The Cartoon

"**The Cartoon**"
"The Cartoon"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 9; Episode 13
Directed by	Andy Ackerman
Written by	Bruce Eric Kaplan
Production code	913
Original air date	January 29, 1998
Guest appearances
	Wayne Knight as Newman; Kathy Griffin as Sally Weaver; John O'Hurley as J. Peterman; Paul Benedict as Mr. Elinoff; Tracy Nelson as Janet; Joe Urla as Dugan; Bart McCarthy as Cab Driver; Ruth Cohen as Ruthie Cohen (uncredited);
Episode chronology
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	Seinfeld season 9
	List of episodes

"The Cartoon" is the 169th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 13th episode for the ninth and final season.^[1] It aired on January 29, 1998.^[2]^[3] In this episode, aspiring actress Sally Weaver becomes a success with a show where she vilifies Jerry, Elaine struggles to see the humor in a cartoon that appears in The New Yorker, and George is disconcerted when Elaine and Kramer point out that the woman he is dating looks a lot like Jerry.

Plot

Kramer reveals Jerry's low opinion of Sally Weaver's acting directly to her when they meet on the street. After Sally claims that Jerry has ruined her life and she is quitting show business, Jerry is driven by guilt to recant his comments and encourage her to keep trying. Revitalized, Sally opens a new one-woman show called "Jerry Seinfeld, the Devil" where she complains about him, comically exaggerating his earlier criticism. The show is an instant success, consistently playing to sold-out crowds and appearing in TV clips. In private she is apologetic to Jerry, but in public she uses his petitions and legal maneuvers for her to stop as fresh material for her show. Jerry eventually wises up and cuts off all communication with Sally.

Elaine obsesses over the meaning of a cartoon that appears in The New Yorker. Elaine goes to The New Yorker offices to seek an explanation, but the editor does not understand the cartoon either. Elaine rails against the New Yorker's nonsensical cartoons; impressed, the editor hires her. She is frustrated that none of her friends or co-workers find her first New Yorker cartoon funny. Her boss J. Peterman sees it, and recognizes that it plagiarizes a Ziggy comic. Elaine supposes that she copied it subconsciously. Peterman publicizes the plagiarism, and a new Ziggy strip parodies Elaine's cartoon.

George begins dating a woman named Janet who looks like a female version of Jerry. Elaine and Kramer point out the resemblance, making George and Jerry uncomfortable, particularly after Kramer suggests that George is dating Janet because he has a repressed crush on Jerry. After Jerry rebukes Kramer for talking openly about such sensitive subjects, Kramer decides to stop talking and communicate non-verbally. George clings to vague memories of his first conversation with Janet, but she reminds him that the conversation was largely about how familiar she looks. She gets gum in her hair and cuts her hair short to get it out, making her hair look exactly like Jerry's. Terrified, George flees.

Sally runs into Kramer at Monk's and is happy about her new celebrity. Frustrated from being unable to voice his opinions on the recent developments in his friends' lives, Kramer breaks his vow of silence and tells her about Janet. Sally adds a bit on her show about Jerry forcing his friend to date women who look like him. Kramer renews his vow of silence.

Background

The episode was inspired by comedian Kathy Griffin's ridiculing Jerry Seinfeld during a stand-up comedy performance on HBO's HBO Comedy Half-Hour (airing October 18, 1996) where she stated that he was rude to her during her first appearance on the sitcom, in the episode "The Doll". Seinfeld was so amused by this that he wrote her a humorous letter congratulating her for it (reprinted in her memoir, Official Book Club Selection), added the clip of her routine as well as a clip of her being interviewed about the incident by Conan O'Brien to a video shown to audiences at Seinfeld tapings, and had it written into the series.^[4]^[5]^[6] Griffin said, given that this was one of the final ten episodes of Seinfeld, "I felt like it was part of history-making television."^[7]

The episode's writer, Bruce Eric Kaplan, had himself contributed many cartoons to The New Yorker, and he drew upon some of his own experiences for this part of the plot.^[8] Kaplan said of the cartoon subplot, "To me, the most interesting part of that story was the idea of not understanding a cartoon. ... Just because I’m a New Yorker cartoonist, that story actually wasn’t as personal as it may appear."^[9]

Production

The table read for the episode was held on January 8, 1998.^[10] The scenes in the Peterman office and theater were filmed on January 12, followed by the exterior scenes on January 13, and finally the live audience taping of the scenes in Jerry's apartment and Monk's cafe on January 14.^[10]

The filming ran well over the allotted time for the episode, surpassing 32 minutes, necessitating that some scenes be cut entirely in addition to the usual editing.^[8] During filming, the writers came up with a new closing line for a scene where Elaine argues with a co-worker who says he understands the "e-mail" cartoon in The New Yorker, which earned a big laugh from the studio audience.^[8] However, the scene ended up being among those cut to get the episode down to the correct running time. Other cuts included most of the scenes of Kramer maintaining his vow of silence.^[10]

Newman praising "Jerry Seinfeld Is the Devil" as "a show that's about something" is a self-deprecating reference to the popular description of Seinfeld as "a show about nothing."^[10]

The New Yorker tribute

On July 18, 2012, The New Yorker paid tribute to the episode. Contest #342 was a drawing of a pig at a complaint window. The winning caption was printed in the next August 27, 2012 issue of the magazine and read "Stop sending me spam!" It was submitted by Sean Lynch of Brooklyn, NY.^[11]

Reception

Vance Durgin of the Orange County Register wrote that the episode was "funny all the way, because of writing mostly true to the characters."^[12] Barbara Vancheri of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gave the episode a "7.5" on a ten-point scale.^[5]

References

^ "Seinfeld Season 9 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
^ "The Cartoon" - TV.com
^ Seinfeld: the totally unauthorized tribute (not that there's anything wrong with that) - David Wild - Three Rivers Press - pp. 63 (1998)
^ Walter, Tom (January 27, 1998). "Anti-Seinfeld routine gets comedian back on show", The Commercial Appeal, p. C4.
^ ^a ^b Vancheri, Barbara (January 31, 1998). "'Sein'-off", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, p. B12.
^ "Bringing the A-List to Its Knees" - The New York Times
^ Pergament, Alan (January 29, 1998). "Bashing Jerry in her HBO special earns Kathy Griffin a 'Seinfeld' break", The Buffalo News, p. C5.
^ ^a ^b ^c Carter, Bill (January 29, 1998). "On the set with: Jerry Seinfeld: Final Days, And Laughing All the Way", The New York Times, p. E1.
^ BEK to the Drawing Board: An Interview with Bruce Eric Kaplan, Hogan's Alley, 2001. Accessed May 30, 2021
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Seinfeld Season 9: Notes About Nothing - "The Butter Shave" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2007.
^ "Seinfeld" and Elaine's New Yorker Pig Cartoon : The New Yorker - Robert Mankoff - The New Yorker - July 18, 2012
^ Durgin, Vance (February 1, 1998). "Seinfeld Watch: The Final Season: An episode with reminders of the best", The Orange County Register, p. F4.

External links

[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 9 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved December 14, 2021.

[2] "The Cartoon" - TV.com

[3] Seinfeld: the totally unauthorized tribute (not that there's anything wrong with that) - David Wild - Three Rivers Press - pp. 63 (1998)

[4] Walter, Tom (January 27, 1998). "Anti-Seinfeld routine gets comedian back on show", The Commercial Appeal, p. C4.

[Vancheri-5] Vancheri, Barbara (January 31, 1998). "'Sein'-off", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, p. B12.

[6] "Bringing the A-List to Its Knees" - The New York Times

[7] Pergament, Alan (January 29, 1998). "Bashing Jerry in her HBO special earns Kathy Griffin a 'Seinfeld' break", The Buffalo News, p. C5.

[OnSetNYT-8] Carter, Bill (January 29, 1998). "On the set with: Jerry Seinfeld: Final Days, And Laughing All the Way", The New York Times, p. E1.

[9] BEK to the Drawing Board: An Interview with Bruce Eric Kaplan, Hogan's Alley, 2001. Accessed May 30, 2021

[NaN-10] Seinfeld Season 9: Notes About Nothing - "The Butter Shave" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2007.

[11] "Seinfeld" and Elaine's New Yorker Pig Cartoon : The New Yorker - Robert Mankoff - The New Yorker - July 18, 2012

[12] Durgin, Vance (February 1, 1998). "Seinfeld Watch: The Final Season: An episode with reminders of the best", The Orange County Register, p. F4.

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v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode