The Jacket

"The Jacket" is the third episode of the second season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld and the show's eighth episode overall. In the episode, Jerry Seinfeld buys an expensive suede jacket and has dinner with the father of his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes. Elaine's father Alton, a war veteran and writer, makes Jerry and his friend George Costanza very uncomfortable. Elaine is delayed and Jerry and George are stuck with Alton waiting for her at the hotel. The episode was written by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld and was directed by Tom Cherones. Most of the episode's storyline was based on one of David's personal experiences. Elaine's father, a published author, was inspired by Richard Yates, author of Revolutionary Road, whom Larry David had met while dating his daughter. Lawrence Tierney's performance as Alton Benes was praised by the cast and crew. However, they were taken aback by his eccentric behavior. The majority of the episode was filmed on December 4, 1990. "The Jacket" premiered on American television on February 6, 1991, on NBC, it gained a Nielsen rating of 10.4/16 and was praised by critics. Plot When Jerry is shopping for clothes with Elaine, he finds a suede jacket that he loves. He has doubts about buying the jacket because it is highly expensive and has a pink and white candy-stripe lining. He ultimately decides to buy it. Kramer persuades Jerry to give him his old leather jacket as he will no longer be needing it. The following night, Jerry, Elaine and George have dinner with Elaine's father, writer Alton Benes. While preparing for the dinner, George arrives at Jerry's apartment with the song "Master of the House" stuck in his head. Both George and Jerry are anxious about meeting Alton because they are in awe of his writings. Kramer enters the apartment and asks them to guard his illegally parked car for two minutes as he carries down some doves that he is looking after for a magician friend. However, they refuse to help because he often underestimates how long things take to do.