A Page About Nothing - The Mistakes

Give the "Seinfeld" writers a lot of credit. For over 150 episodes, they were able to create more than a few very memorably funny situations around some unique and well-developed characters. But with that much aired footage it's inevitable that a few mistakes - ranging from minor inconsistencies to outright bloopers - would find their way into the show. Here are the ones which I've discovered.

Early in "The Package," George takes a photograph of a stunned Jerry adjusting his stereo with a screwdriver. After much back and forth of George to the photo development shop, Newman spies that picture in the window and confiscates the respective roll of photos. But that roll should have been developed much earlier.

I'd like to know how George, who feigned poor vision well enough to deceive an eye doctor, could explain how he was able to get to that fellow's office. ("The Fatigues") "Don't ask, don't tell," I suppose.

I'm not sure, but I think that there's some inconsistency about Frank Costanza's religion. In "The Fatigues" it's mentioned that he belongs to the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization. However, in "The Finale" he is shown bowing his head in prayer with Rabbi Glickman and Jerry's parents. By any chance did he convert to Judaism as dentist Tim Whatley did? (Well, it obviously wasn't to Latvian Orthodox, the religion whose clerics wear impressive hats. Don't they sacrifice squirrels, too?)

There is what I would term a major inconsistency between "Seinfeld" and another NBC series, "Mad About You." I have to dig up my full description of it, which I believe is contained in an e-mail on my other computer. Stay tuned.

In "The Wink," Jerry seems to be spitting each piece of mutton individually into one of Grandma Memma's napkins and stuffing them into his jacket pockets. However, there certainly couldn't be so many napkins that he could do that for each and every piece of mutton. Also, after Elaine leaves with Jerry's jacket, he still has some mutton left on his plate. What does he do with all the rest of that "strange meat?"

In "The Millennium," Mr. Wilhelm gets himself fired from the Yankees in order to land the Mets scouting position that George was shooting for. However, in "The Finale," he's seen right by Steinbrenner's side in one scene. Are we expected to believe that he somehow managed to get back in the Boss' good graces and win his old job back, even after he accepted blame for all of George's transgressions?

In "The Face Painter," when George is asked if he has ever told someone he loved them, he indicated that he did once to a dog - yada yada - but never to a woman. He must not have had a good memory, because in "The Ex-Girlfriend" he mentioned to Jerry that he told his girlfriend-of-the-week, Marlene, that he loved her. (On a related note, in "Male Unbonding," George bemoans the fact that he told his girlfriend that he liked her.)

UPDATED

2004 Apr 27

By now it must be obvious to you that I'm ga-ga over "Seinfeld," but the storyline in "The Maid" about Kramer being so clueless about the distance of Downtown Manhattan from the gang's base of operations on the Upper West Side - as if they're in two different worlds - strikes me as being more than a little bit far-fetched. There has to be ample evidence throughout the run of the series that he had been to the southern end of the island. And the intersection from which he called Jerry - [East] 1st Street and First Avenue - should not have been unsettling. If the writers (Alec Berg, David Mandel, and Jeff Schaffer) wanted a real "nexus of the universe" they could have picked the junction of West 4th and West 10th Streets. That one used to unsettle even me, a seasoned New Yorker. (Due to the odd direction in which West 4th Street runs west of Sixth Avenue, it intersects not only West 10th Street but West 11th, 12th, and 13th, as well.)

Why is Jerry disgusted when he realizes he had eaten pecans that were just in his girlfriend's mouth ("The Doodle"), but he finds it unusual for another girlfriend to not share his piece of pie - and his fork - with him ("The Pie")? (However, I can understand his revulsion in "The Pothole" when he refuses to kiss yet a third girlfriend whose toothbrush he accidentally dropped into her toilet bowl - and retrieved without telling her.)

Here's what I consider a glaring inconsistency in Kramer's character. In "The Blood," Kramer indicates to Jerry that he needs to store his blood because if a fight were to go down he wouldn't walk away from the situation. In "The Fire," he commandeers a hijacked bus, fending off the perpetrator so valiantly that an impressed George dubs him "Batman." And in a third episode, "The Parking Space," he makes a tough-talk statement saying that a person wouldn't want him on his bad side because he's like ice. (Where did he get that expression?) So why is it that when it came to a showdown with the street toughs in "The Soup Nazi" he just cowered and let them take Elaine's armoire?

In "The Outing," George's mother mentions that when she read the article which "outed" George she fell off the toilet, requiring assistance from the super. However, in later episodes it appears that George's parents live in their own private house.

In her zeal to send Christmas cards, Elaine gives one to Jerry. ("The Pick") But isn't Jerry of the Jewish faith? ("The Yada Yada" immediately springs to my mind. Also "The Serenity Now," in which Elaine questions Jerry about shiks-appeal.) Shouldn't she have sent him a Hannukah card instead, even if it didn't include her infamous picture? It sounds pretty insensitive of her to me.

In "The Wife," in which George is discovered urinating in the shower at the health club by a fellow member, Kramer indicates that he takes baths. However, not even one season later, in "The Jimmy," he indicates that he gets a rush from taking cold showers. And the season after that, in "The Shower Head," he is repulsed when he considers having to forsake showers due to the low-pressure shower head which was installed in his bathroom. What caused him to undergo this 180º change in bathing style? [He continues to take showers, as evidenced in "The Apology," during which he also rinses vegetables.]

It's hard to believe that a cabana shirt which was once worn by George's father Frank could fit the much taller Kramer - and quite loosely, as well. ("The Raincoats - Part 2 (of 2)")

In "The Face Painter," which first aired on May 11, 1995, David Puddy indicates to Elaine that he has been a New Jersey Devils fan since he was a kid. According to my research, the Devils have been playing in New Jersey since only 1982. Prior to that time they were the Colorado Rockies (not to be confused with the current Denver-based Major League Baseball franchise). Further delving has turned up the fact that Puddy-portrayer Patrick Warburton was born on November 14, 1964 (in New Jersey, as was his character - in Paterson, to be precise). So in the fall of 1982, Warburton - and presumably Puddy - would have been around 18 years old - not what I would term a "kid."

The most minor of mistakes: In "The Sponge," George indicates to Susan that he finds it extremely difficult in the heat of the moment to tear open a condom package. However, he apparently had no trouble opening the defective one from Kramer which he supposedly used in "The Fix-Up."

After watching the end of the movie "The Other Side of Darkness" in "The Comeback," Kramer comments that he didn't know that anyone could come out of a coma. But almost five years to the day earlier, in "The Suicide," he witnessed neighbor Martin coming out of a coma which he had entered by attempting to commit suicide.

(Original broadcast dates: "The Comeback" - January 30, 1997, "The Suicide" - January 29, 1992)

Are we to believe that Newman was so clueless about the bottle-deposit system that he was under the misimpression that he'd have to pay to have his empties taken back, and not the other way around? ("The Bottle Deposit")

I wasn't sure whether there ever was a Golden Nugget Casino in Atlantic City, but I was positive it wasn't there at the time "The Money" was broadcast (January 16, 1997). Sure enough, my Internet research turned up that there was such a casino in A.C. According to this page it opened on December 9, 1980, but several years later its owner, Steve Wynn, soured on Atlantic City, and in 1986 sold the property to Bally’s, who renamed it Bally’s Grand. Interestingly enough, the first time in this episode that Jerry tells his parents that he has been called to perform in Atlantic City, he says it is at Bally’s.

UPDATED

2003 Dec 12

Sure enough, I caught Kramer contradicting himself. In "The Sniffing Accountant," in trying to determine whether Jerry's accountant is on drugs, he questions whether the fellow used a lot of slang, such as the word "man," in his conversation. However, on several occasions he uses that word in a slang manner.

In "The Money," he says "man" twice - once to Jerry, regarding his latest romantic interest ("Man, that Emily is wearing me out."), and another time to his girlfriend in his plea to her about abandoning her after lovemaking sessions ("Aww, c'mon, man. Meet me halfway.").

In "The Keys," he says "man" twice - once to Jerry and Elaine, regarding Jerry taking back his spare set of keys ("I don't want the keys back. No, I'm glad the way things turned out. I was clinging to those keys, man. Like a branch on the banks of a raging river. And now I have let go. And I'm free to go with the current. To float. And I thank you."), and another time to George about his dream of going to California to get into acting ("I know, I know. But, man, I never felt so alive. Now, are you coming with me?").

In "The Apology," he says "man" twice to Jerry, regarding his frustration with his lack of effective showering: "Wha...? Oh, man! Jeez! Look at that! I'm all lathery. Jerry, you got to show me what I'm doing wrong." and "No, I mean it, man. I'm lost!"

In "The Little Jerry," two police detectives arrest Elaine's boyfriend-of-the-week, Kurt, for aiding and abetting a known fugitive, George's escaped inmate girlfriend, Celia, believing that he is George just because he is at George's apartment and because he, too, is bald. Although he is innocent of those charges, Kurt is not released - he tells Elaine that he got into a fist fight with a cop because of the perceived insult that he's as bald as George is. But the police do not return to arrest George. Surely they should have discovered their error of mistaken identity. Why is George suddenly off the hook?

In "The Pledge Drive," when the manager at Chemical Bank calls Jerry's Nana to inform her of her bounced checks, Nana tells the fellow that she'll "be down there first thing in the morning." The bank manager starts to tell her that the problem can be resolved over the phone, but Nana hangs up on him. Why doesn't the bank manager just call her right back to get his point across to her?

In "The Slicer," Jerry insults his date - a dermatologist - by calling her "Pimple-Popper MD." When it comes to George's attention that the doctor performed a skin-cancer screening at Elaine's office - that's how Elaine met her - George hatches a plan to have her do the same at his latest employer, Kruger Industrial Smoothing, in order to get a photograph of his boss with a bare chest to replace the family snapshot which he removed. To this end, George implores Jerry to patch things up with the physician to get her to agree to performing the screening. Since Elaine is acquainted with the dermatologist, why doesn't George get her to cajole the doctor into carrying out his scheme?

In "The Strike," an exterior shot of the betting parlor shows a façade bearing a sign reading "HORSETRACK BETTING" - which, to a New Yorker such as myself, is obviously an alteration of the usual signage outside the establishments known as "OTB" (for "Off-Track Betting"). However, the production staff wasn't so careful - but was more faithful - with the inside visuals. As Elaine speaks with the staff, one can plainly see several examples of actual OTB signage therein.

For the record, the website of New York City Off-Track Betting is, appropriately, http://www.nycotb.com/ .

In "The Yada Yada," Kramer and Mickey pick up two girls at the Gap. But they don't know which girl each of them should be paired up with. To resolve the matter, Mickey suggests that they put their names in a hat, but Kramer indicates that he doesn't even know their names. Apparently, neither does Mickey, since they continue to try to settle upon a way to determine which girl will date each of them. Later in the episode, on their next double-date with the girls, suddenly Kramer and Mickey both know the girls' names, Julie and Karen.

UPDATED

2003 Dec 09

Also in "The Yada Yada," Mickey and Karen get married in what I'm pretty darn sure must be a Catholic ceremony, because it is officiated by Father Curtis. (When Jerry seeks out Father Curtis at his church, he first encounters a nun. Both Curtis and the nun appear to be of the Catholic faith, not of some Protestant or Orthodox denomination.) However, Kramer mentions earlier in the episode that Mickey has been married - and presumably divorced - three times. That being the case, I'm surprised that Mickey could be married in the Catholic Church. Possibly it could be that Mickey isn't even of the Catholic faith. In that case, I'm not sure what the rules are.

I was presented with the following well-researched description of possible scenarios of Mickey's situation by a correspondent, Saikat Guha:

The rules are as follows:

"Between the baptized, a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2382)

A "ratified and consummated" marriage is a marriage where the vows are exchanged by two baptized persons, with the proper intention, and consummated by sexual intercourse. It makes no difference to the Church, as such, whether you are Catholic or not--a ratified and consummated marriage between two Protestants, for instance, is equally indissoluble.

There are, therefore, only the following possibilities:

(1) Mickey wasn't baptized in his three prior marriages. In this case he could marry a Catholic *if* all three of his previous marriages were nullified or dissolved according to Church law. (It isn't enough to have a civil divorce; the Church must examine the case and either declare the previous marriages null or dissolve them according to its own law.) In this case, assuming Karen is a baptized Catholic, he is bound to her for life.

(2) Mickey was baptized in one or more of his previous marriages, but was able to get a Church declaration of nullity for each of these. This case is otherwise identical to (1).

(3) Mickey failed to inform the Church of his prior marriages and got married to Karen anyway. In this case the marriage is null and void under Church law, but it might still be celebrated if the priest (and other relevant parties) don't know about the impediment posed by his previous marriages.

Since getting three declarations of nullity and/or dissolutions in the Church is quite difficult, though not quite impossible, (3) is the most likely possibility.

The bottom line: It's within the realm of possibility that what I indicated is not a mistake.

Lastly, the aforementioned correspondent provided URLs for several relevant websites on this topic:

Catechism of the Catholic Church

(Old) Catholic Encyclopedia

Communion of Divorced and Remarried

Annulments in the Conciliar Church

How Can A Marriage Be Declared Null?

I'm pretty sure that a flubbed line was left in "The Dinner Party" when it aired. As the gang is driving to their respective errands - Jerry and Elaine to a bakery for a chocolate babka, and George and Kramer to a liquor store for wine - Elaine notices the bakery and blurts out, "Oh, wait a minute. There's the bakery. Stop here. Stop here. Okay, let me out." Then, turning to Jerry, she continues, "You, whatever your name is ..." I can't imagine why her lapse would have been scripted as such, so I contend that it was a blooper which was not retaped, for whatever reason.

In "The Gum," George insists to Ruthie Cohen, the cashier at Monk's, that he handed her a twenty-dollar bill, but that she gave him change for only a ten-dollar bill. Twice later in that episode - first to an old friend, Deena, then to Ruthie Cohen herself - he mentions that Cohen stole twenty dollars from him. However, by my reckoning he should be out only the difference between a twenty-dollar bill and a ten-dollar bill - that is, ten dollars, not twenty. Maybe instead of pretending to be an architect George should pretend to be an corporate accountant.

In "The Bottle Deposit," as Kramer is driving to Michigan with Newman and their empty bottles and cans for their redemption, he spots a car with New York license plates. He suspects that it might be Jerry's car, and calls him in order to confirm the license plate number - indicating that he is aware that Jerry's car has been stolen. However, at least in the syndicated version of this episode, there is no mention to Kramer of the car's theft. Possibly in the original unedited version of this episode that knowledge has been conveyed to him. (Maybe one day I'll check my "archives" and verify this one way or the other.) If it was, then it shows a poor editing job which resulted in what appears to be a hole in the plot.

And one more thing: Kramer comments to Newman, upon seeing what turns out to be Jerry's car, that since it's so unlikely that a car with New York license plates would be where they were - in Ohio - the odds were pretty good that the vehicle was Jerry's stolen car. Oh, puh-lease! Vehicles with out-of-state license plates can't be all that rare on any major highway.

In "The Pledge Drive," Jerry and George get into a discussion about how long to keep a greeting card, and Jerry mentions that the only point of saving a card would be if he had a mantel. George adds that if his parents had a mantel he might be a completely different person. Well, what about the mantel to which George alludes in "The Statue," upon which sat a statue of a blue lady - the same one which Jerry inherited from his grandfather?

In "The Big Salad," Elaine visits a stationery store to purchase a mechanical pencil for Mr. Pitt. However, in the very next episode, "The Pledge Drive," she is seen performing some very menial busy-work, sharpening ordinary wooden pencils - presumably for Mr. Pitt's use.

Despite that inconsistency, there's some overall consistency of each of those episodes with a later one: In "The Gymnast," Mr. Pitt chides Elaine for using a fountain pen, because those devices smear. So she agrees to use a pencil. (However, she doesn't specify whether she'll use a mechanical pencil or a plain one.)

NEW	2003 Apr 25

In "The Jimmy," George comments to Jerry and Kramer that Jimmy's basketball skills were superb - that he could dunk and "he was my height." However, when Jimmy strides into the locker room, he appears to be several inches taller than George. And I don't think that Jimmy's plyometric training shoes added all that much - if anything - to his height.

NEW	2003 Apr 29

In the final scene of "The Soup Nazi," a frantic Newman indicates to Jerry that because Elaine has the Soup Nazi's recipes and she is threatening to release them to the public he is going out of business, moving to Argentina, and giving away what little soup he has left. To Jerry's query about where he's going, Newman hurriedly answers that he's going home to get a big pot. Then Newman dashes off. After a several-second pause, Jerry, too, sprints away - presumably also to go home to get a container to collect some free soup. The only thing is, Jerry runs in the opposite direction than Newman, but they live in the same building.

For the record, Jerry lives on the west side of their building [Newman to George in "The Calzone": "Oh, well. Let me be perfectly blunt. I don't care for you, Costanza. You hang out at the west side of the building with Seinfeld all day, just laughing it up and wasting your lives."], and Newman lives on its east side [Newman to Jerry in "The Big Salad": "Hellooo, Jerry. What a rare treat. What brings you down to the east wing?"].

UPDATED

2004 May 08

In a conversation at the coffee shop in "The Dog," which first aired on October 9, 1991, Elaine indicates to George that she has been "here" - presumably in New York - for about six years. George then enumerates the years: "Eighty-six, eighty-seven, eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety, ninety-one." So Elaine has been in town since 1985. Shortly thereafter, George asks her if she has ever seen Jerry throw up. Apparently she has, because the two of them imitate how he vomits. However, in "The Dinner Party," after a black-and-white cookie upsets Jerry's stomach, he comments to Elaine that he hasn't thrown up since June 29, 1980, presumably before they ever met.

By the way, there is consistency between "The Dinner Party" and "The Masseuse." In the latter, Jerry informs Elaine that he hasn't vomited in thirteen years - since June 29, 1980 - as he tries to reassure her that her latest beau, Joel Rifkin, is normal for not having thrown up in eight years. He also indicates that his previous vomit was on June 29, 1972, exactly eight years to the day prior to his '80 vomit.

NEW	2003 Jun 20

In "The Suicide," Newman confides to Kramer, "I can’t eat fruit. It makes me incontinent." However, in "The Doodle," he and Kramer split a case of Mackinac peaches, and he relishes those fruit, their effects on him notwithstanding.

NEW	2003 Jul 09

In "The Fix-Up," Elaine indicates to Jerry that she has never fixed anybody up, and that she is not about to start with George. However, less than a year before, in "The Baby Shower," it is revealed - in Jerry's presence - that Elaine had fixed up someone, and that the person was none other than George. (George comments that his date with a performance artist, Leslie, who is now married and pregnant was unequivocally the worst one of his life. Elaine replies, "Oh, pardon me for trying to set you up with a beautiful, intelligent woman.")

(Original broadcast dates: "The Baby Shower" - May 16, 1991, "The Fix-Up" - February 5, 1992)

NEW	2003 Jul 27

Elaine breaks up with Keith Hernandez in "The Boyfriend" after she learns that he is a smoker. [Jerry to Elaine: "You know, you're like going out with C. Everett Koop."] However, she is seen smoking on two occasions: At the end of "The Calzone," she and Jerry puff away on Todd Gack's Cuban, er, Peruvian cigars. In "The Foundation," while crowing to Jerry over the phone about laying out her first issue of the J. Peterman Catalog - a real "peach," she says - she is seen chomping on a stogie.

NEW	2003 Aug 07

In "The Slicer," Elaine tells Jerry and Kramer that one of her neighbors has gone to Paris, but has left his alarm on. However, when Kramer goes with her to blow her neighbor's circuit, there is no beeping sound heard.

NEW	2003 Aug 13

In "The Gum," when Lloyd Braun offers George some gum, he replies, "I don't chew gum." However, in "The Cartoon," when George struggles to find a topic to discuss with his "She-Jerry" girlfriend, Janet, other than her looks, he settles on their common love of gum. Supposedly, when they first met he asked her for a piece of gum because his breath smelled like hummus.

Also, in "The Trip," George asks the police officers if either of them has a mint or a piece of gum.

I suppose that George could have been lying to Braun, so this might not be a mistake.

NEW	2003 Aug 18

In "The Frogger," Elaine's co-workers enter her office with a get-well cake on the day after she takes a sick day. Then they begin singing her their made-up get-well song, and she angrily cuts them off. As she finishes her tirade, "Other-Walter" pops in and starts singing the get-well song. But he shouldn't even be there, because at the beginning of the episode he was celebrated on his last day.

NEW	2003 Oct 29

Here's one from a correspondent, Peter Gamble. He indicates:

"In the episode in which Kenny Roger's Roasters opens for business ["The Chicken Roaster"], Kramer's apartment is lit up by the light of the chicken sign. Not possible. It's Jerry's apartment that overlooks the street; Kramer's is on the other side of the building. The light from the sign would light up Jerry's bedroom."

NEW	2003 Oct 30

At the beginning of "The Deal," Elaine changes the channels on Jerry's TV until she stops on the "naked station," as Jerry indicates it to George. George remarks that's why he doesn't have cable TV, but apparently Jerry does have it. However, one of the primary plots in the very next episode, "The Baby Shower," revolves around the fact that Jerry doesn't have cable.

(Original broadcast dates: "The Deal" - May 2, 1991, "The Baby Shower" - May 16, 1991)

NEW	2003 Nov 21

In one scene in "The Sponge," Kramer enters Jerry's apartment all out of breath. He indicates the reason: "The elevator just broke. I had to walk up five flights." This is very strange, since Elaine entered the apartment not even 30 seconds before he did, and I presume that she didn't suffer the same fate because she doesn't mention it either before or after Kramer arrives. The only explanation I can come up with for this situation is that in the time it took the out-of-shape Kramer to walk up the five flights of stairs the elevator was fixed - in time for Elaine to use it to ascend to Jerry's floor.

UPDATED

2004 Aug 20

It's the flimsiest of mistakes, but here it is: In "The Dinner Party," there's a large digital clock high on one wall in the liquor store. However, in all the time during which George and Kramer linger in that place, the readout on the clock - 9:35, I believe - never changes.

NEW	2004 Mar 03

I recently received a note from a correspondent, Carole Guyse, in which she mentions a slip-up regarding Jerry and caffeine.

In "The Dog," George and Elaine at Monk's discuss Jerry - among other things, how he likes Morning Thunder herbal tea, even though it has caffeine in it. George indicates to her that Jerry doesn't drink caffeine. (Elaine admits to George that Jerry doesn't know Morning Thunder has caffeine in it, and that she doesn't tell him.) However, in the show's very first episode, "Good News, Bad News," when George and Jerry are in the coffee shop, the waitress, Claire, reassures George that his coffee is decaf. Jerry, on the other hand, isn't concerned by the fact that he is drinking regular caffeinated coffee. At least, Ms. Guyse and I believe, that's the situation here.

By the way, Farfel, who I referenced in this item's title, is not the dog which Jerry minds in "The Dog," but is the dog puppet of ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson. For some information on this Farfel, check these links:

• IMDb biography for ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson
• TV ACRES: Puppets - Dogs Section (There's a mention of the "Seinfeld" Farfel here, too.)

NEW	2004 Mar 03

I mulled the following minor inconsistency over for some time, finally deciding that it merited inclusion on this page.

In his stand-up routine at the end of "The Apartment," Jerry mentions his reluctance to ask noisy neighbors to keep it down at three o’clock in the morning. He says, "I mean, what am I, Fred Mertz now?" But in another episode, "The Phone Message," he proudly admits to his girlfriend-of-the-week, Donna, that he has never seen one episode of "I Love Lucy" in his life, ever. I suppose that he didn't have to watch the show to know who Fred Mertz is, but I maintain that it's a mistake of some degree.

NEW	2004 Apr 14

In "The Opposite," when Elaine's secretary announces that Tina Robbins is in her office to see her, Elaine indicates that the visitor is her ex-roommate, and that she moved out of their apartment "four years ago." However, Tina appeared as Elaine's then-roommate in two episodes, "The Deal" (originally broadcast on May 2, 1991) and "The Truth" (originally broadcast on September 25, 1991), neither one as much as four years prior to the first airing of "The Opposite," May 19, 1994.

NEW	2004 Apr 22

In "The Kiss Hello," when Jerry discovers that Kramer's photograph of him has been defaced, Kramer remarks, "Hey, don't you worry, buddy. I made double prints." But notice that the photographs which Kramer posted appear to be that from a Polaroid instant camera. Although Polaroid used to have a service whereby one could send the company instant photographs and it would make copies of them - and possibly still does - the fact that Kramer indicated that he had double prints made sounds to me as if he had sent a roll or cartridge of conventional film to be developed and had two sets of pictures printed, which is something totally different.

NEW	2004 May 20

A correspondent, Jenn, recently wrote to me about what seems to be a mistake of some kind: In "The Virgin" is a scene in which Elaine offers a crazy story about her diaphragm flying out of her purse. However, in "The Sponge," she claims there was no other form of birth control that she cared for but the Today Sponge. If this were the case, Jenn asks, wouldn't she have used the sponge back in 1992 - "The Virgin" first aired on November 11, 1992 - because they certainly were available then?

Conceivably, it's possible that she might have chosen the diaphragm over the sponge as her means of birth control in '92. She might have switched to the sponge for one reason or another between then and 1995 - "The Sponge" first aired on December 7, 1995. However, in "The Sponge" Elaine herself indicates to George, "Hey, man, women are really loyal to their birth control methods." With that damning piece of evidence, one surely can conclude that the diaphragm/sponge conflict is indeed a mistake. Nice catch, Jenn! (And I'm not removing that exclamation point.)

Here's another thought on this matter: If women are as loyal to their birth control methods as Elaine concedes, then how could she not have been aware that the Today Sponge had been taken off the market? Even if she hadn't heard of this fact from some source, she presumably had been using birth-control sponges casually up to the point of the broadcast of "The Sponge," purchasing them but not hoarding them as she later wound up having to do. So wouldn't she have gone to her usual outlet and found them no longer available? Certainly, she shouldn't have reached a situation - comical as it turned out to be - in which it would be so difficult for her to find sponges unless she had stashed away a large quantity of them, which she then found herself forced to do.

NEW	2004 Jun 02

In "The Dinner Party," George and Kramer are charged with the task of purchasing wine as a gift for the hosts of the party which they and Jerry and Elaine are about to attend. They settle on a $12 bottle of Bordeaux, which the liquor store clerk indicates will set them back $13.05 with tax. If there was $1.05 sales tax on the $12 item, then the tax rate would have been exactly 8.75%. Being a New York City resident at the time this episode originally aired (February 3, 1994), I was almost certain that the tax rate (state plus local) then was only 8.25%, which would have brought the transaction amount to just $12.99. Sure enough, checking the website of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, I found the appropriate Quarterly Sales and Use Tax Return form . According to it, the New York City/State combined sales tax for the period from December 1, 1993 through February 28, 1994 was 8.25%. (See page 3 of the form.) So George got cheated out of six cents by the episode's writer, Larry David.

UPDATED

2004 Sep 24

According to George in "The Slicer," the "Boom-Box Incident" occurred on a beach in the summer of 1989. George's image was inadvertently captured that day by Mr. Kruger in the background of a photograph of him and his family, which we see in that episode. In that picture, not surprisingly, George has noticeably more hair than he does more than eight years later when "The Slicer" first aired - on November 13, 1997. (He has really lost a lot of hair, and he is aware of that sad fact.) Additionally, in that episode, when George describes the incident to Jerry there is a flashback sequence, and he is shown with a head of hair that is fuller than usual. But what's more, he is shown to have more hair in the photograph and in the flashback than he does in "Good News, Bad News," the series's first episode, which first aired on July 5, 1989 - the summer of 1989.

It should also be noted that Mr. Kruger indicates that the photo was taken ten years ago. Since "The Slicer" first aired in November 1997, that would mean that the picture was shot in the summer of 1987. But that doesn't jibe with George's statement that the "Boom-Box Incident" was in the summer of 1989. This discrepancy is not necessarily an error. Possibly either Kruger or George was mistaken about the year. If Kruger was correct, then that might explain George's loss of hair between the "Boom-Box Incident" and "Good News, Bad News."

UPDATED

2004 Jun 13

In "The Bris," Jerry asks George, "Hey, George. You ever see one [an uncircumcised penis]?", to which he replies, "Yeah, my roommate in college." But in "The Marine Biologist" it is mentioned that both Jerry and George attended my alma mater Queens College. During my four years there, the institution was known as a "commuter college" - that is, it had no dormitories for its students. (The real Jerry Seinfeld graduated in the class of 1976. I followed him into the real world three years later.) I suppose that it's possible that George could have lived away from home in a residence which was not run by the college, but it seems unlikely. Recall that for nearly one season - from "The Puffy Shirt" to "The Opposite" - the unemployed George was forced to move back in with his parents. So I contend that it is not likely that George had a college roommate for him to have had such an anatomy lesson.

(Original broadcast dates: "The Puffy Shirt" - September 23, 1993, "The Opposite" - May 19, 1994)

NEW	2004 Jul 16

This mistake hinges upon my contention that the action within each episode occurs around the date the episode was first aired. To bolster that claim, recall the trial in "The Finale": The doctor who broke the news to George that Susan had died indicates in his testimony that the date of her death was May 16, 1996, the exact date on which "The Invitations" was originally broadcast.

So, assuming that the action within "The Handicap Spot" occurred around the date the episode was first aired (May 13, 1993), consider the episode's last scene: The gang is seen searching for a parking spot at a shopping mall, presumably to return the big-screen TV which George and Kramer retrieved from "The Drakette." Just as Kramer points out to George, "Why don't you park in front of the hydrant?" a fire hydrant is briefly shown. Around the hydrant are seen a few patches of snow - not to be expected in the New York City area in the middle of May.

NEW	2004 Jul 16

Twice within "The Old Man" - once by Newman, then later by Kramer - the used record store to which Newman and Kramer try to sell Jerry's and Sid Fields's records is referred to as "Ron's." However, in exterior shots the sign outside the establishment clearly reads "Bleecker Bob's," the Greenwich Village institution at 118 West 3rd Street.

NEW	2004 Jul 28

Bemoaning the state of his health, George remarks to Jerry in "The Heart Attack": "All I know is I've been going to doctors all my life. What has it gotten me? I'm thirty-three years old. I haven't outgrown the problems of puberty, I'm already facing the problems of old age. I completely skipped healthy adulthood."

Seven months later, in "The Stranded," Jerry suggests to Elaine at the party that they agree upon a signal to indicate trouble being stuck in a bad conversation, so the other one can get him out of it. Apparently believing that he's immature, she asks him how old he is, to which he responds, "Thirty-six."

That's all very well. But in "The Butter Shave," when George mentions to Jerry that Bania's voice is the voice of a new generation - his generation - Jerry reminds him that they're only four months apart in age.

In reality, Jerry and Jason Alexander have an almost five-and-a-half-year age difference between them. Jerry was born on April 29, 1954; Alexander's birthday is September 23, 1959.

(Original broadcast dates: "The Heart Attack" - April 25, 1991, "The Stranded" - November 27, 1991)

NEW	2004 Aug 02

Correspondent Jenn came up with another one - this time about the Kosher meal incident in "The Airport." If it was so important for this guy - voiced by Larry David, incidentally - to have gone out of his way to order a Kosher meal, he presumably must follow those dietary restrictions all the time. (Why else would one order a Kosher meal?) So even if, as he indicates, he ordered the meal six weeks prior to the flight, it should have been so important to him that he wouldn't have forgotten that fact. Furthermore, even if the crew didn't inquire about who had requested a Kosher meal, he should have piped up when the meals were being served. It's all very comical, I admit, but it's also somewhat hard to swallow, so to speak.

NEW	2004 Aug 06

In "The Doodle," Jerry's apartment becomes infested with fleas, and his current girlfriend, Shelly, offers to let him stay with her while his apartment is being fumigated. However, his stay with her is brief - she throws him out because he won't use her toothbrush. (Supposedly, he has hygiene or cleanliness issues - he was revulsed earlier in the episode when he unknowingly begins to eat some nuts which Shelly had sucked on and spit onto a plate. Several other episodes also touch upon Jerry's "fastidiousness.") But he makes a contrary comment to Elaine in "The Doll" about a similar situation. When he praises his new electric toothbrush to her and she pooh-poohs his efforts to get her to purchase one, he remarks, "I've had yours [her toothbrush]. I'm telling you, this one is ten times better. Don't you believe me?" So he has used someone else's toothbrush - and has lived to tell about it.

NEW	2004 Aug 11

In "The Wig Master," Kramer realizes too late that he left his apartment keys with the rest of his keys - at the Jiffy Park parking lot, which he says is "all the way over to Twelfth Avenue." It should be noted that Twelfth Avenue is not only over but down from where he and Jerry live on West 81st Street - at 129 West 81st Street, to be precise. Twelfth Avenue runs from 22nd Street or 23rd Street - my maps aren't exactly clear on it - northward to around 59th Street. It never reaches as far as 81st Street. I'd term this an error of omission as opposed to one of commission, as they say in baseball.

NEW	2004 Aug 17

In "The Label Maker," Jerry indicates to George that Kramer wouldn't accept free Super Bowl tickets from him because he's interested in only Canadian football. However, only a little more than a year earlier, in "The Masseuse," Kramer jumps at the chance for an extra ticket to a New York Giants football game.

(Original broadcast dates: "The Masseuse" - November 18, 1993, "The Label Maker" - January 19, 1995)

NEW	2004 Sep 24

In "The Slicer," when George relays to Mr. Kruger Dr. Van Nostrand's - that is, Kramer's - concern about a mole on his shoulder being cancerous, Kruger pooh-poohs any possibility of such an occurrence. He indicates that "that mole" - somehow he knows which one George is referring to - looks exactly as it did some ten years ago, when he believes the photo on his desk - in which the mole is visible - was taken. If the mole is visible in the photo, then it must be on the front of Kruger's shoulder - possibly on the top or somewhere along the side of it. However, from the shocked look Kramer gives when he is examining Kruger, it would seem that the mole is on the back of his shoulder. Possibly, George misunderstood Kramer about the exact location of the mole, which was indicated to him as being on Kruger's shoulder, and believed it to be one on its front. But considering the consequences, I would think he would have strove for some sort of accuracy about its placement.

One more thing: The photo on Mr. Kruger's desk presumably contains an up-to-date image of Kruger taken by Kramer. (One would also hope that the latest retouch of the picture has removed George from the background.) When Kruger checks out the photo on his desk he points out to George, "Well, I'll be ... you have lost a lot of hair." (Assuming that George was excised from the snapshot, Kruger has a good recollection of the "pear-shaped loser.") One would figure that Kruger's appearance also should have changed somewhat in ten or so years - though apparently not his own lack of hair over that period - and he should have been the one to notice it in the photo. As George tells Jerry earlier in the episode, this Kruger guy is clueless.

NEW	2004 Oct 28

An automobile-savvy correspondent, Dave Kunz of Los Angeles, recently wrote to me about a mistake regarding the Cadillac which Jerry bought for his father in "The Cadillac":

"Okay, here's one that is WAY out there, but I'm sure others who know a little about cars might get a kick out of.

"In 'The Money,' Jerry's parents tell him they're selling the Cadillac he bought them because they think he's broke. In the phone conversation with his dad, Jerry says 'But it has the Northstar System!' (mocking Cadillac's advertising phrase of the day) to which Morty replies, 'I don't think we ever used that.' Great work by the writers to make fun of the 'Northstar System,' but factually incorrect.

"The Cadillac Jerry bought them the previous season was a 1996 Fleetwood Brougham, the last of the large, rear-wheel-drive Cadillacs. That particular model shared a basic platform with the Chevrolet Impala SS and Caprice, as well as the Buick Roadmaster. All these cars used the same engine: a 350 cubic inch overhead valve V8 built by Chevrolet. The Northstar engine was, at the time, an aluminum overhead cam V8 only used in Cadillac's front-wheel-drive models.

"Considering Seinfeld's knowledge of cars (yes, he's known as a Porsche-phile, but one would assume he'd pick up a car magazine once in awhile to read about the other cars on the road) that's an odd mistake. The discontinuation of the large rear-drive cars by GM was a pretty big story that year, as many enthusiasts lamented the loss of traditional full-size cars."

UPDATED

2004 Nov 18

At the very end of "The Chinese Woman," Noreen is about to jump off a bridge - one might presume that it's the Brooklyn Bridge, because of a remark that Jerry makes to Elaine earlier in the show. Anyway, in the background is a nighttime view of the lower Manhattan skyline, prominently featuring the World Trade Center towers. However, the shot of them is across the Hudson River, from Jersey City. All of the bridges into lower Manhattan - the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Williamsburg Bridge - are across the East River which, although it's only a short distance away, is on the opposite side of the island. Furthermore, the shot of the lower Manhattan skyline is such that the shoreline is parallel to the direction of the bridge. So either the bridge would run entirely over and through Jersey City or it would run up the middle of the Hudson River.

To clarify this, here is a map showing one possible approximate course the bridge seems to take:

NEW	2004 Oct 28

At the beginning of "The Soup" is this bit of dialogue:

Waitress:		O.K., cowboys, what'll you have?
Jerry:		I’ll have the, ah, turkey club without the bacon.
George:		And, ah, I’ll have the bacon club without the turkey.

After some snappy banter between George and the waitress, she says to him, "You don't want bacon? I’ll surprise you." But George told her that he didn't want turkey. It was Jerry who indicated that he didn't want bacon.

NEW	2004 Nov 30

In "The Pilot," a peeved Elaine visits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - that's what it reads on the door of the office of the fellow to whom she is describing her complaint. But the setup shot just prior to that scene shows the exterior of the Louis J. Lefkowitz State Office Building at 80 Centre Street. Offices of the EEOC, a federal agency, would not be located in a New York State office building.

NEW	2005 Jan 04

In "The Pothole," while in Jerry's apartment, Elaine tries yet again to phone in an order for Supreme Flounder. She gives her apartment as 1Q, but never gives her address to the Chinese restaurant.