The Engagement (Seinfeld)

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Engagement
Series = Seinfeld


Caption = Jerry and George at the coffee shop.
Season = 7
Episode = 111
Airdate = September 21, 1995
Production =
Writer = Larry David
Director = Andy Ackerman
Guests =
Episode list = List of "Seinfeld" episodes
Season list = Infobox Seinfeld season 7 episode list
Prev =
Next =

"The Engagement" is the seventh-season opener (along with the 111th overall episode) of the NBC sitcom "Seinfeld". It aired on September 21, 1995.

Plot

George breaks up with a woman after she beats him in a game of chess. When he tells Jerry about it, they both realize that they have done nothing with their lives and decide they are going to make some changes. When Jerry tells Kramer about his talk with George, Kramer tells Jerry that getting married or having a family is a "manmade prison" and Jerry changes his mind. Elaine comes in and tells Jerry and Kramer that a barking dog is keeping her from getting a good night's sleep. Kramer says he knows someone who can "fix her problem".

They go to see Newman. After seeing Newman's clear disdain for dogs, Elaine becomes unsure if she really wants to go through with his plan. She is undecided at the moment, but later calls Newman back and says she wants to do it. Jerry takes his girlfriend Melanie out to dinner, but is bothered when she eats her peas one at a time.

George, after contemplating what to do with his life all afternoon, finally decides to visit his old girlfriend Susan Ross. When she buzzes him up and answers the door, he asks her to marry him. The next day, George visits Jerry to tell him the news - he is getting married (after hours of convincing). All seems well until Jerry informs him that he broke up with Melanie because of the way she ate her peas. George is angry that Jerry did not keep his side of the "pact" to change, made the day before at Monk's. But Jerry convinces him he should be happy that he is engaged.

Later that night, Elaine, Kramer and Newman rent a van and prepare to steal the dog. Jerry goes to George's apartment and asks if he is ready to go see a movie ("Firestorm" with Harrison Ford), but George tells him Susan wants to see a different movie ("The Muted Heart" with Glenn Close and Sally Field). It is at this time that George is showing signs of regret about his decision.

Newman returns to the van with the dog and Elaine is surprised that it is so small. They try to get it to bark to verify if it is the right dog, but to no avail. Kramer drives them far away from the city, before finally stopping near Monticello. He gets out and leaves the dog at a random doorstep, but it rips a piece of his shirt (with a tag from Rudy's vintage shop) before he can let it go. Back home after the movie, Jerry calls George to inform him that a New York Yankees game is being rerun if he wanted to watch it, but Susan wants him to come to bed and watch an episode of" Mad About You" that she taped. George again voices his annoyance at Jerry that he backed out on the pact.

The dog manages to find its way back to its house and owner, carrying the piece of Kramer's shirt it had ripped and Elaine is again woken up during the night by its barking. The next day, Jerry tells her the news of George's engagement. With the shirt scrap as evidence, police officers visit Kramer and Newman and charge them for dog napping. Newman responds to this turn of events lightly, having ample confidence that he will not be arrested. The episode ends with Kramer, Newman and Elaine sitting in the back of a police car. Elaine decides to make some changes with her life.

Trivia

* This episode aired the same day as the premiere episodes of "The Single Guy" (which was created by Julia Louis-Dreyfus's husband Brad Hall) and "Caroline in the City".
* When caught by the police, Newman smugly remarks "What took you so long?" These are reportedly the first words David Berkowitz (aka The Son of Sam) said to the authorities upon his arrest. It was revealed in Season 6's "The Diplomat's Club" that Newman took over Berkowitz's route.
* While filming the scene in which Elaine yells at the dog, Julia Louis-Dreyfus accidentally shouted herself hoarse. Rather than postpone filming or have Julia redub her lines later, the staff wrote her laryngitis into the script, and thus, Elaine speaks hoarsely throughout the entire episode.
* The episode has one of the few editing errors of the series. In the first scene with Jerry and George in the coffee shop, as they shake hands on the deal to make changes in their lives, a shadow of a boom microphone is clearly visible across Jerry's head. Also, when Elaine enters Jerry's apartment and complains about her lack of sleep, the boom microphone can clearly be seen at the top of the screen.
* The man with whom Jerry discusses the best action scenes in "Firestorm" is played by Mario Joyner, one of Jerry Seinfeld's real-life friends. Joyner also returns in the 9th season episode "The Puerto Rican Day", as a man whom Jerry gets in an argument with for the entire episode.
*The scenes in which George thinks about proposing to Susan mirrors the scenes in the Season 7 finale "The Invitations", in which Jerry thinks about proposing to his girlfriend-of-the episode, as well as in the Season 9 episode "The Voice", in which Jerry thinks about whether to give up the voice or his girlfriend-of-the-episode.
*At the end of the episode, when George and Susan are watching the episode of Mad About You that Susan mentioned that she taped earlier, the entire, uncut version of the Mad About You theme "The Final Frontier" can be heard from the television. The full theme song was never used in a Mad About You episode.

Quotes

* Jerry: What kind of lives are these? We're like children. We're not men. George: No, we're not. We're not men.
* Newman: "(when cops show up at his door)" What took you so long?
* George: You know, it was really wrong of you to back out on that deal. Jerry: I didn't make a deal. I just shook your hand. George: Yeah, well that's a deal where I come from. Jerry: We come from the same place.
* ("coming out of the movie theater after seeing" The Muted Heart) George: (unenthusiastic) Yes, it was very, very good. Susan: Oh, do you think he'll ever find her again? George: Oh, I sure hope so. "(Jerry and a friend come out of the theater nearby after seeing" Firestorm) Jerry: How about when Harrison Ford jumped out of that plane, and he was shooting back at them as he was falling? Friend: What about that underwater escape? Jerry: Oh, man!
* Kramer: What do you think they'll do to us? Newman: Ah, don't worry about a thing.When we get there the whole place will be crawling with mailmen ...we'll be out on the street by lunch.
*Jerry: I had a very interesting lunch with George Costanza. Kramer: Really? Jerry: We were talking about our lives, and we both kind of realized we're kids; we're not men. Kramer: So then you asked yourselves, "Isn't there something more to life?" Jerry: Yes! We did! Kramer: Yeah, well, let me clue you in on something: there isn't. Jerry: There isn't? Kramer: Absolutely not. I mean, what are you thinking about Jerry? Marriage? Family? Jerry: Well ... Kramer: They're prisons! Man-made prisons. You're doing time! You get up in the morning, she's there. You go to sleep at night, she's there. It's like you gotta ask permission to use the bathroom. "(pleading voice)" "Is it all right if I use the bathroom now?" Jerry: Really? Kramer: Yeah, and you can forget about watching TV while you're eating. Jerry: I can? Kramer: Oh, "yeah!" You know why? Because it's dinner time. And you know what you do at dinner? Jerry: What? Kramer: You talk about your day! "How was your day today? Did you have a good day today or a bad day today? Well, what kind of day was it? I don't know, how 'bout you, how was your day?" Jerry: Boy! Kramer: It's sad, Jerry. It's a sad state of affairs. Jerry: I'm glad we had this talk. Kramer: Oh, you have no idea!