The Marine Biologist

"The Marine Biologist" is the 78th episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 14th episode of the fifth season. It was originally broadcast on NBC on February 10, 1994.^[1] In the episode, Jerry hooks up George with a popular ex-classmate, but George must play along with Jerry's lie that he is a marine biologist, while a renowned Russian author throws Elaine's electronic organizer out of a moving limousine. Jerry Seinfeld considers the episode one of his favorites.^[2]

Plot

Jerry sentimentally shows off his beloved T-shirt dubbed "Golden Boy", nearly worn out from the laundry. Elaine is far more excited about Pendant Publishing having her escort Russian author Yuri Testikov—whom she compares to Tolstoy—in a limousine. Jerry gaslights Elaine into believing that the lyric "War, what is it good for?" was originally an unpublished title for Tolstoy's War and Peace. George and Jerry read their college alumni magazine, where Jerry, but not George, is mentioned.

Kramer passes a free electronic organizer from his bank on to Elaine. No one takes up Kramer's gung-ho invitation to "have some fun" driving hundreds of Titleist golf balls into the ocean from Rockaway Beach. He later returns utterly disillusioned—having hit only one long drive—and tormented by sand in his clothes.

Jerry runs into Diane, the "it girl" from his class. To save face for George's absence from the alumni magazine, Jerry, inspired by George's enthusiasm for a whale documentary on TV, claims he is now a marine biologist. Jerry hooks up George with Diane, forcing him to play along with the lie. George complains that he is only comfortable living his own lies, such as pretending to be an architect. He plans to come clean, hoping that Diane likes his true self.

In the limousine, Elaine confuses Mr. Lippman and Testikov by confidently retelling Jerry's story. Elaine does not know how to silence her organizer when it starts beeping loudly. Agitated, Testikov throws the organizer out a window. A woman named Corinne gets hit in the head and sent to the hospital. She has no insurance to cover her bill, and also cannot silence the organizer, but tracks down Jerry from the stored contacts. Corinne holds the organizer hostage to demand reimbursement.

Elaine, having thrown out her address book, needs the organizer back, but wants Testikov to pay out of his million-dollar advance from Pendant. Corinne meets her at Testikov's hotel, but gets thrown out for the noisy organizer. Elaine and Jerry meet Testikov and try to get him to confess on tape. Testikov finds and throws their noisy, concealed tape recorder out the window, and onto Corinne's head. Meanwhile, Kramer, still beleaguered by sand, drops his shoe out a window, and onto Newman's head.

On a romantic walk, George and Diane find a beached whale, surrounded by a crowd looking for a marine biologist's help. Everyone rallies around George, forcing him to volunteer to save the whale.

Later, at Monk's, George retells his astounding fish story: by dumb luck, he was washed atop the whale, where he reached into its blowhole and pulled out a golf ball—which he produces to Kramer's sheepishness.^[3] Winning Diane's adoration, George came clean to her as planned, and got immediately dumped. Having lost "Golden Boy" to one wash too many, Jerry shows off its heir, "Baby Blue", while George is tormented by sand in his clothes.

Production

George's climactic whale monologue was not in Ron Hauge and Charlie Rubin's original script; it was a rewrite that show creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld came up with in a burst of late night inspiration.^[4] Because the monologue was written at the last minute, there was no time to rehearse it. Despite this, actor Jason Alexander's delivery on the first take was so satisfying to the show's producers that no further takes were shot.^[4] Seinfeld stated that his shocked expression in the scene was not an in-character reaction to the story, but rather him marveling at Alexander's ability to have the speech memorized so quickly.^[5]

The production crew wanted to use the animatronic whale from the then-recent film Free Willy for the scene at the beach. Due to miscommunication, the owners of the animatronic whale thought the Seinfeld crew wanted the real whale, and declined the request.^[4] The crew resorted to crafting a CGI whale. Larry David was pleased with how real the CGI whale looked, but decided that the scene would be more effective if the whale were kept off-camera.^[4]

Sequences which were filmed but deleted prior to broadcast include George giving an in-depth account of his made-up visit to the Galapagos Islands and Newman finding a mentally unhinged Kramer vacuuming non-existent sand.

Critical reception

Rick Kushman of The Sacramento Bee listed this as one of the Top Ten Seinfeld Episodes: a "brilliantly plotted story that weaves together all kinds of silliness".^[6]

In 2009, a New Hampshire Union Leader columnist speculated that one could ask "people to name their favorite living marine biologist... and the most likely answer is George Costanza."^[7]

References

↑ "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
↑ Season 5 extras. inside looks # 7
↑ Hauge, Ron and Charlie Rubin (February 10, 1994). "Script: Episode 78 – The Marine Biologist". Seinology.com. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
1 2 3 4 Seinfeld Season 5: Inside Look - "The Marine Biologist" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.
↑ Jerry Seinfeld’s INCREDIBLE Reveal about the ‘Beached Whale/Golf Ball’ Episode | The Rich Eisen Show. Retrieved May 3, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
↑ Kushman, Rick (May 10, 1998). "Nothing But the Best – BEE TV Columnist Rick Kushman Chooses The TOP 10 Seinfeld Episodes". The Sacramento Bee. p. EN16. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
↑ Clayton, John (October 26, 2009). "NH woman pulls plastic from the Pacific". New Hampshire Union Leader. p. 1. Retrieved April 30, 2013.

External links

"The Marine Biologist" 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