The Frogger

The Frogger
Season	9
Episode	174
Air Date	April 23, 1998
Writer(s)	Andy Robin Gregg Kavet Steve Koren Dan O'Keefe
Director	Andy Ackerman
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“The Frogger” is the eighteenth episode of the ninth and final season of Seinfeld, and the 174th episode overall. This episode first aired on April 23, 1998. It was written by Andy Robin, Gregg Kavet, Steve Koren, and Dan O'Keefe, and was directed by Andy Ackerman.

Plot

Elaine is sick of celebrations at work. Other Walter is having his last day on Walter's birthday, and separate cakes are served to Elaine and the other employees for both occasions. She takes a sick day. Elaine's co-workers surprise her the next day with a cake to celebrate her return to work, but she rejects it and refuses to take part in any future celebrations. Missing the daily sugar-rush, Elaine goes to Peterman's office and eats a bite of cake from his mini-fridge. Peterman returns to his office and confides to Elaine that the slice of cake is from King Edward VIII's wedding to Wallis Simpson, and he bought it for $29,000. Elaine returns to his office later to even out the cake by cutting away the torn part and eating it, but is swept up by the decadence of eating cake from a royal wedding and ends up finishing it off. Elaine goes to the diner looking for a similar cake, but has no luck. Kramer points out that Peterman's slice of cake closely resembles an Entenmann's cake, so she buys one and sneaks it into Peterman's mini-fridge without him noticing anything amiss. However, when Peterman has the cake appraised, the appraiser tells him it is only worth $2.19 and identifies it as an Entenmann's. He reviews his office surveillance videotape and sees Elaine eating and dancing with the slice of cake. However, he decides the effect of such a stale cake on her digestive system is all the punishment she needs.

Kramer visits the police station, where he obtains some caution tape and hears about a criminal who is cutting off people's heads in the Riverside Park Area, nicknamed "The Lopper". George and Jerry visit their nostalgic hangout since high school called Mario's Pizza Parlor, as it is closing from bankruptcy, they both order two last slices of pizzas and two last leaders of grape sodas before it closes down. George then spots an old Sega/Gremlin version of the Frogger arcade cabinet that he got a record-breaking high score of over 860,000 points under the initials "GLC". George plans to buy the machine to preserve his fame. Jerry points out that he must keep it powered up while he moves it, or it will lose its memory, erasing all high scores. George meets with Kramer, expert electrician "Slippery Pete", and truck driver Shlomo to coordinate the movement of the Frogger machine. However, Slippery Pete carelessly plays Frogger on battery power until only three minutes of power remain. The only available power source is across a busy street, and Kramer has run out of caution tape. He looks at his situation, and attempts to roll the machine on wheels across the street while trying to avoid cars, like a game of Frogger. George reaches the opposite sidewalk, but is unable to lift the 382 pound machine onto the curb. A big hauling Freightliner comes and shatters the entire arcade cabinet.

Jerry is dating a girl who finishes his sentences for him, but incorrectly. While he walks her home after a bad date, she tells him she lives in the Riverside Park area. To avoid the Lopper, he instead takes her back to his place, where they end up having sex. Lisi plans a weekend trip for them to Pennsylvania Dutch country, a signal that the relationship is getting serious. It is too late for a phone breakup, so Jerry goes to Lisi's apartment and breaks up with her. However, the breakup takes ten hours, so Jerry makes up with her rather than risk going out at night and running into the Lopper. The next morning, they head off on the trip to Pennsylvania Dutch country.

Goofs

• Although the original Frogger has a score table, it only keeps track of the first 5 scores, with that it also does not allow you to enter your initials meaning George would not have been able to identify his score.

Notes About Nothing

• This episode was originally going to be titled "The Cake Parties".
• When George jumps on the sidewalk as he is almost hit, that was actually Jason Alexander doing his own stunt.
• 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.
• "The Frogger" is one of the few episodes in Seinfeld's last six seasons to have no Kramer story. Kramer's intended storyline for the episode, involving his courtship of a woman he meets outside the bathroom, was filmed but cut from the episode in its entirety before broadcast.