The Pitch (Seinfeld episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Pitch" is the 43rd episode of the sitcom Seinfeld
. It is the third episode of the fourth season. It aired on September 16, 1992.
executives meet Jerry
after his nightclub act and ask to come up with an idea for a TV series. George
decides he can be a sitcom
writer and comes up with it being "a show about nothing." Kramer
trades Newman
a radar detector for a helmet, and later Newman receives a speeding ticket due to the detector being defective.
While waiting to meet the NBC executives, George and Jerry meet "Crazy" Joe Davola, a writer and "a total nut" who goes to the same therapist as Elaine
. Jerry, desperately searching for conversation, casually mentions he'll see him at a party Kramer will soon be having. When it becomes apparent that Joe knows nothing about it and was not invited, Jerry panics and makes a hasty and unsuccessful attempt to backtrack. After Joe leaves, George returns and becomes more and more nervous about the impending meeting. Jerry tries to calm him down by building him up but he overdoes it and when they are called in to the meeting, George has a giant artificial chip on his shoulder. His arguing with the executives over his proposed non-premise ("a show about nothing"; no plot, no stories") does not go over well with them and when they signal their displeasure George storms off complaining about "artistic integrity", leaving Jerry to smooth them over and suggest other potential premisses.
Later, while discussing the disaster of the meeting with NBC, George focuses on starting a relationship with the one female executive, Susan Ross. When George later brings her to Jerry's apartment, Kramer drinks spoiled milk and vomits on her. Crazy Joe Davola, upset at not being invited to Kramer's party, attacks Kramer, kicking him in the head. However, Kramer was wearing Newman's helmet at the time, which saves him any visible injury. When Kramer tells Jerry this, he warns him that Davola says he will be looking for Jerry as well.
, and The Virgin. Both this and The Ticket
were originally broadcast as a one-hour episode, but are shown separately in syndication.
The primary storyline about Jerry and George co-creating the show Jerry was a tongue-in-cheek homage to the process that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David experienced when co-creating the show Seinfeld. In the Season 4 DVD extra documentary called "The Breakthrough Season," Jason Alexander and Castle Rock executive Glenn Padnick discussed their initial skepticism about using this idea in not only one episode but as an arc for an entire season. Jason Alexander found it to be "insane" and "self-aggrandized." Glenn Padnick described the arc about the Jerry show as "inside baseball on a show that most people didn't know even existed."
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
. It is the third episode of the fourth season. It aired on September 16, 1992.
Plot
NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
executives meet Jerry
Jerry Seinfeld (character)
Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld is the main protagonist of the American television sitcom Seinfeld . The straight man among his group of friends, this semi-fictionalized version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was named after, co-created by, based on, and played by Seinfeld himself.The series revolves around...
after his nightclub act and ask to come up with an idea for a TV series. George
George Costanza
George Louis Costanza is a character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" , "Lord of the Idiots" , and as "the greatest sitcom character of all time"...
decides he can be a sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
writer and comes up with it being "a show about nothing." Kramer
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Michael Richards...
trades Newman
Newman (Seinfeld)
Newman is a recurring character on the television show Seinfeld, played by Wayne Knight from 1991 until the show's finale in 1998.-Background:...
a radar detector for a helmet, and later Newman receives a speeding ticket due to the detector being defective.
While waiting to meet the NBC executives, George and Jerry meet "Crazy" Joe Davola, a writer and "a total nut" who goes to the same therapist as Elaine
Elaine Benes
Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer...
. Jerry, desperately searching for conversation, casually mentions he'll see him at a party Kramer will soon be having. When it becomes apparent that Joe knows nothing about it and was not invited, Jerry panics and makes a hasty and unsuccessful attempt to backtrack. After Joe leaves, George returns and becomes more and more nervous about the impending meeting. Jerry tries to calm him down by building him up but he overdoes it and when they are called in to the meeting, George has a giant artificial chip on his shoulder. His arguing with the executives over his proposed non-premise ("a show about nothing"; no plot, no stories") does not go over well with them and when they signal their displeasure George storms off complaining about "artistic integrity", leaving Jerry to smooth them over and suggest other potential premisses.
Later, while discussing the disaster of the meeting with NBC, George focuses on starting a relationship with the one female executive, Susan Ross. When George later brings her to Jerry's apartment, Kramer drinks spoiled milk and vomits on her. Crazy Joe Davola, upset at not being invited to Kramer's party, attacks Kramer, kicking him in the head. However, Kramer was wearing Newman's helmet at the time, which saves him any visible injury. When Kramer tells Jerry this, he warns him that Davola says he will be looking for Jerry as well.
Production
In syndication, this episode does not feature Jerry's stand-up routine and also uses Season 3's logo at the beginning, as is also the case in The Ticket, The Cheever LettersThe Cheever Letters
"The Cheever Letters" is the forty-eighth episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld, the 8th episode of season four. Written by Larry David, Elaine Pope & Tom Leopold and directed by Tom Cherones, it premiered on October 28, 1992.-Plot:...
, and The Virgin. Both this and The Ticket
The Ticket (Seinfeld episode)
"The Ticket" is the forty-fourth episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It was the 4th episode of the fourth season. It aired on September 16, 1992 as a one-hour episode with The Pitch. That version is available on the Season 4 box set.-Plot:...
were originally broadcast as a one-hour episode, but are shown separately in syndication.
The primary storyline about Jerry and George co-creating the show Jerry was a tongue-in-cheek homage to the process that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David experienced when co-creating the show Seinfeld. In the Season 4 DVD extra documentary called "The Breakthrough Season," Jason Alexander and Castle Rock executive Glenn Padnick discussed their initial skepticism about using this idea in not only one episode but as an arc for an entire season. Jason Alexander found it to be "insane" and "self-aggrandized." Glenn Padnick described the arc about the Jerry show as "inside baseball on a show that most people didn't know even existed."