10 Insane TV Details You Never Noticed
1. The O.J. Simpson Murderer Gag Happened BEFORE The Murder - Seinfeld
And finally, we have a gag that you've most likely understood at face value, but unless you saw the episode as it aired originally, you're missing the crucial context that makes it so insane.
In Seinfeld's season five episode "The Masseuse," Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is dating a man named Joel Rifkin (Anthony Cistaro), sharing his name with the real-life serial killer of the same name who was caught a few months before the episode was filmed.
Elaine then starts brainstorming new first names for Joel which couldn't possibly be linked to a murderer, and settles on "O.J.," insisting that he could just use the initials as a first name.
To anyone watching today, this seems like a very intentional joke about O.J. Simpson, until you realise that Simpson wasn't arrested for the double-murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman for another six months.
Those who didn't see the episode when it went out think it's a totally obvious topical joke about Simpson, when in actual fact it's a mere incredible coincidence that a seemingly off-hand joke became a crazy detail in its own right.