"The Keys" is the 40th episode of the sitcom ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

''. It is the 23rd, and final, episode of the third season and the first of a three-episode

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...

. It first aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

on May 6, 1992. In this episode, Jerry takes back his spare keys from Kramer, straining their friendship.

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as the title character on '' Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmi ...

guest stars as herself, playing the title character from ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news presenter, news anch ...

'' (as she did in real life) in a TV episode within a TV episode. This episode ended on a cliffhanger that would later be resolved in '' The Trip'', the two part premiere episode of the show's fourth season.

Plot

In a montage of incidents, Jerry returns home to find that Kramer has overstayed his welcome; he had been using the spare set of keys Jerry left with him. Exasperated, Jerry demands his spare keys back. The loss of the keys makes Kramer first rueful and then philosophically resigned. Disturbed by the change in him, Jerry tries to give the keys back, but Kramer refuses. Kramer then leaves for California to follow his dream of becoming an actor, after he is unable to persuade George to join him. Jerry gives his spare keys to Elaine. Soon after, he needs them and goes to Elaine's apartment with George (who has the spare keys to her place), to search for his spare set. While there, they find Elaine's writing project for an episode of ''

''. As they read and laugh over it, Elaine walks in. Despite their positive assessment of her script, she screams at them to leave because they have invaded her privacy. During his travel to California, Kramer gets in a series of misadventures: his car breaks down, he hitchhikes three times (first with a motorcyclist, then a Volkswagen filled with hippies, and finally a truck driver), and at last resorts to rollerskating on Venice Beach in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Jerry is unable to locate Kramer to make amends. One night, while watching ''Murphy Brown'' with Elaine, Jerry sees Kramer in a bit part on ''Murphy Brown'' as Murphy's new secretary, "Steven Snell".

Production

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...

and

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...

later appeared on

Diane English Diane English (born May 18, 1948) is an American screenwriter, producer and director. She is best known for creating the television show ''Murphy Brown'' which won multiple awards, including 18 Primetime Emmy Awards from 62 nominations. She also ...

's (creator of ''

'') new show, '' Love & War'', as a thank you for the ''Murphy Brown'' scene. Due to

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She has gained acclaim for starring in a string of successful comedy series as well as several comedy films. She has received List of awards ...

's off-screen pregnancy, her character had to spend the latter half of this season hiding her belly behind furniture and laundry baskets. "The Keys" was the final episode filmed before the birth of her son and her leave at the start of Season 4.

Music

When Jerry calls Kramer's mother, the music heard in the background is from ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'', which was later featured in the episode " The Opera". The scene that shows Kramer rollerskating in L.A. is accompanied by an instrumental version of

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

' song "

California Girls "California Girls" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album '' Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics were partly inspired by the band's experiences touring Europe f ...

References

External links

* Seinfeld season 3 episodes 1992 American television episodes {{Seinfeld-episode-stub