Here at No Film School we love a good lesson. But, sometimes, simply reading and analyzing a well-written script is a certified lesson all in itself. I’d even say priceless, but we hate a cliche.
An archived, unproduced Seinfeld script written by Larry Charles called “The Bet” was recently discovered, purchased, and graciously shared online.
The episode was (rightfully?) too edgy for the traditional Seinfeld tone, and goes so far as to have Elaine literally pointing a gun to Mr. Jerry Seinfeld himself.
I’d argue comedy on this level is a response to Seinfeld’s boundary-pushing social commentary, but I can also imagine how wildly shocking it would be to see air on NBC or whatever when released. Seinfeld set the stage for a lot of great modern satire, but it was still a serialized sitcom very much of its time.
Lucky for us in the age of the internet, we can read and think about this episode and imagine what it would be like to watch it then, a simpler time, and think more deeply about how it would play now. Either way, it is pretty funny, and well worth a read if you’re curious how an episodic TV episode can be written and rejected. Can you imagine?
As posted by r/lostmedia, his 800 dollar purchase is for all of us to enjoy. Read it here and I hope you find all the value of his 800 dollars.
Sound off for any and all critical thoughts.
P.S. Did anyone see the Curb finale?
Author: Grant Vance
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
