"Seinfeld and Philosophy" Mistakes

I read "Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book About Everything and Nothing." From beginning to end. In that order. Here, for the record, are the mistakes which I found.

p. 23, in Essay 2 ("George's Failed Quest For Happiness: An Aristotelian Analysis" by Daniel Barwick): "George himself learns that the best he can hope for is that others will recognize the definciencies of his personality and feel benevolence; as he says in 'The Busboy' episode: 'Pity's very underrated.'" George says this not in "The Busboy," but in "The Truth."

p. 28, in Essay 3 ("Elaine Benes: Feminist Icon or Just One of the Boys?" by Sarah E. Worth): "The last episode made abundantly clear that Elaine was as immoral as the rest (perhaps even more immoral, being the only one to sleep with the attorney!), and was not tried any differently." It was Sidra Holland, possessor of real and spectacular breasts, not Elaine, who was shown in bed with lawyer Jackie Chiles in "The Finale."

p. 32, in Essay 3 ("Elaine Benes: Feminist Icon or Just One of the Boys?" by Sarah E. Worth): "One day Elaine's secret comes out. She desperately wants to get married. In 'The Engagement,' when George announces his engagement to Susan, Elaine is secretly jealous. She will not admit it to either Jerry or George, but talks to Rabbi Kirschbaum, who lives in her building." The rabbi's name is Glickman, not Kirschbaum, and she speaks with him in "The Postponement."

p. 33, in Essay 3 ("Elaine Benes: Feminist Icon or Just One of the Boys?" by Sarah E. Worth): "In 'The Reverse Peephole' Puddy wears a fur coat. Elaine at one time had some moral issues with fur ('but who has the energy anymore?'), but now is more concerned about being seen 'hanging on the arm of an idiot.'" Elaine's exact line from "The Reverse Peephole" is "This is more about hanging off the arm of an idiot."

p. 36, in Essay 3 ("Elaine Benes: Feminist Icon or Just One of the Boys?" by Sarah E. Worth): "Elaine has no close female friends. They do show up here and there - Vivian, who wants Elaine to be the guardian of her child, the friend on Long Island who gives birth to the ugly baby in 'The Hamptons,' and, of course, Sue Ellen Mishki." It's Sue Ellen Mishkie, not Mishki.

p. 64, in Essay 5 ("Making Something out of Nothing: Seinfeld, Sophistry, and the Tao" by Eric Bronson): "Instead, George tries to ask an executive out on a date and ends up at the dry cleaners after she vomits on his shirt." It was Kramer vomiting on NBC executive Susan's vest which resulted in a dry-cleaning bill for George.

p. 88, in Essay 6 ("Plato or Nietzsche? Time, Essence, and Eternal Recurrence in Seinfeld" by Mark T. Conard): "Elaine had been invited to Sue Ellen Mishki's wedding in India and had accepted out of spite. As it turns out, Elaine had slept with Pintar, the groom, sometime previously, and the discovery of this fact ruined the wedding." s/b Mishkie. Also, it's Pinter, not Pintar.

p. 100, in Essay 7 ("Seinfeld, Subjectivity, and Sartre" by Jennifer McMahon): "It is this insight that motivates Jerry's concern about getting pegged for 'a pick,' ('The Pick') and George's anxiety that his dad might market 'the Manssier' ('The Doorman')." Very minor: I believe that the product would be spelled 'Manssiere' - from 'brassiere' - not 'Manssier.'

p. 110, in Essay 8 ("Wittgenstein and Seinfeld on the Commonplace" by Kelly Dean Jolley): "In 'The Pilot' - the episode in which Jerry and George pilot the Jerry show - Jerry remarks that Jerry is 'a show about nothing.'" Jerry never says that Jerry is a show about nothing in "The Pilot." However, in that episode, during a rehearsal NBC exec Rita Kierson comments to Jay Crespi, "Boy, talk about a show about nothing."

p. 139, in Essay 10 ("Peterman and the Ideological Mind: Paradoxes of Subjectivity" by Norah Martin): "Those who watch the television comedy Seinfeld are aware that in the seventh season Elaine got a job writing copy for the catalogue clothing company, J. Peterman, a company better known for its narratives of clothing than for the clothing itself." Elaine meets J. Peterman and gets a job in his company in "The Understudy," which was the final episode of the show's sixth season.

p. 143, in Essay 10 ("Peterman and the Ideological Mind: Paradoxes of Subjectivity" by Norah Martin): "Mr. Peterman is completely a character. Every mundane experience he does have is narrated by him as though it was right out of his catalogue (as when he sees Sue Ellen Mishki disappear into an elevator wearing what was to become the 'Gatsby Swingtop')." Once again, it's Mishkie, not Mishki.

p. 144, in Essay 10 ("Peterman and the Ideological Mind: Paradoxes of Subjectivity" by Norah Martin): "In the case of Mr. Peterman (who, unlike Kramer, does not seem to have a first name), when we, as it were, pull aside the curtain we don't find the pathetic humbug (which is what we find when we look at the real-life John Peterman who is a self-described failed businessman with a way cool horseman's duster) but rather nothing at all." In "The Secret Code," Peterman announces his presence to his dying mother, "Mama, it's me. Jacopo. I'm here for you, Mama."

p. 151, in Essay 11 ("The Secret of Seinfeld's Humor: The Significance of the Insignificant" by Jorge J.E. Gracia): "The usual give and take between them leads to a humorous discussion about who is the most unattractive world leader. The contest is between Brezhnev, De Gaulle, and Lyndon Johnson, but Golda Maier wins in Elaine's book." It's Golda Meir, not Maier.

p. 154, in Essay 11 ("The Secret of Seinfeld's Humor: The Significance of the Insignificant" by Jorge J.E. Gracia): "¹ See 'The Diplomat,' for George's desperate search to establish that he has black friends." The episode is entitled "The Diplomat's Club," not "The Diplomat." However, in the episode guide near the end of the book it is listed correctly.

p. 184, in Essay 14 ("The Final Episode: Is Doing Nothing Something?" by Theodore Schick, Jr.): "In the series finale, NBC had granted Jerry the use of a company jet as compensation for keeping the pilot of his show on the shelf for five years. Jerry and Co. were on their way to Paris when Kramer started hopping around the plane trying to get some water out of his ears. His hopping landed him in the cockpit, and the plane went into a nosedive. Instead of crashing, however, it landed in the fictional town of Latham, Massachusetts where they witnessed a fat man being carjacked at gunpoint. Kramer videotaped the event while George and Elaine cracked jokes. 'You see, the great thing about robbing a fat guy is the easy getaway. They can't really chase ya,' mused Elaine. 'He's actually doing him a favor. There's less money for him to buy food,' quipped George. Jerry, who was holding a cell phone in his hand, could only manage, 'Ah, that's a shame.'" Before Elaine makes her comment, Jerry remarks, "Well, there goes the money for the lipo."

p. 197, in the Episode Guide: "The Finale" should be marked with an asterisk to indicate that it was a one-hour episode.

p. 208, in "Who Are These People? Notes on the Script Writers, aka the Contributors to This Volume": "William Irwin is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at King's College. He is the author of Intentionalist Interpretation: A Philosophical Explanation and Defense. He has also published articles and reviews on hermeneutics, Sartre, Plato, philosophy of law, and philosophical pedagogy. He enjoys spending time with cousin Jeffrey, eating chocolate bobka, smoking Cuban cigars, cherishing the cabin, and mixing metaphors." It's babka, not bobka.