The Muffin Tops
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Seinfeld episode | |
| "The Muffin Tops" | |
 Elaine's boss, Mr. Lippman, working at Top of the Muffin to You! |
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| Episode no. | 155 |
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| Airdate | May 8, 1997 |
| Writer(s) | Spike Feresten |
| Director | Andy Ackerman |
| Guest star(s) | Melinda Clarke & Rena Sofer |
| IMDb profile | |
| Seinfeld - Season 8 September 1996 - May 1997 |
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| List of all Seinfeld episodes | |
The Muffin Tops is the one-hundred and fifty-fifth episode of the hit sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 21st episode for the 8th season. It aired on May 8, 1997.
[edit] Plot
George watches a bag for a tourist who never comes back, so he starts wearing some of the clothes. Elaine tells Kramer that the stories he sold to J. Peterman were put into the book. Kramer goes to the book signing, claiming he is the real "Peterman." George becomes a tourist from Little Rock, Arkansas when he meets a beautiful woman from the tourist bureau on the street. Jerry shaves his chest and worries about it until he discovers his girlfriend Melinda Clarke likes hairless dogs. Elaine eats only the tops of muffins and she says that it is a million dollar idea, Mr. Lippman, her former boss, decides to start a business (Top of the Muffin, To You!). Kramer starts conducting "Peterman Reality Tours" for $37.50 a piece. When the muffin top business doesn't seem to be working, Lippman asks Elaine for advice. She tells him that he must make the whole muffin and remove the top from the stump, she also demands that he remove the exclamation point from his sign. The stumps can be given to the homeless only they don't want them. In fact nobody wants them. Jerry continues to shave his chest despite Kramer's warning about hair growth. George "moves" to New York and takes a job with the Yankees. Steinbrenner is led to believe that George is holding down two jobs and makes a deal to trade George for chicken (including: Alcoholic Chicken, a fermented chicken drink in lieu of beer). Elaine convinces Kramer to get rid of her stumps on the tour and he convinces Jerry and his girlfriend to take his tour. Jerry's chest begins itching from hair growth as Kramer searches for a dump that will take the stumps. Elaine eventually hires "a cleaner" (Newman, in a Pulp Fiction spoof) to make the muffin stump problem go away until the store gets private garbage removal.
[edit] Trivia
- This is the final appearance of the George Steinbrenner character on Seinfeld, as George Costanza is fired from the Yankees in this episode. The actual George Steinbrenner was originally supposed to appear during the trial scenes in "The Finale", but he was cut due to time constraints. George's position as Assistant to the Traveling Secretary was the longest-lived of his many occupations during the show, lasting 69 episodes (about three years starting with "The Opposite"). This is also Larry David's last work before he returned again in "The Finale". David voiced the Steinbrenner character.
- Newman's role as "The Cleaner" may be a reference to Jean Reno's role as "The Cleaner" in Nikita, or to Harvey Keitel's role as "The Wolf" in Pulp Fiction.
- Two characters in this episode reappear again in two Season 9 episodes: Rebecca DeMornay in "The Bookstore", as played by Sonya Eddy (cf. the actress Rebecca De Mornay); and Shlomo in "The Frogger", as played by Reuven Bar-Yotam.
- The first to refuse the muffin stumps from Kramer is the Jiffy Dump Guy played by Chaim Girafi, who also played the Jiffy Park Guy in the previous season's "The Wig Master".
