“The Opposite” is the 22nd episode of the 5th season of Seinfeld, and the 86th episode overall. It premiered on May 19, 1994. It was written by Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld, and Andy Cowan, and was directed by Tom Cherones.
Plot[]
When George starts doing the opposite of everything he normally does, his luck changes and everything begins to go his way. He gets a girlfriend, Victoria, a job with the Yankees, and a move out of his parents' house. Kramer appears on Live! with Regis & Kathie Lee to promote his coffee table book. However, he spits coffee all over Kathie Lee's clothes, resulting in his book tour being cancelled.
When Elaine's boyfriend Jake Jarmel is hospitalized after a car accident and Elaine comes to visit him, he breaks up with her once he realizes she didn't come immediately upon receiving the call but instead bought a box of Jujyfruits first. Mr. Lippman is about to close the deal that will save Pendant Publishing from bankruptcy but has a bad cold. He accidentally leaves his handkerchief in Elaine's office and doesn't want to shake hands with the head of Matsushimi for fear of infecting him. The head of Matsushimi takes extreme exception to Mr. Lippman's refusal to shake his hand and refuses to close the deal, putting Pendant Publishing to an end and leaving Elaine unemployed. Elaine later realizes that she and George have traded places. In her words, "I've become George."
Jerry, however, always ends up exactly the same as where he started, never losing or gaining. Five minutes after he loses a stand-up gig, he is asked to perform another one on the same night, for the same pay; his breakups are always shortly followed by his finding another girlfriend with a similar level of attractiveness; and even his friends' fortunes are balanced, with George's good fortune coinciding with Elaine's bad fortune.
Notes About Nothing[]
- George first mentions doing the opposite in "The Seinfeld Chronicles" when advising Jerry to not clean his toilet before Laura comes over.
- This is Larry David's first episode in which he voices George Steinbrenner. Lee Bear, of course, was the actor who lent his body to Larry's character. After George Costanza chastises him for the bad moves that he has made in recent years, he says, "Hire this man."
Season Five Episodes |
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The Mango | The Puffy Shirt | The Glasses | The Sniffing Accountant | The Bris | The Lip Reader | The Non-Fat Yogurt | The Barber | The Masseuse | The Cigar Store Indian | The Conversion | The Stall | The Dinner Party | The Marine Biologist | The Pie | The Stand In | The Wife | The Raincoats, Part 1 | The Raincoats, Part 2 | The Fire | The Hamptons | The Opposite |