There's one Seinfeld episode that never was, it has just been revealed.
And it's a controversial one.
The episode in question would have been the ninth in Seinfeld's history, and was called 'The Bet,' written by Larry Charles (who directed Borat and The Dictator). The story was based on fellow-Seinfeld writer Elaine Pope's real life experience buying her first gun. "And I think it was as simple as me wondering, What if Elaine bought a gun?" says the scribe.
Screencrush reveals:
In the episode, Elaine buying a gun leads to an exchange in which she jokes about shooting herself in the head, then references "the Kennedy," mimicking the bullet entry point of the assassinated president. This line became a sticking point for the cast and, led by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, they began to balk at the idea of filming the episode at all.
There was quite a Kramer subplot, too:
The subplot centered around Kramer's (Michael Richards) claims that, on a flight back from Puerto Rico, he had slept with the flight attendant while in transit. George Costanza (Jason Alexander) doubted Kramer's story, while Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) believed it to be true. The story's validity would determine who won a bet between George and Jerry. During the course of this episode, Kramer's first name would be revealed — instead of when it was eventually revealed in the series' sixth season.
But during a read-through, there arose a "mutiny of sorts" among the cast, episode director Tom Cherones recalls. "I was a gunnery officer in the United States Navy," he says. "Guns aren't funny." The episode was swiftly canned.
