The Pothole

"The Pothole"
	Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 8; Episode 16
Directed by	Andy Ackerman
Written by	Steve O'Donnell & Dan O'Keefe
Production code	816
Original air date	February 20, 1997
Guest appearance(s)
	Wayne Knight as Newman; Kristin Davis as Jenna; Jack McGee as Ralph; George Cheung as Owner; Seraiah Coral as Mrs. Allister; Radmar Agana Jao as Delivery Guy; Walter Addison as Man;

"The Pothole" is the 150th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 16th episode for the eighth season. It aired on February 20, 1997. This episode earned Andy Ackerman an Emmy Award for Outstanding Direction. Jerry Seinfeld, in an appearance on The Tonight Show the night before the episode aired, declared "The Pothole" to be one of the best episodes of the series.

Plot

Kramer has adopted one mile of a highway

Jerry accidentally knocks his girlfriend Jenna's toothbrush into the toilet, and she uses it before he can tell her. George shows off the new key ring that George Steinbrenner has given everyone in the Yankees organization, celebrating Phil Rizzuto's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame; the key chain displays Rizzuto's head that, once squeezed, exclaims his famous catchphrase, "Holy Cow!" Kramer complains about the failing highway infrastructure after running over an abandoned sewing machine, so he adopts a one-mile piece of the 'Arthur Burghardt Expressway' through the Adopt a Highway program. Elaine tries to order a new Chinese dish, Supreme Flounder, but she lives across the street from the boundary of the Chinese restaurant's delivery area. Later, George bemoans the fact that he lost his new key chain.

Jerry plans to secretly sterilize Jenna's mouth, but despite his efforts, he just can't get past the vision of the toothbrush in the toilet. George theorizes that he may have lost his keys when he did a broad jump over a pothole that's now been paved over. Kramer works diligently to keep his part of the road clean, not trusting the work to the city's maintenance crew. Elaine schemes to get her flounder by moving into a janitor's closet, located in the building across the street. The building's superintendent believes her to actually be the janitor and pesters her about the maintenance that needs to be done. Jerry indirectly tells Jenna about the toothbrush, even though he never actually planned on telling her; as retaliation, she sticks something of Jerry's in his toilet and refuses to tell him what it is, causing him to panic.

Kramer repaints the four-lane highway to two extra-wide lanes, intending to make it like flying first class for drivers (a "two-lane comfort cruise"), but his efforts only result in mass confusion and congestion on behalf of the drivers. George, unwilling to pay the city maintenance crew, dons construction gear and takes a jackhammer to the pothole himself in order to reclaim his key chain. Elaine has the gang over for dinner in the janitor closet, but, in a scene reminiscent of the Stateroom scene in the Marx Brothers' 1935 film, A Night at the Opera, it gets too crowded; the superintendent confronts Elaine and continues to pester her about the maintenance that needs to be done. Jerry throws away nearly everything he owns, suspecting that anything could have gone in the toilet; he finally learns that the mystery item was nothing more than his toilet brush. George unintentionally severs a water main while digging up the road, causing Jenna's toilet to erupt and dump its contents onto her. Jerry is disgusted and dumps her on the spot.

Elaine, still pretending to be the janitor in order to allay suspicion, brings the building's trash to the dump in Jerry's car, swerving all over Kramer's luxurious 2-lane highway and unknowingly dropping an old Singer sewing machine on the road, similar to the one Kramer ran over earlier. Kramer tries to return the highway to its original state but spills flammable paint thinner all over the road. Newman drives by in his mail truck, delivering crates of fish for the Chinese restaurant's Supreme Flounder orders. His truck catches Elaine's sewing machine and drags it along the highway, sending up sparks that ignite Kramer's paint thinner and causing his truck to go up in flames as panicking Newman yells, "Oh, the humanity!"

Kramer, having witnessed the accident, is desperate to evade the law. A now-torched, stranded Newman wanders off in a daze; Kramer offers him a ride, but after getting no response decides to flee.

Production

Jerry's girlfriend (Jenna) is played by Kristin Davis of HBO's Sex and the City and formerly, Melrose Place. She briefly reappears in the episode "The Butter Shave" dating Kenny Bania, another comedian for whom Jerry has little respect.

The Arthur Burghardt Expressway was named for the actor who, according to the DVD commentary for the episode, had been called in to audition for the series several times without being cast (despite Seinfeld's creative team liking his performances).

The scene where the four principals are jammed into the janitor closet is an homage to the famous Marx Brothers state room scene in A Night at the Opera.

External links

"The Pothole" on IMDb
"The Pothole" at TV.com

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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