| "The Soul Mate" | |
|---|---|
| Seinfeld episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 8 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | Andy Ackerman |
| Written by | Peter Mehlman |
| Production code | 802 |
| Original air date | September 26, 1996 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Soul Mate" is the 136th episode of the American television sitcom Seinfeld . This was the second episode for the eighth season, originally airing on September 26, 1996. [1] In this episode, George tries to figure out what caused the damage to a briefcase he left behind at a meeting of the Susan Ross foundation, Elaine is attracted to a man based on his professed disinterest in having children, and Jerry and Kramer find themselves on opposing sides of a love triangle.
The foundation chair, Wyck, clears his throat just before describing Susan's death as an "accident", making George suspect Wyck thinks he murdered Susan. Jerry suggests he put a running tape recorder in his briefcase and leave it behind at the next board meeting so he can hear what the board members say about him in his absence. Following Jerry's advice, George returns to find the briefcase damaged and the tape with a recording of the horrified exclamations "What are you doing?!" and "Dear God!" followed by a loud thud. After struggling to come up with a theory which could explain this, George confronts the board with the recording. Wyck claims Quint was moving a chair and dropped it on the briefcase. He offers no explanation for the horrified cries, but George is satisfied with his story and leaves with his briefcase this time. He thus misses the board members casually commenting that they all believe he murdered Susan.
Elaine insists she has no desire to have a baby. When a man, Kevin, overhears her declaration and seconds it, she starts dating him. However, when Kevin tells her he got a vasectomy, she gets second thoughts about whether she wants to have children.
Kramer falls in love with Jerry's girlfriend Pam, but is restrained by loyalty to Jerry. When Elaine tells Kramer that Jerry is not in love with Pam, he gets the confidence to confront Jerry about his feelings. However, his praises for Pam convince Jerry that she is too good a woman to let go of. Kramer enlists Newman's help; the smooth-talking Newman feeds Kramer romantic lines which enable him to win Pam's heart. When Newman taunts Jerry over this, Jerry convinces him to stop helping Kramer in exchange for advice on wooing his obsession, Elaine. His advice is that Elaine doesn't want children.
Pam tells Jerry and Kramer that she has feelings for them both and can't choose between them. She mentions she doesn't want to have children, so they line up with Newman for their own vasectomies. Elaine and Kevin go to get his vasectomy reversed. Realizing Elaine must have changed her mind about children, Jerry and Newman leave before their scheduled vasectomies, but after Kramer gets his.
The episode is dedicated to Victor Wayne Harris, an assistant prop master for the show who died in August 1996 of complications of a stroke. Harris appears in the episode "The Pilot", in the scene where George is on the phone calling for his test results; right at the end of the scene Harris appears as a man with a white t-shirt and a cap approaching the phone.
In Elaine and Kevin's conversation about his vasectomy, Elaine references the hairstyle she wore in the last two episodes of Season 7 ("The Wait Out" and "The Invitations"). [2]
The scene at the bookstore is an homage to Edmond Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac , while the Jerry/Newman chase sequence is an homage to the chase sequences in Bugs Bunny cartoons. [2]
Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer. Louis-Dreyfus received critical acclaim for her performance as Elaine, winning an Emmy, a Golden Globe and five SAG Awards. She reprised the role during season 41 of Saturday Night Live in 2016.
Newman is a recurring character and antagonist of the television show Seinfeld, portrayed by Wayne Knight from 1992 until the show's finale in 1998. He is Jerry Seinfeld's arch-nemesis and Cosmo Kramer's friend.
Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld is the title character and the main protagonist of the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998). The straight man among his group of friends, this semi-fictionalized version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was named after, co-created by, and played by Seinfeld himself. The series revolves around Jerry's misadventures with his best friend George Costanza, neighbor Cosmo Kramer, and ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes. He is usually the voice of reason amid his friends' antics and the focal point of the relationship.
"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 Bizarro Jerry" is the 137th episode of the American television sitcom Seinfeld. This was the third episode of the eighth season, originally airing on the NBC network on October 3, 1996. The title and plot extensively reference Bizarro Superman originally published by DC Comics. This episode introduced the phrase "man-hands.”
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"The Smelly Car" is the 61st episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. The episode is the 20th episode of the fourth season. It aired on April 15, 1993 on NBC. In this episode, the body odor left by a restaurant valet in Jerry's car further transfers itself to Jerry and Elaine, and seems to be irremovable. Meanwhile, George learns that his ex-girlfriend Susan has converted to lesbianism, and Kramer successfully seduces Susan's girlfriend.
"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.
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"The Betrayal" is the 164th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the eighth episode for the ninth and final season. It aired on November 20, 1997. In this episode, Jerry betrays George by having sex with his girlfriend Nina, right before Elaine invites all three of them to come with her to India for the wedding of Sue Ellen Mischke, Elaine's longtime rival. The episode is colloquially referred to as the "backwards episode" due to its reverse chronology, starting with the final scene and playing in reverse order. Written collaboratively by Peter Mehlman and David Mandel, the episode bridges Seinfeld's final season to its past with scenes from George's engagement to Susan Ross and Jerry's moving in to his apartment, and with a gimmick-based format which evoked the series' early gimmick-based episodes like "The Chinese Restaurant" and "The Limo".
"The Label Maker" is the 98th episode of 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 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 and Jerry both pretend to not know their friend Gary Fogel never had cancer, Elaine takes revenge on her ex-boyfriend by acquiring a pair of glasses identical to his, and Kramer teams up with a police officer to catch a repeat parking violator.
"The Pool Guy" is the 118th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the eighth episode of the seventh season. It aired on November 16, 1995. The end credit states "In Memory of our Friend Rick Bolden". Rick Bolden was one of the musicians who worked on the show's theme song.
"The Sponge" is the 119th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the ninth episode for the seventh season. It aired on December 7, 1995. In this episode, George and Elaine face sexual crises when the Today brand of contraceptive sponges is taken off the market, while Kramer participates in an AIDS walk and Jerry dates a tireless do-gooder whose phone number he got from the list of Kramer's sponsors.
"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 Cadillac" is an hour-long, two-part episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It was the 124th and 125th episode and 14th and 15th episode for the seventh season. It aired on February 8, 1996. This was the last episode to be co-written by Jerry Seinfeld.
"The Foundation" is the 135th episode of the American television sitcom Seinfeld. This was the first episode of the eighth season, and as such was the first episode in which Jerry Seinfeld assumed command of the show following the departure of its co-creator, Larry David. It was originally broadcast on the NBC network on September 19, 1996.
"The Wig Master" is the 129th episode of the NBC situation comedy Seinfeld. This is the 19th episode for the seventh season, originally airing on April 4, 1996. The episode follows the mishaps which befall George and Kramer as a result of their parking at a discount parking lot, while Jerry feels emasculated by Elaine's new boyfriend, who holds out the promise of a discount on a designer dress in order to keep her going out with him.
