The Voice (Seinfeld)

"The Voice" is the 158th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the second episode for the ninth and final season. It aired on October 2, 1997.^[1]

Plot

George's employer wants to get rid of him, since they now know he isn't really handicapped and as a result, they don't like him. He has a one-year contract with Play Now, which he will exploit by meeting only the most basic requirement of showing up for work every day.

Jerry and George imagine a scenario in which the stomach of Claire (Jerry's girlfriend) makes sounds during the night, chiefly by saying "Helloooo! La, la, la!" in a loud, booming voice. Jerry envisions the belly button as the mouth and the sound the stomach makes as its "voice". Because of the "bump-into," Jerry tells Elaine that she is destined to backslide into her relationship with David Puddy. She bets him $50 that she won't. The next day Jerry discovers that Elaine didn't go home last night. He accuses her of seeing Puddy. She says the sex they had was an isolated incident. Jerry agrees, but since the dinner they also had was more of a commitment, he demands that she pay up.

Kramer is tired of seeing all his ideas implemented before he has a chance to implement them himself. He contends that all the little day to day incidental things keep getting in his way and prevent him from realizing his ideas. He gets an intern from New York University, Darin, to help him out with "Kramerica Industries", the corporation he had previously set up to develop some of his ideas. With this help, he'll be freed from those day-to-day activities and be able to develop his ideas (such as the oil tanker bladder).

Meanwhile, George is fighting the siege mentality that he is encountering at work and Elaine just can't get Puddy off her mind. No matter what the obstacle, George endeavors to occupy his office. Jerry tells Claire about the voice and she leaves him. The university takes Kramer's intern away from him, pointing out that Kramerica Industries consists of only "a solitary man with a messy apartment which may or may not contain a chicken". Kramer replies, "and with Darin's help, we'll get that chicken." Claire says to Jerry that they can get back together if only he won't do "the voice" ever again, but he later decides that he prefers "the voice". To Jerry's great disappointment, however, everyone is tired of "the voice". Elaine pays up and they decide on a double or nothing bet. The intern comes back on his own because he believes in Kramerica.

Play Now tries to negotiate with George, but he won't give in. Later, he offers his office and one of their rubber balls to allow Kramer to test his oil tanker bladder idea. The big test takes place at George's workplace where Jerry plans to meet Claire. They quickly notice and try to warn her about the falling rubber ball of oil, but all she hears is "the voice" from Jerry and won't listen; when she finally looks up, it's too late.

The lawsuit that is filed by Claire puts Play Now out of business and George out of his contract, so he's not going in anymore, they're not paying him for him working there, and he's pretty much broke. Kramer somehow manages to shift the blame to Darin, whom he claims will be "going away for a long, long time..." The incident makes "the voice" popular among the gang again, and Elaine realizes she wants to be with Puddy, although he wants to break up.

Episode notes

• This episode was originally going to be titled "The Backslide."
• The basis of the talking stomach was Seinfeld writer Spike Feresten's real life experience of imagining his girlfriend's butt talking to him while she slept. He recounted the idea to his fellow writers on Seinfeld, where the butt's "voice" became something of an inside-joke. He told his girlfriend this, and her reaction was much like Claire's in the episode. After the writing staff decided to incorporate it into an episode, Seinfeld decided to change it to her belly button talking to him, so that it wouldn't appear to be simple "bawdy humor." Seinfeld later commented that he wished they had kept it as a talking butt.
• The scene where Jerry was making a decision between being with Claire, or having the inside belly button joke pays homage to the same scene in "The Invitations" and "The Engagement".
• Kramerica Industries was also mentioned in the episode "Male Unbonding".

External links

• The Voice at the Internet Movie Database

References

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