The Bubble Boy (Seinfeld)

"**The Bubble Boy**"
"The Bubble Boy"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 4; Episode 7
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Larry Charles ; Larry David ;
Production code	407
Original air date	October 7, 1992
Guest appearances
	Jessica Lundy as Naomi; Brian Doyle-Murray as Mel; Carol Mansell as the Bubble Boy's Mother; O-Lan Jones as Waitress; Jon Hayman as Voice of Donald; George Gerdes as Man #1;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Watch"	Next →; "The Cheever Letters"
	Seinfeld season 4
	List of episodes

Last updated August 22, 2025

"The Bubble Boy" is the 47th episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld . It is the seventh episode of the fourth season.^[1] In this episode, on the way to Susan's family cabin, the cast visits a youth who lives in quarantine due to an immune deficiency.

Plot

Jerry is still dating Naomi, the restaurant hostess, but cannot avoid triggering her cartoonish laugh. George leaves a voicemail about their weekend plans at Susan's father's upstate cabin, and quotes Jerry comparing Naomi's laugh to "Elmer Fudd sitting on a juicer". Naomi hears this, and walks out.

Jerry and George want to invite Elaine in Naomi's place, but need to leave out Kramer—since Susan is still not over him vomiting on her—without snubbing him. By chance, Kramer has bought his way into weekend golfing at Westchester Country Club with one of Susan's father's Cuban cigars, so they go through the motions of inviting him to the cabin. They assure him there is no golfing there, since it is "pie country".

Jerry shows Elaine how he is obliged to personalize signed photos with weak jokes. A trucker recognizes Jerry as the favorite comedian of his son Donald, who lives inside a sterile plastic "bubble" due to severe combined immunodeficiency. The trucker asks Jerry to visit the next day for Donald's birthday, and Elaine twists his arm despite the cabin trip conflicting. Luckily, Susan recognizes the trucker's address as on their way, so everyone departs as planned.

Jerry leaves his directions at home, instead following Susan and George's car. After they leave, Kramer, whose golfing was preempted, finds both Jerry's directions and a reconciliatory phone call from Naomi. He drives her to the cabin, unannounced.

George, who relishes gratuitously "making good time" on the road, thoughtlessly leaves Jerry and Elaine in the dust. George and Susan wait at the trucker's house, in case Jerry somehow finds his way. They discover that Donald is ill-mannered and verbally abusive, but humor Donald's mother by playing Trivial Pursuit as Donald taunts them the whole while. Donald is about to win by naming "the Moors" as the 8th-century invaders of Spain, but George denies him victory on the technicality that the answer is misprinted as "Moops". Donald throttles George with the gloves built into his bubble, inciting a tussle in which Susan pops the bubble.

Jerry and Elaine give up and visit a diner, where Elaine volunteers Jerry to donate a signed photo. Elaine's mockery makes Jerry regret his personalized rhyme for "diner", but he has no extra photos and the waitress will not return the signed photo. Jerry aggravates the waitress with his obstinacy, and she throttles him. The ensuing tussle is broken up by townfolk gathering a mob in reprisal for George sending their beloved bubble boy to the hospital. Jerry and Elaine find George and Donald still arguing over the "Moops", and Jerry delivers his birthday greeting before they and Susan are all run out of town.

After stockpiling pies, Kramer finds no one at the cabin, and breaks in. He and Naomi go night swimming, leaving a lit cigar unattended. Everyone else finally arrives to find the cabin burning down; Kramer runs into the fire to rescue his cigars.^[2]

Production

The "Moops" misprint incident was based on a real-life incident that occurred to one of the Seinfeld writers while playing Jeopardy! The Board Game (9th Edition, 1972).^[3]

Eponymous computer virus

On November 10, 1999, a computer virus named "BubbleBoy" was discovered, apparently named after this episode. This was the first malware of its kind, having been able to activate itself (via an embedded Visual Basic script) upon the recipient opening the e-mail contents, as opposed to running an attachment. As such, in spite of not being dangerous, the virus changed the concept of antivirus technology.^[4]

References

↑ "Seinfeld Season 4 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 2, 2021.
↑ "Seinfeld Season 4: Episode 47: The Bubble Boy". TBS . Retrieved June 8, 2009.
↑ Bjorklund, Dennis (September 1, 2017). Seinfeld Reference: The Complete Encyclopedia with Biographies, Character Profiles & Episode Summaries. Praetorian Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9679852-4-4.
↑ "'BubbleBoy' virus breaks new ground". ZDNet UK. November 10, 1999. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2009. The worm, called "BubbleBoy" in an apparent reference to a "Seinfeld" episode[...]

External links

"The Bubble Boy" at IMDb

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[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 4 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 2, 2021.

[2] "Seinfeld Season 4: Episode 47: The Bubble Boy". TBS . Retrieved June 8, 2009.

[3] Bjorklund, Dennis (September 1, 2017). Seinfeld Reference: The Complete Encyclopedia with Biographies, Character Profiles & Episode Summaries. Praetorian Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9679852-4-4.

[4] "'BubbleBoy' virus breaks new ground". ZDNet UK. November 10, 1999. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2009. The worm, called "BubbleBoy" in an apparent reference to a "Seinfeld" episode[...]

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v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode