The countdown of my 10 favorite Seinfeld episodes continues (see 10 – 6 here).
#5 The Boyfriend—aka Vandelay Industries (1992)
This is such a great episode. Guest starring Keith Hernandez as Elaine’s (and Jerry’s) potential boyfriend, you get two legendary scenes. One is the magic loogie, and the other is Vandelay Industries.
Fun Fact: In 2017, a guy was accused of pretending to be an architect in a scam, and the New York AG called the case Operation Vandelay Industries.
#4 The Soup Nazi (1995)
I went to New York with some friends about 15 years ago, and one of the things we just had to do was go find the actual location of the real Soup Nazi restaurant. Yes, it was a real thing.
The real Soup Nazi’s name was Ali Yeganah. And according to writer Spike Feresten (via the Season 7 DVD Extras), Jerry Seinfeld and some others from the show went there for lunch weeks after the episode aired, and the guy was so mad about the episode that he launched into a rant, yelled “No soup for you!” and kicked them out.
#3 The Marine Biologist (1994)
One of the best endings to a Seinfeld episode ever. Jerry Seinfeld reportedly thinks this is the sitcom’s funniest scene.
“We got very lucky,” Seinfeld said of writing the scene. “Larry [David] and I came up with it the night before we were shooting. We wrote it late at night, and Jason memorized the whole speech in one day.”
Jerry Seinfeld (at the New Yorker Festival, 2017)
#2 The Strike—aka Festivus (1997)
Such a great episode. Hard to believe there’s another episode ahead of it on the list.
Fun Fact: Festivus was yesterday, December 23, and my grandnephew was born! 6.8 pounds and 18 inches, or about the size of a really large salami. It’s a Festivus miracle!
#1 The Contest (1992)
The best sitcom episode that ever was and ever will be. All these years later, I still can’t believe they did a show on this subject matter. And they never even mentioned the word, using the euphemism “master of my domain” instead, which made it even funnier.
“I don’t think any of us necessarily have a favorite episode, but we will all tell you ‘The Contest’ to a certain degree, because it’s the one that really changed the fortunes of the show.”
Jason Alexander (Interview with Archive of American Television)