The Busboy

"The Busboy" is the 17th episode of Seinfeld to air, despite being the eighth produced. The episode was the 12th and final episode of the show's second season. It aired on June 26, 1991.

Plot

Jerry, George, and Elaine are at dinner when a menu on an adjacent table catches on fire. George puts it out and explains to the manager that the busboy, Antonio, (David Labiosa) left the menu too close to a lit candle, and Elaine jokingly declares she is never eating there again. The manager takes this seriously and the busboy is fired that very night, upsetting Elaine and George. George and Kramer later go to the busboy's ramshackle apartment to apologize, only to accidentally leave the door open, letting his cat out. A few days later, the busboy comes to see George, and tells him that there was a gas line explosion at the restaurant, killing five employees, including the busboy hired to replace him. He thanks George for inadvertently saving his life and says he's found a better paying job anyway and also his escaped cat has come back to him. Meanwhile, Elaine faces having her boyfriend Ed stay with her for a week. Then, she tries frantically to get him onto a plane back to Seattle, only to accidentally oversleep and on the way to JFK International Airport encounter a five-car pileup on Rockaway Blvd. With her boyfriend still with her, he gets into a shouting match and eventually a fistfight in the hallway of Jerry's apartment building with the busboy, resulting in injuries on both ends after they fall down several flights of stairs. The busboy loses his new job, George is forced to take care of his cat and Elaine's boyfriend is bed ridden at her apartment for several more weeks.

Notability of the episode

This episode was noted by the supporting cast in an interview used for a DVD set as the first sign that Larry and Jerry would be generous writers, being both very good about including the co-stars into simultaneous story lines. In fact, Jerry doesn't even have a storyline.

In this episode, George claims to know the best public toilets anywhere in Manhattan. In the seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry has written the reunion so that George has parlayed this knowledge into an iPhone app called "iToilet" which the fictionalized version of Jerry would described as "An iphone application that leads you via your GPS to the nearest acceptable toilet wherever you are in the world".

This episode was filmed in October 1990, simultaneously with "The Pony Remark" and "The Ex-Girlfriend".

At 12.5 million viewers, this episode had the least amount of viewers for any Seinfeld episode in its original airing.

External links

1. "The Busboy".  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