The Cigar Store Indian

"The Cigar Store Indian"

Seinfeld episode

Episode no.

Season 5
Episode 10

Directed by

Tom Cherones

Written by

Tom Gammill & Max Pross

Production code

510

Original air date

December 9, 1993

Guest appearances

Estelle Harris as Estelle Costanza
Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza
Richard Fancy as Mr Lippman
Kimberly Norris as Winona
Sam Lloyd as Ricky
Carissa Channing as Sylvia
Benjamin W.S. Lum as Postman
Ralph Manza as Gepetto
Al Roker as himself

Episode chronology

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"The Cigar Store Indian" is the 74th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It is the tenth episode of the fifth season, and first aired on December 9, 1993.^[1] In this episode, Jerry has troubles with appearing racially insensitive in front of a Native American woman he is attracted to, while Elaine is bothered by a lovestruck TV enthusiast whom she met on the subway.

Plot

After visiting the Costanzas' house, Elaine and Kramer must take the subway home since their ride, Jerry, is helping George with a coffee table stain. She takes a TV Guide with Al Roker on the cover as reading material and forgets it on her seat; it is obtained by an amorous TV enthusiast, Ricky, who cuts it up to make a bouquet for her. Elaine and Kramer are separated when Kramer stops to get a gyro.

Jerry presents Elaine with a cigar store Indian as a peace offering for making her take the subway, in large part to show off his generous side to Elaine's friend Winona. Winona becomes offended and walks out, after which an irate Elaine informs Jerry that Winona is Native American. Elaine gives the cigar store Indian to Kramer. He has an idea for a coffee table book about coffee tables and asks her to mention it to her boss, Mr. Lippman, but Elaine says it is a dumb idea. Jerry apologizes to Winona and smooths things over enough to get a date with her. He asks a postman for directions to the nearest Chinese restaurant; the postman attributes Jerry's asking to the fact that he is Chinese, and Winona walks out again, convinced of his racial insensitivity.

George meets Sylvia, an employee at a furniture refinishing store, and takes her to his parents' home, where they have sex. His parents discover his prophylactic wrapper in their bed and the absence of Frank's TV Guide and ground him.

Jerry again smooths things over with Winona, but is so afraid of appearing insensitive again that he even avoids referring to their restaurant arrangements as "reservations". Winona lets him have her copy of the Roker TV Guide to give to Frank. Elaine takes it to the Costanzas' house, where Ricky tracked her by reading the postal address. Frank is dissatisfied with the TV Guide, since the cover was stained by tzatziki sauce from the gyros Elaine was eating, and yells at her. Ricky comes to her defense and inadvertently knocks the refinished coffee table over. Winona insists on having the TV Guide back. When Jerry says it is too late, he struggles to avoid calling her an Indian giver, and she breaks up with him.

While trying to sell the cigar store Indian, Kramer meets Mr. Lippman, who buys it for $500. Kramer helps Lippman carry it to his office, where Kramer pitches his coffee table book. Lippman is intrigued and reprimands Elaine for not coming up with such ideas.

Estelle takes the coffee table to the same furniture store George took it to. She runs into Sylvia and reveals the truth about George. Elaine and Jerry take the subway to Queens to give Frank the Roker TV Guide (which they had to order). They are separated when Jerry runs to get a gyro. Al Roker himself gets on the train and becomes interested in Elaine.

Production

Tom Gammill and Max Pross's original draft for the episode was called "The Moose Head"; in this version, Jerry buys Elaine a moose head, and Winona is offended by the gift because she is an animal rights activist. Show creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld felt the moose head was too reminiscent of sitcoms from decades past, and directed Gammill and Pross to replace it with something more politically incorrect.^[2]

According to Pross, the incident with the Chinese postman was taken "almost verbatim" from his real life. While walking through Chinatown late at night, Pross asked a postman if he knew of a Chinese restaurant that was still open, and the postman started screaming at him, thinking Pross assumed he knew where the restaurants were because he was Chinese rather than because he was a postman.^[2]

References

^ "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
^ ^a ^b Gamill, Tom; Pross, Max (2005). Seinfeld Season 5: Audio Commentary - "The Cigar Store Indian" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

External links

"The Cigar Store Indian" at IMDb

v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode

This page was last edited on 22 April 2024, at 18:20

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Plot

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References

External links