Jerry ends up dating Keith Hernandez, who supposedly spit on Kramer and Newman, and then ends up breaking up with Jerry on a date for Elaine. Meanwhile, George tries to get an extension on his unemployment benefits by working at Vandelay Industries, located in Jerry's apartment and run by Jerry.
Our Commentary
Great OCB starts this beauty of an ep off that made my Top 50, but not Adam's. Keith Hernandez is a beaut as is George's opening remarks about being a chucker and how come no baseball team has been wiped off the face of the earth. We get a Vandelay Industries as well as our first of only 2 Kel Varnsens, who won't reappear until 9:20 The Puerto Rican Day. Hilarious stuff with Jerry explaining to George why he wouldn't hire him and ending the ep with a Kramer screwing everything up and Jerry's final line of "and you want to be my latex salesman." The whole premise of Jerry dating Keith is stimply magnificent. Finally, one of the most perfect spoofs of my favorite movie of all time, JFK brings this ep to greatness. The gravelly road - grassy knoll, second spitter - second shooter, back and to the left, the guy opening his umbrella, the magic loogie - magic bullet, dropping of the hat, dropping of the pen, Zapruta film, the whole scene in old style color film in slow motion, the father holding his child down on the ground so as not to get hit by the spit/bullet, off the temple to third and fourth rib, right wrist, pauses in midair, left turn, lands on left thigh, Newman being in both the show and movie and named Newma in the movie, and to finish the whole beautiful thing off, Jerry hasn't seen JFK. We'll continue this charade in the second ep (3:18 The Boyfriend Part 2), when we find out that it was Roger McDowell, and not Keith Hernandez who spit on them. Just a great, great ep. Adam - I too agree that the episode is great, yet I don't believe it deserves to be placed in the hall of fame, with such eps as 8:19 The Yada Yada and 9:2 The Voice.
EPISODE GUIDE from Jerry Seinfeld: The Entire Domain by Kathleen Tracy
34. "The Boyfriend" (February 12, 1992)
SUMMARY Jerry meets Keith Hernandez and acts like the two of them are dating. George tries to get an extension
on his unemployment benefits. Kramer and Newman hate Hernandez, believing he once spit on them. Jerry
supports the "second-spitter" theory. Keith is attracted to Elaine and breaks a "date" with Jerry to take her out.
OF SPECIAL NOTE This was the first hour-long episode of Seinfeld aired; in syndication, it is shown as two
separate episodes.
George uses the faux name Vandelay again, this time as the name of a company.
DIRECTOR Tom Cherones
TELEPLAY Larry David and Larry Levin
GUEST CAST Rae Allen (Mrs. Lenore Sokol); Richard Assad (Cabbie); Keith Hernandez (Himself)
