The classic episode of Seinfeld that you forgot the Farrelly brothers worked on

Peter and Bobby Farrelly were complete unknowns in 1994 when they burst into cinemas with the hit comedy Dumb and Dumber. This was Jim Carrey’s third film of the year, and the funniest of all. With its unashamedly outrageous gags (Jeff Daniels’ explosive diarrhea sequence is a classic of low-key form) and aggressively absurd shenanigans, the film ushered in a new era of slapstick humor that made Jerry Lewis’ work look like a drawing-room farce. (/Film “Dumb and Dumber” ranks as the Farrellys’ best effort to date.) The Farrellys then doubled down on their disgusting approach with 1996’s box office disappointment “Kingpin,” only to rise to prominence two years later with the blockbuster “There’s Something About Mary.”

While people within the industry were semi-accustomed to the Farrellys as peddlers of comedy specials, mainstream moviegoers were astonished by, well, foolish Through their rapid rise. So those hungry for more Farrelly comedies while waiting for the brothers’ fourth film, “Me, Myself & Irene,” took to IMDb in search of past credits. What they found was a writing credit for Peter on a 1987 Paul Reiser comedy special and, more interestingly, a story credit for Peter and Bobby on “Seinfeld.” But while no one was surprised to learn that this comedy duo wrote the funniest sitcom of the ’90s, their risque style seemed a little too over the top for the acerbic series.

So, What episode of “Seinfeld” was it?Why didn’t they write more?

Peter and Bobby Farrelly share a story “by” with longtime “Seinfeld” writer and producer Peter Millman in the season 4 episode “The Virgin.” The series has many classic episodes, but if you’re a fan of the show you should skip this one for several reasons. After all, it’s the movie in which a) George gets Susan fired from NBC for kissing her in front of a co-worker, b) Jerry starts dating a virgin, Marla, played by future “Frasier” star Jane Leeves, and c) creates… Elaine stresses the tension between Jerry and Marla Blow up a story about her diaphragm.

Nothing in the episode would be considered outside the bounds of a network sitcom today, but in 1992, Elaine’s repeated and overtly emphasizing the word “midriff” might have caused some red-faced parents to suddenly switch the channel to PBS. This kind of rapidly escalating action, eliciting escalating laughter, feels like an old Farrellys movie. Was it? Maybe not.

In a 2014 Reddit AMAThe brothers explained that their participation in the episode ended with their presentation. In their own words:

Pete: Well, we hate to burst your bubble. But we sold the idea… and got credit for this story. But the actual screenplay was written by Peter Millman. We sold the idea in a room where we pitched the idea to Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld, and Larry Charles. By the way, these people don’t laugh when you show them ideas; It was very scary. At least, they didn’t do that to us.

Bobby: So it was very scary.

Pete: But we were so happy that they bought at least one of our ideas, and that was “Virgin.”

I can’t imagine pitching a comedy to two geniuses like Seinfeld and David, and getting a stony response. This is like the nuclear version of being bombed on stage at a comedy club (actually, Seinfeld writers room. It was not typical). But they survived, sold the episode, and “Dumb and Dumber” made significant amounts of money in theaters two years later. Thus ends the Farrellys’ origin story in the entertainment industry.