The Frogger

"The Frogger" is the 174th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 18th episode for the ninth and final season. It first aired on April 23, 1998.

Plot

Elaine is confronted with cake from two separate celebrations at her workplace; tired of the forced socializing, she calls in sick the next day. Jerry and George go to their old high-school hangout, Mario's Pizza Parlor, for one last slice of pizza before it closes down. Kramer has visited the police station where he obtained some caution tape used for crime scenes and also heard about a serial killer nicknamed "The Lopper" who is on the loose in the Riverside Park area.

At Mario's, George discovers he still has the high score on the old Frogger video game, with a score of 860,630 points; both he and Jerry remember that they stopped going to Mario's because he had a tendency to insult his customers. Elaine's co-workers give her a cake to celebrate her return to work from being sick, but she refuses to take part in any future celebrations. Jerry dates Elaine's friend Lisi (Julia Campbell) and discovers that she's a sentence-finisher: "It's like dating Mad Libs!" After lamenting that his shrine will be gone, George decides to buy the Frogger machine to preserve his fame, but Jerry asks how he will move it and keep it plugged in to preserve the high score. Kramer discovers that the last victim of the Lopper looked a lot like Jerry.

George works to find a solution to his Frogger problem, and Kramer volunteers the help of a man he knows named "Slippery Pete" (Peter Stormare). Missing the 4:00 sugar-rush she'd become used to from all the celebrations, Elaine raids her boss Peterman's refrigerator, where she finds a piece of cake. Later, Peterman reveals that it's worth $29,000 because of its historical significance: it's from King Edward VIII's wedding to Wallis Simpson.

Jerry wants to break up with Lisi, then discovers she lives in the Riverside Park area. To avoid the Lopper, he takes her back to his place, where she finishes one of his thoughts that takes their relationship to the next level. Elaine tells Jerry and George about the cake, then tells Jerry that Lisi is planning a weekend trip for them to Pennsylvania Dutch country. Jerry fears that Lisi received the wrong message; a trip like that means it's a serious relationship! Elaine tries to even out Peterman's slice of cake, but gets swept up in the moment and finishes it off. George and Kramer meet with Slippery Pete and truck driver Shlomo (Reuven Bar Yotam), to coordinate the movement of the Frogger machine. Elaine later looks for a replacement for Peterman's cake, and Kramer suggests an Entenmann's cake.

Jerry goes to Lisi's apartment, where he tries to break up with her. When Jerry is finally ready to leave, it's 10 hours later and dark, and as he exits the apartment he sees a man whom he fears is the Lopper and pleads that Lisi let him back inside; the man turns out to actually be just "Slippery Pete". Peterman is bewildered when he has his piece of cake appraised at $2.19. George finds "Slippery Pete" playing his Frogger game on battery power until only about 3 minutes of power remain. The only available power source is across the busy street, and Kramer has run out of caution tape. Convinced he does not need any help, George starts moving the machine across the busy street, moving through traffic like the frog from the video game. However, as George reaches the opposite sidewalk he is unable to lift the game onto the curb; an oncoming Freightliner smashes the game cabinet, causing Jerry to quip, "Game over".

Peterman shows Elaine surveillance videotape of her eating and "dancing" with the slice of cake. He is convinced that the effect of such a "vintage" cake on her digestive system will be all the punishment she needs and dismisses her.

The Frogger arcade game

• On September 24, 2005, The Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard issued a colorful poster that offered a $1,000 cash prize to the first video game player who could break George Costanza's fictional Frogger high score of 860,630 points as portrayed in "The Frogger". No player was able to break this mark before the December 31, 2005 deadline. On December 22, 2009, Pat Laffaye of Connecticut, USA, scored a Frogger world record high score of 896,980 points.^[1][2] His score was beaten again by Michael Smith, who scored 970,440 points on July 15, 2012.^[3]
• The sound effects during George's moving of the machine are actual sounds from Frogger, played in time with his movements. The sound that plays shortly after the machine is smashed by a truck is the "squash" sound when the frog is hit by a vehicle during the game.

Production

This episode was originally going to be titled "The Cake Parties".

Jason Alexander performed his own stunt in this episode, actually diving out of the path of an oncoming truck and being showered with the shrapnel of the crushed Frogger machine as the truck ran it over. He later recounted that two large and heavy pieces of paneling from the side of the game landed uncomfortably close to his head during the shooting of this scene.

Most scenes deleted from this episode involved Kramer attracting a new "long distance" girlfriend; this carries over to the next episode "The Maid".

References

External links

The Frogger 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