The Seinfeld Chronicles

The Seinfeld Chronicles is the pilot episode of the NBC series, Seinfeld. It originally aired on July 5, 1989. The original title of the episode was Good News, Bad News however it has been confirmed by the creators that the title of the pilot is The Seinfeld Chronicles.

It was rebroadcast in 1990 after the show had been picked up as a series.

The episode was written by creators, Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld and was directed by Art Wolff.

Plot
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza are seated at Pete's Luncheonette debating over a shirt button. The waitress, Claire, comes over to their table and pours each a cup of coffee. George tells Claire he does not want caffeine in his coffee and Jerry corrects him by telling George she is an expert waitress. The two continue to talk and finally leave when Jerry has to do laundry.

The following evening while watching a late Mets game, he receives a phone call from a potential girlfriend, Laura, whom he met on the road. She asks if she can stay over his apartment since she cannot find a "decent hotel" (a fact George contests). Jerry invites her but is unsure if her visit is intended to be romantic or not. George and Jerry continue to debate fine details in Laura's conversation with Jerry to determine the true nature of the visit. A character known in the pilot as "Kessler," (who in all future episodes is known as Kramer) joins in asking Jerry why he would even give her a choice about where to sleep by bringing in another bed. The episode gives viewers a quick glimpse at George's profession (real estate) and also Kramer's (questionable get rich quick schemes).

At the airport, George and Jerry continue to talk in an effort to identify the possible signals Laura might give upon her arrival. Laura arrives and takes Jerry (and George) by surprise. The two arrive at Jerry's apartment and he feels uncomfortable with the situation. Laura removes some excess clothing to get comfortable and asks for wine. Jerry believes he has gotten to the bottom of the whole question. His plans are abruptly interrupted when he learns Laura has a fiancé. Jerry realizes he has no chance with Laura but has already committed himself — and his studio apartment — to an entire weekend with her.

Note
The episode does not feature the character of Elaine Benes. Her character was introduced as a result of constructive criticism based on this episode.
Lee Garlington, who played Claire (the waitress at Pete's) in the pilot, although credited as a regular, was not asked to appear in the series and is only featured in this episode.
The restaurant Jerry and George are eating lunch at is known as Pete's Luncheonette in this episode. It will later be known as the well-known Monk's Cafe for the remainder of the series.

The Seinfeld Chronicles (TV Pilot)
AKA: Good News, Bad News
July 5 1989
Jerry Seinfeld
NBC

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Asajj Ventress

One of the most deadly and tragic opponents to emerge from the battlefields of the Clone Wars was Asajj Ventress, a disciple of the dark side and sworn enemy of the Jedi. A lifetime of enduring cruel hardships had purged any compassion from her cold heart, and a fierce survival instinct forged in the ceaseless dangers of her bloody homeworld kept her on the dark path.
Much of her past remains shrouded in mystery. Ventress hails from Rattatak, a barbaric world where violent bloodshed is a daily occurrence. The primitive planet is far from the Republic borders, and is ruled by brutal warlords who constantly battle for domination. A warlord named Osika Kirske murdered Asajj's parents when she was very young. Somehow, a young Jedi named Ky Narec came to be stranded on this forsaken world. Cut off from the Jedi Council, Narec discovered Asajj and took it upon himself to train the Force-strong orphan. The two quickly became heroes, vanquishing many warlords, ending wars, and uniting armies until Kirske conspired with the remaining warlords to retaliate. They succeeded in killing Narec before he could complete Asajj's training.

As a result, she had the skills of the Jedi combined with a raw, unfocused talent in the Force. She never controlled her instinctual fury, and when her master died, she developed a hatred for the Republic that had abandoned her mentor, and had ignored the atrocities of Rattatak.

Asajj's rage fueled her power, and she clawed her way up to a position of authority on the lawless world of Rattatak. She conquered and imprisoned most of the remaining warlords, including Osika Kirske, whom she would eventually kill. She could best any of the monstrous combatants in the gladiatorial games held regularly on the world. Shortly after the outbreak of the Clone Wars, Count Dooku came to Rattatak, looking for another world to add to the Separatist fold. What he found instead was far more promising.

Ventress' raw talent and fierce determination impressed Dooku. The charismatic leader of the Confederacy was able to recruit the young warrior by appealing to her disgust with the Jedi and the Republic. Dooku confirmed Ventress' bitter ideas that the Jedi had abandoned their ethics and convictions. Ventress proved her skills by challenging Dooku to a duel. Though Dooku won the sparring contest, he invited Ventress to accompany him back into the Confederacy as a personal protégé.

Though Ventress longed to identify herself as a Sith, she did not receive Sith training. While Dooku helped hone her talents, he taught her none of the knowledge unique to the Sith. Her skills were a combination of incomplete Jedi training coupled with her own techniques. Her raw talents and bottomless well of anger and pain bolstered her dark side abilities. Giving into her rage granted her further powers.

Ventress proved to be a cunning military mastermind, and Dooku made her a commander within the Separatist army. One of her first assignments was disrupting a meeting between Jedi Master Mace Windu and a group of dissident Jedi. Dooku had no compunctions about exploiting and lying to Asajj to meet his ends. He told her that Windu was responsible for the abandonment of her former Jedi mentor. Asajj did battle with Windu on the moon of Ruul, and though Asajj was forced to flee the fight, Windu came to realize that a new and dark menace to the Jedi was at large.

Asajj was in command of a Separatist plot to unleash a deadly chemical weapon on the Gungan colony moon of Ohma-D'un. This was an early test of a chemical warfare program against the clone troopers of the Republic. Though Asajj and Durge had to flee the Naboo moon, they had proven to be formidable opponents against the Jedi.

General Obi-Wan Kenobi followed Asajj to the chemical weapon development plants on Queyta. Asajj was tasked by Count Dooku to once again offer Kenobi a chance to join the Separatists, but the Jedi refused. Asajj again escaped to plague the Republic on other battlefronts.

Four months after the Battle of Geonosis, Asajj joined the fighting on Muunilinst, where Republic clone troopers attacked droid factories on the InterGalactic Banking Clan homeworld. Though the bounty hunter Durge handled the ground campaign, Asajj soared into battle aboard one of her fanblade starfighters. Her incredible piloting skills drew the attention of Anakin Skywalker, the Padawan who was leading the space forces. Despite orders not to pursue, Anakin gave chase, and Asajj lured the young Jedi-in-training into a trap.

Anakin followed Asajj through hyperspace to the ancient Sith temples of Yavin 4. Anakin continued his pursuit on foot, aided by clone troopers. Using the Force, Asajj whittled away the clone trooper guards, and then began a stunning lightsaber duel with Anakin. So skilled was she, Asajj even proved to be a challenge to the fabled Chosen One of Jedi legend. To defeat her, Anakin needed the edge granted by giving into anger. In a furious counter-attack, young Skywalker repulsed Ventress, who nevertheless survived.

After being captured on Jabiim, Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and the ARC trooper known as Alpha were transported to Ventress' private fortress on Rattatak. There, she tortured the prisoners in hopes of breaking Obi-Wan's spirit and presenting the defeated Jedi as a trophy to Count Dooku. Kenobi foiled her plans, though, and escaped along with Alpha. Adding insult to injury, Kenobi stole Ky Narec's lightsaber, which Ventress kept as a memento of her past, and left Rattatak by absconding with one of her fanblade fighters.

Asajj has perfected a lightsaber combat form that uses paired blades to strike and parry. She carried twin weapons given to her by Count Dooku, and each bears a similar archaic curved handle design favored by the former Jedi Master. Ventress' lightsaber handles are especially modified so that they can connect into a joined, S-shaped handle, becoming a double-bladed lightsaber.

Asajj Ventress, Star Wars

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