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The Pool Guy
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| "The Pool Guy" | |
|---|---|
| Seinfeld episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Andy Ackerman |
| Written by | David Mandel |
| Production code | 708 |
| Original air date | November 16, 1995 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Pool Guy" is the 118th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the eighth episode of the seventh season.[1] It aired on November 16, 1995.[1] The end credit states "In Memory of our Friend Rick Bolden". Rick Bolden was one of the musicians who worked on the show's theme song.
The episode centers on George's fears that he is losing all life independent from his fiancée Susan after she begins fraternizing with his friends. Jerry is uncomfortable at his pool guy's efforts to befriend him, and after getting a new phone number Kramer keeps getting wrong numbers from people trying to call Moviefone.
Plot
[edit]Lacking any female friends, Elaine invites Susan to an art exhibit at Jerry's suggestion. This upsets George, who fears that his fiancée interacting with his friends will leave him no life apart from Susan; he informs Jerry that his "worlds are colliding" and that "Relationship George" is replacing "Independent George". When Jerry also begins spending time with Susan, George becomes increasingly agitated. He eats alone at Reggie's to avoid sitting with Susan and his friends at Monk's.
Kramer's new phone number (555-FILK) is similar to a film information line (555-FILM). When Kramer keeps receiving wrong numbers, he begins posing as Mr. Moviefone, giving out information movie show times from the newspaper.
Jerry meets his pool guy Ramon outside a movie, and then cannot get rid of him ever since he got fired from the health club Physique. When passive discouragement fails to work, Jerry flat-out tells Ramon that he does not have room in his life for another friend. After a slighted Ramon gets his job back, he begins harassing Jerry at Physique. Jerry finally loses his temper when Ramon keeps interrupting his swim exercise using a squeegee pole; he grabs on to the pole and pulls Ramon in. Newman runs and does a cannonball into the pool, landing right on top of Ramon and rendering him unconscious. Jerry and Newman are both unwilling to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the unresponsive Ramon, but other people arrive and save his life. Jerry's and Newman's memberships are revoked for their behavior.
Susan, Elaine and Jerry go to a movie, leaving George a note. Partly due to his initially going to the wrong theater, George is unable to find them before the movie is over, and is thrown out by security while ranting about how his friends' association with Susan is "killing independent George". Irritated by Elaine and Jerry's constant talking throughout the movie, Susan breaks off her friendship with them.
Kramer is confronted by the real Mr. Moviefone, who says Kramer has been stealing his business. Kramer hides when he threatens to break down the door.
Production
[edit]The episode's Jerry plot was considerably altered from writer David Mandel's original concept, in which Jerry and Ramon were shown innocently and mutually developing a friendly acquaintanceship at the health club prior to the downhill slope their relationship takes.[2] Moreover, Mandel wanted Ramon to be a small Hispanic man, intending to find humor in the obvious social mismatch between Jerry and Ramon. Watching a video of playwright/performing artist Danny Hoch, he was impressed with how Hoch did 15 different Hispanic voices; Hoch was cast as Ramon and did the table read for the episode.[2] However, Hoch eventually objected to what he felt was ethnic stereotyping in the way his character was written.[3] According to Hoch, Jerry Seinfeld joked that they should do the next scene in blackface.[4][5] The part was eventually given to Carlos Jacott instead, who gave a more mentally unhinged portrayal of Ramon than was originally planned.[2] The Seinfeld crew decided to focus on that and drop the Hispanic angle.[2]
The pool scene was filmed at the YMCA in Hollywood. Wayne Knight was uncomfortable at the prospect of wearing a bathing suit for the scene due to the level of bodily exposure, so the crew came up with the idea of him wearing a modest, comically archaic swimming outfit.[2] The idea of Jerry and Newman being unwilling to give Ramon mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was contributed by Seinfeld creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld.[6]
The footage of the fictional movie "Chunnel" was taken from The American President.[3] George's line while the movie plays behind him, "I know you're in there laughing at me, laughing and lying!" was taken from the girlfriend of one of David Mandel's friends; she shouted the line outside a building during a drunken rant.[6] The scene at Reggie's is actually stock footage from the episode "The Soup".[3]
Mr. Moviefone was voiced by Russ Leatherman, the real Mr. Moviefone; Leatherman was unable to be present for the filming, so the brief shot of his body is another actor.[3]
Reception
[edit]The episode won 'Best Episodic Comedy' at the Writers Guild of America Awards 1996.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Seinfeld Season 7 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Seinfeld Season 7: Inside Look - "The Pool Guy" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.
- ^ a b c d Seinfeld Season 7: Notes about Nothing - "The Pool Guy" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.
- ^ Hoch, Danny (March 1998). "The one where Jerry disses the pool guy, by Danny Hoch". Harper's Magazine. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
I was feeling extremely uncomfortable, and in between scenes the jokes started coming. 'So, Danny, you wanna do the next scene in blackface? Heh.'
- ^ "Danny's Trip to L.A." Event occurs at 6:16. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
But then the jokes start coming, like Jerry says, 'So Danny, why don't we do the next scene in blackface?' Ooooooh.
- ^ a b Mandel, David; Ackerman, Andy; Seinfeld, Jerry (2006). Seinfeld Season 7: Audio Commentary - "The Pool Guy" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
- ^ "wga awards". Archive.is. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
External links
[edit]The Pool Guy
View on GrokipediaProduction
Development and writing
The episode "The Pool Guy" originated from writer David Mandel's personal observations of interpersonal annoyances, including an overly familiar health club worker encountered by a childhood friend, which inspired Jerry's subplot involving an intrusive pool maintenance employee seeking social inclusion.[6] Elaine's arc, centered on her realization of lacking close female friendships and subsequent bonding with Susan, drew from Mandel's insights into individuals' defensiveness when confronted about social deficits.[7] George's narrative, featuring conflicting romantic pursuits amid professional entanglements, stemmed from Mandel's acquaintance whose ex-girlfriend wed his superior, illustrating causal tensions in overlapping personal and work spheres.[8] David Mandel penned the primary script, employing a detailed outlining approach honed under showrunners Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld to derive humor from mundane relational frictions rather than contrived plots.[7] [9] The script underwent revisions to integrate and equilibrate the four subplots—Jerry's reluctance to rebuff the pool guy, Elaine's relational pivot, George's divided loyalties, and Kramer's disruptive plumbing scheme—ensuring comedic escalation without narrative overload.[10] Notable alterations included the addition of the climactic poolside refusal of resuscitation for the pool guy, absent from Mandel's initial draft but incorporated during Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld's polish to heighten situational absurdity.[10] George's iconic lament, "A George divided against itself cannot stand," emerged from this same revision pass, amplifying the episode's core motif of incompatible social worlds clashing.[10] The finalized script was completed in late 1995, aligning with the episode's airdate of November 16, 1995.[11]Casting
The core ensemble for "The Pool Guy," aired on November 16, 1995, as the eighth episode of Seinfeld's seventh season, featured the unchanged principal cast from prior seasons: Jerry Seinfeld portraying the observational comedian Jerry, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the independent Elaine Benes, Michael Richards as the eccentric Cosmo Kramer, and Jason Alexander as the neurotic [George Costanza](/page/George Costanza). This retention maintained the series' foundational dynamic of four interconnected New Yorkers navigating mundane irritations through escalating absurdities, with each actor's established chemistry enabling seamless interplay without recasting disruptions.[12][13] Carlos Jacott was cast in the pivotal guest role of Ramon, the pool maintenance worker whose presumptuous camaraderie embodies Seinfeld's trope of service providers blurring professional boundaries into unwanted intimacy. Jacott, appearing in the episode after an initial casting of Danny Hoch was replaced, delivered a performance highlighting Ramon's oblivious overfamiliarity, aligning with the show's emphasis on character-driven annoyances derived from real-life social faux pas.[14][15] Heidi Swedberg reprised her recurring role as Susan Ross, George's fiancée, to sustain storyline continuity from her introduction in season four, reinforcing the ensemble's expansion through familiar supporting figures who amplify George's relational mishaps without altering the core group's archetype of flawed yet relatable everymen.[14][16]Filming and post-production
Principal photography for "The Pool Guy" occurred primarily on soundstages at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles, replicating Jerry's New York apartment and other interior sets central to the episode's dialogue-driven scenes.[17][18] Directed by Andy Ackerman, the multi-camera shoot adhered to Seinfeld's efficient single-set format, minimizing location work to select exteriors such as the health club pool area filmed at the Ketchum-Downtown YMCA in Los Angeles for authenticity in the pool guy sequences.[19][20] This approach, typical of the series, allowed for rapid filming in front of a live audience, with principal photography completed in late October 1995 ahead of the November 16 airdate.[19] Post-production emphasized precise comedic timing through editing, leveraging the raw footage from live tapings to refine punchlines and physical gags, such as the chaotic poolside incident and Kramer's phone antics.[18] Sound design focused on enhancing slapstick elements, including amplified disposal and choking noises to heighten the episode's absurd humor without relying on visual effects, maintaining the show's minimalist aesthetic. The process involved composer Jonathan Wolff's bass-driven cues, like the recurring "Checkmate/Chunnel/Death Blow" track, integrated to underscore escalating mishaps while preserving the rapid episode turnaround characteristic of NBC sitcom production.Cast and characters
Main cast
Jerry Seinfeld portrays Jerry, the central figure and stand-up comedian who embodies the observational everyman, often entangled in awkward social dynamics due to his aversion to direct confrontation.[12]Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Elaine Benes, Jerry's ex-girlfriend turned platonic friend, depicted as an assertive magazine editor independently managing professional demands alongside romantic entanglements.[12]
Michael Richards stars as Cosmo Kramer, the quirky, unemployed neighbor inhabiting the apartment across from Jerry's, renowned for his impulsive schemes and makeshift approaches to resolving personal or communal issues.[12]
Jason Alexander embodies George Costanza, Jerry's lifelong friend and a neurotic real estate associate prone to elaborate deceptions in pursuit of relational stability or self-preservation.[12]