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The Wizard (Seinfeld episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Wizard" is the 171st episode of the NBC
sitcom Seinfeld
. This was the 15th episode for the 9th and final season. It aired on February 26, 1998.
buys his dad a $200 Wizard
organizer for a birthday present. George
receives a message from Susan's parents, the Rosses. Jerry and George debate about the race of Elaine
's new boyfriend and that intrigues her – is he black? George returns the call from the Rosses; the Foundation is having an event this weekend, but George doesn't want to attend, so he comes up with a story that he has to close on his house in the Hamptons
. Kramer
announces his retirement, a Hollywood big shot has optioned his coffee table book about coffee tables. Elaine finds evidence that leads her to believe her boyfriend is black. Susan's parents see George on the street in the city, during the time he is supposed to be in the Hamptons.
Jerry is woken up early in the morning at his parents' house and gives his father the Wizard, which Jerry claims he got from a deal at only $50. Morty is only impressed by it being a "tip calculator", although Jerry claims it does other things. Later he discovers that Kramer has moved down there, to join the other retirees. Elaine laughs when Susan's parents ask her about George's house in the Hamptons, revealing the lies. Morty, who can't run for president of the condo association because he was impeached from their previous condo, decides that Kramer should be elected condo board president of Del Boca Vista phase III, so Morty will run things from behind the scenes, like a "puppet regime". Elaine schemes to try to determine her boyfriend's race. As George finds out the Rosses knew that he lied, and they allowed him to continue lying, he keeps building on his lie and picks up the Rosses to take them to the Hamptons, to "see who'll blink first".
Kramer begins his campaign and the condo newsletter, The Boca Breeze has good things to say about him. When Elaine's boyfriend says they are an interracial couple, she is convinced he is black. Kramer receives some bad press from The Boca Breeze; it's damage control time. Kramer suggests buying each member of the board one of those Wizard "tip calculators". Jerry knows he can't get the deal he told his father he'd received, but Kramer says not to worry, Bob Sacamano's father lives down there and can help them out. Elaine discovers her boyfriend is not black, and that he referred to them as an interracial couple because he thought she was Hispanic. Sacamano's father comes through with knock-off "tip calculators" called "the Willard", which can't calculate tips properly and in some cases lack a full complement of numerals, costing Morty and Kramer the election.
George and the Rosses reach the Hamptons, where he blinks first and the truth is revealed. The Rosses confirm that they dislike George, and blame him for Susan's death.
, but the idea was abandoned when "they simply could not get the tone right."
, wrote of the episode: "If the series did have one strong point in its dealings with race, it was with the embarrassment and uneasiness that middle-class whites often feel about the issue."
NBC
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...
sitcom Seinfeld
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...
. This was the 15th episode for the 9th and final season. It aired on February 26, 1998.
Plot
JerryJerry 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...
buys his dad a $200 Wizard
Sharp Wizard
The Sharp Wizard is a series of electronic organizers released by Sharp Corporation. The first model was the OZ-7000 released in 1988, making it one of the first electronic organizers to hit the market....
organizer for a birthday present. 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"...
receives a message from Susan's parents, the Rosses. Jerry and George debate about the race of 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...
's new boyfriend and that intrigues her – is he black? George returns the call from the Rosses; the Foundation is having an event this weekend, but George doesn't want to attend, so he comes up with a story that he has to close on his house in the Hamptons
Hamptons
The Hamptons may refer to several villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on the far east end of Suffolk County in Long Island, New York. These townships occupy the South Fork of Long Island, stretching into the Atlantic Ocean. The Hamptons form a popular seaside resort,...
. 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...
announces his retirement, a Hollywood big shot has optioned his coffee table book about coffee tables. Elaine finds evidence that leads her to believe her boyfriend is black. Susan's parents see George on the street in the city, during the time he is supposed to be in the Hamptons.
Jerry is woken up early in the morning at his parents' house and gives his father the Wizard, which Jerry claims he got from a deal at only $50. Morty is only impressed by it being a "tip calculator", although Jerry claims it does other things. Later he discovers that Kramer has moved down there, to join the other retirees. Elaine laughs when Susan's parents ask her about George's house in the Hamptons, revealing the lies. Morty, who can't run for president of the condo association because he was impeached from their previous condo, decides that Kramer should be elected condo board president of Del Boca Vista phase III, so Morty will run things from behind the scenes, like a "puppet regime". Elaine schemes to try to determine her boyfriend's race. As George finds out the Rosses knew that he lied, and they allowed him to continue lying, he keeps building on his lie and picks up the Rosses to take them to the Hamptons, to "see who'll blink first".
Kramer begins his campaign and the condo newsletter, The Boca Breeze has good things to say about him. When Elaine's boyfriend says they are an interracial couple, she is convinced he is black. Kramer receives some bad press from The Boca Breeze; it's damage control time. Kramer suggests buying each member of the board one of those Wizard "tip calculators". Jerry knows he can't get the deal he told his father he'd received, but Kramer says not to worry, Bob Sacamano's father lives down there and can help them out. Elaine discovers her boyfriend is not black, and that he referred to them as an interracial couple because he thought she was Hispanic. Sacamano's father comes through with knock-off "tip calculators" called "the Willard", which can't calculate tips properly and in some cases lack a full complement of numerals, costing Morty and Kramer the election.
George and the Rosses reach the Hamptons, where he blinks first and the truth is revealed. The Rosses confirm that they dislike George, and blame him for Susan's death.
Production
The Seinfeld writers had always planned an episode dealing with race. An initial idea had Elaine getting lost in HarlemHarlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, but the idea was abandoned when "they simply could not get the tone right."
Reception
Tim Delaney, in Seinology: the sociology of Seinfeld, wrote that The Wizard "does a wonderful job of illustrating the delicate nature of discussing race, even when it's between friends, who assumingly, are not racist." Albert Auster, of Fordham UniversityFordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
, wrote of the episode: "If the series did have one strong point in its dealings with race, it was with the embarrassment and uneasiness that middle-class whites often feel about the issue."
Episode Notes
- The issues of The Boca Breeze all have small sections on the front page with titles referring to Larry DavidLarry DavidLawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
; "Larry David gets hole in one!", "Larry David hurts elbow.", "Larry David never to play golf again".