Random Worst Episodes Of 'Seinfeld' (12 items)

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  (#11) The Gum

  • Dec 14 1995

  George's childhood nemesis, Lloyd Braun, makes an appearance in "The Gum," having recently been released from a psychiatric institution, or, as George put it, "The nuthouse." Meanwhile, Kramer is working to restore a run-down movie theater whle Jerry is pulled into Braun and George's issues when he reluctantly agrees to buy Chinese chewing gum. Much of the episode's activity centers around Elaine's cleavage, as it's the driving force for many of the interactions seen throughout.

  Why it falls short: The problem with "The Gum" is that it focuses entirely too much attention on Elaine's breasts. Sure, it's funny for a cheap laugh here and there, but it was overused and abused too many times in this episode. 
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  (#1) The Dog

  • Oct 09 1991

  When Jerry finds himself on a flight next to a boorish alcoholic, he does whatever he can to stop their conversation. The man doesn't pick up on Jerry's disinterest in him, and when he suffers from some sort of medical attack, Jerry's proximity to the man makes him the default go-to to care for his dog, Farfel. The canine in question was never seen on screen but was clearly meant to be a large, aggressive, and nonstop-barking creature. Jerry hates caring for the animal and finally gets rid of it when the man shows up weeks after his medical debacle.

  Why it falls short: One of the features of this episode was the relationship between George and Elaine. Because of the dog, Jerry wasn't able to do much with the group, which left them having to hang out with one another. They felt uncomfortable without their Jerry buffer, which was strange because their relationship seemed very friendly up to this point in the series. It didn't make much sense for the characters, and while the episode works as a standalone, it falls flat when compared to the series as a whole.
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  (#9) The Mango

  • Sep 16 1993

  When Elaine admits to having faked her orgasms with Jerry, he suffers a devastating blow to his male pride and ego. He ends up pestering her throughout the episode while simultaneously calling all the women he'd slept with to see if they faked it as well. While that is going on, George finds that his libido has taken a hit, and only overcomes his issue when he eats a mango offered by Kramer, who can talk of nothing else.

  Why it falls short: It isn't a beloved episode, mostly due to the fact that a lot of people who watched it were offended. While the episode aimed to tackle racy issues like orgasms, libido, and the like, the plot was both stale and unoriginal, seeming more like a rehash of "The Ex-Girlfriend", which is also one this list.
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  (#8) The Chinese Woman

  • Oct 13 1994

  When George's telephone line is crossed with a Chinese Woman named Donna Chang, Jerry decides to ask her out on a date. His interest in a Chinese woman compelled him to do it, but when he meets her, he finds that she's a blonde Caucasian woman from Long Island. He somewhat reluctantly continues to see her, and after she gives some advice to George's mother to help with her separation from his father, it all blows up when she's revealed to Mrs. Costanza as a white woman.

  Why it falls short: This is another episode that plays on stereotypes and a little "light racism." There's even a discussion about it in the show, where Elaine asks if Jerry's interest in a woman based on her perceived race was racism, and he replied that it couldn't be if he likes the race. That's cutting it pretty close to the edge, and overall, the episode simple hasn't aged well.
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  (#5) The Deal

  • May 02 1991

  In "The Deal," Jerry and Elaine attempt to do the unthinkable: they work out a set of rules that allows them to sleep with one another, and not cross any lines that would endanger their friendship. While it works out in the beginning, the typical issues relating to such a liaison end up causing conflict, and their friendship is almost ruined as a result.

  Why it falls short: The episode was written solely to please the NBC brass, who continuously demanded that Jerry and Elaine get back together. The series was never about a "will they, or won't they" kind of dynamic, which is why Elaine was introduced as Jerry's ex-girlfriend whom he became close friends with. Larry David reluctantly wrote the episode, but in doing so, he proved it would never work. In some ways, it's ingenious, and while it helped the series stay on the air with NBC's approval, it left fans with an episode that disrupted the normal flow of the show, and ultimately, didn't go anywhere.
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  (#3) Male Unbonding

  • Jun 14 1990

  Jerry is plagued by a childhood friend he no longer likes named Joel Horneck. He and George reason that he never stopped hanging out with him because he's a man, and the best way to end their relationship would be to treat him like a woman he was breaking up with. He gives it a shot, and the man breaks down in tears. Elaine makes her first appearance in the show and offers her advice in killing the relationship, and Kramer hatches his latest get-rich-quick scheme: a pizza place where you make your own pie.

  Why it falls short: This was the fourth episode of the series, and it introduced Elaine, but she wasn't given much to do. This is addressed later in the series when the two men admit that they didn't know how to write for a woman, which was effectively a callback to her earlier appearances. There were some funny points throughout the episode, but the overall storyline about Jerry breaking up with an old childhood friend isn't incredibly memorable and made for a weak episode.

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