The Seinfeld Fanny Pack Storyline That Never Made It Onto An Episode

[TMC]

https://www.looper.com/1145036/the-s...to-an-episode/

Elaine would have used a fanny pack to fake pregnancy

During Carol Leifer's AMA on Reddit (in which she answered questions about the numerous shows she's worked on over the years), one user asked, "Did you ever have a storyline you fell in love with that Jerry [Seinfeld] and Larry [David] put the kibosh on?."

Leifer responded by recalling one particular storyline she had written, which was inspired by an event in her own life, emphasizing that the majority of storylines in the series came from the writers' personal experiences. "At the time, fanny packs were really popular," Leifer explained. "I remember wearing my fanny pack under a t-shirt one day, and wherever I went people were exceedingly nice, letting me go in front of them in line, letting me go first wherever I was, and then I realized at the end of the day my giant fanny pack under my t-shirt made me look pregnant! So I always thought it would be a great Elaine story."

Leifer described how an episode of "Seinfeld" could have shown Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) discovering this novel use for the fanny pack, using it to gain a leg up in daily life. Leifer also emphasized how much she loves the way "Seinfeld" focuses on fads and trends specific to the '90s, and there's no question that an entire episode about fanny packs would have been a clear product of the times.

[Duster76]

Where's the payoff here? Leifer tells the story of a great episode idea that was rejected by Seinfeld and David, but she never explains their reasoning on rejecting the idea!

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by Duster76

Where's the payoff here? Leifer tells the story of a great episode idea that was rejected by Seinfeld and David, but she never explains their reasoning on rejecting the idea!

It really was a terrific idea for an episode. I would also love to know why David and Seinfeld rejected the idea.

[GentlemanJim]

Sanctity of the womb, perhaps? One of those things where the joke is real funny except to the people who insist there is no laughing matter? (sort of the polar opposite of an inside joke)

I've known some women who so relish their perceived role as progenitors of life that they would likely insist that such a stunt violated a sacred boundary of some sort.

[GentlemanJim]

Is the central role character being presented as "empowered", or "disadvantaged" being my point. Very little control over which way that one might go with audiences. (dogwhistle sensitivities, etc) And a certain subset of preggos were sure (IMO) to be offended being portrayed as "disadvantaged"

[Duster76]

Originally Posted by GentlemanJim

Is the central role character being presented as "empowered", or "disadvantaged" being my point. Very little control over which way that one might go with audiences. (dogwhistle sensitivities, etc) And a certain subset of preggos were sure (IMO) to be offended being portrayed as "disadvantaged"

Are you kidding, Seinfeld regularly explored this space, do you remember the Leaping Larry episode, how about the time Kramer sat at the head table in the Mel Torme episode because he was thought to be "mentally challenged", or the Handicap Spot episode with the wheelchair salesman, or the time George was pretending to be handicapped when he was working at Play Now.

[SarahBellum]

I could see George using a fanny pack to hold his huge wallet.