There’s been plenty of discuss in regards to the final episode of Seinfeld this 12 months after Curb Your Enthusiasm basically remade the controversial finale, giving Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld a religious do-over. Sadly, Larry and Jerry didn’t proceed to rewrite previous embarrassments by, say, touring again in time to cease Jerry from ziplining throughout Parisian rooftops in a Bee Film costume.
However lengthy earlier than Curb revisited the ending of Seinfeld (which was good, really), Jerry Seinfeld bought the chance so as to add an epilogue of kinds to the finale, because of Saturday Night time Dwell and the solid of Oz.
Do not Miss
In 1999, Seinfeld hosted SNL’s twenty fifth season premiere with musical visitor David Bowie. Coming only one week after the Saturday Night time Dwell twenty fifth Anniversary Particular, and 5 months after the Seinfeld finale aired, Seinfeld used the opening monologue to joke about all of the free time he immediately needed to watch Wings reruns and date married ladies.
However the spotlight of the episode (different Chris Parnell’s “clownpenis.fart” industrial, after all) was a pre-taped sketch that adopted the Jerry Seinfeld character after the occasions of the final episode. As everyone knows, the ultimate moments of Seinfeld’s “The Finale” discovered the gang being sentenced to a 12 months in jail for violating a great samaritan regulation, and Jerry trying to do stand-up for his fellow inmates. It doesn’t go effectively.
Within the SNL bit, we get to see extra of Jerry adapting to life behind bars, however for some cause he’s within the intensely brutal jail from HBO’s Oz.
Jerry really finds some facets of jail life interesting, reminiscent of “the outlet,” or solitary confinement. “You understand they throw you in bare. It’s like a spa,” Jerry muses.
Jerry additionally bought the prospect to befriend, and focus on the petty trivialities of life, with Oz characters reminiscent of Beeche — presumably as a result of George and Kramer have already been shivved to demise at this level. Jerry even references the Seinfeld episode the place his girlfriend “was at all times carrying the identical gown” whereas discussing how Beecher took a dump on one other prisoner’s face.
And J.Okay. Simmons exhibits up as his terrifying white supremacist menace Vernon Schillinger. Jerry’s assembly with the horrifically anti-Semitic Schillinger goes over about in addition to his introduction to that vindictive doorman.
He additionally parodies the enduring episode “The Contest,” however with a disturbing Oz twist that I don’t even wish to describe, to be trustworthy.
Weirdly, the 12 months after this episode aired, Oz itself made a sly reference to the SNL sketch. Augustus Hill, performed by Harold Perrineau, learns {that a} native TV star is visiting the jail and remarks, “Subsequent we’ll have Seinfeld in right here.”
On reflection, HBO and NBC in all probability left a billion {dollars} on the desk by not collaborating to show this transient crossover right into a full sequence.
You (sure, you) ought to observe JM on Twitter (if it nonetheless exists by the point you’re studying this).