"The Sniffing Accountant" is the 68th 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 ...
'', being the fourth episode of the series'
fifth season.
It 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 October 7, 1993.
In the episode,
George's father gets him an interview as a brassiere salesman. Evidence points to
Jerry's accountant being a cocaine user. Jerry,
Kramer and
Newman
Newman is a surname of Germanic Anglo-Saxon origins. Newman is the modern English form of the name used in Great Britain and among people of British ancestry around the world (as is 'Numan'), while Neumann (with variant spellings) is used in Ger ...
set up a sting to find out the truth.
Elaine's new boyfriend is perfect except for his unwillingness to use exclamation points.
The episode was written by the creators of ''Seinfeld'',
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 ...
, and directed by
Tom Cherones
Thomas Harry Cherones, Jr. ( ; born September 11, 1939) is an American television director, director and Television producer, producer of several TV series. He is best known for his work on ''Seinfeld'', where he directed 81 of the 86 episodes ...
. To research one of this episode's recurring jokes where the characters feel others' shirt sleeves between their thumb and forefinger, David did this himself, assessing the different kinds of fabric and the owners' reactions.
The episode received positive reviews from critics and received a 19.1/21
Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...
.
Plot
In
Monk's Café
Monk's Café is a fictional coffee shop from the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld''. The exterior of Tom's Restaurant on the corner of West 112th Street and Broadway, near Columbia University, which first appears in season 1 episode 3, " The Robbery," ...
,
Elaine discusses her new boyfriend,
Jake Jarmel, whom she met when he approached her in her office and felt her jacket between his thumb and forefinger. Barry Prophet, Jerry's accountant, drops by. Jerry notes him sniffing during their conversation and concludes he could be on
drugs
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...
, making him fearful for the security of his money.
Jerry tells
Kramer about Barry, and Kramer shares his conviction that he is a drug addict. Jerry gives Kramer his sweater because it is too itchy. Kramer,
Newman
Newman is a surname of Germanic Anglo-Saxon origins. Newman is the modern English form of the name used in Great Britain and among people of British ancestry around the world (as is 'Numan'), while Neumann (with variant spellings) is used in Ger ...
, and Jerry plan a
sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a rol ...
where they follow Barry to a bar. Kramer, wearing Jerry's sweater, tries to bait Barry into asking about drugs without success, but again notices him sniffing.
Elaine notices that Jake did not put an
exclamation point
The exclamation mark (also known as exclamation point in American English) is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or to show emphasis. The exclamation mark often marks the end of a ...
after a phone message saying that a good friend had just given birth. Jake tries to dismiss the issue as trivial, but Elaine gets increasingly outraged, leading them to break up. She subsequently edits Jake's book manuscript to replace many of the periods with exclamation points, prompting an uncomfortable meeting with her boss, Mr. Lippman, in which he derisively reads aloud some of her bizarre placings of exclamation points.
George's father gets him an interview with Sid Farkus for a job as a bra salesman. In his interview, George tells a sentimentalized version of the first time he saw a bra, resulting in him getting hired. Inspired by Elaine's story of how she met Jake, he feels a woman's "material" between his thumb and forefinger on his way out. The woman, who turns out to be Farkus' boss, is enraged by the act and threatens to fire Farkus if George is hired. Farkus tells George to leave.
Jerry writes a letter dismissing Barry as his accountant and gives it to Newman for mailing. A pizza delivery man arrives and starts sniffing. He explains that he is allergic to
mohair
Mohair (pronounced ) originated from the Arabic word �هيرand it is a fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat (not Angora wool from the fur of the Angora rabbit). Both durable and resilient, mohair is lustrous with high shee ...
, which Kramer's sweater is made of, and Jerry and Kramer conclude it was the sweater that caused Barry to sniff. Jerry rushes out to stop Newman from mailing the letter. On his way to mail the letter, Newman's flirtations with a woman go awry when he feels her coat between his thumb and forefinger. The woman is enraged. Newman runs away in a panic, dropping the letter. Days later, Jerry announces that Barry filed for
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
, seemingly having spent everything on drugs, and if he had terminated his relationship with him prior to the filing, he could have gotten his money back. Just when Jerry is about to confront Newman about his failed delivery, a woman takes notice of his shirt and feels it with her thumb and forefinger, much to Jerry's delight.
Production
This episode was written by series co-creators
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 ...
and directed by
Tom Cherones
Thomas Harry Cherones, Jr. ( ; born September 11, 1939) is an American television director, director and Television producer, producer of several TV series. He is best known for his work on ''Seinfeld'', where he directed 81 of the 86 episodes ...
.
The cast first read the script for this episode on September 8, 1993, at 11:00 a.m.
Filming took place on September 14, 1993, with eighteen members of the ''Vandelay Industries Mailing Listing'' (a Seinfeld
fan club
A fan club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the pers ...
) among the audience.
In real life, Seinfeld has claimed that his accountant stole money (about US$50,000) from him to buy illegal drugs, with his suspicions inspiring the main plotline for this episode.
[This is stated in the "Inside Look" commentary of the ''Seinfeld'' season 5 ]DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
containing this episode.
David actually worked as a bra salesman during his years as a struggling comedian.
That had been many years prior to this episode though, so he had to do research in order to write dialogue pertaining to the configuration of modern bras.
The writer's assistants called bra companies to ask questions.
Kramer's display of simultaneous drinking and smoking in this episode was
unscripted
''Unscripted'' is an American comedy drama series that aired on HBO in early 2005. The series was largely improvised by its performers. It was executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, and Grant Heslov.
''Unscripted'' is the sec ...
.
On the first attempt,
Michael Richards
Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor and former stand-up comedian. He achieved global recognition for starring as Cosmo Kramer on the NBC television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' from 1989 to 1998. He began his career as a ...
let out a loud belch (with smoke) that earned uproarious laughter from the studio audience, but was deemed too broad by the show's producers, and a second take was done. This scene helped Richards win an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
for his portrayal of the character.
The first take was seen in ''Seinfelds one-hour retrospective ''
The Chronicle'', which took place prior to the original airing of "
The Finale." It was included in the 2005
Season Five DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
set's blooper reel.
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 ...
said that she was "in awe" when seeing him pull that off.
The line "barring some unforeseen incident" was first uttered in this episode by the character Sid Farkus, and the line eventually became a
catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
around the show.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus commented that it was like a line from
Foghorn Leghorn
Foghorn Leghorn is an anthropomorphic rooster who appears in ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons and films from Warner Bros. Animation. He was created by Robert McKimson, and starred in 29 cartoons from 1946 to 1964 in the gol ...
, and worked as a "precursor to chaos."
Series continuity
Elaine and Jake Jarmel get back together and break up again in the season finale, "
The Opposite
"The Opposite" is the 22nd and final episode of the fifth season of the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld''. It aired on May 19, 1994. This is the last episode Tom Cherones directed. Andy Ackerman took over as the primary director the following season and ...
". In the season 6 episode "
The Scofflaw
"The Scofflaw" is the 99th episode of the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld''. It was the 13th episode for the sixth season. It aired on January 26, 1995. In this episode, George Costanza, George and Jerry Seinfeld (character), Jerry both pretend not to kno ...
", Elaine plans revenge on him.
Sid Farkus returns in "
The Doorman", where he is considering doing business with
Frank Costanza
This is a list of characters who appeared on ''Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in main roles or multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here.
Overview
;Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: ...
and
Kramer after they create a
male bra. The line "barring some unforeseen incident" is uttered once again in that episode by Farkus.
George is seen with a ''
Glamour'' magazine, a
callback to "
The Contest".
Reception
This episode gained a 19.1
Nielsen Rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...
and a 29
audience share, meaning that 19.1% of American households watched the episode, and 29% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into it.
It reran on March 24, 1994, and earned exactly the same numbers, which was a good sign that the show was becoming a hit.
References
External links
*
"The Sniffing Accountant"on
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sniffing Accountant, The
Seinfeld season 5 episodes
1993 American television episodes
Television episodes written by Larry David
Television episodes written by Jerry Seinfeld