"The Serenity Now"

Seinfeld episode

Episode no.

Season 9
Episode 3

Directed by

Andy Ackerman

Written by

Steve Koren

Production code

903

Original air date

October 9, 1997

Guest appearances

Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza
Estelle Harris as Estelle Costanza
Lori Loughlin as Patty
Matt McCoy as Lloyd Braun
Richard Fancy as Lippman
Ross Malinger as Adam Lippman
Bruce Mahler as Rabbi Glickman
Ruth Cohen as Ruthie Cohen (uncredited)

Episode chronology

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Seinfeld (season 9)

List of episodes

"The Serenity Now" is the 159th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the third episode of the ninth and final season.^[1] It aired in the U.S. on October 9, 1997.^[2] In this episode, George competes with his childhood rival Lloyd Braun at selling computers for his father Frank, and Elaine finds herself being hit on by every Jewish male she knows, including Jerry, who is experiencing emotions for the first time.

Plot

An instructional tape advises Frank Costanza to say "serenity now" every time he gets angry in order to keep his blood pressure down. Frank hires his son George and George's childhood rival, Lloyd Braun, as computer telemarketers. George is so determined to sell more than Lloyd, he purchases numerous computers and stores them in Kramer's apartment, planning to get refunds after. Lloyd is fired when George appears to outsell him. Before he leaves, Lloyd warns George the "serenity now" mantra is actually harmful, as it bottles up emotions.

Jerry's girlfriend Patty observes that he never gets angry, and concludes he is repressing his emotions. At her continued goading, Jerry expresses real anger for the first time. Uplifted by the release of emotion, Jerry begins expressing anger all the time, driving Patty to break up with him. He begins experiencing other newfound emotions; he cries over Patty leaving him, tells George and Kramer he loves them, and asks Elaine to marry him.

Elaine goes to the bar mitzvah of her ex-boss Mr. Lippman's son Adam. Adam celebrates by giving her a French kiss. Word gets around, and she is invited to six more bar mitzvahs. When she tells Adam the kiss was inappropriate, he bitterly renounces Judaism, and Mr. Lippman French kisses her. George tells Elaine that it's because Jewish men are attracted to non-Jewish women, a concept called shiksappeal. She is skeptical at first, but after Jerry's proposal Elaine consults Rabbi Glickman for advice on how to eliminate her shiksappeal. He comes on to her as well.

Kramer is inspired to turn the hallway area outside his apartment door to resemble a front porch in "Anytown, USA", with lawn chairs, potted plants, American flag, wind chimes, and screen door. This draws vandalism from kids. He uses Frank's "serenity now" mantra but eventually his pent-up anger releases and he takes it out by smashing all of George's computers. When George suggests that Lloyd's sales should offset this financial disaster, Frank reveals that he never even plugged in the phone Lloyd made sales calls on; he apparently just played along with Lloyd's delusional "sales" so George would have someone to compete against.

To ease George's resulting despondency, Jerry urges him to confess all his emotions, which disturb Jerry so much he becomes emotionally repressed again. Elaine accepts Jerry's proposal, but he is no longer interested. Frank and Estelle fight over his use of the garage as an office. At George's suggestion, Frank uses a new relaxation phrase "Hoochie Mama" when an angry Estelle tries to park in the garage.

Production

While driving with his arguing parents, writer Steve Koren was bewildered to hear his father shout "Serenity now!" at the top of his lungs as part of a rage controlling exercise he had heard about from an audio tape, and questioned whether the phrase was meant to be yelled. He ended up basing many of the episode's George scenes on conversations with his parents.^[3]

Most scenes in the episode were filmed before a studio audience on September 10, 1997.^[4]

As typical for a Seinfeld episode, a number of scenes were cut to get the episode to fit into its time slot, including a scene in the Costanza garage which parodied the "always be closing" scene from Glengarry Glen Ross.^[3] Some of the other cuts were Frank giving George a can of motor oil and a funnel in lieu of the Water Pik which he failed to wrestle away from Estelle, Jerry calling Patty after their breakup and apologizing for serenading her with "I Want to Know What Love Is", and Jerry suggesting to Elaine that she go with David Puddy to the bar mitzvah, reasoning that by that time they will have gotten back together after their latest breakup.^[4] Additionally, in the first draft Elaine is more frank with Jerry when accepting his marriage proposal, saying that she needs to take herself off the market to escape the nightmare of her "shiksappeal" and regards Jerry as slightly better than dying alone.^[4]

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