Top 10 Greatest Unscripted Seinfeld Moments
#9: “...And They're Spectacular!”
“The Implant”
The gang’s shallow obsessions usually get them into trouble. This fact is doubly true when it comes to their romantic interests. In one episode, Teri Hatcher guest stars as Sidra, who dates Jerry after meeting him at their health club. Elaine convinces him that Sidra has implants, which leads to some impolite and inappropriate comments. This built up to a big argument with an extremely memorable ending. According to Hatcher, Larry David would often give lines to the actors off the top of his head before they appeared in front of a live studio audience. When Sidra finally dumps Jerry, she reopens his door to deliver one iconic and impromptu line.
#8: “We’ll Go Watch.”
"The Junior Mint"
Usually, the end of a scene is the best time to throw in an extra line and hope for a laugh. In this episode, Elaine visits an ex-boyfriend who’s in the hospital for a splenectomy. This ultimately leads to the famous Junior Mint accident in the operating room. But before the operation, Kramer has to convince a reluctant Jerry to come watch the surgery. Seinfeld finally relents and confirms he’s going with a crude confirmation while he has a mouthful of food. We initially thought this hesitation before the line was scripted. In reality, Jerry’s final line was improvised during rehearsal and added in to put a great button on the scene.
#7: Scratches
"The Handicap Spot"
In this episode, George illegally parks in a spot for people with physical disabilities. This results in an angry mob surrounding his car while he makes a quick escape. When the gang returns to find George’s vehicle has been wrecked, Seinfeld breaks the silence. His attempt to lighten the mood was surprisingly a spur of the moment choice. A behind-the-scenes interview revealed that there were no lines scripted for the moment they saw the car. Seinfeld was extremely satisfied that the right joke came to him when he needed it.
#6: The IV Pull
"The English Patient"
George’s pettiness really knows no bounds. In the later seasons of “Seinfeld,” Jason Alexander often found ways to express the character’s spiteful nature without saying a single word. George demonstrated this perfectly in “The English Patient” episode. He’s dismayed when his new love interest decides against moving in with him and chooses to stay with her hospitalized boyfriend instead. The rival is all too happy to rub this fact in George’s face. As he silently exits the room, Alexander took the chance to add an unscripted action and disconnect the man’s IV line. This impromptu tug perfectly sums up how hilarious and terrible George can be!
#5: "You Want a Christmas Card?"
“The Pick”
When Elaine decides to let Kramer take her photo for her Christmas cards, something was bound to go wrong. She sends them out to everyone she knows without realizing that a mis-buttoned shirt gave the recipients a little more than they bargained for. Instead of sympathizing with Elaine, George complains about how he didn’t receive a card. She then grabs his head and takes her frustration out on him. According to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the move was invented before anything was filmed in front of a live studio audience. The crowd’s reaction goes to show that this was a perfect addition to the scene.
#4: The Latex Salesman
"The Boyfriend"
George’s elaborate lies get him into trouble in “The Boyfriend” episode. He decides to use Jerry’s phone number as the contact for a fake latex company. Unfortunately, Kramer picks up the phone and immediately starts ruining the scheme. Although George runs from the bathroom in a desperate attempt to stop him, it’s too late. While this hilarious exit was scripted, Jerry’s final response wasn’t. Upon finding George on the floor the comedian says: "And you want to be my latex salesman". Just when you thought nothing could be funnier than seeing George run around with his pants around his ankles, Jerry stole the show.
#3: Tic Tacs
"The Contest"
During this beloved episode about the gang’s willpower, everyone is thoroughly challenged to remain “masters of their domain”. When George visits his mother in the hospital, he becomes distracted by an attractive patient receiving a sponge bath behind the curtain. This makes him completely downplay his mother Estelle’s complaints about the food. In one unscripted and perfectly-timed toss, George offers a box of Tic Tacs as he continues to ignore her. This was actually Estelle Harris’ first appearance as George’s mother. So, the actress understandably got the giggles after Jason Alexander improvised this little action in the first attempt at this take.
#2: Stalling
“The Parking Garage”
We weren’t expecting so much hilarity from a story where the gang gets hopelessly lost in the parking garage of a New Jersey mall and can’t find their car. The complex stage set and the long hours of filming meant that a lot was riding on this episode to succeed. Luckily, the perfect ending to this adventure occurred completely by chance. In the original script, the gang is supposed to drive away after they finally find the car. When Michael Richards gets into the driver’s seat, the vehicle stalls when he attempts to start it. The other actors can even be seen laughing uncontrollably in the car. Their real reactions made for an accidental ending that was just too good to omit from the episode.
#1: Elaine’s Shove
“The Apartment”
Who would have guessed that one of Elaine’s classic moves was originally unscripted? According to an old college classmate, the big push was something that Julia Louis-Dreyfus actually did in real life. The first time the actress pulled this move in the sitcom was in the episode “The Apartment”. When Jerry finds Elaine a cheap rental in his building, she expresses her excitement with her iconic shove. It prompted such a great reaction from the audience that it became a staple of her personality. It’s impossible to think of Elaine without picturing the shove now. This aggressive move is the perfect expression of her passion and impulsiveness!