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"The Alternate Side"

Seinfeld episode

Episode no.

Season 3
Episode 11

Directed by

Tom Cherones

Written by

Larry David and Bill Masters

Production code

310

Original air date

December 4, 1991

Guest appearances

Jay Brooks as Sid
Janet Zarish as Rental Car Agent
Edward Penn as Owen
Jeff Barton as Paramedic

Episode chronology

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"The Stranded"

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"The Red Dot"

Seinfeld (season 3)

List of episodes

"The Alternate Side" is the 28th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. The episode was the 11th episode of the show's third season,^[1] and aired on December 4, 1991.^[1]

The episode was written by Larry David and Bill Masters, and was directed by Tom Cherones. The idea for the Woody Allen story came from David's experiences working with Allen; he briefly appeared in Radio Days (1987) and New York Stories (1989). He would later have a lead role in Whatever Works (2009). The episode repeatedly uses the line "these pretzels are making me thirsty", one of the first popular lines to emerge from the show, which inspired fans to throw pretzels during Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up comedy performances during the few months following its premiere.

In 2012, Jerry Seinfeld identified this as his least-favorite episode, saying the stroke patient storyline made him feel uncomfortable.^[2]

Plot

Jerry's car is stolen and he is able to have a conversation with the thief (voiced by Larry David) on the car phone. Kramer asks the thief to retrieve his gloves and send them back to him. George takes a job moving people's cars from one side of the street to the other to comply with alternate side parking regulations, temporarily taking over the job for a man named Sid while he's away visiting his sick nephew. Elaine cares for her 66-year-old boyfriend, who has a stroke just before she is about to break up with him. Kramer gets a single line in a Woody Allen film: "These pretzels are making me thirsty."

Overwhelmed by his new job, George causes a car collision and traffic jam, making it take longer for the ambulance to reach Elaine's boyfriend, causing additional neural damage that could have been prevented. Due to the delays caused by George, a disgruntled Woody Allen says that he may never shoot a movie in New York City again. Additionally, George's poor performance causes many of Sid's long-time customers to cancel, resulting in Sid being unable to finance his nephew's operation to save his foot, meaning that doctors will need to amputate it. While filming his scene, Kramer is fired after slamming his beer mug on the bar and accidentally injuring Allen with a flying shard of glass. Kramer gets his gloves back from the car thief but has no information about the car, which irritates Jerry.

Critical reception

The New York Post listed the "pretzels" line as one of "Seinfeld's 25 greatest contributions to the English language."^[3] An article about Elaine's boyfriends, meanwhile, suggests that in the context of Woody Allen films, "perhaps Elaine's strange relationship with Owen, a senior citizen at 66, can be explained as some kind of Manhattan reference.".^[4] Another article, while criticizing Elaine's relationship with an older man as inappropriate, argued that it "went with her characterization to be superficial enough to choose men like this".^[5]

References

External links

Seinfeld episodes

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