10 Things That Happened In Season 1 Of Seinfeld Fans Completely Forgot About

Many consider Seinfeld to be the greatest comedy in the history of television. Its subversion of the sitcom format and its emphasis on no character development for Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer were crucial components of what made Seinfeld so different from all the rest.

However, like all great comedies, it took a while to get to that point. Season one of the show is practically unrecognizable from what the comedy would become. As such, there are a number of moments throughout the first arc of Seinfeld that fans might have long since forgotten about, since it aired way back in 1989 and 1990.

10 Kramer Or Kessler?

It does not take eagle ears to pick up on a major discrepancy in the first ever episode of Seinfeld. Cosmo Kramer, the wacky, unknowable neighbor of Jerry, is not actually referred to as Kramer.

Instead, his name is Kessler. Mostly, this had to do with the uncertainty of calling him Kramer when the character was based off a real-life Kramer. But it’s still a bit jarring to hear him called Kessler in that initial pilot.

9 Claire Or Elaine?

Similarly, the pilot comes off as a wonky caricature of what Seinfeld would become because it lacks Elaine altogether. It’s not that Elaine is referred to as Claire; it’s that Claire is a different character outright.

Lee Garlington portrayed the Claire character and was slated to be a series regular. It might be weird to not see Elaine in an episode of Seinfeld, but at least Jerry and Larry David knew that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was essential for the show.

8 Pete’s Luncheonette

The conceit of Claire’s character was that she was going to be a waitress at Pete’s Luncheonette, the regularly frequented establishment by the characters of Seinfeld. Not only was Claire scrapped, but so was Pete’s!

It’s a bit of a Bizarro world to see the Seinfeld gang dining at a place that was not Monk’s Cafe. But if one has forgotten their early dining adventures, one need only watch the pilot to see the “dust in the wind” appearance of Pete’s.

7 Kramer’s Dog

In the pilot episode of Seinfeld, Kramer (or Kessler, as he is referred to) has a pet dog. The dog has no bearing on the episode and, when the pilot was wrapped up, he never appeared again.

It’s definitely for the best that the dog got out when he could. It could only be bad news if Kramer had had pets in his apartment for the run of the show.

6 Art Vandelay

Season one of Seinfeld was not received well in terms of critical reaction or audience viewership. Fortunately, NBC stuck with it and it blossomed into something beautiful. But fans can often forget that season one had a few diamonds in the rough along the way.

For example, it might be quite easy to forget that Art Vandelay, the famed alias of George Costanza’s wannabe architect persona, appeared way back in the series’ second episode, “The Stakeout.”

5 Moving Out

Not much happens in terms of plot or iconic moments in the first season of Seinfeld. But the biggest storyline that fans might have forgotten about is the one that almost sent Jerry out of his apartment.

In “The Robbery,” the gang puts some serious thought into finding a new apartment to be the hub of their interactions. They come quite close to moving into a new one, but instead decide against it at the last moment. Fans would be surprised to remember how quickly they actually came to moving way back in the first season!

4 A Win For George

The merry band of New York misanthropes does not often experience a win by the end of each Seinfeld installment. This is doubly true for George Costanza, whose nefarious actions are often rewarded with detestable comeuppance.

However, in the first season finale, “The Stock Tip,” George actually grabs a win at the episode’s end. His clever stock market maneuvering nets him thousands of dollars. He wouldn’t have many more wins after this, but it’s easy to forget that season one featured one of his finest.

3 Enter Quickly

It’s easy to forget that Kramer did not always enter Jerry’s apartment speedily and in a blustery way. However, in season one, he actually started out coming and going in a fairly normal way.

It is not until the first season’s third episode, “The Robbery,” that a frazzled Kramer actually slides into Jerry’s apartment. Obviously, it would become ingrained in the character, but season one took some growing pains to get there.

2 Vanessa Times Two

Anyone who has ever watched an episode of Seinfeld knows that Jerry’s romantic foibles never last long. (That is to say, they never extend beyond one episode.) However, in the first season, Lynn Clark’s Vanessa character appears twice.

In season one’s “The Stock Tip” and “The Stakeout,” Jerry experiences relationship happenings with the same woman. It’s an extremely odd occurrence and definitely belongs as a relic of the first season.

1 Kramerica Industries

Similar to the falsified moniker of Art Vandelay appearing this early in Seinfeld, so too did Kramerica Industries. The first season of Seinfeld is an awkward one, but it still managed to produce a number of long-running gems.

Kramerica Industries, founded as an entrepreneurial pizza endeavor, would return multiple times to Seinfeld as a symbol of Kramer’s ingenuity. It’s just easy to forget that it happened all the way back in the first season.

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