The Parking Garage - Misplaced Pages

"The Parking Garage" is the 23rd episode of the situation comedy Seinfeld. It was the sixth episode of the show's third season. It aired on October 30, 1991 on NBC.

Written by Larry David and directed by Tom Cherones, the episode takes place entirely in a parking garage. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews, and was ranked #33 on TV Guide's 1997 list of the 100 Greatest TV episodes of All Time. It received a 12.1/19 Nielsen rating.

Plot

After Kramer purchases an air conditioner from a shopping mall in New Jersey, no one in the group can remember where his car was parked in the multi-level parking garage. After carrying the air conditioner for some time, an exhausted Kramer leaves it behind one of the parked cars and tries to memorize the number of the parking space. Elaine fears that her new goldfish will die in the bag before they can arrive home, George must meet his parents by 6:15 to take them out to celebrate their anniversary, and Jerry seriously has to urinate.

Elaine begs various people in the parking garage to give them a ride around the structure to find their car, but no one is willing to help. Kramer badgers Jerry to urinate in a corner where no one can see him. After Jerry reluctantly does so, he is spotted by a security guard and detained. Jerry tries to talk his way out of trouble by making up a story about a fictional disease of "uromysitisis poisoning", before telling the truth. Elaine, Kramer, and George split up to find Jerry.

George also gets caught in the act of urinating after being convinced to do so by Kramer. Jerry and George are both fined and released. After the two find Elaine, Jerry convinces George to ask an attractive woman to give them a lift around the garage. The woman accepts, and they all enter her car and drive off. She kicks them out almost immediately, after George makes disparaging remarks about L. Ron Hubbard, unaware that she is a Scientologist. They are dropped off right by Kramer's car but Kramer, who holds the keys, is still lost somewhere in the garage, having gone to search for the air conditioner. By the time he gets back, Elaine's goldfish are dead and George is well past the deadline to meet his parents. They all get in the car, but the engine fails to start.

Production

The Parking Garage was written by Larry David, his fourth writing credit for the season, and was directed by Tom Cherones, his fourth directing credit for the season. It was filmed on the normal Seinfeld soundstage. The audience bleachers, Jerry's apartment and the restaurant set were removed to make room for the new set. Shooting was done from different angles so the entire set was shown. The stage was surrounded by mirrors to make the garage appear larger. Louis-Dreyfus and Seinfeld had their makeup redone between takes while lying on the ground because the shoot was so demanding.

Because Michael Richards wanted the shoot to be as realistic as possible, he insisted that an actual air conditioner be placed in the box Kramer was to carry around, so that Kramer's struggles were actually real. This got taxing as the shoot went on, and Richards also cut his lip while trying to load the air conditioner into his car.

The ending was scripted to have the gang drive off together; the car failing to start at the end of the episode was an accident. Richards continued to crank the car's ignition without success. It was decided that it was a much funnier ending, and it was kept in the episode as something else gone wrong. The other actors' natural reactions are visible as the car fails to start.

Theme

The episode follows the premise of the idea of Seinfeld as a "show about nothing". Holly Ordway of DVD Talk compared it to "The Chinese Restaurant" from the second season, which takes place entirely in a Chinese restaurant.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "The Parking Garage" received a Nielsen rating of 12.1 rating/19% share—this means that 12.1% of American households watched the episode and 19% of televisions in use at the time were tuned to it.

Critical response

The episode has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics with many saying it is better than "The Chinese Restaurant". Holly Ordway called the episode "another classic Seinfeld episode" and also stated "the characters spend the whole episode in the same place resulting in an episode that's both memorable and funny." She also said it was better than second season's "The Chinese Restaurant". Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said "À la Season Two's "The Chinese Restaurant", this program uses one commonplace setting for its comedy, and I think it works even better than its famed predecessor".

Linda S. Ghent, Professor in the Department of Economics at Eastern Illinois University, discusses this episode in view of its economic themes, specifically those of common resources, thinking 'at the margin' and cost-benefit analysis. The common resource here is the garage itself: It is for the public, but it is not supposed to be used by the public as a bathroom. Jerry decides that the relief (benefit) of urinating will outweigh the risk (cost) of getting caught.

Matthew Bond, describing how "singleness and childlessness" were, at the time the series began, "unusual for a situation comedy", writes:

the Peter Pans of this series view all other children as competition and those who have children—i.e., their peers who are parents—as fools. In 'The Parking Garage,' George intervenes when a mother hits her son; the mother tells him to mind his own business. When George asserts that it is his business, the son tells George that he's ugly.

Bond concludes, "In the Seinfeld world, others are unwelcome; parents are oppressive; friends married or with children are buffoons; children are monsters. Why should Jerry and Our Gang grow up?"

References

^ "Seinfeld Season 3 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
David, Larry. "The Parking Garage". IMSDB. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
Bjorklund, Dennis (June 7, 2020). Seinfeld Fun Facts: Over 1500 Little-Known Facts About the Show. Praetorian Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 9780463820186. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
Parker, Dylan. "Why The Cast of 'Seinfeld' Hated Filming The Parking Garage Episode". The Things. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
"The Parking Garage episode at Seinfeld Official Site". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on 2011-11-16. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
^ Ordway, Holly (November 23, 2004) http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/13457/seinfeld-season-3/ DVD Talk Retrieved 2010-06-25
Seinfeld Season 3: Notes about Nothing - "The Parking Garage" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Jacobson, Colin (November 19, 2004) http://www.dvdmg.com/seinfelds3.shtml DVD Movie Guide Retrieved 2010-06-24
Ghent, Linda S. "Seinfeld Economics: The Parking Garage (Public urination)". Critical Commons. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
Bond, Matthew (2006). Do you think they're having babies just so people will visit them?. New York: Continuum. pp. 108–116. ISBN 9780826418036. Retrieved August 12, 2012. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

External links

"The Parking Garage" at IMDb

v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode

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