Who could forget that scene from the classic sitcom Seinfeld? You know the one – where Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer get stranded in a parking garage on Thanksgiving, with nothing but a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, and a whole turkey to feast on.
That hilarious episode first aired back in 1994, and it’s still one of the most iconic scenes from the entire series. But how did it come about? What inspired the writers to lock the gang in a garage with some ill-prepared Thanksgiving provisions? Let’s take a look at the story behind that famous Seinfeld scene to find out!
Setting the Scene: Thanksgiving Plans Gone Awry
The episode titled “The Mom & Pop Store” originally aired on November 17, 1994 as part of Seinfeld’s sixth season. In the episode immediately preceding it Jerry Elaine, George, and Kramer make plans to celebrate Thanksgiving together at Mr. Pitt’s house. Elaine even offers to host the dinner.
But (in very Seinfeld fashion), their plans unravel quickly. Elaine offends Mr. Pitt by bringing her dog into his meticulously kept home, so he revokes the dinner invitation. Simultaneously, George learns that he has to attend Tim Whatley’s Thanksgiving dinner instead, where he’ll be subjected to watching Whatley carve meat off the turkey in that “disgusting” way he hates.
So with their plans out the window, Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer head to the parking garage together, presumably to go their separate ways for the holiday. But things were about to get even more complicated…
The Perfect Storm of Sitcom Mishaps
As the group parts ways in the garage a string of absurd obstacles suddenly derail their efforts
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Kramer spots a potential parking spot, so he excitedly pulls in and blocks the lane for other cars. This causes a traffic jam that traps everyone inside the garage.
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While backing out to free up the lane, Kramer accidentally bumps into another car and gets into a dispute with its owner. The cops arrive to sort it out, further blocking the exit.
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George discovers his car has a flat tire. With no spare, he’ll have to call a tow truck before he can leave.
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Jerry has to use the bathroom urgently, but the garage attendant won’t let him into the bathroom without a parking ticket stub.
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To top it all off, the garage attendant leaves after his shift ends, locking up the place and trapping them all inside on Thanksgiving!
Stuck together in the gloomy parking garage, Thanksgiving dinner is now the least of their worries. Or is it? Out of this misfortune emerges one of the most memorable scenes in Seinfeld history…
Trapped Together with Turkey, Wine, and Little Else
As luck would have it, the gang isn’t completely empty-handed:
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Elaine has a loaf of bread in her purse, albeit slightly squished.
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Kramer just bought a turkey earlier that day for some reason, and has it sitting in the back of his car.
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George happens to have a bottle of wine stashed in his vehicle.
It’s hardly a festive feast, but it’s just enough for them to cobble together a pathetic parody of a Thanksgiving dinner. With no plates or utensils, they comically pass around the turkey for hand-picked scraps of meat. They sip wine straight from the bottle since they lack cups. And they tear off hunks of bread with their hands in lieu of side dishes.
As they sat in that cold, filthy parking garage “celebrating” Thanksgiving, their bizarre little meal became instant comedic gold. The Turkey-Wine-Bread episode is now enshrined in the Seinfeld Hall of Fame, thanks to the masterful way the writers orchestrated the madcap series of events leading up to it.
Why We Still Love This Iconic Scene
More than 25 years later, what is it about this scene that still delights Seinfeld fans? Here are a few reasons it remains so legendary:
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The sheer absurdity of it all – Like most great Seinfeld moments, the situations are wildly exaggerated for comedic effect. Getting trapped in a parking garage with a raw turkey and bottle of wine is downright hilarious.
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Masterful writing and acting – The dialogue, pacing and physical comedy are pitch-perfect. Jason Alexander knocking over the bottle with his foot, Julia Louis-Dreyfus using her purse as a plate, the petty arguments over who gets the last piece of turkey – the scene is packed with expertly delivered humor.
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The relatable premise – Holiday plans gone wrong is something we can all identify with, setting the stage perfectly for chuckle-worthy catharsis when their backup dinner plan backfires as well.
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Nostalgia factor – For fans who watched it live or in reruns, it’s a beloved blast from the past and quintessential early 90s sitcom humor.
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It captures the core four’s personalities – Their improvised parking garage meal, as absurd as it is, is also such a perfect encapsulation of Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer.
Few sitcoms can boast a scene so uniquely hilarious that it sticks in viewers’ minds for decades. But the Seinfeld writers and cast pulled it off with aplomb, gifting us the Turkey-Wine-Bread episode that still delivers laughs today. It’s no wonder this remains one of the most iconic and often talked about Seinfeld moments ever!
The Merv Griffin Show
- George runs over a flock of pigeons. Jerry’s girlfriend has a collection of old toys that she won’t let him touch. A new co-worker is freaking Elaine out. Kramer puts together the set of “The Merv Griffin Show” again in his apartment.
- Kramer takes the old Merv Griffin show’s set out of a dumpster and sets it up in his apartment, where he talks to anyone who comes by. After George hits a pigeon with his car, his new girlfriend is mean to him. She makes him take a squirrel to the vet and then take care of it at home if he hits one. A new guy at the office is driving Elaine crazy. Jerry has a new girlfriend whose late father left her a great collection of old toys. She won’t let Jerry even touch them, let alone play with them, but he quickly figures out a way to get around that. —garykmcd.
- Kramer finds the old set for the Merv Griffin Show in a dumpster and immediately sets it up in his apartment. He then starts to live his life like an interview show. The new guy at Elaine’s office keeps flirting with her without her noticing, which makes her mad. Jerry’s girlfriend has a great collection of toys but won’t let him play with them. George’s girlfriend makes him take care of a squirrel he runs over. —two_green_bottles.
- In the street, Kramer finds the set of the old Merv Griffin Show in a big dumpster for contractors. Miranda, George’s girlfriend (Arabella Field), is mad when he hits some pigeons with his car. George thinks that pigeons and people have a deal where people will ignore pigeons defecating in public if the pigeons don’t move out of the way. He thinks that the pigeons have broken that deal. Jerry is interested in Celia’s (Julia Pennington), his new girlfriend, collection of old toys, but she won’t let him touch them. Laney’s new coworker, “Sidler” Lou (Brent Hinkley), moves behind people without making a sound. He makes Laney spill coffee on her jacket, which leaves a mark that looks like Castro. Kramer takes the broken set pieces and uses them to make an exact copy of The Merv Griffin Show set in his apartment. He acts like the show is still airing and pretends to be the new host. When “guests” come on set, he even plays the show’s theme song and interviews everyone who comes into his apartment. Kramer even cuts off interviews to take a “commercial break” and eat chips and a Diet Coke before exclaiming, “Were back!” Laney plans to wear wrestling shoes to “out-Sidle the Sidler” who might be “sidling her out of a job.” When George turns to avoid a pigeon, he hits a squirrel instead. Jerry schemes for an opportunity to play with Celias toys. Jerry says on his “show” that he has finally found a way to play with the toys by giving Celia sleep aids by accident. Kramer is shocked by Jerry’s plan. Kramer makes Newman (Wayne Knight) a co-host on his “show” so he doesn’t have to do all the work himself. Miranda won’t let George put the squirrel to sleep until he pays for the surgery that will save it. Laney gives Tic Tacs to the Sidler to make him loud, but J doesn’t like the noise. Peterman (John O’Hurley), which makes him think of an old way of torturing people in Haiti. If he hears another rattle, Laney will be fired because he thinks it was her the whole time. Laney talks to the Sidler and suggests something else, like gum. The Sidler says he doesn’t like gum and only liked the Mickey Mouse gumball machine, which “they stopped making twenty years ago.” “Jerry and George feed Celia turkey (which contains Tryptophan) and red wine for dinner, then show her a boring home movie of George’s trip to Michigan as a child. She falls asleep quickly.” Jerry and George play with their toys like kids once she’s asleep. In the end, Laney joins in to play with an Easy-Bake Oven, even though Jerry says the batter is thirty years old. The show will now be called “Scandals and Animals” because Kramer is worried about his “ratings.” Kramer gets Jerry to admit that he’s been giving Celia drugs on the “show” (which still doesn’t have cameras) Then Kramer calls out an angry Celia from “backstage,” and she dumps Jerry while Kramer and Newman try to get the nonexistent audience to cheer. Kramer calls on an old friend and animal expert Jim Fowler for the Animals segment of the show. Fowler shows up with a hawk and asks Kramer, “Where are the cameras?” George brings the squirrel to the set to ask Fowler to take it off his hands, but the hawk goes after the squirrel and George (since he was holding the squirrel). Kramer says afterward, “It was a grind having to fill 10 hours a day.” The Merv Griffin set is destroyed in the process. Because Miranda told him to, bandaged George still has to take care of the squirrel and sleep on the couch. He then tells the pigeons to “laugh it up.” I just got into my car and heard something. “We have NO DEAL!”) At the end of the show, Laney and the Sidler knock Celia out again so she can play with her toys.
What’s that stuff in turkey that makes you sleepy…
FAQ
What episode of Seinfeld has Kramer as a turkey?
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“The Butter Shave”
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Episode no.
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Season 9 Episode 1
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Directed by
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Andy Ackerman
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Written by
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Alec Berg & Jeff Schaffer & David Mandel
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Production code
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901
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Is there a Thanksgiving Seinfeld episode?
Who played Celia on Seinfeld?
Who was the Sidler in Seinfeld?
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