15 Worst Seinfeld Episodes, According To IMDb

"Seinfeld" is widely regarded as one of the best sitcoms ever made, but even so, there are episodes that many die-hard fans dislike. This is especially true for a show like "Seinfeld," which ran for nine seasons between 1989 and 1998, with co-creator Larry David largely uninvolved for the last two seasons (aside from the controversial series finale, which he returned to write). However, according to IMDb, even the worst episodes of "Seinfeld" are leagues above the best episodes of other popular sitcoms of that era. 

With almost 200 episodes airing nearly 30 years ago, "Seinfeld" is no stranger to episodes that have aged poorly or tread tired territory. Nevertheless, these 15 episodes from throughout the show's run have been collectively voted on by IMDb users as the worst of them all. For some episodes, the reasons fans dislike them are easy to understand, while others are frankly unjust condemnations of some of the show's most iconic episodes. 

Even though "Seinfeld" was firmly in its prime during Season 5, it still managed to air an episode that sank unusually low in IMDb's episode ratings. Surprisingly, "The Stand-In" contains some pretty iconic moments for the show, too. Among them is Kramer trying to help his friend Mickey, a little person, keep his job as a stand-in on "All My Children" by wearing lifts in his shoes to keep up with a child actor's growth. Meanwhile, Elaine's date goes awry when the guy takes "it" out unprompted. 

Though it's not the most awkward TV sex in all of "Seinfeld," not even Elaine's iconic bewilderment at Jerry's friend's misbehavior is enough to keep this episode from sitting at a 7.6 on IMDb. Ultimately, it just doesn't do what the best "Seinfeld" episodes do, which is to converge all the storylines together by the end, making everything that happens feel disparate and random, as funny as it is. 

With another 7.6 rating, "The Money" came late in the run of "Seinfeld," during its penultimate eighth season. Most of the episode concerns Jerry trying to retrieve a Cadillac from a man in Florida after he failed to purchase it from his parents the episode prior, only for that journey to become incredibly arduous after Jerry is forced to pay off extravagant damages to the car and sleep inside it. It's a rather dull storyline for the show's titular character, but the B-plots aren't exactly that much better.

In Kramer's story, Sarah Silverman has a guest star role as his girlfriend Emily, who keeps Kramer awake at night with her restless leg syndrome. Kramer goes through many hoops to rid himself of having to sleep next to Emily at night, only for his fear of burglary to make him afraid to sleep alone. Overall, the farcical nature of the episode and lack of cohesive story make it a low point for Season 8, which already isn't the best showcase of how great "Seinfeld" could be. 

Some episodes of "Seinfeld" blend their storylines smoothly, while others feel disjointed and chaotic. That's certainly how many fans on IMDb feel about Season 7's "The Friars Club." In the span of one episode, Jerry and George attempt to get a Friars Club jacket back after Jerry loses it during a magic show, Elaine tries to prove her deaf co-worker is faking his condition, and Kramer's attempts to sleep intermittently throughout the day cause his girlfriend, whose boyfriend is a mobster, to think he's dead. 

It's a lot of plot to fit into 22 minutes, even for "Seinfeld," and not all of it is executed with the smoothness that fans are used to. Namely, the final moments when Jerry and George steal a different jacket from circus performers while Elaine gets startled by wearing her co-worker's hearing aid give new meaning to the phrase "a show about nothing." Unless you're dying to see an awful performance from "Saturday Night Live" cast member Rob Schneider as Elaine's co-worker, then "The Friars Club" is yet another 7.6-rated episode you can skip during your annual "Seinfeld" rewatch. 

Either "The Busboy" truly is a below-average episode of "Seinfeld," or it's just rated poorly on IMDb, given that it aired directly after one of the best episodes of "Seinfeld," "The Chinese Restaurant," in Season 2. In "The Busboy," George is responsible for the firing of a busboy named Antonio at a restaurant and tries to make amends with him, only to make him more of an enemy. Meanwhile, Elaine tries to get out of spending a week with a guy she's dating after falling out of love with him, causing her to become obsessed with expediting his drive back to the airport.

Although it's an early example of a "Seinfeld" episode that seamlessly weaves together stories, the way some of it transpires feels a bit contrived. For example, Antonio the busboy spontaneously encounters Elaine's boyfriend at the very end of the episode, leading to both of them suffering immense injuries that continue to plague George and Elaine. It definitely doesn't deserve as low a rating as 7.6 on IMDb, but alas, "Seinfeld" fans surprisingly might want to see more Seinfeld. 

"The Stake Out" is only the second episode of the first season, marking the first appearance of Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine. Though Louis-Dreyfus would go on to play an instrumental part in making "Seinfeld" one of the best sitcoms of the '90s, the first storyline involving her didn't exactly win over skeptical viewers at the time of its initial release. The episode's main conflict concerns how Jerry feels disarmed when Elaine, his ex, is present while he's flirting with other women, making him obsessed with learning the name of a beautiful woman he met at a friend's party. 

With a 7.5 on IMDb, some fans rate "The Stake Out" highly for introducing a future legendary TV character to audiences, while others felt the show hadn't yet found its rhythm. However, it's an especially funny episode in hindsight, given it's the first instance of George using the name "Art Vandelay" to refer to a nonexistent man he and Jerry are planning to meet, a running gag that carries on until the series finale. 

"The Ex-Girlfriend" is a classic "Seinfeld" story: George breaks up with the incredibly attractive Marlene, only for Jerry to start dating her and subsequently become annoyed by the very same habits of hers that led to George breaking up with her in the first place. Meanwhile, Kramer becomes obsessed with a supermarket that allows customers to return fruits, and Elaine deals with a neighbor's waning cordiality. 

As for why it only rates at a 7.5 according to IMDb users, it could be due to the fact that the episode quickly introduces several storylines that never end up intersecting, making the first half of the episode a bit overwhelming even on rewatch. Though it's redundant to say any "Seinfeld" storyline is a complete waste of time, the episode might be more highly regarded had there been an iconic moment to cite. Alas, it was only the second season, so the show still had a long way to go in that department. 

Despite being a pivotal moment in the history of "Seinfeld," Season 3's "The Suicide" has only scored a 7.4 on IMDb. Notably, the episode is the first to introduce Wayne Knight as Newman, Jerry's mortal enemy who, coincidentally, given this later episode's title, had previously been shown off-screen in a terribly aged "Seinfeld" episode as Jerry's suicidal neighbor. Here, Newman plays an integral role in sabotaging Jerry's reluctant romance with Gina, whose aggressive boyfriend, Martin, attempts suicide and ends up in a coma. 

Though references to suicide may deter some fans from this kind of "Seinfeld" episode, George's storyline remains one of the character's best. After receiving a vague warning from a psychic about his upcoming trip to the Cayman Islands, George foists the trip plans on Kramer, who ends up interrupting a Sports Illustrated photo shoot at a nude beach and partying with models. 

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For an episode only rated 7.4, "The Stranded" contains one of the most iconic and frequently quoted moments in all of "Seinfeld" history, courtesy of Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In the episode, Jerry and Elaine accompany George to a party on Long Island, but when he ends up hitting it off with his co-worker Ava, Jerry and Elaine end up stranded at the party, waiting for a ride from a directionless Kramer, suffering banal conversations about the ethics of wearing fur.

At one point, Elaine, irritated by an accented partygoer complaining about not being able to find her fiancé, remarks, "Maybe the dingo ate your baby!" Though the catchphrase didn't originate from "Seinfeld," it's one of the many times that a catchphrase in the show eclipses its origins. "Seinfeld" fans may find "The Stranded" a forgettable episode as a whole, but this one quote from Elaine has definitely remained one of the character's most deliciously petty moments. 

Though its later seasons are revered by television critics, most fans of "Seinfeld" agree that the TV show has a bad first season. With only five episodes total, these episodes might have their moments but lack the overall quality of the show's best seasons, as evidenced by IMDb ratings for episodes like "The Robbery," the third-ever episode of the series. With a 7.4 rating, "The Robbery" follows Jerry as he considers moving to a new building while also dealing with his apartment getting robbed, thanks to Kramer leaving the door wide open. 

However, every character has a clearly defined arc in the episode: Elaine is pressuring Jerry to move out so she can snag his current apartment and escape her annoying roommate, while Kramer hunts down Jerry's stolen valuables, and George considers taking the apartment he's shown Jerry for himself. It's not a terrible episode of "Seinfeld," all things considered, but it may lean too heavily on the concept of "a show about nothing," and only three episodes in, nonetheless.

"The Baby Shower," which aired well into Season 2 of "Seinfeld," is very clearly not the show at its best, despite its 7.4 rating on IMDb. In this episode, Jerry hosts a baby shower for Elaine's friend Leslie at his apartment, while Jerry panics about the consequences of pirating cable from Kramer's Russian friends, and George seeks to confront Leslie about a bad date they'd gone on in the past. 

Admittedly, it's a more ambitious episode that features fantasy sequences and a rare instance of all four storylines intersecting by the end. However, its characters also act more irrationally and stupidly than they usually do, which says a lot for "Seinfeld." Maybe setting the episode in just one room would've helped, rather than succumbing to flights of fancy that make audiences have to suspend their disbelief further than they're used to.

Another selection from Season 1 of "Seinfeld," "The Stock Tip," is considered by some critics to be one of the stronger episodes of the first five. However, it still only has a 7.3 rating on IMDb, with users citing the episode's basic plot and unrefined tone compared to later seasons. Simply put, the show still had a long way to go before dominating water cooler conversations with episodes like "The Contest" and "The Marine Biologist." 

In "The Stock Tip," George convinces Jerry to invest in a stock he received an insider trading tip on, but when Jerry pulls his money out after the source of the tip ends up in the hospital, George stands his ground and reaps a huge payout. Meanwhile, Elaine deals with having a cat-owner boyfriend, Jerry takes his girlfriend on a Vermont trip that's derailed by poor investment, and Kramer is up to some of his usual shenanigans involving spying on women and hanging out with rock and roll kids. The connectivity between the stories is definitely lacking, but at least "Seinfeld" was showcasing some creative growth from episode to episode.

Every hit show has to start somewhere, and for "Seinfeld," it was "Good News, Bad News," the series pilot that's otherwise known as "The Seinfeld Chronicles." If anything, this episode is a fascinating watch to see the beginnings of what would become an iconic television staple of the '90s. However, the first episode is also among the show's weakest, according to IMDb users, only ranking a 7.3 for the primary reason of its vast difference from the show's future formula, even by Episode 2. 

Among the many jarring aspects of this pilot is the absence of Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine, who's missing from the episode because she had yet to be cast until after the show was picked up. In her place, Lee Garlington plays Claire, a waitress at the diner that Jerry and George frequent. Even Michael Richards' Kramer had yet to be fully fleshed out, instead having the name "Kessler." The episode feels like a dramatized version of a conversation between Seinfeld and Larry David, relating to Jerry's inability to discern a visiting woman's body language. It's mildly funny, but definitely not up to par with the rest of the show.

The fourth episode in Season 1, "Male Unbonding," on the surface, has a classic "Seinfeld" episode premise: Jerry follows George's advice to "break up" with an unwanted childhood friend, Joel, though he finds himself unable to do so given Joel's clinginess and emotionality. Jerry ends up backing out of going to a Knicks game with Joel, only for Kramer to go and strike up an unlikely friendship. 

The episode occurred very early in the series when it was still finding its legs, and none of the characters feel fully fleshed out. This is especially evident with the appearance of Elaine in only one scene, who feels incredibly well defined with so little screen time compared to Jerry, the namesake of the show, and even Jason Alexander's George, who is more toned down here than in future seasons. At a 7.2 on IMDb, viewers concur that, while it slightly resembles the "Seinfeld" we all come to know and love, "Male Unbonding" is just slightly below average in quality.

As the lowest-rated original "Seinfeld" episode on IMDb at 7.1, "The Dog" is a rare instance of an episode past Season 1 that just does not live up to the show's usual consistent quality. The episode mainly follows Jerry, who, after meeting a man on a plane who falls ill, must care for the man's rowdy dog. However, when the man fails to show up to reclaim his dog, Jerry finds himself canceling plans with George and Elaine out of fear that the dog will desecrate his apartment. 

Among the many reasons IMDb users feel this is a "Seinfeld" episode to skip on rewatch, it's the fact that the dog never appears on-screen. Its barking is as annoying to viewers as it is to Jerry, but there's not even the added benefit of getting to see a cute animal. Jerry's willingness to send the dog to the pound finds him at his most unlikable over the course of the entire NBC sitcom's run. At the very least, Kramer has a typical storyline involving him going over the top in breaking up with a girlfriend, only to reverse course and turn against Jerry and Elaine for voicing their criticisms of the woman. 

Although it technically ranks as the lowest-rated "Seinfeld" episode on IMDb with a 6.9 rating, "The Highlights of 100" isn't really a "Seinfeld" episode at all. Like many sitcoms of its era, it's a clip show recapping the most memorable moments from throughout the show's run. All the classics from the show's first 100 episodes are here: George's monologue from "The Marine Biologist," Kramer's losing of "The Contest," Elaine becoming George in "The Opposite," and Jerry's apathetic line readings of "Hello, Newman," to name a few.

Though it's literally a compilation of the funniest moments in "Seinfeld," the datedness of clip shows and the fact that all of these scenes are shown out of context, removing the buildups that made them so iconic, makes this literally a filler episode cashing in on the show's first six seasons. To make matters worse, it's twice as long as the usual episode, meaning a "Seinfeld" rewatch will get bogged down by a full hourlong episode of recycled jokes. However, the fact that this show's worst episode according to IMDb isn't even a real episode proves that, even at its worst, it's hard to hate "Seinfeld" all these years later.