Seinfeld

Ending

The series ended with a two-part episode in which the four are sentenced to one year in prison in Latham County, Massachusetts. After Seinfeld accepts a sitcom deal with NBC, the four decide to fly on NBC's private aircraft to Paris to celebrate. They are delayed in Latham County after engine trouble, and while killing time in town, they witness a fat man being robbed. Instead of helping him, they make wisecracks while Kramer videotapes the robbery. The victim sees them doing this during the robbery, and mentions it to the reporting officer. All four are arrested for breaking a fictional Good Samaritan law which requires citizens to assist in such a situation. This leads to a long trial that brings back many characters of past shows, testifying as character witnesses against the group for their "selfish" acts over the years of the series. The Virgin, the low talker, the Pakistani, and the Soup Nazi, are called to the witness stand, among many more old enemies and acquaintences, including Newman, who takes special delight in their demise.

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In the final scene before the credits, the four main characters sit in a jail cell and begin a conversation about buttons which is the same as the first lines spoken in the first episode.

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In a last bit of comedy during the credits, Jerry is seen wearing an orange prison suit with "Latham" printed on his right front side, "Latham County" being printed on the backs of the uniforms. He is telling prison jokes and is threatened by a fellow prisoner (voiced by Larry David who returned to write the finale) who says he will "cut" him.

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The original finale episode was screened without the laughter track usually used in the series, and was scripted by Larry David who returned after a long hiatus from the series.

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The finale episode has been criticized for being vindictive towards the characters - who are shown to be amoral, selfish misanthropes who don't deserve a laughter track - and, by extension, towards the audience who were fans of the characters. Other Seinfeld fans see the finale episode as a welcome return to the earlier misanthropic spirit of the series, in contrast to the general "wackiness" of the post-Larry David final seasons.

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In later screenings of the finale, the episode is typically significantly cut down, and a laughter track is put back in place.

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