The Bubble Boy (Seinfeld)

"**The Bubble Boy**"
"The Bubble Boy"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 4; Episode 7
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Larry Charles, Larry David
Production code	407
Original air date	October 7, 1992
Guest appearances
	Jessica Lundy as Naomi; Brian Doyle-Murray as Mel; Carol Mansell as the Bubble Boy's Mother; O-Lan Jones as Waitress; Jon Hayman as Voice of Donald; George Gerdes as Man #1;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Watch"	Next →; "The Cheever Letters"
	Seinfeld season 4
	List of episodes

"The Bubble Boy" is the 47th episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld. It is the seventh episode of the fourth season.^[1] In this episode, on the way to Susan's family cabin, the cast visits a youth who lives in quarantine due to an immune deficiency.

The episode was directed by Tom Cherones and written by Larry David and Larry Charles, airing on NBC on October 7, 1992.

Plot

Jerry, George, Elaine, and George's girlfriend Susan plan to travel upstate to Susan's family's lakeside cabin. In the coffee shop, a man tells Jerry and Elaine about his son Donald, who lives in a plastic "bubble" which creates a germ-free sterile environment. Because Donald is a fan of Jerry's, the father petitions Jerry to visit Donald on the way to the cabin to cheer him up.

On the trip, exhilarated by the light traffic and the resulting chance to make excellent time, George drives at top speed, leaving Jerry and Elaine behind. As Jerry was relying on George to guide them, they quickly become lost. While waiting for Jerry to arrive, George and Susan play Trivial Pursuit with the "bubble boy." Irritated by Donald's taunting and condescension during the game, George disputes the answer to the question: "Who invaded Spain in the 8th century?" Donald correctly answers "the Moors", but due to a misprint, the question card says that the answer is "the Moops". George refuses to give Donald credit, and Donald begins strangling him. When Susan defends George, she accidentally punctures and depressurizes the bubble, causing Donald to collapse.

Jerry and Elaine exit the highway and go to a diner. A waitress there asks for an autographed picture of Jerry. Elaine pokes fun at what Jerry wrote, causing him to regret it, so he asks for it back. The waitress refuses, and it escalates to the point of the waitress attacking and strangling Jerry. Two men burst in and announce that Donald was attacked, and that his house is right down the street from the diner. Jerry and Elaine meet up with George and Susan at the house before being chased away by the residents of the town.

Jerry is dating Naomi, a restaurant waitress he met during a dinner with his parents and Uncle Leo. Having previously irked her after privately likening her laugh to that of "Elmer Fudd sitting on a juicer", she calls out of the trip but quickly changes her mind. After his golf game is cancelled, Kramer and Naomi attempt to rendezvous with Jerry, Elaine, George, and Susan at Susan's family's cabin. Kramer carelessly leaves a lit cigar near some newspapers, which causes a fire that destroys the cabin. Jerry, Elaine, George, and Susan arrive shortly after the firefighters.^[2]

Production

The "Moops" misprint incident was based on a real-life incident that occurred to one of the Seinfeld writers while playing "Jeopardy! The Board Game" (9th Edition, 1972).^[3]

Eponymous computer virus

On November 10, 1999, a computer virus named "BubbleBoy" was discovered, apparently named after this episode. This was the first malware of its kind, having been able to activate itself (via an embedded Visual Basic script) upon the recipient opening the e-mail contents, as opposed to running an attachment. As such, in spite of not being dangerous, the virus changed the concept of antivirus technology.^[4]

References

^ "Seinfeld Season 4 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
^ "Seinfeld Season 4: Episode 47: The Bubble Boy". TBS. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
^ Bjorklund, Dennis (2017-09-01). Seinfeld Reference: The Complete Encyclopedia with Biographies, Character Profiles & Episode Summaries. Praetorian Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9679852-4-4.
^ "'BubbleBoy' virus breaks new ground". ZDNet UK. November 10, 1999. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2009. The worm, called "BubbleBoy" in an apparent reference to a "Seinfeld" episode[...]

External links

"The Bubble Boy" at IMDb

[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 4 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[2] "Seinfeld Season 4: Episode 47: The Bubble Boy". TBS. Retrieved June 8, 2009.

[3] Bjorklund, Dennis (2017-09-01). Seinfeld Reference: The Complete Encyclopedia with Biographies, Character Profiles & Episode Summaries. Praetorian Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9679852-4-4.

[4] "'BubbleBoy' virus breaks new ground". ZDNet UK. November 10, 1999. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2009. The worm, called "BubbleBoy" in an apparent reference to a "Seinfeld" episode[...]

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v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"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 Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode