S01E01 - The Seinfeld Chronicles
No: 1 | Season: 1 Episode: 1 | Air Date: 5-Jul-1989 | Production #101
Summary
Jerry is excited that a woman he met on the road is coming to visit him in New York. However, he has a tough time discerning whether her intentions are romantic or platonic.
Director and Writers
Director: Art Wolff
Writers: Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld
Quotes
Jerry: Women know what men want,men know what men want. What do we want? We want women!
Kramer (Kessler): You got any meat?
Jerry: Meat? I don't, I don't know, go... hunt!
Clair: Trust me George, no one has any interest in seeing you on caffeine.
Notes and Trivia
Originally, Kramer was called "Kessler", mainly because the real Kramer (Kenny Kramer) did not want his name to be in the show. After the pilot, Jerry said to Larry that the name had to be Kramer, because it just sounded funnier.
The coffee shop in which Jerry and George frequent was not originally intended to be named "Monk's". It has been said that Monk's and Pete's are two totally different shops. That explains why we never see the waitress, Claire, again.
The character of Elaine was not cast as of this episode. After the pilot NBC said to Jerry and Larry that they could make four more episodes, but only if they bring in a female character into the cast. Not only did Julia Louis Dreyfus not appear in this pilot episode, but she was unaware that it existed. In fact, up until the time of the DVD release, she had never seen it.
Note when Jerry's door is open in this episode, there is no door or apartment for Kramer across the hall. It's just a wall with a Cuba picture.
It was reported that this episode was the least/lowest watched (rating wise) episode in all of NBC's television history.
Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards (Kramer/Kessler) also worked together in the 1984 TV movie "The Ratings Game".
This episode's title was originally known as "Good News, Bad News."
Jerry never actually wanted a sitcom. The show was supposed to be an hour-and-a-half documentary to fill in for SNL about how a comedian gets his material and would be called "Stand-Up.
The episode title is "The Seinfeld Chronicles" on the Season 1&2 DVD.
Initially aired on a Wednesday as a one-time special.
There are two versions of this episode: the Original Pilot Version and the Revised Pilot version. Both are included on the Season 1/2 DVD.
The series does not have an opening credits sequence. Instead, the lead actor credits play out over a scene. Now commonplace in sitcoms and drama series, this was considered a novelty in 1990 and sparked a debate over the future of opening credits in TV series.
Jerry had a different apartment number in this episode.
Lee Garlington (Claire) was supposed to be part of the original cast, as the friendly waitress who gave advice to the boys about their daily lives (hence why she was in the opening credits, and not Pamela Brull, who played a bigger role in this episode) but was dropped because she was considered boring.
In this episode, George advises Jerry that with women you should never go by your instincts, but always do the opposite. He admits not doing so himself, but later follows this tactic to perfection in "The Opposite."
In this episode, the coffee shop Jerry and George go to is not Monk's. The exterior shot reads "Pete's".
Even in the pilot episode, there is a Superman reference. When Jerry sits down to watch TV, he is wearing a bright blue pair of sweatpants, and a bright red sweatshirt.
In the TV Guide entry for this episode, Kramer's character is credited as Hoffman.
Goofs
In the first scene, pay attention to Jerry's shirt. Albeit consistently unbuttoned, the top part of his shirt subtly opens and closes between takes.
Cast
Jerry Seinfeld | Jerry Seinfeld |
Michael Richards | Kessler (Kramer) |
Jason Alexander | George Costanza |
Lee Garlington | Claire |
Pamela Brull | Laura |