The Stock Tip

Infobox Television episode
Title=The Stock Tip
Series=Seinfeld


Caption=George returns from seeing Wilkinson in the hospital, with some bad news.
Season=1
Episode=5
Airdate=June 21, 1990
Production=105
Writer=Larry David Jerry Seinfeld
Director=Tom Cherones
Episode list = List of "Seinfeld" episodes
Season list = Infobox Seinfeld season 1 episode list
Prev =
Next =

"The Stock Tip" is the fifth episode of the first season of the NBC sitcom "Seinfeld". It aired on June 21, 1990. [cite web|last=Kytasaari|first=Dennis|url=http://epguides.com/Seinfeld/|title=Seinfeld (a Titles & Air Dates Guide)|publisher=epguides.com|date=2007-08-09|accessdate=2008-08-04] In it, George Costanza tells Jerry Seinfeld and Elaine Benes that a friend of a friend of his has given him a stock tip, and encourages them to invest with him. Jerry does so, but as soon as he does, the value of his stock falls.

Plot

While dining at Monk's Cafe, Elaine Benes tells Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza that she is suffering from an allergic reaction to her boyfriend Robert's cats. Jerry contemplates asking his girlfriend Vanessa (Lynn Clark) to away on a holiday together. George reads the business section of the newspaper, where he learns that some stock in which he invested $5,000 has increased in value, after a friend of a friend of his tipped him: Simon's friend Wilkinson. George persuades Jerry to join him, and he invests $2,500 into the same company.

Jerry is in a grocery store with Vanessa, after they visited the cinema. He manages to persuade Vanessa to go away with him to a place that Elaine knows, in Vermont. Meanwhile, he reads the newspaper and in the hope his stock has gone up, but it has in fact fell in value. The next day, Cosmo Kramer tells Jerry that his stock has fallen again. Jerry calls George so that he get advice from Wilkinson, the man who gave the stock tip in the first place, but no-one can find him. George rings him back and tells Jerry that Wilkinson is in the hospital. While visiting the dry cleaners, Jerry tells George that he wants to sell his stock, but George keeps telling him to keep going. Eventually, George says he will go and visit Wilkinson to find out what they should do, despite the fact that George does not know him personally.

At Jerry's apartment, Elaine says that the only way that she can get rid of Robert's cats is if they should have some form of "accident" and offers Jerry the job, but he refuses. Kramer then tells Jerry that his stock has fallen yet again. George then returns from visiting Wilkinson, but was then thrown out of the hospital when Wilkinson saw him. Jerry decides to sell his stocks, while George decides to "go down with the ship". Jerry and Vanessa go to Vermont, but regrets going with her. He then reads the business section of the newspaper to see what happened to the stock since he got out of it. The stock has risen dramatically. Vanessa then claims that Jerry only took her to Vermont because he lost so much money. Back in New York, George is celebrating the rising price of his stock, which increase by $8,000. Elaine then says that she gave Robert an ultimatum: the cats went or she went. Robert decided to keep the cats. George then tells Jerry and Elaine that Wilkinson has another stock tip.

Production

"The Stock Tip" was recorded in front of a live studio audience at Ren-Mar Studios in Hollywood, California on March 20, 1990.cite video|title=Seinfeld Seasons 1 & 2: Notes about Nothing - "The Stock Tip"|medium=DVD|publisher=Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|date=2004-11-23]

This episode contains the first "Seinfeld" reference to "Superman", which would be a recurring feature in later episodes in the series. An earlier draft of the episode featured Jerry aruguing that in a nuclear holocaust, when everyone is very depressed, Superman could cheer everyone up with his "super humour". George responded by saying that no-one would laugh because they would blame Superman for not stopping the holocaust in the first place.

The character of Vanessa first appeared earlier in season one in the episode "The Stake Out". She is one of only a few of Jerry's girlfriends to appear in more than one episode. According to Larry David, co-writer of the episode, her character returned because there was no mention of any break-up in "The Stake Out", and therefore the characters were still dating. Benjamin Lum, who plays the stock boy, reappears as a mail carrier in the season five episode "The Cigar Store Indian".

Reception

When "The Stock Tip" was first broadcast on June 21, 1990, it attracted a Nielsen Rating of 13.5/24, meaning that 13.5% of American households watched the episode, and that 24% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into it. The second season of "Seinfeld" was commissioned after this episode and a repeat of the pilot episode were broadcast.

Critics praised several elements of the episode, including Jerry's confrontation with the dry cleaner. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said that the episode "succeeded in a few ways. For one, it includes DVD One's [The first disc of the '"Seinfeld" Seasons 1 & 2' DVD boxset] funniest bit: Jerry's confrontation with a dry cleaner. In addition, the episode offers our first look at a program that tries to branch out substantially beyond just one story. The prior shows went with one overriding plot, but "Tip" indulges equally in the stock and Vanessa elements. It's still not a great show, but it provides some advancement." [cite web|last=Jacobson|first=Colin|url=http://www.dvdmg.com/seinfelds12.shtml|title=Seinfeld: Seasons 1 & 2 (1990-1991)|publisher=DVD Movie Guide|date=2004-11-18|accessdate=2008-08-24]

References