The Contest
Encyclopedia
"The Contest" was the 51st episode of the NBC
sitcom, Seinfeld
. The eleventh episode of the fourth season, it aired on November 18, 1992. In the episode, George Costanza
tells Jerry Seinfeld
, Elaine Benes
and Cosmo Kramer
that his mother caught him unaware while he was masturbating
. The conversation results in George, Jerry, Elaine and Kramer entering into a contest to determine who can go for the longest period of time without masturbating.
The episode was controversial when broadcast because NBC thought that masturbation was not a topic suitable for prime time
television. As a result, the word "masturbation" is never used in the episode. Instead, the subject is described using a series of euphemism
s, while the meaning of the subject is still made clear to the audience. The writer of the episode, Larry David
, won the Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series
for his work on the episode. One euphemism used in the episode is "master of my domain", said by a character when still in the contest. It has become a catchphrase in popular culture, although it is not always used in reference to masturbation.
, in which Jerry and George are writing a television pilot
for NBC. In the previous episode, "The Virgin", Jerry had started dating Marla (played by Jane Leeves
), a woman who is a virgin.
. George enters and says, "My mother caught me." When asked what, he says, "I was alone," and he goes on to imply that his mother caught him masturbating in her house while reading Glamour Magazine
, resulting in her falling over in shock and ending up in the hospital. George says he'll never do that again, and when Jerry expresses skepticism at this, they make a $100 bet over who can go the longest without masturbating. Kramer then joins the bet, as does Elaine. However, Elaine is forced to bet $150, because the men claim that it is harder for men not to masturbate, as it is part of a man's "lifestyle".
Kramer is first out, due to the presence of a beautiful woman in the apartment across the street who walked around naked with the curtains open. The others are distracted by various temptations. George is distracted in the hospital his mother is staying at by another attractive woman who receives daily sponge baths from an equally attractive female nurse. Elaine attends a fitness club which is also attended by John F. Kennedy, Jr.
Jerry is tempted by the naked woman across the street and frustrated because the woman he's dating won't have sex with him, since she is a virgin.
The contest affects their sleep, and the remaining contestants suffer insomnia
, while only Kramer (who has been eliminated) can sleep peacefully. Elaine shares a ride with Kennedy, and she tells him that she lives near Jerry in order to extend the ride. She then learns that Kennedy wants to meet, and says he'll drop by Jerry's apartment. Eventually, the pressure becomes too much for her and she is the second person to be knocked out of the contest.
While making out on the couch, Marla asks Jerry if they can have sex, claiming that she is ready. However, Jerry then tells Marla about the contest, prompting Marla to leave in disgust. Elaine believes that Kennedy has changed his mind and not bothered to see her. George then tells Elaine that Kennedy did come, but missed her and went with Marla. They then see Kramer with the naked woman across the street. That night, everyone except Jerry has a good sleep, implying that maybe Jerry won, but there are two later references in the series to George having won. Marla is seen in the closing night segment, thanking John for a great sexual encounter. In a later episode, "The Puffy Shirt
", George has a brief new career as a hand model, and is warned about a previous model that ruined his career by deforming his hands through too-frequent masturbation. George replies: "You don't have to worry about me. I won a contest." Second, in The Finale, George is shown to be the victor, but thinking he's about to die in a plane crash, he admits to Jerry that he cheated.
claimed that there actually was a "Contest" in which David and some friends of his took part, although he did not initially want to take part because he thought he could not win it. David won the contest. When David came up with using the idea for an episode of Seinfeld, he did not talk about it with Seinfeld
for a considerable time, because he thought the episode was impossible for him to pitch. However, Seinfeld thought it was not offensive. The original script was not revealed until the night before the cast read-through. The first version written by David was not as clean as the one later broadcast. The note from the censor claimed that David should not use the word "Snapple". Julia Louis-Dreyfus
thought that the episode would never go ahead due to the subject matter. Seinfeld decided it would be better to remove any references to what George actually did. Seinfeld claimed that what was noteworthy about "The Contest" was the "Dovetailing" of the stories. He claimed that it probably would have been possible to have used the word "Masturbation" in the episode (it is notable that in an earlier episode that season, "The Ticket" George says "you must have a good story otherwise it's just masturbation") although it would have probably ended up not being as funny. Part of the opening scene of the episode contains some of the script that was originally meant to be used in "The Seinfeld Chronicles", the original pilot episode.
"The Contest" is the first episode to feature Estelle Costanza as an on-screen character. Estelle Harris
, who played the character, had not seen Seinfeld before she auditioned for the role. The cast and crew commented positively on the similarity in appearance between Harris and Jason Alexander
, as it made it more believable that their characters could be related. Alexander's real-life mother looks similar to Harris.
Rachel Sweet
has a cameo role in this episode as George's cousin Shelly. She appears in the scene with George and his mother in the hospital.
There are two deleted scenes in "The Contest". One features Joyce, the teacher of Elaine's fitness class, in the opening scene talking to Elaine, Jerry and Kramer. The second features George and Estelle Costanza in the hospital, where the female patient has been moved to the room next-door after Estelle complained about her nakedness.
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series
for the episode. He also won a Writers Guild of America Award
for his work on the episode. Director Tom Cherones
won a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series for this episode. He was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing
. TV Guide
ranked the episode #1 on its list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".
"The Contest" received a Nielsen rating
of 13/19, meaning that the episode was watched by an average of 13% of households and 19% of all televisions were tuned to the episode when it was broadcast. Approximately 18.5 million people watched the episode then. The first repeat of the episode gave Seinfeld its highest ratings up till that point, with a 20.1/30 Nielsen Rating. It also received only 31 complaints from viewers, despite the subject matter. There were worries from advertisers who did not want to advertise during the episode due to the topics that were being discussed. However, most regular advertisers did not broadcast adverts during the show because the series did not have good ratings at the time.
The episode is considered by most reviewers as a success for being able to cover a controversial subject in an inoffensive manner. Jonathan Boudreaux for tvdvdreviews.com said, "The Emmy-winning script by Larry David
introduced the brilliant euphemism 'master of my domain' to our lexicon and helped the series to truly become must-see TV. We know what the episode is about, but the script never explicitly says it. 'The Contest' effortlessly takes a potentially incendiary subject and renders it utterly inoffensive yet hilarious." He also said that "The Contest" episode was "one of the series' most infamous". Donna Dorsett from audaud.com commented on the refusal to use the word "masturbation", saying, "If the word had been used, even once, the show would not have been nearly as hilarious. The episode was totally inoffensive."
James Plath from DVD Town said, "Estelle Harris, as George's mother, is hilarious." John F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to have had no problem with appearing as a character in the episode, although he himself did not appear in the show, his role being played by an actor who is not named in the credits.
, the first being "The Baby Shower". JFK Jr., who "appears" in this episode, was killed in a plane crash on July 16, 1999. Jerry Seinfeld claimed that he had never heard of the song "The Wheels on the Bus
" (which he sings while watching Tiny Toon Adventures
) before recording the episode. The original script featured Jerry watching the TV series Flipper
. It was changed due to concerns over music rights
.
"The Contest" is referenced in other Seinfeld episodes. The first being "The Outing
", where the plot is that Jerry and George are mistakenly outed as gay. During the episode, when George visits his mother, there is a male patient in the hospital, who receives daily sponge baths from a male nurse. Although the winner of the contest is not mentioned, it is implied in "The Puffy Shirt
" that George was the winner. However, as the plane is going down in "The Finale
", it is revealed that George had actually cheated, therefore making Jerry the true winner. When Jerry asks him why he cheated George simply replies, "Because I'm a cheater!"
"The Contest" is referenced in the "Shaq" episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm
(S02E08), in which Larry David and Shaquille O'Neal
watch "The Contest" together. Shaq also refers to this episode as his favorite.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom, Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
. The eleventh episode of the fourth season, it aired on November 18, 1992. In the episode, George Costanza
George Costanza
George Louis Costanza is a character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" , "Lord of the Idiots" , and as "the greatest sitcom character of all time"...
tells Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld (character)
Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld is the main protagonist of the American television sitcom Seinfeld . The straight man among his group of friends, this semi-fictionalized version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was named after, co-created by, based on, and played by Seinfeld himself.The series revolves around...
, Elaine Benes
Elaine Benes
Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer...
and Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Michael Richards...
that his mother caught him unaware while he was masturbating
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
. The conversation results in George, Jerry, Elaine and Kramer entering into a contest to determine who can go for the longest period of time without masturbating.
The episode was controversial when broadcast because NBC thought that masturbation was not a topic suitable for prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
television. As a result, the word "masturbation" is never used in the episode. Instead, the subject is described using a series of euphemism
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
s, while the meaning of the subject is still made clear to the audience. The writer of the episode, Larry David
Larry David
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
, won the Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognizes writing excellence in regular comedic series, most of which can generally be described as situation comedies.Though this category is the dominant one...
for his work on the episode. One euphemism used in the episode is "master of my domain", said by a character when still in the contest. It has become a catchphrase in popular culture, although it is not always used in reference to masturbation.
Background
The fourth season of Seinfeld has a continuous story arcStory arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
, in which Jerry and George are writing a television pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
for NBC. In the previous episode, "The Virgin", Jerry had started dating Marla (played by Jane Leeves
Jane Leeves
Jane Leeves is an English film, stage, and television actress, comedienne and dancer.Leeves made her screen debut with a small role in the 1983 popular British comedy television show The Benny Hill Show. Leeves moved to the United States, where she performed in small roles until she secured a...
), a woman who is a virgin.
Plot
The episode begins with Jerry, Kramer and Elaine dining at Monk's CafeMonk's Cafe
Monk's Café is a fictional coffee shop from the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. The exterior of Tom's Restaurant on the corner of West 112th Street and Broadway, near Columbia University, is often shown on the show as the exterior of Monk's, though the interiors were shot on a sound stage. The coffee shop is...
. George enters and says, "My mother caught me." When asked what, he says, "I was alone," and he goes on to imply that his mother caught him masturbating in her house while reading Glamour Magazine
Glamour magazine
Glamour magazine means:* Glamour magazine, a U.S. publication aimed at a predominantly female readership* a girlie magazine aimed at a male readership featuring photographs of women...
, resulting in her falling over in shock and ending up in the hospital. George says he'll never do that again, and when Jerry expresses skepticism at this, they make a $100 bet over who can go the longest without masturbating. Kramer then joins the bet, as does Elaine. However, Elaine is forced to bet $150, because the men claim that it is harder for men not to masturbate, as it is part of a man's "lifestyle".
Kramer is first out, due to the presence of a beautiful woman in the apartment across the street who walked around naked with the curtains open. The others are distracted by various temptations. George is distracted in the hospital his mother is staying at by another attractive woman who receives daily sponge baths from an equally attractive female nurse. Elaine attends a fitness club which is also attended by John F. Kennedy, Jr.
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. , often referred to as John F. Kennedy, Jr., JFK Jr., John Jr. or John-John, was an American socialite, magazine publisher, lawyer, and pilot. The elder son of U.S. President John F...
Jerry is tempted by the naked woman across the street and frustrated because the woman he's dating won't have sex with him, since she is a virgin.
The contest affects their sleep, and the remaining contestants suffer insomnia
Insomnia
Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
, while only Kramer (who has been eliminated) can sleep peacefully. Elaine shares a ride with Kennedy, and she tells him that she lives near Jerry in order to extend the ride. She then learns that Kennedy wants to meet, and says he'll drop by Jerry's apartment. Eventually, the pressure becomes too much for her and she is the second person to be knocked out of the contest.
While making out on the couch, Marla asks Jerry if they can have sex, claiming that she is ready. However, Jerry then tells Marla about the contest, prompting Marla to leave in disgust. Elaine believes that Kennedy has changed his mind and not bothered to see her. George then tells Elaine that Kennedy did come, but missed her and went with Marla. They then see Kramer with the naked woman across the street. That night, everyone except Jerry has a good sleep, implying that maybe Jerry won, but there are two later references in the series to George having won. Marla is seen in the closing night segment, thanking John for a great sexual encounter. In a later episode, "The Puffy Shirt
The Puffy Shirt
"The Puffy Shirt" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It was the 66th episode and originally aired on September 23, 1993. Larry David, the creator of the show, cites this episode as one of his favorites in the series.-Plot:George is upset because he is...
", George has a brief new career as a hand model, and is warned about a previous model that ruined his career by deforming his hands through too-frequent masturbation. George replies: "You don't have to worry about me. I won a contest." Second, in The Finale, George is shown to be the victor, but thinking he's about to die in a plane crash, he admits to Jerry that he cheated.
Production
The episode was written by Larry David. Kenny KramerKenny Kramer
Kenny Kramer is an American stand-up comedian and is the real-life inspiration for the character of Cosmo Kramer from the television sitcom Seinfeld.-Pre-Seinfeld:...
claimed that there actually was a "Contest" in which David and some friends of his took part, although he did not initially want to take part because he thought he could not win it. David won the contest. When David came up with using the idea for an episode of Seinfeld, he did not talk about it with Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
for a considerable time, because he thought the episode was impossible for him to pitch. However, Seinfeld thought it was not offensive. The original script was not revealed until the night before the cast read-through. The first version written by David was not as clean as the one later broadcast. The note from the censor claimed that David should not use the word "Snapple". Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
thought that the episode would never go ahead due to the subject matter. Seinfeld decided it would be better to remove any references to what George actually did. Seinfeld claimed that what was noteworthy about "The Contest" was the "Dovetailing" of the stories. He claimed that it probably would have been possible to have used the word "Masturbation" in the episode (it is notable that in an earlier episode that season, "The Ticket" George says "you must have a good story otherwise it's just masturbation") although it would have probably ended up not being as funny. Part of the opening scene of the episode contains some of the script that was originally meant to be used in "The Seinfeld Chronicles", the original pilot episode.
"The Contest" is the first episode to feature Estelle Costanza as an on-screen character. Estelle Harris
Estelle Harris
Estelle Harris is an American stand-up comedienne, actress, voice artist, and comedienne, often recognized for her shrill, grating voice. She is best known for her role as Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld from 1992 to 1998, as the voice of Mrs...
, who played the character, had not seen Seinfeld before she auditioned for the role. The cast and crew commented positively on the similarity in appearance between Harris and Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
, as it made it more believable that their characters could be related. Alexander's real-life mother looks similar to Harris.
Rachel Sweet
Rachel Sweet
Rachel Sweet is an American singer, television writer and actress.-Biography:After beginning her singing career at the age of three, when she won an electric garage door opener in a singing contest, she began recording commercials at the age of six, toured with Mickey Rooney, and performed in Las...
has a cameo role in this episode as George's cousin Shelly. She appears in the scene with George and his mother in the hospital.
There are two deleted scenes in "The Contest". One features Joyce, the teacher of Elaine's fitness class, in the opening scene talking to Elaine, Jerry and Kramer. The second features George and Estelle Costanza in the hospital, where the female patient has been moved to the room next-door after Estelle complained about her nakedness.
Reception
"The Contest" is considered to be one of the best Seinfeld episodes, winning several awards and positive reviews from the critics. David won a Primetime Emmy AwardPrimetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognizes writing excellence in regular comedic series, most of which can generally be described as situation comedies.Though this category is the dominant one...
for the episode. He also won a Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
for his work on the episode. Director Tom Cherones
Tom Cherones
Tom Cherones is an American director and producer of several TV series.-Early life:He grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where his father operated a radio and TV repair shop. His grandfather was a Greek immigrant. From 1961 to 1965, he was a lieutenant in the United States Navy...
won a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series for this episode. He was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series is an Emmy presented to the best directing of a television comedy series.-1960s:*1960: Ralph Levy / Bud Yorkin – Jack Benny Hour Specials...
. TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
ranked the episode #1 on its list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".
"The Contest" received a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 13/19, meaning that the episode was watched by an average of 13% of households and 19% of all televisions were tuned to the episode when it was broadcast. Approximately 18.5 million people watched the episode then. The first repeat of the episode gave Seinfeld its highest ratings up till that point, with a 20.1/30 Nielsen Rating. It also received only 31 complaints from viewers, despite the subject matter. There were worries from advertisers who did not want to advertise during the episode due to the topics that were being discussed. However, most regular advertisers did not broadcast adverts during the show because the series did not have good ratings at the time.
The episode is considered by most reviewers as a success for being able to cover a controversial subject in an inoffensive manner. Jonathan Boudreaux for tvdvdreviews.com said, "The Emmy-winning script by Larry David
Larry David
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American actor, writer, comedian and producer. He is best known as the co-creator , head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in...
introduced the brilliant euphemism 'master of my domain' to our lexicon and helped the series to truly become must-see TV. We know what the episode is about, but the script never explicitly says it. 'The Contest' effortlessly takes a potentially incendiary subject and renders it utterly inoffensive yet hilarious." He also said that "The Contest" episode was "one of the series' most infamous". Donna Dorsett from audaud.com commented on the refusal to use the word "masturbation", saying, "If the word had been used, even once, the show would not have been nearly as hilarious. The episode was totally inoffensive."
James Plath from DVD Town said, "Estelle Harris, as George's mother, is hilarious." John F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to have had no problem with appearing as a character in the episode, although he himself did not appear in the show, his role being played by an actor who is not named in the credits.
Cultural references
This is the second Seinfeld episode to feature Elaine's fondness for the Kennedy familyKennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
, the first being "The Baby Shower". JFK Jr., who "appears" in this episode, was killed in a plane crash on July 16, 1999. Jerry Seinfeld claimed that he had never heard of the song "The Wheels on the Bus
The Wheels on the Bus
"The Wheels on the Bus" is a popular children's song in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. It is popular on journeys to keep children amused and has a very repetitive rhythm. In particular it is sung by pre-teens on bus journeys...
" (which he sings while watching Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
) before recording the episode. The original script featured Jerry watching the TV series Flipper
Flipper (1964 TV series)
Flipper, from Ivan Tors Films in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, is an American television program first broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the companion animal of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at fictional Coral Key Park...
. It was changed due to concerns over music rights
Music licensing
Music licensing is the licensed use of copyrighted music. Music licensing is intended to ensure that the creators of musical works get paid for their work. A purchaser of recorded music owns the media on which the music is stored, not the music itself...
.
"The Contest" is referenced in other Seinfeld episodes. The first being "The Outing
The Outing
"The Outing" is the fifty-seventh episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 17th episode of the fourth season, and first aired on February 11, 1993.The line ".....
", where the plot is that Jerry and George are mistakenly outed as gay. During the episode, when George visits his mother, there is a male patient in the hospital, who receives daily sponge baths from a male nurse. Although the winner of the contest is not mentioned, it is implied in "The Puffy Shirt
The Puffy Shirt
"The Puffy Shirt" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It was the 66th episode and originally aired on September 23, 1993. Larry David, the creator of the show, cites this episode as one of his favorites in the series.-Plot:George is upset because he is...
" that George was the winner. However, as the plane is going down in "The Finale
The Finale (Seinfeld episode)
"The Finale" is the name given to the final two episodes of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. They were the 179th and 180th episodes of the show and the 23rd and 24th episodes of the ninth season. It aired on May 14, 1998 to an audience of 76 million viewers...
", it is revealed that George had actually cheated, therefore making Jerry the true winner. When Jerry asks him why he cheated George simply replies, "Because I'm a cheater!"
"The Contest" is referenced in the "Shaq" episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
(S02E08), in which Larry David and Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
watch "The Contest" together. Shaq also refers to this episode as his favorite.
External links
- The Contest, Seinfeldscripts.com