The Butter Shave

"The Butter Shave"
Seinfeld episode
Jerry with a moustache, at the beginning of the episode.
Episode no.	Season 9 Episode 157
Written by	Alec Berg & Jeff Schaffer & David Mandel
Directed by	Andy Ackerman
Original airdate	September 25, 1997
Guest stars
Chris Parnell, Kristin Davis & Gordon Jump
Season 9 episodes
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 Chronicle, Part 1" "The Chronicle, Part 2" "The Finale, Part 1" "The Finale, Part 2"
List of Seinfeld episodes

"The Butter Shave" is the 157th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It is also the first episode of the ninth and final season. It aired on September 25, 1997.

Plot

Over the summer both George and Jerry grow mustaches as a way of "taking a vacation from themselves"; they both admit it was a bad idea and Jerry suggests they should have taken real vacations. George quickly thinks a different style of facial hair might be the answer but Jerry tells George that he has to get a job. Not fully recovered from "The Summer of George", George is using a cane to get around. Jerry might have another shot at NBC, through an appearance on an NBC Showcase that might lead to another pilot. He is also annoyed that lame comic Kenny Bania's act is working, only because he is following on Jerry's coattails. As a reference to the success of the many shows that aired between Seinfeld and ER, Jerry refers to Bania as "a time-slot hit."

Back in Jerry's apartment, Kramer arrives in his usual fashion. It appears that Kramer has grown a mustache as well and then quickly exits when he sees that Jerry and George no longer have their facial hair only to return very quickly without the mustache. Bania scores with big laughs and also gets one of Jerry's ex-girlfriends. George learns of a job interview in "Sports," and when Jerry tries to guess which New York professional team, George answers "playground equipment". Elaine is on vacation for a month in Europe with David Puddy. If he is lucky, he will not "come back in a body bag."

Kramer finds butter is better than shaving cream. George is hired for the job at Play Now because of his use of the cane. They think he is handicapped and of course he takes full advantage of the situation after they offer him his own personal bathroom. Kramer's skin feels so good with butter; he takes to spreading it all over his body. Unfortunately he lies out in the sun where he begins to cook. It is a long flight back for Elaine and Puddy, who break up and get back together, only to break up again. Newman, reading the cannibalism-themed story Alive, finds the smell of a cooked turkey appealing. In his disturbed state he hallucinates, seeing Kramer's head on the turkey in Monk's, panics and runs out.

Newman's view of Kramer

Jerry is informed that Bania is going to follow him on the NBC showcase. George sprains his good leg and begins favoring the other leg, and Play Now buys him a motorized cart as a result. Jerry discovers that George is a closet Bania fan. Kramer tries to keep his skin moist but the baked-in smell of cooked meat (along with a jar of oregano and some Parmesan cheese accidentally being dumped on him) is too much for Newman, who runs after him-Kramer is heard to cry "Ow! He bit me!" George manages to keep up his bluff until he gets into some trouble with old-timers after hitting their motorized carts (four volts), a very slow chase ensues. George's cart begins to die on him so he jumps off and picks up the cart and runs away from the mob only to run into his boss from Play Now. George, now concerned about what will happen to his job, is caught by the mob and one older gentleman hits George with his cane ("Eat hickory!"). Jerry plans to sabotage his own act, surmising that Kenny's act will also bomb, but Kenny gets the last laugh.

Episode Notes

• Kristin Davis, better known for playing Charlotte York in the HBO sitcom Sex and the City, briefly reprises an earlier role as Jerry's ex-girlfriend Jenna from "The Pothole", making her one of just a few of Jerry's girlfriends to appear in more than one episode. She is seen with Bania, and remarks that dating him is "a pleasure" after having dated Jerry.

A blooper occurs when Kramer enters Jerry's apartment and begins to apply butter to his face. You can see the actors makeup smeared on the end of the stick of butter.