[1] In the episode, Jerry Seinfeld buys an expensive suede jacket and has dinner with the father of his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes.
Elaine's father Alton, a war veteran and writer, makes Jerry and his friend George Costanza very uncomfortable.
"The Jacket" premiered on American television on February 6, 1991, on NBC, it gained a Nielsen rating of 10.4/16 and was praised by critics.
While preparing for the dinner, George arrives at Jerry's apartment with the song "Master of the House" stuck in his head.
Kramer enters the apartment and asks them to guard his illegally parked car for two minutes as he carries down some doves that he is looking after for a magician friend.
The next day Kramer notices Jerry's jacket hanging in the bathroom, badly damaged by the snow, and asks if he can have it.
[2][4] Additional dialogue at the store where Jerry buys his jacket was cut before broadcast; it featured a reference to Gary Gilmore.
[5][10] Various cast members remember Seinfeld encountering Tierney and stating "Hey Lawrence, what do you got there in your jacket?
It gained a Nielsen rating of 10.4 and an audience share of 16, this means that 10.4% of American households watched the episode, and that 16% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into it.
Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide stated, "An otherwise mediocre episode, Lawrence Tierney's gruff turn as Elaine's father helps redeem 'The Jacket.
'"[12] DVD reviewer Jonathan Boudreaux considered "The Jacket" one of season two's best episodes, along with "The Chinese Restaurant".
[13] Critics Mary Kaye Schilling and Mike Flaherty of Entertainment Weekly graded the episode with a B−, stating, "Jerry and George's torturous hotel-lobby meeting with Mr. Benes is a squirm-inducing joy.