The Secret Code

The Secret Code
Season	7
Episode	117
Air Date	November 6, 1995
Writer(s)	Alec Berg & Jeff Schaffer
Director	Andy Ackerman
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“The Secret Code” originally aired on November 6, 1995. The episode was the seventh episode of Season 7. The episode was directed by Andy Ackerman and written by Alec Berg and Jeff Schaffer.

Plot

George doesn't want to tell Susan his secret bank account code, so he refuses to tell her. George now feels that he has to tell someone it because the whole situation is in his head. Meanwhile, Elaine starts dating a guy, Fred, who doesn't remember anything about her. She finds her dates boring with him now because all he talks about is himself. Elaine schedules a dinner with Jerry, George, and Peterman, although she doesn't go due to a date with Fred, and Jerry makes up something about him doing stand-up later that night, although he really just spends that night being lazy. Although he tries to get out of it, George spends a night with Peterman (a long one, too, with Peterman telling his stories and stuff), and when they start to drive home, Peterman receives a phone call that his mother is gravely ill, so he speeds to his mother's house, nearly killing George with the speed the car is going. When they do, they learn his mother can't talk and they would like them to talk to her. Meanwhile, Jerry plans to do a commercial for "Leapin' Larry's Appliances." The owner, Leapin' Larry, only has one foot because he lost his other in a boat accident, but when Jerry has to get up, his foot is asleep. Trying to get it awake, Jerry has to limp just like Leapin' Larry, and one of Larry's employees thinks Jerry is trying to impersonate Larry. The next morning, George is found on the floor sleeping at Peterman's mother's bedroom. When George figures the mother can't talk, he feels safe about giving her the secret code, as she may die soon, anyway. He tells her that the code is “Bosco,” George's favorite syrup. Suddenly, Peterman's mother starts screaming "Bosco! Bosco!" louder and louder until she finally dies. Peterman is suspicious, wondering why she yelled "Bosco!" Meanwhile, Kramer has always dreamt of being a fireman, but is turned down when he applies. When Jerry is back at Leapin' Larry's, he accidentally causes a fire. When a fireman gets knocked out accidentally, Kramer decides driving the routes for him but ends up crashing the truck. At Peterman's mother's funeral, it's cut short when everyone hears of the fire at Leapin' Larry's. As they run by, they see a man stuck inside a bank, whose jacket sleeve is caught in an ATM, and he can only be set free by a secret code. Reluctantly, George is forced to give up his code; when Peterman learns that George's code and his mother's dying words are exactly the same, he blames George for her demise; he immortalizes it with the Rogue's Wallet, featured in his new catalogue: “It’s where he kept his card, his dirty little secret. Short, devious, balding... his name was Costanza. He killed my mother.”

Quotes

Peterman (to the trapped man): Get out of there. You're in danger!
Man: But my sleeve, it's stuck in the machine! It ate my card!
Peterman: George, give me your ATM card.
George: I don't have my ATM card.
Peterman: George, you're obviously lying. Anyone can see that!
Man: Now give me your code.
George (whining): What? Why?
Man: The machine won't open without the code!
Peterman: George, give him your code.
George: But I—
Peterman: George, there's no time! Tell him your code. Shout out your code, man!
Man: THE CODE! THE CODE!

Notes About Nothing

• In this episode, Jerry reveals that his secret ATM code is "Jor-El"—Superman's father on Krypton. George's secret code is "Bosco," the name of the chocolate drink that his date once threw at him in “The Baby Shower”.
• In this episode, it is revealed that the first name of fictional chararcter J. Peterman is Jacopo and that he grew up in Costa Rica. Berg and Schaffer named the character after their local pizzeria, Jacopo's
• Judy Kerr, the dialogue coach for Seinfeld, makes an uncredited appearance as a woman on the street. She is the one who asks Jerry how the fire started. Judy helps each cast member remember his/her lines.
• Peterman meets Jerry and George in this episode.
• The Firehouse in this episode, #8 Firehouse in the Tribeca section of New York City, is the same firehouse that was used for exterior shots in both "Ghostbusters" films. Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989)