"The Bottle Deposit" is a two-part episode, the 131st and 132nd episodes, and 21st and 22nd episodes of the seventh season, of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'' Seinfeld'', first aired on May 2, 1996. It was originally an hour-long episode, but was split into two parts for syndication. The episode was written by

Gregg Kavet Gregg Kavet is a writer and director who worked on NBC's ''Seinfeld'' for several seasons with collaborator Andy Robin. The team wrote episodes including "The Jimmy", " The Hot Tub", "The Caddy", "The Bottle Deposit", "The Fatigues", " The Comeba ...

and

Andy Robin Andy Robin is a writer who worked on NBC's ''Seinfeld'', alone and with collaborator Gregg Kavet. Their episode "The Fatigues" won the 1997 Writers Guild of America Award. Robin and Kavet wrote and directed the feature film ''Live Free or Die' ...

, and directed by

Andy Ackerman Robert Andrew Ackerman (born September 19, 1956) is an American director, producer, and script editor who is best known for his work on ''Seinfeld'', ''The New Adventures of Old Christine'' and the HBO series ''Curb Your Enthusiasm''. He is ...

. In this episode, Newman and Kramer launch a scheme to redeem empty bottles and cans in Michigan for an extra five cents each, leading to a chase after a mechanic driving Jerry's stolen car, which contains a set of golf clubs formerly owned by

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. Meanwhile,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

is assigned a big project but doesn't know what it is and is too ashamed to ask his supervisor for the details.

Plot

Part 1

Since he will be out of town, Mr. Peterman asks Elaine to bid for him at a

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

auction on a set of golf clubs once owned by

. Jerry takes Elaine to the auction, where they bump into Sue Ellen Mischke, Elaine's rival. The two snipe at each other, provoking a bidding war between them over the clubs. Elaine ends up paying $20,000, twice what she was authorized by Peterman to spend. Elaine leaves the clubs in Jerry's car. Newman learns that bottles and cans can be refunded for 5 cents in New York but 10 cents in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Kramer tells him it is impossible to gain a profit from depositing bottles in Michigan due to the gas, tollbooth and truck rental fees. However, while crunching the numbers for himself, Newman recalls that there will be a surge of mail the week before

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...

to be sorted in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

. He signs up for a mail truck that will carry spillover mail from the four main trucks, leaving plenty of space for bottles and cans to refund in Michigan, and thereby avoiding truck rental fees. Newman and Kramer set off collecting and stealing cans and bottles. Mr. Wilhelm scolds

for needing to have orders repeated to him. While talking of a big project for him to do, Wilhelm enters the bathroom. George waits outside, but then finds that Wilhelm had been explaining the details of the project in the bathroom, thinking George was there. Afraid to ask Wilhelm to repeat orders again, he instead asks him the best way to get started, and is directed to payroll. However, the payroll clerk knows nothing about the project. He calls Wilhelm to verify, but when George asks him what the project is, he thinks George is berating him for not immediately believing him. Wilhelm asks if George has gone downtown for the project yet, and mentions "the song". Thinking he means the

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

song " Downtown", George and Jerry try to decipher the lyrics, but to no avail. Jerry's car breaks down because Kramer and Newman, who had borrowed the car, left their groceries in the engine compartment. He takes it to Tony, a mechanic obsessed with car care. After examining the car, Tony guilt trips Jerry over his lackadaisical care for it, in particular getting substandard oil changes at Jiffy Lube outlets and not knowing the mileage, and demands he change his ways. Weary of Tony's moralistic harangues, Jerry asks to have his car back so he can take his business elsewhere. Tony says he will bring the car out front, but drives away with it instead.

Part 2

Mr. Wilhelm, having forgotten to take his medication, completes George's project himself and, finding it complete, congratulates George on it. George is puzzled but opts not to question his lucky break. However, when Steinbrenner sees the project he recognizes that the author is certifiably insane, and has George put in a mental institution. While driving the mail truck to Saginaw, Kramer spots Jerry's stolen car on an Ohio highway and alerts Jerry by mobile phone. At Jerry and Elaine's urging, Kramer diverts from the road to Saginaw in order to pursue Jerry's stolen car (with JFK golf clubs still inside) as it exits the highway. Struggling to keep up, Kramer dumps their bottles, cans, mail bags, and ultimately, Newman himself to make the truck move faster. Newman finds his way to a farmer's house, and is offered hospitality. As Kramer continues his chase, Tony throws all of the JFK golf clubs and the golf bag itself at him, putting the mail truck out of commission. Kramer collects the discarded clubs and meets up with Newman at the farm house, just before they are both chased away due to Newman having a sexual liaison with the farmer's daughter. Elaine gives the golf clubs, several of which were bent during the hot pursuit, to Mr. Peterman. He assumes their battered state is due to Kennedy venting his frustration on the golf course.

Production

Like most two-part ''Seinfeld'' episodes, "The Bottle Deposit" was originally conceived as a normal half-hour time slot episode, ran considerably over the allotted 23 minutes during filming, and was filled out to an hour long time slot with additional scenes after the producers concluded that editing it down to 23 minutes would be too difficult. Scenes which were added for the second round of filming include the "Downtown" thread, Jerry's talk with the detective, the identification of the wrecked car, Kramer and Newman singing a parody of "

99 Bottles of Beer "99 Bottles of Beer" or "100 Bottles of Pop on the Wall" is a song dating to the mid-20th century. It is a traditional reverse counting song in both the United States and Canada. It is popular to sing on road trips, as it has a very repetitive ...

", Newman's dinner with the farmer and his daughter, and the scene in the insane asylum. The farmer's daughter's cry of "Goodbye, Norman! Goodbye!" at the end of the episode was not as scripted. Actress

Karen Lynn Scott Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic ...

misremembered Newman's name, but the ''Seinfeld'' team decided the goof made the scene funnier, so it was kept in. Newman's first name was never revealed during the series. During filming of the scene, the running made actor

Wayne Knight Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played Newman on '' Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001). He also voiced Igor on ''Toonsylvania'' (1998 ...

, then at his peak weight, experience palpitations. Consulting a doctor afterwards, he was told that it was imperative that he lose weight, which led to Knight developing a trimmer figure.

References

External links