The Robbery

"The Robbery" is the third episode of the first season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld.

It aired as the third episode of the season on June 7, 1990.^[1] It was written by Matt Goldman, therefore making this the first Seinfeld episode not written by the show's creators: Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David.^[2]

In the episode, Jerry leaves Elaine in charge of his apartment while he goes on tour. When he returns, he finds the apartment has been robbed after Kramer left the front door open. While Kramer promises to find the robbers, George offers him the chance to move into a much better apartment—a move he accepts, allowing Elaine to move in Jerry's apartment and away from her annoying roommate Tina.

Plot

Jerry goes away to perform some stand-up in Minneapolis, leaving Elaine to look after his apartment. Elaine is having trouble with an annoying roommate, Tina, who is a "Waitress/Actress" hoping to get a part, and asks George if he can find her some new accommodation. She then tries to persuade Jerry to give her his current apartment, with George offering Jerry a new apartment on West 83rd Street by Central Park which he claims is great, but Jerry turns the offer down. When Jerry returns he finds the apartment has been burglarized because Kramer left the front door open by mistake. As a way of making up, Kramer promises to find the items that were stolen from Jerry.

After the robbery, Elaine still asks Jerry to give her the apartment. Jerry decides to have a look around the new apartment first. The apartment is great and Jerry takes it, allowing Elaine to move into the old apartment. Jerry is about to sign the lease to the apartment, but George tells him that if he was having second thoughts, he should not take it. This results in him thinking that George may want the new apartment for himself. The two have an argument resulting in neither of them wanting to move. They gamble for the apartment and Jerry wins. Meanwhile, Kramer claims that he thinks he knows where Jerry's stolen objects are, and suspects an Englishman along the hallway who denies having any "stuff" on him.

Later in Monk's Café, Jerry goes back on the deal and decides not to take the place because George wants it. The two continue to argue about who should own it, and decided that neither of them should take it. A waitress, Carolyn, played by Anita Wise, overhears them and George offers the place to her, which she accepts. The waitress invites them and Elaine to her housewarming, but it is clear that Jerry, George, and Elaine are not enjoying themselves. They overhear two people having a conversation about someone else moving out of their apartment, to which all three ask what the apartment's rent is.

Production

"The Robbery" was written by Matt Goldman, a firstimer, therefore making this episode the first not to be written by Seinfeld or David and the only one not written by Seinfeld and David for the season,^[2] and directed by Tom Cherones, during the course of the first production season. The idea for the episode was inspired by Seinfeld's own experiences of his apartment being robbed when he was a student, although rather than the door being unlocked as it was in the episode, the burglars broke through the walls.^[2][3] Co-creator of the series Larry David was given a $20,000 bonus by Castle Rock and was promoted to executive producer for his work on the episode.^[4] During the shooting of the episode, an earthquake struck the set, but no one was hurt.^[5]

The episode is the first to mention the character of Tina, Elaine's actress roommate, although she does not appear in this episode. It is also the first episode to feature Kramer making a sliding entrance into Jerry's apartment, which became a trademark in all the later episodes. Carolyn the waitress, played by Anita Wise, and her husband Larry, are named after Seinfeld's own sister and brother-in-law.^[2]

In the original draft of the script, the Englishman is called "Berbick." In the same script, Elaine asks Jerry what happened between Kramer and the Englishman. Jerry replies, "Kramer stayed there three hours. They're like best friends now."^[2]

Reception

When "The Robbery" first aired on June 7, 1990, it received a Nielsen rating of 13.6/24. This means that the episode was watched by 13.6% of American households, and that 24% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into it.^[2]

Reviews of the episode are mixed. Andy Patrizio from IGN.com wrote that "The Robbery" was the best episode of the first season of Seinfeld, saying that it showed "the dynamics that would come to define the show."^[6] However, Colin Jacobson for DVD Movie Guide said, "It lacks the great banter and play that marks the best episodes, but it doesn't come across as a total dud. It just seems a bit uninspired in the greater scheme of things."^[7]

References

External links

• The Robbery at the official Seinfeld site.
• "The Robbery".  at the Internet Movie Database

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