The script for a scrapped Seinfeld episode has been released (Picture: NBCTv/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
A Seinfeld episode that was cut after it was considered too controversial has re-emerged more than three decades later.
The TV sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld originally aired for nine seasons from 1989 to 1998.
It starred Seinfeld as a fictionalised version of himself and focused on his personal life with three of his friends: best friend George Costanza (Jason Alexander), former girlfriend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and neighbour Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards).
Although it was a massive hit from the get-go, one particular episode never got made after complaints were raised.
The show’s ninth episode was initially meant to be one co-titled The Bet and The Gun, which followed the friends betting on whether Elaine would purchase a gun for protection.
Although the episodes existence and the fact it was cut has long been known about, the full script has now been released online after reportedly being purchased and then shared by a fan.
The Gun was set to show Elaine contemplating buying a gun (Picture: J. Delvalle/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
The episode was well on its way to being made back in the early 1990s until Louis-Dreyfus and director Tom Cherones raised concerns about its gun ownership themes.
Written by famed Seinfeld screenwriter Larry Charles, one scene in particular was set to show Elaine pointing a gun at her head while making a joke about John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
The episode began with Elaine deciding to purchase her first gun after learning about a series of muggings in her inner circle.
When looking for one to purchased at a dodgy dealer’s apartment, she points one at Jerry and says, ‘Shut up wimp or I’ll blow your brains out.’
Elaine also describes feeling ‘aggressive’ being around weapons.
The actress is reported to have complained about the content (Picture: NBC/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
‘I was out gun shopping. It puts you in an aggressive mood. I have so much more energy when I’m hostile,’ her line in the script reads.
Although she ultimately decided not to become a gun owner by the end of the episode, that wasn’t enough to get the episode made and to screens.
At the time it was scrapped, the sets, cast and extras for the episode were already in place.
However, the plug was pulled after Louis-Dreyfus and other cast and crew made it clear they were uncomfortable with the content.
Speaking to Cracked last year, Charles conceded the script ‘wasn’t funny enough’ to justify the dark storyline.
The sitcom ran from 1989 to 1998 (Picture: Everett/REX/Shutterstock)
‘Larry and Jerry were extremely supportive of me, and my episodes tended to veer into violence and darkness, occasionally,’ he told the publication.
‘They were super-supportive and loved that — they loved to have that aspect of the show. But in this case, I think what finally — no pun intended — “killed” that episode was that it wasn’t funny enough.
‘There was no escaping the grimness of it and it wasn’t leavened by laughter. They believed — and I begrudgingly accepted this — that a fix could not be had.’
The script is believed to have emerged after Alexander sold his personal one for the episode at a charity auction in 2022.
The script is believed to have emerged after Jason Alexander sold his copy in 2022 (Picture: Morgan Lieberman/Getty Images)
This wasn’t the only episode of the hit series to never make it to air.
Author Dennis Bjorklund’s 2013 book, Seinfeld Reference, revealed how a script about race raised concerns among executives.
In the script, George makes the observation: ‘You know, I have never seen a black person order a salad.”
The episode was never filmed.
Seinfeld is streaming on Netflix.
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