The JFK Assassination ‘Magic Bullet’ Parody Is A Classic ‘Seinfeld’ Moment — Except For One Problem


Seinfeld was such a brilliant piece of comedic television that no other television show can touch it. This is especially true, CBS News reported, as it was listed as the greatest show of all time in 2002, before it was downgraded to the second greatest in 2013.

From let to right, the cast of Seinfeld winning awards for series in 1997, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis Dreyfuss, Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards. [Photo by Chris Pizzello/AP Images]

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld himself might have had about as much as he can take of the show, seeing as fans are constantly chasing him down to see if he would ever consider returning to the series, and according to at least one report by Inquisitr, it almost happened.

Sure Seinfeld is considered one of the greatest television comedy shows ever. It’s reached a status that no one ever expected when they first put it together.

It wasn’t without its faults, and in another Inquisitr article, some of those failures are pointed out where the creators were trying something out, and sometimes, for whatever reason, they took liberties on some of their characters that are slightly embarrassing for a fan to see.

Seinfeld series box set, that everyone should have. For closer analysis. [Image by Delta Avi Delta | Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0]

But there’s another point in Seinfeld that isn’t very obvious at first, because it takes place in one of the best known, funniest, classic moments of the show that was so clever, the flaw is easy to miss and perhaps even not important.

It’s takes place right near the end of the third season, in an episode called The Boyfriend, with the infamous parody of the breakdown of the JFK magic bullet theory, from the then-newly-released Oliver Stone movie, JFK.

The movie itself has a scene where the main character, played by Kevin Costner, is breaking down the magic bullet theory that plays into the various conspiracy theories of the bullets that hit the president and the governor sitting in front of him.

Also, notice that actor Wayne Knight, aka Newman, is playing the same position in JFK that he plays on Seinfeld?

This is where it revealed a possible second-shooter off the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza.

As the video from the Seinfeld episode shows, Kramer and Newman recall the events of when they were spit on, supposedly by baseball player Keith Hernandez, parodied in Zapruder film fashion.

NEWMAN: Then a second later, something happened that changed us in a very deep and profound way, from that day forward.

ELAINE: what was it?

KRAMER: He spit on us. And I screamed out, I’m hit!

NEWMAN: Then, I turned and the spit ricocheted off him and it hit me.

ELAINE: Wow… what a story!

JERRY: Unfortunately, the immutable law of physics contradict the whole premise of your account.

Jerry then goes on to reconstruct the angle of the spit, using both Kramer and Newman as models for their claim. And while he’s covering almost everything for Kramer, almost as he said; when he gets to Newman he elaborates on details that neither of them ever mentioned.

The parody of the footage was only for the Seinfeld audience because obviously, neither Jerry, nor Elaine, saw the footage as it was just part of the joke to recreate the event.

Seinfeld’s recollection of the details seems to treat it as if he had seen it.

Jerry does say, however, that he heard the story a number of times before, which leaves us to assume that that is where he got all of the details in his recollection. But one can also assume that isn’t the case.

Decades later, it is still easy to miss those details because there’s a lot of cover provided for the joke, as Jerry continues to go further with a second-spitter theory.

And unless Jerry Seinfeld is asked about whether they assumed his “I’ve heard this story a number of times before” was enough cover to assume that it is the source of detail to go through the joke, we may never know.

[Featured Image by Bruce Barton/AP Images]

Share this article: The JFK Assassination ‘Magic Bullet’ Parody Is A Classic ‘Seinfeld’ Moment — Except For One Problem
More from Inquisitr