The Millennium (Seinfeld)

Last updated
"The Millennium"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 20
Directed by Andy Ackerman
Written by Jennifer Crittenden
Production code820
Original air dateMay 1, 1997 (1997-05-01)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"The Yada Yada"
Next 
"The Muffin Tops"
Seinfeld season 8
List of episodes

"The Millennium" is the 154th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . It was the 20th episode of the eighth season and aired on May 1, 1997. [1] In this episode, Kramer and Newman plan rival millennium parties, George tries to get fired in the most spectacular manner possible, and Jerry ends up in a three-way struggle with his girlfriend and his girlfriend's stepmother over what numbers they appear at on each other's speed dial.

Contents

Plot

The New York Mets management secretly asks George to leave the New York Yankees and become their head scout, but he needs to get fired first. He decides to go out in a blaze of glory, but his efforts only end up making him look better. He wears Babe Ruth's uniform and deliberately gets food stains on it, but Mr. Steinbrenner praises him, thinking it shows an "out with the old, in with the new" mentality. George runs through Yankee Stadium during a game, wearing a flesh-colored body suit, that wins the enthusiasm of fans. He destroys a Yankees' World Series trophy by hitching it to his car and driving through the parking lot while screaming insults with a megaphone. That finally raises the ire of Steinbrenner, but Mr. Wilhelm takes the blame for ordering the destruction of the trophy, getting fired and taking the job with the Mets.

Elaine tries to run an ethnic-themed clothing store called "Putumayo" out of business after receiving bad customer service from the owner. She shops extensively at a competing store, "Cinco de Mayo", only to discover that the same woman owns both stores. She schemes with Kramer to change all the Putumayo price tags to 99 cents, but he accidentally breaks the pricing gun before he can finish. Instead, he takes the desiccant packs from the clothes. When he eats some chips the store gives out to customers, he unknowingly drops one of the desiccant packs in the salsa.

Kramer and Newman are planning rival millennium parties. Newman's party is called "Newmannium". Fearing all his friends will go to Newmannium, Kramer accepts an offer to co-host Newmannium instead, but Newman insists that they do not invite Jerry. However, moved by loyalty to Jerry, Kramer resurrects his own party and gets Elaine to come. Newman decides to allow Jerry to come to Newmannium to ensure that Elaine will be there. Jerry points out to Newman that since he booked Newmannium for the Millennium new year, the hotel would have scheduled it on December 31, 2000, due to there being no year zero, while millennium celebrations are held almost universally on December 31, 1999, making Newman's party a year late.

After a sub-par date, Jerry notices his girlfriend, Valerie, has moved his number on her speed dial from number 7 to 9. He takes her on an extravagant date and is rewarded by getting his speed dial "ranking" boosted up to 1. Valerie's domineering stepmom is furious that she's lost her number 1 spot and puts Jerry on her speed dial. When Valerie sees that, she takes her stepmom off her speed dial altogether. Valerie gets Jerry to negotiate to get himself off her stepmom's speed dial in exchange for Valerie restoring her, but her stepmom only concedes to hiding Jerry's number as one of her emergency speed dials. After her stepmom is poisoned by eating the desiccant-contaminated salsa, Valerie uses the phone to call poison control. When Jerry answers, Valerie hangs up in disgust.

Production

The table read for the episode was held on March 5, 1997, and filming took place on March 11. [2]

The fans cavorting with the bodysuit-clad George were played by Seinfeld writers Steve Koren, Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin, and Spike Feresten. [2] Cut material from the episode included a callback to "The Comeback": When George is talking about getting fired, Kramer asks "Is Steinbrenner married?", prompting George to angrily shoot back "I'm not saying I had sex with his wife!" [2] The scenes with Jerry and Valerie’s mother parody The Graduate .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmo Kramer</span> Fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld

Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to simply by his surname, is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998) played by Michael Richards.

"The Raincoats" is a two-part episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 82nd and 83rd episode of the show, and the 18th and 19th episodes of the fifth season. The episode was first shown on NBC on April 28, 1994, and garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for Judge Reinhold.

"The Engagement" is the first episode of the seventh-season and the 111th overall episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. The episode broke with the standalone story format of earlier seasons, making a major change in the series status quo by having regular cast member George Costanza become engaged to Susan Ross. Susan was a recurring character during season 4 of the series but had not been seen since. The episode aired on September 21, 1995.

"The Letter" is the 38th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. The episode was the 21st of the third season. It aired on NBC on March 25, 1992.

"The Race" is the 96th episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld, the tenth episode of the sixth season. The episode first aired on December 15, 1994. The story follows Jerry as he meets an old rival, who suspects that he cheated in a high school race and wishes to re-run it. Elaine is put on a "blacklist" and finds out her boyfriend is a communist. George responds to a personal ad in the Daily Worker and Kramer, who is working as a department store Santa Claus, is convinced to become a communist by Elaine's boyfriend.

"The Andrea Doria" is the 144th episode of American television sitcom Seinfeld. This was the tenth episode for the eighth season, originally airing on NBC on December 19, 1996. In this episode, Jerry helps Newman with getting a transfer by filling in for him on his mail route, Kramer's preference for veterinarians over doctors leads to him exhibiting dog-like behavior, Elaine dates a "bad breaker-upper", and George tries to win the pity of a tenant association so he can get a new apartment.

"The Nap" is the 152nd episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 18th episode for the eighth season. It aired on NBC on April 10, 1997. In this episode, Elaine's boyfriend gets her an ergonomic mattress, Jerry has his kitchen redesigned by a contractor who annoys him by asking for his preference on every aspect, and George takes naps under his desk at work. Larry David returned as recurring character George Steinbrenner, whom he would play in two other episodes near the end of this season and in the show's final episode.

"The Muffin Tops" is the 155th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 21st episode of the eighth season. It aired on May 8, 1997, on NBC. In this episode, George dates a woman while pretending to be a tourist from Arkansas, Kramer starts running a "Peterman Reality Tour" after finding out he is the basis for most of the stories in J. Peterman's autobiography, and Elaine and Mr. Lippman run a business selling only the tops of muffins.

"The Summer of George" is the 156th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It was also the 22nd and final episode of the eighth season. It originally aired on May 15, 1997 on NBC. In this episode, after being fired from the New York Yankees, George wallows in idleness, while assisting Jerry with a girlfriend who is too much work for him to handle by himself. Meanwhile, Elaine is menaced by an unstable, violent woman who does not swing her arms when she walks, but everyone else dismisses the matter as a catfight.

"The Merv Griffin Show" is the 162nd episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the sixth episode of the ninth and final season. It aired on November 6, 1997, and appeared on DVD ten years later. In this episode, Kramer finds the original set for The Merv Griffin Show and uses it to revive the show in his apartment, Elaine contends with a new co-worker who stealthily sidles behind her, and Jerry drugs his girlfriend so that he can play with her collection of toys.

"The Strike" is the 166th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the tenth episode of the ninth and final season. It aired on December 18, 1997. This episode features and popularized the holiday of Festivus.

"The Big Salad" is the 88th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the second episode for the sixth season. It aired on September 29, 1994. In this episode, George becomes irritated when he doesn't receive thanks for buying Elaine a salad, Elaine must deal with an annoying store clerk in order to get her boss a rare top-of-the-line pencil, Kramer fears he may be partially responsible for the murder of a dry cleaner, and Jerry comes to suspect there is something wrong with his girlfriend when he learns she was dumped by Newman.

"The Label Maker" is the 98th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 12th episode for the sixth season. It aired on January 19, 1995. The episode follows a pair of Super Bowl tickets which are repeatedly gifted from one person to another, while Kramer and Newman take drastic steps to keep each other from cheating at Risk and George fears he is competing for his girlfriend's affections with her roommate. The episode popularized the term regifting.

"The Highlights of 100" is the 14th and 15th episode of the sixth season of the American sitcom Seinfeld, and the 100th and 101st episode overall. Written by Peter Mehlman and directed by Andy Ackerman, the episode originally aired on NBC on February 2, 1995. The episode is a clip show to celebrate the series' 100th episode with no new content apart from a 50-second-long intro by Jerry Seinfeld. In syndication, it airs as two separate episodes of 30 minutes each, with a second intro at the beginning of the second episode. This is the first episode in the series not to open with a stand-up routine.

"The Diplomat's Club" is the 108th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the 22nd episode for the sixth season. It aired on May 4, 1995. The episode was the final appearance of Mr. Pitt as a recurring character, as he comes to suspect Elaine of plotting to kill him in order to receive the benefits from his will. In the episode's other plotlines, Jerry takes an ill-fated trip to Ithaca with an overly pampering assistant, Kramer returns to his gambling habit by betting on flight arrivals, and George tries to prove he is not racist by getting a black friend.

"The Wink" is the 114th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the fourth episode in the seventh season. It first aired on October 12, 1995. In this episode, George's compulsive winking after grapefruit is squirted into his eye is subject to a variety of misinterpretations, Elaine dates her wake-up service caller and feuds with her cousin Holly over their grandmother's old possessions, and Jerry tries to conceal his healthy eating habits from Holly while dating her.

"The Seven" is the 123rd episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 13th episode for the seventh season, originally airing on February 1, 1996. In this episode, Elaine and Kramer turn to Newman to resolve a dispute over which of them is rightful owner of a bike, George wants to name his first child Seven, and Jerry dates a woman who seemingly never changes her clothes.

"The Calzone" is the 130th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the 20th episode of the seventh season, originally airing on April 25, 1996. In this episode, George Costanza gets the ear of George Steinbrenner by having calzones for lunch with him, Elaine repeatedly goes out to dinner and movies with a guy who never actually asks her out, and Kramer heats his clothes in dryers and ovens.

"The Reverse Peephole" is the 12th episode of the ninth season(the 168th overall) of the television comedy series Seinfeld. The episode aired on NBC on January 15, 1998. It was written by Spike Feresten and directed by Andy Ackerman. In this episode, Jerry gets rid of his wallet and ultimately replaces it with a European carry-all, Kramer and Newman face possible eviction after they reverse the peepholes on their doors and Newman begins an affair with the super's wife, and Elaine has to recover a friend's fur coat which she mistakenly threw out a window.

References

  1. "Seinfeld Season 8 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Seinfeld Season 8: Notes About Nothing - "The Millennium" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2007.