The hit ’90s sitcom “Seinfeld” was ostensibly a few fictionalized model of comic Jerry Seinfeld (performed by himself), however in actuality, it was about probably the most deeply dysfunctional buddy teams in tv historical past. Every of the 4 members of the core gang was completely very important to the present’s success, as they balanced each other. The dynamic would not work with out their particular person quirks. Conceptualized as a “present about nothing” by collection creator Larry David, the characters grew to become the actual draw, and that made it particularly noticeable when one among them was lacking.
Elaine Benes, performed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, was the one feminine member of the core 4, however that wasn’t the unique plan. In truth, a waitress named Claire (Lee Garlington) was initially deliberate to be the fourth lead, however the writers dropped her after the pilot as a result of they wished somebody extra energetic with the principle group. Elaine, Jerry’s ex-girlfriend character from episode 4, was the proper match, and the remainder is tv historical past. Elaine was in each single episode of “Seinfeld” after the pilot… besides for 2. She’s notably absent from the season 4 two-part premiere, however what occurred?
Elaine wasn’t within the season 4 premiere as a result of Louis-Dreyfus was on maternity depart
Apart from the pilot, Elaine is barely absent from the two-part season 4 premiere, “The Journey.” Within the episode, Jerry and his finest buddy George (Jason Alexander) resolve to lookup their buddy and Jerry’s former neighbor Kramer (Michael Richards) throughout a go to to Los Angeles, as Kramer had simply moved there on the finish of season 3. Whereas there, they uncover that Kramer is suspected of being a serial killer, and bizarre hilarity ensues. Elaine did not come alongside on the Los Angeles journey and is not within the episode as a result of she’s apparently on a visit to Europe, however the actual purpose was that Louis-Dreyfus was on maternity depart along with her first baby. Although that they had managed to cover her being pregnant for a good bit of filming, Louis-Dreyfus suffered from issues and was pressured to relaxation, which meant Elaine was written out of “The Journey.”
Fortunately, Louis-Dreyfus had a neater time along with her second being pregnant, throughout season 8, they usually managed to cover her rising bump with saggy garments. That is fairly frequent for sitcoms to do when there’s simply no strategy to write a being pregnant into the story, and everybody from Courteney Cox’s Monica on “Mates” to Mary Elizabeth Ellis’s Waitress on “It is All the time Sunny in Philadelphia” has used peasant blouses, saggy sweatshirts, and thoroughly positioned purses to cover their altering our bodies. Truthfully, it nearly feels like a plotline from Louis-Dreyfus’s different insanely widespread comedy, “Veep,” though Selina would by no means, ever put on these huge sweaters.
