The Trip (Seinfeld)

"**The Trip**"
"The Trip"
Seinfeld episodes
Episode nos.	Season 4; Episodes 1/2
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Larry Charles
Production code	401/402
Original air dates	August 12, 1992 (Part 1); August 19, 1992 (Part 2);
Running time	42 minutes
Guest appearances
	Corbin Bernsen as himself; George Wendt as himself; Fred Savage as himself; Clint Howard as Tobias; Elmarie Wendel as Helene; Peter Murnik as Detective Martel; Debi Monahan as Chelsea; Ricky Dean Logan as The Freak; Vaughn Armstrong as Lt. Coleman; Keith Morrison as Newscaster; Winston J. Rocha as Security Agent; Dyana Ortelli as Chambermaid (Lupe);
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Keys"	Next →; "The Pitch"
	Seinfeld season 4
	List of episodes

"The Trip" is the two-part fourth season premiere of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld.^[1] It comprises the 41st and 42nd episodes of the series overall, which aired on August 12 and August 19, 1992.^[1] Following Kramer's move to Los Angeles in the previous episode, "The Keys", in this episode Jerry and George try to look up Kramer while in Los Angeles for Jerry to appear on a talk show, only to find Kramer is suspected of being a serial killer referred to as the "Smog Strangler".

Plot

Part 1

Jerry is offered two free tickets from New York City to Hollywood to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He offers one to George and they decide that while they are in Los Angeles they will track down Kramer, who headed to Los Angeles in the previous episode, "The Keys", to become an actor. Kramer has attended several auditions but without any luck.

Police are searching for "The Smog Strangler," a serial killer roaming the streets of Los Angeles. Chelsea, a woman Kramer met during auditions, turns up dead in another part of the city with the script Kramer gave to her found on her body.

George thinks he has insightful conversations with the talk show guests Corbin Bernsen and George Wendt, but they both call him "some nut" during their subsequent interviews. Jerry can't remember the words for a joke and blames the hotel maid, Lupe, who threw his notes away while cleaning the room. As Jerry and George leave The Tonight Show, they see Kramer's picture on the news. He is the prime suspect for the "Smog Strangler".

Part 2

Jerry and George try to help clear Kramer of the accusation. They use a payphone to call the police and they say they have important information regarding the stranglings. Two policemen in a cruiser come to pick them up and take them back to the station. On their way, the officers see a man trying to break into a car. They arrest him and put him in the back with Jerry and George; Jerry and the man get into an argument about tipping, with the latter insisting that Jerry's tipping habits are too cheap. They have to stop again when they get a police call regarding Kramer the "Smog Strangler" and happen to be close to the scene. Jerry and George want to make sure Kramer is not imprisoned, so they flee from the car, and, in their hurry, leave the door open. The man who had been in the back seat with them escapes.

Kramer is taken to the police station and is questioned by the lieutenant, causing Kramer to have a nervous breakdown and begin hysterically sobbing. While he is being interrogated, the lieutenant receives a phone call revealing that the Smog Strangler has killed another victim while Kramer was in custody, and so he is released. After Kramer is exonerated, Jerry and George decide to return to New York, but Kramer opts to remain in Los Angeles. However, by the end of the episode, Kramer has returned to New York and is once again living across the hall from Jerry. He offers no explanation of his return. He and Jerry return each other's spare keys as a sign that they have reconciled after their argument in "The Keys".

It is revealed that the Smog Strangler is suspected to be the man that George and Jerry accidentally allowed to escape. It is broadcast on the news that his name is Tobias Lehigh Nagy, his whereabouts are unknown, but that he is a generous tipper.

Production

The scene in which the man breaks into the car was shot near the Bicycle Shack on Ventura Place in Studio City, California, a short distance from CBS Studio Center, the main studio for Seinfeld. When Kramer is confronted by the police at his apartment (about 12 minutes into the episode), Larry David and episode writer Larry Charles can be seen standing in the crowd behind the officers, at the far right of the scene. The cop riding shotgun is the same actor that would later portray Jake Jarmel. The hotel/apartment that Kramer is staying in while in Hollywood is in the same building that was used in Pretty Woman, in which Jason Alexander co-starred.

This was the only two-part episode of Seinfeld in which both parts had the same name but were aired on two separate dates instead of a one-hour special. However, "The Wallet"/"The Watch" is a continuation episode pairing which also aired on separate dates with a "To Be Continued" at the end of "The Wallet".

Elaine does not appear in either part of "The Trip", and appears only briefly in "The Pitch" and "The Ticket", because Julia Louis-Dreyfus was on maternity leave.

Kramer's first name is missing from the script found on the dead woman's body, a reference to how—at this point in time—no one knows his full name.

The episodes were broadcast much earlier than the typical September premiere for a new season, as NBC wanted to cash in on ratings from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics (which NBC also covered) and as such these two episodes got some of the highest Nielsen ratings thus far.

References

^ ^a ^b "Seinfeld Season 4 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

External links

"The Trip" at IMDb - Part One
"The Trip" at IMDb - Part Two

[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 4 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[1]

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