The Suicide

The Suicide
Season	3
Episode	32
Air Date	January 29, 1992
Writer(s)	Tom Leopold
Director	Tom Cherones
prev	The Pez Dispenser
next	The Fix-Up

"The Suicide" is the 15th episode of of the third season of Seinfeld and the 32nd overall. It premiered on January 29, 1992. The episode was written by Tom Leopold and directed by Tom Cherones.

Plot

Jerry's neighbor, Martin, tries to commit suicide and ends up in the hospital. There he meets his girlfriend, Gina, who immediately starts to flirt with Jerry.

Meanwhile, George and Elaine visit a pregnant psychic who tells George to cancel his trip to the Cayman Islands. When Elaine scolds the psychic, Rula, for smoking while pregnant, she kicks them out and George never finds out why she wanted him to cancel his trip. Playing it safe, he sells his tickets to Kramer.

When Jerry sees his neighbor, Newman, who is also his nemesis and Martin's friend, he worries that Newman has seen him with Gina. He offers to give Newman a Drake's Coffee Cake he has in exchange for his secrecy, but much to his dismay, Elaine has eaten the entire cake due to her lack of willpower during her three-day fast for her ulcer test. Newman tells Martin about the affair as soon as he wakes up, and Jerry is choked.

Kramer returns from the Cayman Islands only to reveal that he had an amazing trip, and the one downside was that he was mildly stung by a jellyfish, presumably the bad thing that the psychic predicted.

Notes About Nothing

• This episode sees the first appearance of Newman played by Wayne Knight, although the character also featured off-screen in "The Revenge" with Larry David providing the voice.
  • This episode also features the first "Hello, Newman."
• Kramer and Jerry discuss Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a controversial American pathologist. Between 1990 and 1998 Kevorkian assisted in the suicide of over 100 terminally ill people by attaching them to a device he created - the 'Suicide Machine' referenced in the script. You can learn more about Dr. Kevorkian on Wikipedia.
• Jerry discusses Rasputin. Grigori Rasputin was a peasant in Siberia, Russia, born 1869. After failing to become a monk, Rasputin became a wanderer and eventually entered the court of Czar Nicholas II because of his alleged healing powers.
• Jerry references Sunny von Bülow. Sunny von Bülow was an American heiress and socialite. Her husband, Claus, was convicted of attempting her murder by insulin overdose, but the conviction was overturned on appeal.
• Martin pushes over a Sabrett's Hot Dog stand. Sabrett's Hot Dog stands are carts manned by vendors selling hot dogs. They are known for the blue & yellow umbrellas over the pushcarts.
• Jerry references the Three Stooges. The Three Stooges were an American comedy act best known for their short films, still syndicated to television. Their hallmark was violent farce and slapstick.
• Rula's building super is an Israeli commando. Israeli commandos serve in the special forces units in the Israel Defense Forces.
• Drake's Coffee Cake is a confection with cinnamon streusel topping distributed primarily in the Northeastern United States.

Quotes

• "Who goes on vacation without a job? What do you need, a break from getting up at eleven?" - Jerry
• "I don't go for these non-refundable deals. I can't commit to a woman. I'm not committing to an airline." - Jerry
• "I can't believe [Martin is] in a coma. He's got my vacuum cleaner! You know I loaned it to him. He never returned it. The carpets are filthy!" - Kramer
• "The carpet sweeper is the biggest scam perpetrated on the American public since One Hour Martinizing." - Kramer
• "How do they know the dog food's any good? Who tastes it?!" - Elaine
• "I never assisted in a birth before. It's really quite disgusting." - George
• "But here it was: mountains of duck! And not fatty duck either, but juicy, tender breasts of duck!" -Elaine