# Worst episode of Seinfeld is... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 21, 2019, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843 "2019-04-21T08:22:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Z-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ab992/32.png) [@Z-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Z-man)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/1 "2019-04-21T08:22:01Z")
…“The Checks”. I’ve seen various ranked lists, and that episode should be dead last, no contest. The jokes fall flat and each character’s storyline is zany. I mean…George trying to get into a cult of carpet cleaners, Jerry trying to prove he invented umbrella twirling, Kramer and the Japanese tourists, and worst of all…Elaine’s boyfriend being obsessed with Farbman furniture. The only funny moment in the whole episode is Kramer saying goodnight to the Japanese guys in the chest drawers. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/2 "2019-04-21T11:13:03Z")
The one that was edited in reverse chronological order. And the series finale was pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Garak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d78d45/32.png) [@Garak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garak)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/3 "2019-04-21T11:40:49Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The one that was edited in reverse chronological order. And the series finale was pretty bad. I never liked that reverse order wedding in India one but I never understood the hate for the finale ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/4 "2019-04-21T12:42:15Z")
The one where they spent the whole episode in the car dealership. It’s like it was written by an intern who had seen, maybe, two episodes before. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/5 "2019-04-21T13:14:06Z")
For me it is probably The Blood. Those Mendelbaum episodes are the worst and that is the lamest one. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/6 "2019-04-21T13:31:54Z")
_The Puerto Rican Day_. Has the return of the worst two characters in _Seinfeld_ history. Just a straight-up dumb episode. (I think we’re going to eventually list all the episodes from Season 9.) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/7 "2019-04-21T17:32:38Z")
The abortion episode is pretty cringe-worthy, except for the pizza argument between Kramer and Poppy. Kramer: “It’s not a pizza until it comes out of the oven!” Poppy: “It’s a pizza as soon as you put-a you fist in the dough!” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/8 "2019-04-21T18:32:10Z")
I found the episode where Jerry babysits Farfel the dog pretty dull and unfunny. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/9 "2019-04-21T19:18:48Z")
The one where George thinks he’s had a heart attack was on last night. The whole bit with the New-Age Alternative Healer was just plain dumb. The best part of the episode was the _ **Plan 9** _–type SF clip on late night TV. ---
**Author:** ![Z-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ab992/32.png) [@Z-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Z-man)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/10 "2019-04-21T20:54:40Z")
> [@Garak](#): > > I never liked that reverse order wedding in India one but I never understood the hate for the finale Forgot about that one…it doesn’t even feel like a real episode. OK…that may be the worst. I do like the part about George painting over his shoes though. The finale is stupid because of the whole Good Samaritan law premise. They weren’t able to help the guy getting mugged anyway since the robber had a gun and could have shot them. ---
**Author:** ![Z-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ab992/32.png) [@Z-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Z-man)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/11 "2019-04-21T20:55:48Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > _The Puerto Rican Day_. Has the return of the worst two characters in _Seinfeld_ history. Just a straight-up dumb episode. > > (I think we’re going to eventually list all the episodes from Season 9.) The laser pointer shtick was mildly amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Z-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ab992/32.png) [@Z-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Z-man)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/12 "2019-04-21T21:03:24Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > The one where they spent the whole episode in the car dealership. It’s like it was written by an intern who had seen, maybe, two episodes before. Love that one. George at his craziest! And I could never get enough of Puddy. He should’ve been in more episodes. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/13 "2019-04-21T23:14:49Z")
I think the finale gets a bad rap. I think they were prepping for the finale very early in the Seinfeld run. I think the earliest episodes are the worst. Like “The Baby Shower” ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/14 "2019-04-21T23:26:06Z")
> [@Z-man](#): > > Forgot about that one…it doesn’t even feel like a real episode. OK…that may be the worst. I do like the part about George painting over his shoes though. > > The finale is stupid because of the whole Good Samaritan law premise. They weren’t able to help the guy getting mugged anyway since the robber had a gun and could have shot them. that and it hit you over the head with “you’ve been watching and laughing at bunch of assholes of the highest order” with all the flashbacks … And right before the actual episode which was a clip show NBC had a long clip show… fatigue set in … ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/15 "2019-04-21T23:40:29Z")
There certainly were a handful of unfunny ones. I don’t know about “the worst”, but I didn’t like the ones about Seinfeld’s shenanigans negotiating with NBC over a sitcom. There’s something about a standup comic starring in an NBC sitcom doing a couple of episodes about a standup comic being offered an NBC sitcom that seems more interested in narcissistic self-indulgence than in entertaining the audience. When Seinfeld was good, it was because it dealt with everyday situations we can all identify with. Negotiating with NBC for a sitcom isn’t one of those. Those shows were around the time when they seemed to be running out of ideas, until I presume a new infusion of writers not only re-invigorated the show’s creativity but took it to new levels. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/16 "2019-04-22T00:04:10Z")
“The Chinese Restaurant” I know some people love that one. I hate it, though. It’s a concept episode, set in real time with no scene breaks. I found it exactly as boring as sitting in a restaurant lobby waiting for a table in real life. It just seemed pointless. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/17 "2019-04-22T00:44:55Z")
The clip shows are all tied for worst, they weren’t even very good clip shows, with some sort of fake new plot to tie them together (though one did have a new intro scene…) just short clips, out of contexts. Ha ha? ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/18 "2019-04-22T01:22:37Z")
The one I couldn’t stand is the episode about spitting on a baseball player. Allusions to the JFK assassination weren’t funny and the subject matter was quite disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/19 "2019-04-22T04:43:46Z")
The Pen is byfar the worst. I never liked when the residence of Jerry’s parents was featured and there’s no Costanza in this one. Nor does Kramer appear, not much of a plot either. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843/20 "2019-04-22T05:30:43Z")
It looks like I disagree with a lot of people here. I really loved _The Pen_ - maybe you had to grow up with Jewish parents to appreciate it. I loved _The Chinese Restaurant_ and _The Parking Garage_. And _The Jacket_ - another episode spent mainly waiting around. _The Betrayal_ (backwards episode) was just brilliant. _The Finale_ - not great, but not bad. They found a way to get all the characters from previous episodes together at one time time, which was pleasant. Some of the later episodes like _The Chicken Roaster_, _The Frogger_, _The Muffin Tops_, _The Checks_ show that they had run out ideas. They would be in contention for the worst. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-episode-of-seinfeld-is/832843.md?page=2)