"Jerry mentions Star Trek in this episode's opening stand-up." "Jason Alexander ranks the 1960s science fiction series among his all-time favourites." ""I became an actor because I wanted to be William Shatner..." "He was the reason I became an actor." "I did Shakespeare as William Shatner." "I did Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls as William Shatner."" "The Klingons were the arch foes of the Enterprise crew in the original NBC Star Trek series." ""The Apartment" was first read by its cast on Wednesday, January 9, 1991." "As it says in the opening credits "The Apartment" was written by Peter Mehlman." "Peter Mehlman was contacted to write this, his first episode of Seinfeld on the strength of some articles the writer had published in Esquire and the New York Times." "Mehlman joined the writing staff full time the following season and was credited with scripts through the show's final eight seasons." "Peter Mehlman also wrote a 1991 episode of the NBC series Wings." "Following Seinfeld, Mehlman went on to create It's Like, You Know a sitcom for ABC." "Most scenes from "The Apartment" were filmed in front of an audience on Tuesday, January 15, 1991." "Glenn Shadix (Harold) was also in the cast of the 1996 Jason Alexander film Dunston Checks In." "Shadix also provided voices in another Alexander project the animated series Duckman." "His other film work includes featured roles in Planet of the Apes (2001) and Chairman of the Board." "Shadix's other TV work includes roles in Thanks, Cheers and Carnivale." "Cuban-born Tony Plana (Manny) has starred in dozens of films and TV shows." "He was among the cast of Resurrection Boulevard and Bakersfield P. D and also appeared in the films Lone Star, Nixon and The Rookie." "He has guest starred on television series including Miami Vice, John Doe and The West Wing." "For the first time in the series Jerry's apartment number in this episode is 5A." "It would remain 5A until the end of the series." "Harold was scripted to return later in the second season." "Harold was supposed to appear in "The Revenge" but the scene was cut before filming." "Mousse is a toiletry consisting of aerosol foam used in hair styling." "The main idea for this episode was originally that Elaine was thinking about moving away from Manhattan." "The decision forces Jerry to think about his relationship with her." "This nugget of an idea interested Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld but it wasn't until a twist was devised by the writing staff that it became an episode." "The twist involved inverting the idea so that instead of being further away Elaine would suddenly be much, much closer." "Julia once succinctly explained the biggest reason why Jerry and Elaine never got together permanently in the show:" ""If they were together, we'd be less dysfunctional and what's so funny about that?"" "This is Elaine's first "get out" shove." "It's something Julia did in real life before becoming Elaine and was not written into the original script." ""Get out" became one of the catch phrases most associated with Elaine and she continued to do it during the course of the series." "Jerry believes there is a simple key to stand-ups succeeding as sitcom stars:" ""I think you have to stay true to the tone and form of your nightclub act." "Cosby's act is about family and Roseanne's is about being a working class mom." "I see myself as a normal guy who thinks way too much about things."" "Jason Alexander recognizes that the combination of Jerry's comic style and his material makes him so successful as a stand-up." ""If you try to do Jerry's material, you can't." "You'll never get to the punch line." "It truly is his observation and just the way he says it." "I'm working on a very good Jerry Seinfeld imitation and I can do chunks of his material for friends of mine." "But unless I do it as him, it dies a terrible death."" "This scene originally took place outside at the end of a movie line." "Dialogue was cut accordingly about how, despite the long line Jerry and George can avoid having to sit in the front of the movie theatre." "George says that while waiting in line on opening day of The Exorcist he pretended he had a grotesque physical impairment." "Because of this masquerade he went straight to the front of the line without anyone saying anything." "George then decides to bribe his way to the front by handing a stranger $5 along with a note explaining that they should pretend to be his friend for the money." "As the theatre manager escorts them away someone in the front of the line recognizes him but by then it's too late." "The Poconos are the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania." "The mountain range is made up of 2400 square miles of natural scenic beauty and is a popular vacation area for people throughout New England and the mid-Atlantic area." "And yes, there are singles weekends there." "Jerry recognized the importance of multiple stories per episode as the series began to grow." ""We try to give everyone their own story." "It's more like real life." "The characters have their own problems and sit around talking about them."" "The struggles of having a weak shower spray was re-examined in "The Shower Head" also by Peter Mehlman, written with Marjorie Gross." "The woman feeding her baby in the coffee shop is first assistant director Joan Van Horn." "One outtake had Joan slapping her very fake baby." "While writing his first draft of "The Apartment" Peter Mehlman devised the idea of George wearing somebody else's wedding band to attract women." "It wasn't included in the approved storyline but Jerry and Larry kept it in the show because it worked so well with the character." "George does get a toupee in the sixth season episode "The Scofflaw" also written by Peter Mehlman." "This is one of the only references in Seinfeld to Kramer's father." "His mother, however would appear in the sixth season episode "The Switch."" "In 1990, when most of this episode was written the average household income for New York City was $42,000." "In Jerry's neighbourhood in the Upper West Side of Manhattan that average rose to over $48,000." "In 2003, the Upper West Side was one of Manhattan's most popular neighbourhoods." "The average monthly rent?" "A whopping $2,944!" "Seinfeld writer Larry Charles had his own take on how the fans perceived the show's dynamic." ""Jerry's like Rod Serling." "With him as a guide the audience will plunge into depths they might not go otherwise."" "Jerry himself acknowledges that his show isn't conventional in many ways:" ""Most of the comedy on TV is geared too much for a mass audience." "We try to do things a bit differently." "Our show won't have people hugging their parents or a lot of romance."" "In fact, throughout the series  Seinfeld adhered to a strict "no hugging, no learning" rule." "Elaine's upbeat entrance was originally a bit longer." ""Today, I got up, I looked around my dingy little room in my miserable apartment with my awful roommate in that terrible neighbourhood and I said to myself, 'Free at last, free at last." "Thank God almighty I'm free at last!" '" "Winston Churchill was prime minister of England during World War II." "He is best known for his courageous leadership of the British troops against the Nazis." "Though it's attributed to Churchill the quote is often used in context of any soldier:" ""Why march when you can stand?" "Why stand when you can sit?"" "KRAMER ENTRANCE COUNTER: #24" "Jerry has stated in interviews that the fictional Elaine is his ideal woman." ""She's sexy and someone whose every opinion you want to know." "I think the ideal relationship involves someone you're always anxious to compare notes with." "That's what I look for someone whose mental outlook is different from mine yet I can always see their side."" "Some newspapers reported the rumour that Seinfeld received an order for a second season because the show's titular star resembled NBC president Brandon Tartikoff." "Jerry quipped that he was actually Tartikoff's illegitimate son." "In an earlier draft, George whispers to Jerry that:" ""If anyone asks, you were my best man."" "The first New York City Marathon took place on September 13, 1970." "127 runners paid the $1 entry fee that year, but only 55 of them finished the course." "Prize money was awarded for the first time in 1979." "The marathon currently begins on the Staten Island side of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge." "The race ends at Tavern on the Green in Central Park at West 67th Street." "The 1990 New York City Marathon, the most recent race when this episode was broadcast was indeed won by a Kenyan." "Douglas Wakiihuri won the men's marathon in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 39 seconds." "Polish runner Wanda Panfil who completed the race in two hours, 30 minutes and 45 seconds won the women's event." "Jeanine Jackson (Roxanne) appeared in many films and TV shows." "Some of her movie credits include Election, Breast Men and The Craft." "Her other TV appearances include guest roles on Malcolm in the Middle  Boy Meets World and The King of Queens." "Leslie Neale (Rita) has also appeared in Star Trek.:" "The Next Generation and The Father Dowling Mysteries." "Madison Square Garden is located on the corner of 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue." "The New York Rangers hockey team and the New York Knicks basketball team play all their homes at Madison Square Garden." "The Garden, which opened in 1968 hosts an average of 600 different events every year." "Stan is played by David Blackwood." "Blackwood appeared in the previous season episode "The Robbery."" "He will appear again at least once in each of the next four seasons." "Melody Ryane (Joanne) had previously appeared on "The Littlest Hobo."" "She has also guest-starred on St. Elsewhere and ER." "Elaine's being in a short story class is never mentioned again in the series." "She would, however, write a sample TV script for the show Murphy Brown in the third season episode "The Keys."" "Patricia Ayame Thomson (Susie) has appeared in the daytime drama Days of Our Lives as well as the sitcoms Friends, Wings and ALF." "That's Julia's half-sister Lauren Bowles standing beside her." "Bowles appeared in many more episodes usually as a waitress at Monk's." "Theresa Randle (Janice) has also appeared in the films Bad Boys II Space Jam and The Five Heartbeats." "In the first draft, Jerry proclaimed himself "lord of the idiots" but it was changed during rehearsals." "KRAMER ENTRANCE COUNTER: #25" "Michael Richards graduated from Evergreen College in Washington State in 1979." "Soon after graduating with a degree in theatre Richards began performing stand-up comedy in Los Angeles." "In his act, he'd set himself on fire, just to see what would happen." "Note:" "Jerry gives Kramer his own "get out" shove for the first time." "During his first nine months of performing Richards became friends with Billy Crystal." "Crystal offered Richards a role in a sketch for one of his many HBO specials." "The sketch also featured Chevy Chase and Robin Williams." "That appearance helped Richards land a job in the cast of ABC's Fridays where he performed with Seinfeld co-creator Larry David." "Manny and Harold weren't originally written into this scene." "Two more building superintendents are seen in later episodes but Manny and Harold never appeared again." "KRAMER ENTRANCE COUNTER: #26" "This episode premiered on NBC on April 4, 1991." "It garnered a Nielsen rating of 16.9 and an audience share of 28." "The show's rise in ratings was helped in no small part by its being aired after Cheers for the first time since season one." "Nielsen research also estimated that 15.7 million homes tuned into this episode good enough for ninth for the entire week." "By comparison, Seinfeld' s lead-in Cheers, had a 22 rating with 20.5 million homes tuning in." "Seinfeld' s ability to sustain much of the Cheers audience over the course of the following four weeks led NBC to pick it up for a third season."