Seinfeld: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Contest Episode
When Seinfeld hit screens in the late '80s, it was the first of its kind . A show about the day-to-day lives of four friends (Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza, Elaine Benes, and Cosmo Kramer) in New York City, we saw all the funniest highs and lows with this crazy bunch. But out of nine seasons and 180 episodes, there's one episode that stands out among the rest: "The Contest." This Season 4 episode won Larry David (the show's creator and writer) a Primetime Emmy Award for its writing.
In short, the episode takes place when George gets caught pleasuring himself to his mother's Glamour Magazine, which put her in the hospital. Due to George's humiliation, the famous foursome makes a bet to see who could last the longest without, you know, having some me time. Let's take a look back at some things we didn't know about everyone's favorite Seinfeld episode.
10 'THE CONTEST' WAS ESTELLE'S FIRST APPEARANCE
Throughout the years, George and Jerry's parents become pretty involved in the show but it's in this episode that we meet Estelle Costanza for the first time. Looking back on the series, it feels like George's parents have always been a part of the show, but "The Contest" was special.
Without Estelle in this episode, the bet would never be put in place, which is the entire reason for the episode. Estelle did a great job of hounding her son for thinking he had an addiction. As she said, doesn't George have anything better to do at three in the afternoon?
9 ESTELLE HARRIS NEVER SAW THE SHOW BEFORE SHE AUDITIONED
Estelle Harris does a phenomenal job as the stereotypical nagging, overbearing Jewish mother. She always wants to have tabs on George and seems to be arguing even when she's not arguing. And as it turns out, before her opening role as Estelle Costanza in "The Contest," Estelle Harris never saw Seinfeld before auditioning. She just gave it her best and it became one of her most notable roles.
8 GEORGE'S TIC TAC SNACK WAS IMPROVISED
After Estelle fell and landed herself in the hospital, George visited her daily out of remorse. However, his mother's health became the second reason he started visiting the hospital... Considering Geroge wasn't able to masturbate, he took pleasure in the fact that the woman sharing his mother's hospital room got a sponge bath every evening at 6:30 pm.
In one scene, George arrives around 6:30 — just before the woman's bath. And just as the nurse arrives, Estelle asks George to run down the street and grab her a sandwich because she's tired of eating hospital food. When he tells her she's gonna have to wait, he flings a box of Tic Tacs on her bed for her to snack on. As it turns out, that entire scene was improvised by Jason Alexander himself.
7 JERRY, IS SOMEONE ELSE IN YOUR APARTMENT?
According to some eagle-eyed viewers, there's a slight goof in the scene where Jerry is making out with Marla. Apparently, you can see a reflection of someone behind the camera walking by the bathroom window. Since most of the apartment is dark during their make-out session, the reflection can be quickly seen.
For Jerry, making out with Marla doesn't help his cause. It only makes him more turned on and he has no way of release. Marla eventually decides Jerry's the one she wants to lose her virginity to but decides against it when she learns there's a bet involved.
6 THE ACTUAL WORD FOR THE ACT IS NEVER ACTUALLY USED
Shockingly enough, although the entire episode is about masturbation, the word isn't uttered once. Without the word being said, the less controversial the episode would appear to execs at NBS. According to Larry David, due to the nature of the content, he wasn't sure if NBC was going to pick up the episode, but it was given the green light.
Truth be told, the fact that the episode didn't say the word "masturbation" once made it even funnier. We all knew what was happening without anyone having to outright say it.
5 THE EPISODE WAS BASED ON TRUE EVENTS
If you think this situation is too funny to be true, you'd be wrong. Larry David based "The Contest" on real events. Back in the '80s, David and a friend made a bet about who could last the longest without doing it. He doesn't remember what the cash prize was but he does remember that he lasted the longest and ultimately won the bet. Larry David had the idea circling around for quite some time but never knew what Jerry Seinfeld would think of it or if NBC would even green light it. Thankfully, everyone was on board and it ended up winning David a Primetime Emmy.
4 ONE OF THE BEST-RATED OUT OF THE SERIES
Out of 180 episodes and nine seasons of hilarious content, "The Contest" was literally no contest compared to other Seinfeld episodes. Over 18 million people watched the episode and it was even on TV Guide's list of "100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time" in 2009, coming in first place. An episode based around adult masturbation without specifically talking about it was exactly what gave Seinfeld the leg up in sitcom history.
3 A SMALL JACKET GOOF
Although the boys are against Elaine joining the bet (thinking girls have it easier than boys), they eventually let her join. While the men are having issues ignoring their body's primal — and normal — urge to release tension, Elaine was smooth sailing until a very handsome John F. Kennedy JR. joined her aerobics class.
After briefly speaking to John-John, the woman at the gym told Elaine that he was taken by her and wanted to meet her again. Out of pure elation, Elaine grabs the woman's shoulders so roughly that her jacket falls off to the side. However, when the camera pans back to the woman at the front desk, her jacket is perfectly fitted — as if nothing happened. It's a small goof but a goof all the same.
2 THE CIRCLE OF POWER
While Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George are at the diner and make the bet, they all put their hands together in agreement and let out a screeching noise. This little circle of solidarity isn't just something they group-improvised for the scene. It's apparently something they all do before filming an episode, too. As a superstition, the group meets in Jerry's bathroom where they do the same thing. According to Mental Floss, they call it "The Circle of Power."
1 THE MILK FLUB
Another small blooper that fans noticed in "The Contest" is the timeframe. George claims he stopped by his parents' home and decided to do the deed because his parents were both at work. However, when Estelle is replaying the scene to us, she says she stepped out of the house for a quart of milk and came home to see her son defiling her Glamour Magazine. She, in fact, was not at work when this entire situation took place.
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