatever Kramer is cooking, fusilli isn’t on the menu. Kramer would rather use the pasta to make a little Jerry statue. While we’re all familiar with Fusilli Jerry, ever notice that in the following seasons, Kramer has other pasta figurines displayed behind his couch? Here’s hoping Frank never sat on any of them.
#4: The OG Frank Costanza “The Handicap Spot”
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Most of us saw “Seinfeld” for the first time in reruns. If you caught Season 4’s “The Handicap Spot” when it first aired, though, you might have noticed that Frank Costanza looked and sounded nothing like Jerry Stiller in his debut episode. That’s because he was originally played by John Randolph. When Stiller subsequently took over the role, Larry David insisted on reshooting Frank’s scenes in this episode for syndication. David wanted to do the same for Jerry’s father, who was played by Phil Bruns in Season One and recast with Barney Martin in Season 2. By this point, however, the actors had gotten older and there would’ve been a noticeable age difference. As for Randolph, you can still find his episode on DVD.
#3: Larry David Cameos Various
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George Costanza was largely based on Larry David. While David didn’t play George on the show, he did pop up on occasion. Throughout the series, you can spot David as Frank Costanza’s caped lawyer, the cashier who gives back George’s lipsticked $20, a sci-fi movie actor, and a background character when Kramer gets arrested in Season 4. David also made several voiceover cameos, including a beachgoer who inquires about a marine biologist, an inmate who heckles Jerry in the finale, and George Steinbrenner. He even voiced Newman offscreen in his debut episode, which was re-recorded with Wayne Knight for syndication. Even after David left the show, they worked his name into the Boca Breeze newsletter, detailing his struggles on the golf course.
#2: Hiding Elaine’s Pregnancy Various
Elaine never had a baby throughout the show’s nine seasons, but Julia Louis-Dreyfus gave birth to two daughters during this time. In Season 3’s second half, the creators found a few ways to hide her pregnancy. “The Subway” is a standout example where Elaine wears a heavy coat and carries around a large present. Ironically, in another episode where a woman thinks she might be pregnant with George’s baby, Louis-Dreyfus hid her own baby bump behind baggy clothes and a newspaper. When Louis-Dreyfus became pregnant again in Season 8, Seinfeld suggested a storyline where “Elaine just gets fat.” This idea made Louis-Dreyfus “burst into tears,” however. Thus, Elaine broke out her heavy wardrobe again, even going on a shopping spree to spite the Putumayo proprietor.
#1: Jerry’s Video Collection Various
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Whenever we get a glimpse of Jerry’s VHS collection, we always break out the pause button. With “Arachnophobia,” “The Crying Game,” and two copies of “True Colors,” Jerry has solid taste, but some of these movies raise questions. For starters, Jerry owns “Child’s Play 2,” starring Grace Zabriskie, who plays Susan’s mother, Mrs. Ross. In the midst of all the horror movies, Jerry has “Pretty Woman,” which features George Costanza himself, Jason Alexander. That’s not the only connection to Alexander in Jerry’s collection. He also has a couple of tapes for the sitcom “Dinosaurs,” which Alexander occasionally lent his voice to. We’re not sure how that works, but honestly, we just wanna know who Jerry thinks would win in a fight: Chucky or Baby Sinclair?
