The Pitch (Seinfeld)

"The Pitch" is the 43rd episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It is the third episode of the fourth season. It aired on September 16, 1992.

NBC executives meet Jerry after his comedy act and ask him to come up with an idea for a TV series. George decides he can be a sitcom writer and comes up with the idea of it being "a show about nothing". Kramer trades Newman a radar detector for a helmet, and later Newman receives a speeding ticket due to the detector being defective.

While waiting to meet the NBC executives, George and Jerry meet "Crazy" Joe Davola, a writer and "a total nut" who goes to the same therapist (Stephen McHattie) as Elaine. Jerry, desperately searching for conversation, casually mentions he'll see him at a party Kramer will soon be having. When it becomes apparent that Joe knows nothing about it and was not invited, Jerry panics and makes a hasty and unsuccessful attempt to backtrack.

Meanwhile, George becomes more and more nervous about the impending meeting. Jerry tries to calm him down by building him up, but he overdoes it; and when they are called in to the meeting, George argues with the executives about his proposed premise ("a show about nothing"; no plot, no stories). It does not go over well with them and when they show displeasure, George snaps, "Look, if you want to just keep on doing the same old thing, then maybe this idea is not for you. I, for one, am not going to compromise my artistic integrity. And I'll tell you something else, this is the show and we're not going to change it." Jerry suggests another potential premise, and later blasts George for his actions:

What were you thinking!? What was going on in your mind!? Artistic integrity!? Where did you come up with that!? You're not artistic and you have no integrity! You know, you really need some help! And a regular psychiatrist couldn't even help you! You need to go to, like, Vienna or something, you know what I mean? You need to get involved at the university level, like where Freud studied and have all those people looking at you and checking up on you! That's the kind of help you need! Not the once a week for eighty bucks, no! You need a TEAM! A team of psychiatrists working round the clock, thinking about you, having conferences, observing you, like what they did with the Elephant Man! That's what I'm talking about, because that's the only way you're going to get better!