"The Pitch" is the 43rd episode of the

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''. It is the third episode of the fourth season. It aired on September 16, 1992. Its original airing was as part of a one-hour episode, with " The Ticket" as the second half. In this episode,

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 ...

executives express interest in Jerry doing a TV series, so Jerry and

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 ...

work on a pitch for the proposed show. At NBC, Jerry inadvertently tips off

"Crazy" Joe Davola This is a list of characters who appeared on ''Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Primary characters Jerry Seinfeld George Costanza Elaine ...

that Kramer is having a party without having invited him.

Plot

executives approach Jerry after his comedy act and ask him to come up with an idea for a TV series.

decides he can be a

writer and comes up with the idea of it being "a show about nothing". Kramer trades Newman a radar detector for a helmet. Later Newman receives a speeding ticket due to the detector being defective. While waiting to meet the NBC executives, George and Jerry meet

, a writer and "total nut" who goes to the same therapist as Elaine, Dr. Reston. Jerry, desperately searching for conversation, says he will see him at a party Kramer is having. When it becomes apparent that Joe knows nothing about it and was not invited, Jerry makes a hasty and unsuccessful attempt to backtrack. George becomes more and more nervous about the impending meeting. Jerry tries to calm him down by building him up. In the meeting, George argues with the executives about his proposed premise ("a show about nothing"; no plot, no stories). It does not go over well with them and when they show displeasure, George refuses to compromise on the idea. Jerry later blasts George for his actions. George starts a relationship with one of the executives,

Susan Ross This is a list of characters who appeared on ''Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Primary characters Jerry Seinfeld George Costanza Elaine ...

. When George 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 Joe says he is looking for Jerry as well. Dr. Reston went to Europe with Elaine, so no one is making sure Joe takes his medication.

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 Letters "The Cheever Letters" is the 48th episode of the American sitcom ''Seinfeld'', the eighth episode of season four. It was written by Larry David, Elaine Pope, and Tom Leopold, and directed by Tom Cherones. It premiered on October 28, 1992. In thi ...

", 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 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 ...

experienced when co-creating the show ''Seinfeld''. In the Season 4 DVD extra documentary called "The Breakthrough Season", Jason Alexander and

Castle Rock Entertainment Castle Rock Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. It is a label of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself a subsidia ...

executive Glenn Padnick discussed their initial skepticism about using this idea in not only one episode but as an arc for an entire season. Alexander found it to be "insane" and "self-aggrandized". Padnick described the arc about the ''Jerry'' show as "inside baseball on a show that most people didn't know even existed."

Critical reception

Linda S. Ghent, Professor in the Department of Economics at Eastern Illinois University, discusses this episode in view of the asymmetric information dramatized. Ghent explains:

The Pew Charitable Trusts The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), founded in 1948. With over 6 billion in assets, its stated mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, a ...

weighed in on this episode, naming

telemarketing Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequen ...

one of the contributors to "rudeness in America".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitch Seinfeld (season 4) episodes 1992 American television episodes Television episodes written by Larry David