The Fire (Seinfeld)

"The Fire" is the 84th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and the 19th episode of the fifth season. It originally aired on May 5, 1994, on NBC. This was the final episode to be written by Larry Charles.

Plot

At Pendant Publishing Kramer is discussing his idea of a coffee table book about coffee tables with Elaine and his new girlfriend, Elaine's ecstatic co-worker, Toby (Veanne Cox). Elaine finds Toby, as well as Kramer's book, very annoying. George is dating Robin, a woman with a young son. Jerry is preparing his act to impress a magazine critic.

Kramer invites Toby to see Jerry's act, where she initially cheers him, but then she starts heckling, booing, and hissing him ceaselessly after a joke he tells offends her. As a result of the heckling, Jerry gets a bad review from the critic. George, attending Robin's son's birthday party, cannot understand how "Eric the Clown" (played by Jon Favreau) does not know who Bozo is and complains that "Eric" is not a good clown name. Later, George panics when a small fire breaks out in the kitchen and he rushes away, violating the maxim "women and children first" while pushing down everyone in his path including Robin's son, her mother, a disabled elderly woman, and the clown, leaving them all behind. The attendees of the birthday party are extremely upset with him, so he tries to justify his behavior by saying how he acted bravely by pushing his way to the front, acting as their "leader," an explanation that nobody buys. Eric apparently saved the day by putting the fire out with one of his big clown shoes.

Jerry takes the ultimate revenge for a comedian by appearing at Toby's workplace to heckle her; crying, she runs out of her office and onto the street where her foot is run over by a street sweeper, which severs her pinky toe. Later, Kramer retells the story of how he found the toe, boarded a bus, and fought a gunman just to go to the hospital.

Toby gets her toe reattached and upon returning to Pendant Publishing, she gets condolences from everyone who file in and push Elaine out of her own office. To Elaine's further indignation, Toby was promoted instead of her because her boss felt sorry for her because of the accident. Toby's first order of business is getting Kramer's coffee table book published. At the club, Jerry convinced the critic to return to judge his performance again. Also in the club, George, inspired by Kramer's story, asks Robin for a second chance. However, he panics and screams again at the sight of a comedian's (Dom Irrera) prop gun and ruins both Jerry's act by having the audience evacuate because of the fake gun and his second chance with Robin.

Trivia

• Robin was played by Melanie Chartoff, whom Larry David and Michael Richards knew from the time they worked on the short-lived sketch series Fridays.
• The name on the back of Ronnie Kaye's Boston Bruins sweater is "Irrera". Ronnie is played by comedian Dom Irrera.
• The voice that announces Jerry's name before he goes on stage is that of show co-creator Larry David.
• Jon Favreau plays Eric The Clown

External links

1. "The Fire". 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