“The Junk Mail” is the fifth episode of the ninth and final season of Seinfeld, and the 161st episode overall. This episode first aired on October 30, 1997.
Plot
Kramer is fed up with mail he doesn't want, like catalogs from Pottery Barn, and he goes over to the post office to terminate his service. Meanwhile, Elaine dates a guy named Jack, whom she finds cute, although she just got back with Puddy. Also, George calls his parents, but has a feeling they may be trying to avoid him by making up excuses. Jerry gets a van from a guy he used to know, "Fragile Frankie", but the van isn't something Jerry really wants. Frank is nicknamed "fragile" because he used to go out in the woods and dig a hole in which he hid. Kramer goes to talk to Newman, who tries to help him but is caught by his boss. Now, Kramer is on the streets telling people not to use the United States Postal Service, and Newman is angry at him. As he drives by Kramer, he notices two men in suits trying to get him (although Kramer doesn't know) and tells him to get in the mail truck. Kramer doesn't, thinking it's a trick, and is captured by the two men. Meanwhile, George later finds out that his parents really do want to avoid him after waiting all night at the house after his parents say they would only be out for a minute. Also, Elaine dumps Puddy and starts dating her dream man, but later finds out from Jerry that the man used to be a comic with whom he used to work, with weird commercials with his alter ego of "The Wiz". Jerry turns down Frank's van and gives it to Kramer, and Jerry later finds Frank in the woods, in his usual hole. Kramer has a visit from Postmaster General Henry Atkins, telling him that he is angry with Kramer and to stop what he is doing. George, with his parents, is also out in the woods. Jerry and George go back home in the van, only to be disgusted by George's parents making love in it while George and Rhisa break up their fake romantic relationship as Frankie convinces Jerry to sell the van and Jerry did so. During the credits, Frank and Estelle decided to make love again much George's dismay.
Notes About Nothing
- Wilford Brimley's guest appearance as Postmaster General of the United States was an homage to the actor's father, a postmaster.
- In the episode Wilford Brimley's character sits on a desk and threatens Kramer. The scenario parodies Brimley's performance within Absence of Malice (1981) where, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney General, Brimley threatens a room full of lawyers and subordinates using similar statements.
- Newman the Postman pulls alongside Kramer and tells him "this is the way it will happen: someone you trust will ask you to get in the car with them." The scenario is a parody of Robert Redford's final scene within Three Days of the Condor (1975).