The Handicap Spot

The Handicap Spot
Season	4
Episode	62
Air Date	May 13, 1993
Writer(s)	Larry David
Director	Tom Cherones
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“The Handicap Spot” is the 22nd episode of the fourth season of Seinfeld, and the 62nd of the entire series. It originally broadcast on May 13, 1993.

The episode was written by Larry David and was directed by Tom Cherones.

Plot

When friends of Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer get engaged, the four decide to go in on a large present for their engagement party. They decide to buy a big-screen TV, but must drive George's father's car to be able to move it. At the mall, Kramer convinces George to park in the handicap spot, but when they return to the car they find that a woman in a wheelchair couldn't park in the spot and the battery on her chair died because she had to park so far away, causing her to slide down a ramp and fall out of her chair. An angry crowd was waiting for the driver to return so they could beat him. The four decided to wait it out, but when they returned the car was destroyed. George lied to his father about what happened to the car. Later, at a party honoring George's father's community service, the police arrest George's father for parking in a handicapped spot. He is let off with a pricey ticket.

Jerry and Elaine visit The Drake and his new fiancée, because they missed the engagement party, to go out to dinner. The Drake informs them that he and his fiancée just broke up. The gang want their money back from the TV, and so Elaine calls to get the gift back. She is told the TV has been donated to charity.

Meanwhile, Kramer visits the woman in the wheelchair and falls in love with her. He decides to buy her a new wheelchair to woo her, and enlists George because he parked the car. Rather than get a nice chair, they opt for a cheap used one. After getting out of the hospital, Lola (the woman for whom Kramer replaced her wheelchair) dumps Kramer, telling him that he is not good-looking enough for her and to drop dead. However, her chair is defective and the brakes don't work; as a result, she flies down a hill and gets hurt again. George is now working as a butler for his father, based on his NBC script, because he can't afford to pay for the car damages, TV, and ticket. His father works for a charity organization which calls him to arrange the transportation of a TV to Lola's home. George and Kramer pick up the TV from The Drake's finacée's house; instead of giving it to Lola, they take it back to the store for a refund.

Guest Stars

• Estelle Harris ... Estelle Costanza
• John Randolph ... Frank Costanza
• Richard Portnow ... Ray
• Rick Overton ... The Drake
• Nancy Lenehan ... Volunteer
• Elizabeth Dennehy ... Allison
• Donna Evans Merlo ... Lola (Wheelchair Woman)
• Kathy Kinney ... Angry Woman
• Fritzi Burr ... Mah-Jongg Lady
• Norma Janis ... Mah-Jongg Lady
• Ina Parker ... Mah-Jongg Lady
• Marvin Braverman ... Cop

Notes About Nothing

• This is the first episode with Frank Costanza. Frank was originally played by John Randolph. The scenes were later reshot with Jerry Stiller as Frank for better continuity. Both versions are available on the Season 4 DVD. Marvin Braverman, who played the officer who arrested Frank, would return in Season Five's “The Opposite”, as one of Jerry's poker buddies. Kathy Kinney, the angry woman, played Mimi Bobeck on The Drew Carey Show.
• While the women are playing Mahjong at George's parents' house, George is reading Glamour magazine in the background. In "The Contest" George was reading Glamour magazine at his mother's house when she "caught him."
• When the gang parks in the handicap spot, Kramer says to make sure to remember where they parked. This is a callback to "The Parking Garage".
• The program playing on the big screen TV in the Drake's apartment is 1990's Lord of the Flies