"The Pez Dispenser" is the 31st episode of the sitcom '' Seinfeld''. The episode was the fourteenth episode of the show's third season. It aired on January 15, 1992. The episode was written by Jerry Seinfeld and

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', on which David was head writer and executive producer for the first seve ...

and was directed by

Tom Cherones Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

Plot

At a piano recital given by

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 ...

's girlfriend Noel, Jerry teases Elaine by balancing his

Tweety Bird Tweety is a yellow canary in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being an English onomatopoeia for t ...

Pez dispenser upright on her leg, causing uncontrollable laughter from Elaine. Unnerved by the laughter, Noel makes an embarrassing flub, and afterwards tells George and his friends that the laughter has made her lose confidence in herself as a pianist. Elaine wants to apologize and explain, but George insists she remain silent for fear that Noel will break up with him if she learns Elaine was the one laughing. Kramer creates a

cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

that smells of the beach, but when he tries to sell the idea to Calvin Klein, the representative says that the beach is an offensive smell, pointing out that people shower after going to the beach to rid themselves of its odor. Jerry hosts an intervention for an old friend, Richie Appel. Richie developed a drug

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

because he believed himself to be the cause of Marty Benson's death from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

after Kramer told him to pour Gatorade on his head after winning a

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

game. George is frustrated that he does not have any leverage in his relationship with Noel, stating that "I need hand. I have no hand," and fears Noel will break up with him. Acting on advice from Kramer, George preemptively breaks up with her, but she gives into his demands to persuade him to stay thereby giving him "hand". Later, at the intervention, Noel hears Elaine laughing, realizes George lied, and she breaks up with him. Richie agrees to enter rehab after seeing the Pez dispenser, which brings up a childhood memory and causes him to admit his drug problem. Richie does well in rehab, but is now addicted to Pez.

Cultural references

George raves about Noel playing the Waldstein.

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

composed his "

Waldstein Sonata Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53, known as the ', is one of the three most notable sonatas of his middle period (the other two being the ''Appassionata'', Op. 57, and ''Les Adieux'', Op. 81a). Completed in summer 1804 and sur ...

" in 1803 and dedicated it to Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein. Noel plays Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 at the concert when Elaine leaves laughing. The same piece is played in a very similar scene in George Cukor's ''

Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either direct ...

''. Marty Benson's death from pneumonia after having a bucket of Gatorade dumped on him is a reference to the death of Hall of Fame football coach

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

in 1990, 44 days after being doused by a celebratory Gatorade shower.

References

External links

* Seinfeld (season 3) episodes 1992 American television episodes Television episodes written by Larry David Pez {{Seinfeld-episode-stub