The Stand In (Seinfeld)

"The Stand In" is the 80th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 16th episode for the fifth season. It aired on February 24, 1994.

Plot

Riding on a bus Jerry and George meet a friend, Al Netche, who tells them another friend, Fulton, is in a hospital, and that Jerry may want to visit him as he might need a "good laugh." George feels bored when he has nothing to talk about with his girlfriend, Daphne, and he wants to break up. Later, Daphne tells George that Al encouraged her to end the relationship as George doesn't commit and may end up hurting her. George decides to postpone the break-up and sustain the relationship just for spite, to prove Al wrong.

Kramer has got a job as a stand-in actor, in the series All My Children, along with his friend Mickey Abbott (Danny Woodburn), a "little person" who is offended by the term "midget". Mickey, however, is worried about keeping his role as the young actor he stands in for is rapidly growing. Kramer suggests Mickey use "lifts" to increase his height, to which Mickey reluctantly agrees. Jerry later sets up a date for Elaine with his friend, Phil Totola.

Jerry visits Fulton in the hospital where he tells a story about a guy "Pachyderm" and the hot pizza slices he was juggling, but Fulton doesn't laugh. Phil arrives at the hospital to make Fulton laugh, but to no avail. Meanwhile, other "little" actors notice something different on Mickey as he plans to date Tammy, a little woman. Johnny Bigiano, another small actor who envies Mickey for being a stand-in for some famous child actors, sets to find out what is going on with him.

Jerry feels added pressure to be funny after his first visit to the hospital coincides with a deterioration in Fulton's condition. He offers to do his act with new material. Elaine had a good evening with Phil, including the Pachyderm story, until Phil suddenly takes "it out".

When Johnny discovers the lifts after breaking Mickey's locker open, Mickey is ostracized by the other dwarf actors, including Tammy; even though Mickey tries to defend himself and his career and even blaming everything on Kramer, no one believes him and as Tammy leaves with Johnny, Mickey angrily attacks Kramer. At the hospital, Jerry is being so funny that Fulton cannot stop laughing. Fulton then suddenly stops laughing, supposedly dying from it. Later at Monk's, George has said to Jerry that he would go as far as to marry Daphne just to prove he can commit. However, to George's relief, Daphne says that she met another person: Jerry Persach, who George reveals is "Pachyderm" who used the pizza trick from his earlier mentioned story to woo Daphne.

Reception

David Simsof The A.V. Club gave an episode B grade saying: "[The episode] is not a great episode, especially considering Larry David wrote it, but it's got some very impressive touches, and Phil Tutola's dick move (pardon the pun) is one of them".^[1]

Future episodes

This is the first appearance of Mickey Abbott, one of Kramer's eccentric circle of friends.

The child for whom Mickey acts as stand in was actor Thomas Dekker, who would later play the child who Kramer visits in the hospital in the Season 7 episode "The Wink".

References

External links

• "The Stand In" at the Internet Movie Database

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