The Bubble Boy (Seinfeld)


"The Bubble Boy" is the 47th episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld. It is the seventh episode of the fourth season. In this episode, the cast visits a youth who lives in quarantine due to an immune deficiency on the way to Susan's family cabin.
The episode was directed by Tom Cherones and written by Larry David and Larry Charles, airing on October 7, 1992.

Plot

Jerry, George, Elaine, and George's girlfriend Susan plan to travel upstate to Susan's family's lakeside cabin. In the coffee shop, a kindly man tells Jerry and Elaine about his son Donald, who lives in a plastic "bubble" which creates a germ-free sterile environment. Because Donald is a fan of Jerry's, the father petitions Jerry to visit Donald on the way to the cabin to cheer him up.
On the trip, exhilarated by the light traffic and the resulting chance to make excellent time, George drives at top speed, leaving Jerry and Elaine behind. As they were relying on George to guide them, they quickly become lost. While waiting for Jerry to arrive, George and Susan play Trivial Pursuit with the "bubble boy." The game ends prematurely when George disputes the answer to the question: "Who invaded Spain in the 8th century?" Donald answers "the Moors," but due to a misprint, the question card says that the answer is "the Moops." George refuses to give Donald credit because of his obnoxious taunting and condescension during the game, and Donald begins strangling him. When Susan defends George, she accidentally punctures and depressurizes the bubble, causing Donald to collapse, and make George look guilty of killing him.
Jerry and Elaine exit the highway and go to a diner. A waitress there asks for an autographed picture of Jerry, who was mispronounced as "Gary Seinfield." Jerry does not like what he writes, so he asks for it back. The waitress refuses, and it escalates to the point of the waitress attacking Jerry. A man bursts in and announces that Donald was attacked, and that his house is right down the street from the cafe. Jerry and Elaine meet up with George and Susan at the house before being chased away by the residents of the town.
Kramer and Naomi attempt to rendezvous with Jerry, Elaine, George, and Susan at Susan's family's cabin. Kramer carelessly leaves his lit cigar near some newspapers, which causes a fire that destroys the cabin. The other four travelers arrive shortly after the firefighters.

Eponymous computer virus

On November 10, 1999, a computer virus named "BubbleBoy" was discovered, apparently named after this episode. This was the first malware of its kind, having been able to activate itself upon the recipient opening the e-mail contents, as opposed to running an attachment. As such, in spite of not being dangerous, the virus changed the concept of antivirus technology.

Behind the Scenes

The "Moops" misprint incident was based on a real-life incident that occurred to one of the Seinfeld writers while playing the "Jeopardy! The Board Game".