The Stand In (Seinfeld) not a great episode, especially considering Larry David wrote it, but it's got some very impressive touches, and Phil Totola's dick move (pardon the pun) is one of them". The Stand In (Seinfeld) "The Stand In" is the 80th episode of the NBC sitcom "Seinfeld". This was the 16th episode of the fifth season. It aired on February 24, 1994. In this episode, Jerry struggles to get a hospitalized friend to laugh, George persists in dating a woman he doesn't like to avoid being perceived as unable to commit, and Kramer encourages his friend Mickey Abbott to wear lifts in
The Seinfeld Chronicles episode to see how audiences and TV critics would react, the network had already decided not to pick up the show, as a result of the test-results. Castle Rock Entertainment, which produced this pilot (and the series proper), also had another pilot produced for NBC featuring actress Ann Jillian in her own eponymous series. After the poor reception of "The Seinfeld Chronicles", the production company turned to Jillian's series, which tested better and had earned a full-season order; it would only last a single 13-episode season before being cancelled by the end of 1990. When "The Seinfeld Chronicles" aired, it