"The Wizard" is the 171st episode of the NBCsitcomSeinfeld. This was the 15th episode for the ninth and final season. It aired on February 26, 1998.
Plot
buys his dad a $200 Wizard organizer for a birthday present as he plans to go down to Del Boca Vista phase III. George receives a message from Susan's parents, the Rosses. Jerry and George debate about the race of Elaine's new boyfriend, Darryl, and that intrigues her – is he black? George returns the call from the Rosses; the Foundation is having an event this weekend, but George doesn't want to attend, so he comes up with a story that he has to close on his house in the Hamptons. Kramer announces his retirement when he tells Jerry and George about a Hollywood big shot having options for his coffee table book about coffee tables. Kramer even comments that toy ray guns were the inspiration to Independence Day. Elaine finds evidence that leads her to believe her boyfriend is black. Susan's parents see George on the street in the city, during the time he is supposed to be in the Hamptons. Jerry is woken up early in the morning at his parents' house and gives his father the Wizard, which Jerry claims he got from a deal at only $50. Morty is only impressed by it being a "tip calculator", although Jerry claims it does other things. Later, he discovers that Kramer has moved to Del Boca Vista phase III to join the other retirees as he lives next door to Morty and Helen after Mr. Kornstein died. Jerry comments to Kramer that he can't move to Del Boca Vista phase III as that's where old people go to die. When Morty and Helen look at him, Jerry quotes "Not you, older people." Helen then fixes Kramer breakfast as Jerry quotes that he won't leave if she feeds him. Elaine laughs when Susan's parents ask her about George's house in the Hamptons, revealing the lies. An election is held for president of the Del Boca Vista condo association. Jerry recalled how his father can't run because he was impeached from The Pines of Mar Gables phase II. Morty comments "I was never impeached. I resigned." Helen then comments that the press from the local newspaperThe Boca Breeze would bury Morty. After hearing from Sid Luckman that Kramer had won a date with the aquacise instructor, Morty decides that Kramer should be elected condo board president of Del Boca Vista phase III, so Morty will run things from behind the scenes like a "puppet regime". Elaine schemes to try to determine her boyfriend's race. As George finds out the Rosses knew that he lied, and they allowed him to continue lying, he keeps building on his lie and picks up the Rosses to take them to his fake house in the Hamptons, to "see who blinks first". Kramer begins his campaign and The Boca Breeze has good things to say about him. It was mentioned by Jerry in his call to Elaine that Kramer's opponent is an unnamed guy in a wheelchair. He does things like kissing babies and putting his campaign stickers on things including the ambulances that carry away anyone who just died. When Elaine's boyfriend says they are an interracial couple, she is convinced he is black. After campaigning with Morty and Helen getting the latest release of The Boca Breeze, Kramer reads the front page stating "Candidate Cosmo Kramer Caught Barefoot at Clubhouse." Upon hearing of this, Morty states that what Kramer did is against the rules. Kramer states that he couldn't find his shoes at the time. Jerry quotes "These people work and wait their whole lives to move down here, sit in the heat, pretend it's not hot, and enforce these rules." Morty then states that this is a huge scandal and that they need damage control. Kramer suggests buying each of the 20 members of the condo board one of those Wizard "tip calculators." As Morty goes to take a nap, Jerry tells Kramer he can't get the deal he told his father that he'd received since there was no sale on them. Kramer says not to worry, Bob Sacamano's father lives in Florida and can help them out. Elaine discovers her boyfriend is not black, and that he referred to them as an interracial couple because he thought she was Hispanic. Bob Sacamano's father comes through with what was said to be Wizards. Kramer and Morty have just given them out to the remaining condo board members. Sid appears tells Morty that his "Wizard" overtipped him for the BLT he had. Morty identifies the item as a "Willard" as Jerry comments that Bob Sacamano's father ripped him off. One guy states that his doesn't have a 7 while another states that his life is over. Jerry then admits to his father that the Wizard costs $200 and that there was no deal. Sid tells Morty and Kramer that their election campaign is finished as he leaves telling everyone to vote for the guy in the wheelchair. Kramer states that the people have spoken and comes out of retirement by moving back to New York. Jerry apologizes to his father that there was no sale on the Wizard. Morty quotes "You should be. How could you spend two hundred dollars on a tip calculator?!" Jerry once again reminds him that it does other things. During the credits, George and the Rosses reach the tip of Long Island, where he blinks first and the truth is revealed. When George asks why they didn't stop him, the Rosses confirm that they dislike George, and blame him for Susan's death. The three of them then head back to Manhattan.
Production
The Seinfeld writers had always planned an episode dealing with race. An initial idea had Elaine getting lost in Harlem, but the idea was abandoned when "they simply could not get the tone right."
Reception
Tim Delaney, in Seinology: The Sociology of Seinfeld, wrote that "The Wizard" "does a wonderful job of illustrating the delicate nature of discussing race, even when it's between friends, who assumingly, are not racist." Albert Auster, of Fordham University, wrote of the episode: "If the series did have one strong point in its dealings with race, it was with the embarrassment and uneasiness that middle-class whites often feel about the issue."
