Why Elaine Is Lacking From Two Seinfeld Episodes In Season 4

The hit ’90s sitcom “Seinfeld” was ostensibly a couple of fictionalized model of comic Jerry Seinfeld (performed by himself), however in actuality, it was about one of the deeply dysfunctional buddy teams in tv historical past. Every of the 4 members of the core gang was completely important to the present’s success, as they balanced each other. The dynamic does not work with out their particular person quirks. Conceptualized as a “present about nothing” by sequence creator Larry David, the characters turned the actual draw, and that made it particularly noticeable when considered one of them was lacking. 

Elaine Benes, performed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, was the one feminine member of the core 4, however that wasn’t the unique plan. In reality, a waitress named Claire (Lee Garlington) was initially deliberate to be the fourth lead, however the writers dropped her after the pilot as a result of they wished somebody extra energetic with the principle group. Elaine, Jerry’s ex-girlfriend character from episode 4, was the right match, and the remainder is tv historical past. Elaine was in each single episode of “Seinfeld” after the pilot… besides for 2. She’s notably absent from the season 4 two-part premiere, however what occurred? 

Apart from the pilot, Elaine is just absent from the two-part season 4 premiere, “The Journey.” Within the episode, Jerry and his finest buddy George (Jason Alexander) resolve to search for their buddy and Jerry’s former neighbor Kramer (Michael Richards) throughout a go to to Los Angeles, as Kramer had simply moved there on the finish of season 3. Whereas there, they uncover that Kramer is suspected of being a serial killer, and bizarre hilarity ensues. Elaine did not come alongside on the Los Angeles journey and is not within the episode as a result of she’s apparently on a visit to Europe, however the actual motive was that Louis-Dreyfus was on maternity go away together with her first youngster. Although they’d managed to cover her being pregnant for a good bit of filming, Louis-Dreyfus suffered from problems and was compelled to relaxation, which meant Elaine was written out of “The Journey.” 

Fortunately, Louis-Dreyfus had a better time together with her second being pregnant, throughout season 8, they usually managed to cover her rising bump with saggy garments. That is fairly widespread for sitcoms to do when there’s simply no method to write a being pregnant into the story, and everybody from Courteney Cox’s Monica on “Pals” to Mary Elizabeth Ellis’s Waitress on “It is All the time Sunny in Philadelphia” has used peasant blouses, saggy sweatshirts, and punctiliously positioned purses to cover their altering our bodies. Actually, it nearly appears like a plotline from Louis-Dreyfus’s different insanely common comedy, “Veep,” though Selina would by no means, ever put on these large sweaters.