As a hysterical satire of the unwritten rules of society, Seinfeld placed its four lead characters into all kinds of social situations. They went on disastrous dates, botched job interviews, visited their parents (and vice versa), struggled to find parking spaces, went to the movies, rolled their eyes through office functions — and in more than a few episodes, they attended parties.
Some people love going to parties, but the nihilistic misanthropes at the center of Seinfeld’s absurdist take on the world certainly don’t. Here’s a collection of Seinfeld episodes that perfectly embody the frustrations and pitfalls of attending parties.
The Red Dot (Season 3, Episode 12)
In Season 3’s “The Red Dot,” Elaine invites Jerry and George to attend her office Christmas party at Pendant Publishing. She’s dating one of her co-workers, a recovering alcoholic, and leaves Jerry to talk to him as she introduces George to her boss in an attempt to get him a job.
Jerry accidentally gives him an alcoholic drink, inadvertently getting him back on the wagon (or is it “off the wagon”?).
The Apartment (Season 2, Episode 5)
When George hears that wearing a wedding ring makes men more approachable to women, he decides to start wearing one. He tries out his new social experiment at a party, but it quickly backfires.
He realizes that women who see through the charade think it’s pathetic and women who would date him if he wasn’t wearing the ring reject him because they think he’s married.
The Reverse Peephole (Season 9, Episode 12)
We’ve all had to deal with party hosts who assign jobs to their guests, and in Season 9’s “The Reverse Peephole,” that party host is Joe Mayo. At a previous party, he put Jerry in charge of the music — and he insists that he “got jiggy with it” — but this time, he doesn’t let him near the music, much to Jerry’s chagrin. In fact, someone’s job is to keep Jerry away from the music.
Elaine, meanwhile, is put in charge of the guests’ coats, which she sees as an opportunity to get rid of her boyfriend David Puddy’s fur coat, which she sees as a turnoff.
The Little Kicks (Season 8, Episode 4)
Elaine becomes a laughingstock around the office in Season 8’s “The Little Kicks,” after showing off her terrible dance skills at a workplace function. The music starts playing and Elaine tries to get the crowd moving.
They’re reluctant to join in, so she decides to get the party started. Her dancing is so insanely bad that it kills the mood even more.
The Baby Shower (Season 2, Episode 10)
As the title would suggest, “The Baby Shower” is about a baby shower, but a baby shower is a type of party. Elaine throws a shower for one of her friends, and George sees it as an opportunity to confront a woman he once went on a terrible date with.
She poured Bosco on one of his red shirts, and he still has the shirt, so he wears it to the shower, angling for an apology that he ultimately doesn’t get.
The Fire (Season 5, Episode 19)
George dates a woman with a kid in Season 5’s “The Fire,” and scores an invitation to the kid’s birthday party. When he’s at the party, a fire breaks out in the kitchen, and George charges through the house — pushing past small children and an elderly woman to get to the front door — to save himself.
Suffice to say, the relationship doesn’t last too much longer after the smoke has cleared.
The Millennium (Season 8, Episode 20)
Kramer and Newman plan rival New Year’s Eve parties for the turn of the millennium in 1999 in Season 8’s “The Millennium,” and argue over who will get to invite certain guests. Newman, somehow, has booked Christopher Cross to perform at his party.
What makes this episode so funny is that it aired in 1997. When Kramer asks Jerry if he can store party supplies in his apartment — including balloons that he’s already inflated — he wholeheartedly plans to leave them there for two years, and he thinks that’s fine.
The Lip Reader (Season 5, Episode 6)
In Season 5’s “The Lip Reader,” George is filmed eating a messy ice cream sundae by a TV camera crew at a tennis match. Shortly after this, he gets dumped, and he suspects it’s because of him scarfing down the sundae on TV.
Meanwhile, Jerry has begun dating a deaf lineswoman, played by guest star Marlee Matlin, so George gets an idea. There’s an upcoming party that both he and his ex are invited to, and he proposes bringing the lineswoman along to read her lips to see if she mentioned why she broke up with him. This, of course, leads to hilarious misunderstandings.
The Stranded (Season 3, Episode 10)
The Season 3 episode “The Stranded” was actually produced for Season 2, but Larry David held off on airing it for a year because he was unhappy with how it turned out. In the episode, Jerry, Elaine, and George attend a party in Long Island hosted by a couple they barely know (one of the hosts is played by guest star Michael Chiklis).
Things take an awkward turn when Kramer is late picking them up. All the other guests have left and the hosts just want to go to bed. This is cringe humor at its finest.
The Dinner Party (Season 5, Episode 13)
In the grand tradition of “The Chinese Restaurant” and “The Parking Garage,” Season 5’s “The Dinner Party” plants Seinfeld’s central quartet in an existential vacuum. On the way to a dinner party, Elaine says they have to bring wine and cake. George, of course, protests, but goes along with it.
Jerry and Elaine head to a bakery to get a chocolate babka, while George and Kramer go to a liquor store to get a bottle of wine. The latter duo gets double-parked, leaving the former duo stranded at the bakery. As with all the best Seinfeld episodes, “The Dinner Party” is a hilarious meditation on social conventions.