The Pool Guy

"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 appearance(s)
	Wayne Knight as Newman; Carlos Jacott as Ramon; Heidi Swedberg as Susan Ross; Billy Williams as Usher; Alec Mapa as Paul; Dom Maghili as Dustin; Russ Leatherman as Mr. Moviefone (voice, uncredited);

"The Pool Guy" is the 118th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the eighth episode of the seventh season. It aired on November 16, 1995. 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 fiance 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

Lacking any female friends, Elaine invites Susan to an art exhibit. This upsets George, who fears that his fiance interacting with his friends will leave him no life apart from Susan. 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 can't 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 doesn't have room in his life for another friend. After 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 causes Ramon to fall in. Newman runs and dives into the pool, knocking Ramon under. 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 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". Disgusted by Elaine and Jerry's 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

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.[1] 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.[1] However, Hoch eventually objected to what he felt was ethnic stereotyping in the way his character was written, and the part was recast.[2] Carlos Jacott gave a more mentally unhinged portrayal of Ramon than was originally planned, so the Seinfeld crew decided to focus on that and drop the Hispanic angle.[1] Hoch later incorporated his experience with Seinfeld into his act.[1]

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.[1] 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.[3]

The footage of the fictional movie "Chunnel" was taken from The American President.[2] 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.[3] The scene at Reggie's is actually stock footage from the episode "The Soup".[2]

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.[2]

Reception

The episode won for Best Episodic Comedy at the Writers Guild of America Awards 1996.[4]

gollark: Have you heard of "inflation"?

gollark: (I don't really support this and it is a terrible idea please do not implement this)

gollark: Extra source of revenue for the government.

gollark: THIS IDEA COULD NOT POSSIBLY FAIL.

gollark: Better idea: 1$ per vote!

References

Seinfeld Season 7: Inside Look - "The Pool Guy" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.
Seinfeld Season 7: Notes about Nothing - "The Pool Guy" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.
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 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2016-11-05.

External links

"The Pool Guy" on IMDb
"The Pool Guy" at TV.com

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[InsLook-1] Seinfeld Season 7: Inside Look - "The Pool Guy" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.

[NaN-2] Seinfeld Season 7: Notes about Nothing - "The Pool Guy" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2006.

[AudioCom-3] Mandel, David; Ackerman, Andy; Seinfeld, Jerry (2006). Seinfeld Season 7: Audio Commentary - "The Pool Guy" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

[4] "wga awards". Archive.is. Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2016-11-05.

Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend" "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip" "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"
Season 5	"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" "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100" "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac" "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit" "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle" "The Finale"
Indicates two-part episode