S05E10 · EP 74
season 5 · December 9, 1993
The Cigar Store Indian
written by Tom Gammill & Max Pross · directed by Tom Cherones · 29.6M viewers · image Seinfeld Wiki (CC BY-SA)

Episode DNA

18 scenes · 4 threads
awkward 13%coincidence 10%deadpan 9%absurd 7%social rule violation 7%misunderstanding 7%petty grievance 6%tense 6%humiliating 6%comeuppance 5%

Story threads over runtime

click a block to open the scene
0:005:0010:0015:0020:00
A · Jerry offends Winona
B · George grounded
C · TV Guide chaos
D · Kramer book idea
01

Every scene

18 scenes · our breakdown
1 · comedy club · cold_openJerry standup fathers fashion

Jerry performs standup about fathers freezing their clothing style and hating pants shopping.

00:01–00:42social_rule_violation
2 ▸ 00:42
2 · George's parents' house · act1Coffee table stain crisis

George panics over a coffee ring on his parents' new table before poker night.

00:42–02:40petty_grievance · scheme
3 ▸ 02:40
3 · George's parents' house · act1Subway plan and TV Guide

Jerry agrees to take subway to Queens; Elaine takes Frank's TV Guide to read.

02:40–04:05misunderstanding · petty_grievance
4 ▸ 04:05
4 · subway car · act1Subway gyro creepy guy

On subway Kramer buys gyro; creepy man hits on Elaine and later steals TV Guide.

04:05–05:15coincidence · misunderstanding
5 · furniture refinishing store · act1Furniture store George meets Sylvia

At the furniture refinishing store, George meets Sylvia who assumes he lives in the neighborhood. They flirt, and George impulsively buys a cigar store Indian to impress her.

05:15–06:10lie · seduction
6 · George's parents' house · act1Poker night Indian offense

At George's parents' house for poker night, Jerry gives Elaine a cigar store Indian with a note using Native American stereotypes. Winona reveals she is Native American and is deeply offended.

06:10–07:44social_rule_violation · misunderstanding
7 · George's parents' house · act2George seduction parents bed

George brings Sylvia to his parents' house pretending it's his; they have sex in parents' bed.

07:44–08:50lie · scheme
10 · street · act2Date Chinese mailman offense

On their date, Jerry asks a Chinese postal worker for directions to a Chinese restaurant. The mailman accuses Jerry of racial profiling. Winona is furious at Jerry's insensitivity. Kramer drives by in a taxi with the Indian, yelling war whoops, further offending Winona.

10:20–10:27social_rule_violation · misunderstanding
11 · Monk's Cafe · act2Monks damage control

At Monk's Jerry explains mailman incident. George realizes his parents will discover the missing TV Guide and the condom wrapper in their bed.

10:27–12:23comeuppance · coincidence
12 · George's parents' house · act2Parents discover condom wrapper

Frank and Estelle find condom wrapper and missing TV Guide; George grounded.

12:23–13:12comeuppance · secret_exposed
13 ▸ 13:12
13 · restaurant · act2Date two avoids trigger words

On their second date, Jerry carefully avoids saying 'reservations' and 'scalper' to avoid offending Winona. She notices he has the Al Roker TV Guide cover.

13:12–14:23avoidance · misunderstanding
15 · Jerry's apartment · act2Elaine Kramer coffee table book

At Jerry's apartment, Kramer pushes his coffee table book idea. Elaine is mortified. Kramer announces he's going to sell the cigar store Indian to a dealer.

14:39–15:26scheme · petty_grievance
16 · George's parents' house · act3Creepy guy at Costanza house

The creepy man from the subway shows up at George's parents' house with a flower bouquet made from the TV Guide. Frank is enraged that Elaine took his collectible and that the stranger knows their address.

15:26–16:16coincidence · comeuppance
17 ▸ 16:16
17 · subway car · act3Subway gyro Al Roker

Jerry and Elaine ride the subway to Queens with the replacement TV Guide. Jerry gets a gyro at Queensborough Plaza but gets his arm stuck in the door. Al Roker himself steals the gyro as the train departs.

16:16–16:33coincidence
18 · restaurant · act3Restaurant Indian giver fight

Continuation of the restaurant date where Winona demands the TV Guide back for a report. Jerry stammers trying to avoid saying 'Indian giver' but eventually implies it, causing Winona to storm off.

16:33–17:36misunderstanding · social_rule_violation
19 · Pendant Publishing · act3Kramer sells Indian to Lippman

Kramer sells the cigar store Indian to a dealer who turns out to be Mr. Lippman. He helps carry it to Pendant Publishing where Elaine works. Kramer pitches his coffee table book idea to Lippman, who loves it.

17:36–19:55deal · scheme
21 · subway car · tagSubway return creepy guy returns

Jerry and Elaine return on subway; creepy guy reappears with same pickup line.

20:41–21:06coincidence
22 · comedy club · tagJerry standup TV Guide

Jerry closes with standup about TV Guide lifecycle and crossword puzzle hotline.

21:06–21:56petty_grievance
03

Same DNA

nearest episodes by gene profile

Episode facts

Wikipedia · Wikidata
Aired
December 9, 1993
Overall
#74
Writers
Tom Gammill & Max Pross
Director
Tom Cherones
Viewers
29.6M (US)
Pace
127 words/min · 140 questions

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