Although Seinfeld is well known for pushing the boundaries of sitcom comedies, there is apparently one episode that the cast refused to have aired on American television.
As Screen Crush reveals, there was an episode written for the fourth episode of season two titled "The Bet" set to focus on Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) potentially buying a gun for protection, as part of a bet. Like many episodes in Seinfeld, it was set to mimic a real-life event which happened to writer Elaine Pope, who did purchase a fire arm in real life, as reported by The A.V. Club.
Although it written, cast and geared up for production, because the episode's subject matter made those involved with the show uncomfortable, including Tom Cherones, the episode's would-be director, who revealed this tidbit in the first place, it never came to be. Rather, it remained alongside "Puerto Rico Day"—an episode that was originally banned from syndication—as one of the more controversial aspects of the legendary series.
The episode also dealt with another bet involving Kramer (Michael Richards) claiming that he slept with flight attendant on plane ride back from Puerto Rico. George (Jason Alexander) doubted the story, but Jerry believed it was true. The validity of the story would determine who won the bet between the two friends.
The episode was written by Larry Charles, the man who would go on to direct Sacha Baron Cohen films like Borat, Bruno and The Dictator. As the man who would also write "The Trip," the season four episode making Kramer a suspected murder, he wasn't a stranger to bringing some of the darker moments of the series to pass.
What is most interesting about this never-to-be-made episode is that it would be where Kramer's first name was set to be revealed, which, at the time, was going to be Conrad instead of Cosmos. Kramer's first name would eventually be revealed as such in its sixth season.
Some elements of the episode would come to pass later in the series, including the airport aspect in, you guessed it, "The Airport" in the twelfth episode of season four.
With the show's 25th anniversary just passing, the show remains about as popular and beloved today as it was in its original airing. As such, whether or not this episode would affect the show's longevity will never be known. Still, it is odd to hear that, for a show that would episodes about masturbation, the handicapped and more would find guns just a bit too far. Then again, it was in the early (a.k.a shaky) days of the program.
Image courtesy of Walter McBride/INFphoto.com