This Seinfeld episode was so controversial that it was never filmed
Author: Robert Skuch Published
Self-censorship in the name of self-preservation is often seen as a sign of weakness, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil, especially when it comes to network television. What sounds like a good idea in the writers’ room quickly becomes a burden once it’s read aloud, and the cast and crew seinfeld They knew they would be in trouble if they approved “The Gamble.” This episode from Season 2 was scrapped before it even entered production due to its controversial handling of gun violence.
In this case, the complete cancellation of the event during the table reading was not the result of a last-minute intervention by an overbearing Standards and Practices Committee. This is seinfeld The actor himself thought the whole plot crossed a line and felt wrong.
Written by Larry Charles, who is still associated with seinfeld In Season 6, “The Bets” never quite materialized and was eventually replaced by “The Phone Message,” which Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David famously wrote in just two days to ensure the episode would still air. Ironically, “The Line” failed in the ratings despite being well-received, ultimately leading to the show being suspended for two months.
If “Stakes” comes to fruition at all, any backlash could completely destroy the show. seinfeld It doesn’t really find its feet until season three, and in these early stages, there’s very little room for error.
The “bet” breaks down
Reading the synopsis today, the premise of the scrapped series doesn’t sound particularly outrageous on paper. The structure follows the familiar A and B story format that most sitcoms rely on, but the A story is where things go off the rails. Elaine’s decision to buy a gun makes everyone involved reconsider filming the episode. Larry Charles, who has been working on the show’s sixth season, wrote the script with the intention of pushing the show forward. seinfeld Entering darker territory.
The B-story involves a bet between George and Jerry about whether Kramer hooked up with a flight attendant on a trip to Puerto Rico, which is pretty standard stuff. No controversy, only classics seinfeld Material that feels perfectly in tune with the show’s usual rhythms.
During the table reading, Julia Louis-Dreyfus flinched when she read one particular scene. In the film, Elaine points a gun purchased with Kramer’s help to her head and asks Jerry: “Jerry, where do you want it? The Kennedy gun? Or the McKinley gun?” while pointing the gun at her head and abdomen.
Louis-Dreyfus immediately expressed her concerns to Jason Alexander and Tom Cherones, who will co-direct the episode. After discussion, they agreed that the plot had gone far beyond the level of discomfort. The episode was shelved indefinitely, as the show needed to continue, Jerry seinfeld Larry David began writing the replacement.
appropriate constraints
While I generally disagree with censorship for its own sake, I support seinfeld The camp shelved “Stakes” before it could do real damage to the series. Today, it’s easy to forget how fragile the show was in its early days. we now realize seinfeld As it became a cultural juggernaut, that success was not guaranteed at the time of the initial reading.
The show’s first two seasons were slow going, unheard of by today’s standards. NBC saw the potential and allowed it to last far longer than most new shows can now. At such a critical time in the show’s run, shelving episodes that might alienate viewers is a smart move. It prevents the show from shooting itself in the foot, pun totally intended.
seinfeld Writer Larry Charles later admitted that he took the premise too far, and he never expressed any dissatisfaction with the decision. It’s hard to imagine him continuing to make the show if there was lingering resentment. He has publicly stated that the idea may be better received in later seasons once seinfeld Becoming a household name and having the ability to break away from more controversial shows like “The Race.”
The fun stuff must outweigh the controversy
Following one of comedy’s oldest rules, Charles enjoys the dark elements in “Stakes,” but acknowledges that if you want to slip into discomfort, the material has to be really funny. By his own admission, this is not the case. This is the measure by which all comedy lives and dies. Shock value on its own will almost always elicit mixed reactions unless it’s paired with something truly hilarious.
The irony is that when Jerry imagined the consequences of stealing cable in “Baby Shower” later in season two, he was actually shot to death in a dramatic way, which only reinforces this point. It’s a self-contained sequence of imagined violence that exists entirely within the show’s heightened reality, and is presented as absurd rather than provocative. This cartoonish logic is a far cry from the logic of Elaine’s disdain for the assassinated president, which would subject the show to greater scrutiny.
“The Bet” was written in the wrong voice at the wrong time. have seinfeld A huge success from the start, it could become a bold classic. Instead, it really has the potential to kill the show before it has a chance to become what we remember it now. Eventually, everyone involved came to the same conclusion organically, without a top-down order telling them to stop working.
seinfeld Now streaming on Netflix.
