The Dinner Party (Seinfeld)

"**The Dinner Party**"
"The Dinner Party"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 5; Episode 13
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Larry David
Production code	514
Original air date	February 3, 1994
Guest appearances
	Fred Pinkard as Newsstand Guy; Frank Novak as Clerk; Mark Holton as David; Suzy Soro as Barbara; Kathryn Kates as Counterwoman; Langdon Bensing as Man on Street; Sayed Badreya as Foreign Man; Amjad J. Qaisen as Hussein; Roger Eschbacher as Man with Cane; Larry David as Hussein (voice, uncredited);
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Stall"	Next →; "The Marine Biologist"
	List of episodes

"The Dinner Party" is the 77th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the 13th episode of the fifth season, and first aired on February 3, 1994.^[1] The episode follows the cast's struggles to get to a dinner party with the obligatory gifts of cake and a bottle of wine.

Plot

Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer prepare to attend a dinner party. Elaine feels they must bring wine and cake. George, who is sporting a large Gore-Tex coat due to the cold weather outside, finds this social obligation illogical.

Jerry and Elaine stop at Royal Bakery to purchase a chocolate babka while Kramer and George go to buy wine. Jerry and Elaine forget to take a number at the counter. As a result, David and Barbara Benedict, a couple on their way to the same dinner party, get ahead of them in line and purchase the last chocolate babka. Jerry and Elaine resort to purchasing a cinnamon babka, which Elaine considers a "lesser babka". They find that the babka has a hair on it, and are forced to wait in line again to exchange it. While they wait, Jerry eats a black and white cookie, which he extols as a metaphor for racial harmony. Once they are called again, Elaine and Jerry exchange the babka for a new one, only for the seller to violently cough on the new one. Afterward, they have to wait for Kramer and George to pick them up. The cookie causes Jerry to end the non-vomit streak he has held since June 29, 1980.

George and Kramer have only a US$100 bill for money, which the wine shop owner refuses to change. They go to a newsstand to break the bill. The attendant insists on their buying multiple items in order to make it worth his while to break the bill. After buying the wine, they find that their car is blocked in because someone has double parked. They are forced to wait for the driver to come back before they can pick up Jerry and Elaine. Disgusted, George likens double parkers to dictators.

Because of the cold weather, Kramer insists on going back inside the liquor store, where they are soon evicted. George's coat accidentally knocks down some bottles of wine and he has to surrender the coat to pay for them. Outside, it turns out the double parker is a man who looks like Saddam Hussein but has a British accent. George and Kramer are able to leave and go to pick up Jerry and Elaine, with the latter very irritated at the delay. Embittered by the evening's events, George, Kramer, Jerry and Elaine finally arrive at the party, where they give the hostess the babka and the wine at the door and immediately leave.

Production

The Saddam Hussein lookalike cast for the episode, Amjad J. Qaisen, could not speak intelligibly enough for television production purposes, so the voice of "Hussein" was added in post-production by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David.^[2]

References

^ "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
^ Seinfeld Season 5: Notes about Nothing - "The Dinner Party" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

External links

"The Dinner Party" at IMDb

[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[2] Seinfeld Season 5: Notes about Nothing - "The Dinner Party" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

[1]

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v t e 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