Episode no. Season 3
Episode 4 Written by Larry David Original air date October 9, 1991 | Directed by Tom Cherones Production code 303 | |
"The Dog" is the 21st episode of Seinfeld. The episode was the fourth episode of the show's third season. It was written by series co-creator Larry David and first aired on October 9, 1991.
Contents
Plot
Jerry is on a plane returning to New York City when a drunk man, Gavin Polone (played by Joseph Maher), seated next to him falls sick and asks Jerry to take care of his dog while he is taken to the hospital. He promises to call Jerry and reclaim the dog when he comes to New York. The dog, Farfel (although it is frequently heard barking, the dog is never seen), irritates Jerry with its barking and making messes, and Jerry feels as though he does not dare leave his apartment, for fear of what Farfel might do. He resents the animal: "I like dogs. I'm not sure this is a dog."
Jerry, George and Elaine had a date to see the movie Prognosis Negative, but Jerry asks them to go without him. George and Elaine realize they don't have much in common without Jerry around; they begin to have a good conversation only when they start making fun of Jerry.
Meanwhile, Kramer attempts to break up with his girlfriend, Ellen (also unseen), in a melodramatic fashion—and later attempts to reunite in the same fashion. Kramer gets genuinely angry at Jerry and Elaine because, first, they encouraged the break-up, and then they applauded when Kramer fixed it up.
Jerry, tired of having to put up with Farfel, tries to contact Polone, but finds out that he had checked out of the hospital several days ago. He happily decides to take the dog to the city pound so that he, George and Elaine can go to the movies together. This upsets Elaine, who persuades him to let her stay with the dog for one more day. Elaine insists that George and Jerry go to the movies without her, so that she can look after Farfel. However, Elaine's attitude towards the dog changes dramatically when she finds out how disobedient Farfel is. When Gavin finally calls, Elaine angrily tells him to come and collect the dog or else he has "humped his last leg". Gavin reveals that he was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, the reason he could not call earlier, and comes for the dog, much to the relief of Jerry and Elaine.
Aftermath
In a deleted scene, Kramer revealed that he had fed Farfel turkish taffy, which would have explained the dog's erratic behaviour and frequent barking.
Legacy
Jerry delivers a monologue on people and dogs:
"On my block, a lot of people walk their dogs, and I always see them walking along with their little poop bags, which to me is just the lowest function of human life. If aliens are watching this through telescopes, they're going to think the dogs are the leaders. If you see two life-forms, one of them's making a poop, the other one's carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge?"
This has been quoted (and mis-quoted) enough to permeate the culture, approaching catchphrase standards.