The Strike (Seinfeld episode)

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Seinfeld episode
"The Strike"
Cosmo Kramer and Frank Constanza, ready to celebrate Festivus.
Episode no.	166
Airdate	December 18, 1997
Writer(s)	Alec Berg & Jeff Schaffer & Dan O'Keefe^{[citation needed]}
Director	Andy Ackerman
Guest star(s)	Kevin McDonald & Daniel Von Bargen
Seinfeld - Season 9 September 1997 - May 1998
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 Strong Box The Wizard The Burning The Bookstore The Frogger The Maid The Puerto Rican Day The Clip Show, Part 1 The Clip Show, Part 2 The Finale, Part 1 The Finale, Part 2
List of all Seinfeld episodes

The Strike is the one-hundred and sixty-sixth episode of the hit NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the tenth episode for the 9th and final season. It aired on December 18, 1997. This episode is notable for popularizing the concept of a "two-face": someone who looks attractive sometimes and looks bad at other times, depending on exterior conditions, such as lighting. More notably, however, this episode also popularized the (actual) holiday of Festivus.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

George, Elaine and Jerry attend Dr. Tim Whatley's Hanukkah party. Jerry meets an attractive woman with whom he sets up a date. Elaine meets a man in a bad denim vest (Kevin McDonald) and gives him her fake number. George is offended by Whatley's gift to him, a donation in his name to a charity. George is also reminded of the Festivus holiday his father created many years ago. Elaine's quest to become a "Submarine Captain" at a local shop and gets a free submarine sandwich and a captain's hat is ruined when she realizes she used her punch card at the party to give her fake number to the denim vested guy. Kramer gets word he can return to his job at H&H Bagels; it seems he has been on strike for the past 12 years. Elaine goes to the place that her fake number reaches: an off-track betting parlor. She wanted to give them her real number, so when the denim vest guy calls, she can connect with him. The men at the parlor are interested in connecting with her, so she gives the number for H&H where Kramer is working. Jerry meets his date, Gwen, at a restaurant, but it turns out she is two-faced. Sometimes Gwen looks great, other times she's plain; it all depends on the viewer's angle and the lighting. George decides to use the Whatley approach when giving out Christmas gifts at Krugers; however, he makes up his own charity called the "The Human Fund". Kramer is intrigued by the concept of the Festivus holiday and contacts Frank, who becomes excited at the prospect of rekindling "Festivus for the rest-of-us." Kramer asks to get the 23rd of December off; when he can't get it, he resumes the strike. Meanwhile Elaine waits at H&H for a phone call from the denim vest guy. The look of Jerry's girlfriend keeps changing.

Jerry decides that Gwen looks best in the back booth at Monk's, something she grows to dislike. George passes out his gifts at Krugers and reaps great rewards. Kramer warns Elaine about the sabotage he committed; the bagel place becomes very steamy and makes Elaine look ugly. Kruger gives George a check for $20,000 to "The Human Fund" and later accounting informs him the charity doesn't exist. Gwen finds out from Kramer that Jerry is seeing another woman; Kramer has seen her and she's not Gwen. Gwen thinks Jerry is two-timing her with an ugly woman. George tries to convince Kruger that he passed out the fake gift cards because he didn't want to be ridiculed for the holiday his family traditionally celebrates, Festivus. To prove it, George brings Kruger to his father's Festivus dinner, where everyone comes together, including Gwen and the two guys at the off-track betting parlor.