Seinfeld "The Gun/The Bet" (found screenplay of unproduced episode of NBC sitcom; 1990s)
The script's cover.
Status: Found
Date found: 02 Apr 2024
Found by: Epson WorkForce ES-500W
Seinfeld, known as "The Show About Nothing", was an American sitcom that ran for 9 seasons from July 5th, 1989 to May 14th, 1998. Created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, it is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms of all time.
"The Bet", which is also known as "The Gun" was an unproduced season 2 episode written by Larry Charles (This is not to be confused with the season 4 episode "The Contest") It would have aired on February 13th, 1991, but was replaced by "The Phone Message". The episode would have revealed Kramer’s first name as Conrad, but would later be revealed as Cosmo in the season 6 episode "The Switch".
Plot
What is known about the plot is that there were two bets placed in the episode. The main plot featured Jerry and Elaine betting each other over whether Elaine would buy a gun to protect herself. The subplot included Kramer returning from a vacation from Puerto Rico and claiming he had sex with the flight attendant. While Jerry believes him, George doesn't, leading Jerry and George to bet against each other and go to the airport to see if Kramer was telling the truth. It was later revealed by the writer Larry Charles that Kramer did, in fact, have sex with the flight attendant.
Guest Stars
- Bobbi Jo Lathan as Flight Attendant
- Ernie Sabella as Mo Korn the Gun Salesman
Both guest stars later appeared in different episodes in season 3. Bobbi appeared as Patti in "The Stranded" (although it was produced in season 2) and Ernie appeared as the naked man in "The Subway".
Controversy
The whole cast at the table reading allegedly felt uncomfortable with the plot. Julia Louis-Dreyfus' character Elaine made a joke about shooting herself in the head and also referenced the JFK assassination. Jerry Seinfeld stated that trying to make the episode funny was no fun.[1] The director of the episode, Tom Cherones was also offended, saying there was no way to make guns funny. Cherones then went up to Charles's office to confront him. While on his way he met an NBC executive, who had also talked to Charles about the script. The executive felt the same way so the episode was then cancelled.
Availability
After its cancellation, the script would be lost for several years, many copies of it were sold, but weren't posted online after they were bought, that was until the 2nd of April, 2024, when Reddit user hbo_got was able to buy one of these copies[2]and posted it to the Internet Archive[3]. 2 years after the table reading, an episode from season 4 called "The Contest" involved George’s mother catching him masturbating to a Glamour magazine. After the group mocks George for saying he would quit, they all bet to see who can go the longest without masturbating. (The word masturbate is never actually said in the episode) However, "The Bet" would have been only the 9th episode of the entire series, and the show wasn't a huge hit yet, so it might have been too early to make darker episodes since they were still trying to attract new viewers to the show. Charles believes that had the episode been in a later season, it would have aired.[4]
Gallery
External Links
References
- ↑ Jerry Seinfeld discussing the episode on Reddit. Retrieved on 31 Oct '17
- ↑ Reddit post by hbo_got explaining how he obtained the script. Retrieved 03 Apr '24
- ↑ The script. Retrieved 03 Apr '24
- ↑ A Screencrush article on "The Bet". Retrieved on 20 Oct '17