Re: Not P but DFW: Seinfeld’s retirement

[Robert Mahnke]

I think I agree with your proofreader. The last episode aired in May of 1998. 

Sent from an iPhone; pls xcse typos. 

> On Jan 29, 2026, at 4:58 AM, Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> The following excerpt is from David Foster Wallace's *Big Red Son*:
> 
> (Harold Hecuba and Dick Filth, by the way, have heard Max hold forth many
> times before and are now outside the circle of discourse—D.F. in the
> bathroom for what seems like a peculiarly long time, H.H. on the couch with
> the actresses hashing out the implications of Seinfeld’s retirement for
> NBC’s ’98 lineup.)
> 
> Alone and in a place of conspicuous honor on a wood-finish shelf above the
> suite’s minibar is an actual AVN Awards statuette. The trophy resembles an
> Oscar/Emmy/Clio except that the figurine’s arms are up and out (making it
> also look a bit like Richard Nixon at the climax of the ’68 GOP
> convention), and something slightly blurry about the casting gives it a
> sort of cubic-zirconium aspect. Whether the statuette is heavy and solid
> vs. hollow and Little Leaguish remains unknown—there is no invitation to
> touch or heft it. One of the B-girls on the couch is now either laughing or
> weeping into her hands at something Harold Hecuba has said; her bare
> shoulders heave. It would be totally fantastic if the *Seinfeld* rerun on
> the huge TV were the episode about everybody trying to refrain from
> masturbating, but it isn’t.
> 
> The name "Seinfeld" appears twice in this passage. My understanding is that
> the first instance (unitalicized) refers to the actor and comedian, while
> the second (italicized) refers to the long-running TV show. However, some
> proofreader insists that the first one refers to the show as well, reason
> being (a) Jerry Seinfeld the comedian didn't actually retire after doing
> the TV show, (b) his full name is not given here, (c) the word "retirement"
> actually refers to the non-continuation of the TV show. Of course, I don't
> think that's correct at all, and I need some confirmation from native
> speakers in order to convince my editor, who hasn't yet changed that part
> back to my original translation.
> 
> Not sure if attachments would get through on the list, but I included a
> screenshot of the relevant page as well.
> --
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