"The Cartoon” is the thirteenth episode of the ninth and final season of Seinfeld, and the 169th episode overall. This episode first aired on January 29, 1998.
Plot
Kramer again gets Jerry into trouble, by revealing what he truly thinks of Susan Ross' old college roommate Sally Weaver (Kathy Griffin).
Elaine obsesses over the meaning of a cartoon that appears in The New Yorker. Elaine and later Kramer comments that George's new girlfriend (Tracy Nelson) looks a lot like Jerry. In fact Kramer tells George, "Just because they look alike, that doesn't mean you're secretly in love with Jerry." Jerry confronts Kramer's frankness. Sally claims that Jerry has ruined her life and she's quitting the business. Jerry can't have that on his conscience; he talks her back into the business. Kramer makes an important life decision: the only way to keep his mouth shut is to stop talking. Before he finally stops talking, Kramer's constant references to the looks of George's girlfriend drive George out of Jerry's apartment.
Elaine goes to The New Yorker offices to seek an explanation for the cartoon. She discovers that the editor (Paul Benedict) didn't understand the cartoon either – he simply "liked the kitty". Sally opens her new one-woman show about "Jerry Seinfeld, the Devil". Elaine's complaint gets her the opportunity to do her own cartoon for the magazine. Jerry confronts Sally about the content of her show. Newman is her biggest fan; finally, he can see a "show that is about something". Kramer discovers the disadvantages of not talking. George worries about why he really likes his girlfriend. A clip of Sally's show appears on Channel 9 news; it features Jerry's latest confrontation with her. Jerry calls Sally and the message he leaves on her answering machine appears in her show as well. Later the lawsuit he filed appears in her cable special. Jerry decides to cut off all communication with Sally. Elaine's first comic appears in The New Yorker. J. Peterman thinks it is a great cartoon until he realizes it is a Ziggy.
George and his girlfriend discuss their relationship, until she gets chewing gum in her hair. Sally starts talking to the silent Kramer, until he can't take it anymore. He tells her to shut up, and then he apologizes and says that he hasn't spoken for days. Sally tells him to lay it on her. To remove the gum from her hair, George's girlfriend cuts her hair; her new hairstyle looks exactly like Jerry's. Sally's new cable show is about to come on and Jerry is convinced she'll have nothing to talk about, and is proven wrong because Kramer talked with Sally at Monk's Coffee Shop. George decides to take a few days off from his "relationship" with Jerry.
Notes About Nothing
- The Sally Weaver storyline in this episode was inspired after Kathy Griffin ridiculed Jerry Seinfeld during her HBO stand-up special, alleging that he was rude to her during her appearance in the episode "The Doll". Seinfeld was so amused by this that he began showing the clip of her stand-up routine during the audience warm up before taping of the show and incorporated it into this episode.