"The Engagement" - Season 7 Episode 1 of Seinfeld First Airs

"The Engagement" is the seventh-season opener (along with the 111th overall episode) of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld.

It aired on September 21, 1995.

Plot Summary:

George breaks up with a woman after she beats him in a game of chess. When he tells Jerry about it, they both realize that they have done nothing with their lives and decide they are going to make some changes. When Jerry tells Kramer about his talk with George, Kramer tells Jerry that getting married or having a family is a "manmade prison" and Jerry changes his mind. Elaine comes in and tells Jerry and Kramer that a barking dog is keeping her from getting a good night's sleep. Kramer says he knows someone who can "fix her problem".

They go to see Newman. After seeing Newman's clear disdain for dogs, Elaine becomes unsure if she really wants to go through with his plan. She is undecided at the moment, but later calls Newman back and says she wants to do it. Jerry takes his girlfriend Melanie out to dinner, but is bothered when she eats her peas one at a time.

George, after contemplating what to do with his life all afternoon, finally decides to visit his old girlfriend Susan Ross. When she buzzes him up and answers the door, he asks her to marry him. The next day, George visits Jerry to tell him the news - he is getting married (after hours of convincing). All seems well until Jerry informs him that he broke up with Melanie because of the way she ate her peas. George is angry that Jerry did not keep his side of the "pact" to change, made the day before at Monk's. But Jerry convinces him he should be happy that he is engaged.

Later that night, Elaine, Kramer and Newman rent a van and prepare to steal the dog. Jerry goes to George's apartment and asks if he is ready to go see a movie (Firestorm with Harrison Ford), but George tells him Susan wants to see a different movie (The Muted Heart with Glenn Close and Sally Field). It is at this time that George is showing signs of regret about his decision.

Newman returns to the van with the dog and Elaine is surprised that it is so small. They try to get it to bark to verify if it is the right dog, but to no avail. Kramer drives them far away from the city, before finally stopping near Monticello. He gets out and leaves the dog at a random doorstep, but it rips a piece of his shirt (with a tag from Rudy's vintage shop) before he can let it go. Back home after the movie, Jerry calls George to inform him that a New York Yankees game is being rerun if he wanted to watch it, but Susan wants him to come to bed and watch an episode of Mad About You that she taped. George again voices his annoyance at Jerry that he backed out on the pact.

The dog manages to find its way back to its house and owner, carrying the piece of Kramer's shirt it had ripped and Elaine is again woken up during the night by its barking. The next day, Jerry tells her the news of George's engagement. With the shirt scrap as evidence, police officers visit Kramer and Newman and charge them for dog napping. Newman responds to this turn of events lightly, having ample confidence that he will not be arrested. The episode ends with Kramer, Newman and Elaine sitting in the back of a police car. Elaine decides to make some changes with her life.