The Chinese Restaurant

"The Chinese Restaurant" is the eleventh episode of the sitcom Seinfeld's second season on NBC, and is the show's sixteenth episode overall. The episode revolves around protagonist Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) and his friends Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and George Costanza (Jason Alexander) waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant, on their way to see Plan 9 from Outer Space. Unable to get a table, they loiter and talk, while George tries to use the phone that is constantly being used by another customer and Jerry sees a woman he recognizes.

Co-written by the series' creators Seinfeld and head writer Larry David, the episode was the first in which Jerry's neighbour Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) did not appear, much to Richards' disappointment. Due to "The Chinese Restaurant"'s lack of storyline, NBC executives objected to its broadcast, thinking audiences would be uninterested. It was not until David threatened to quit if the network forced any major changes upon the script that NBC allowed the episode to be produced, although it did not air until near the end of season two.

First broadcast in the United States on May 23, 1991, the episode gained a Nielsen Rating of 11.7/21. Television critics reacted positively to "The Chinese Restaurant", which became one of the show's first classic episodes. In 1998, a South Florida Sun-Sentinel critic wrote that the episode, along with season four's "The Contest", "[...] broke new sitcom ground and expanded the lexicon of the '90s."^[1]

Plot

Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander) and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) decide to eat dinner without a reservation at a Chinese restaurant before seeing Plan 9 From Outer Space. Jerry lied to his uncle, saying he could not make it to dinner, to go see the film. The maître d' (James Hong) repeatedly tells them they will receive a table in "5, 10 minutes". George is nervous about his girlfriend Tatiana, whom he left during sexual intercourse as he felt he was "not getting enough space". He tries to call her, as she has agreed to talk to him, but a man (Michael Mitz) is using the public phone and ignores George. Jerry notices a woman (Judy Kain) he recognizes, but cannot remember from where.

A bored Jerry dares Elaine to take an egg roll from someone's plate and eat it, offering her US$50 if she does so. Elaine approaches a table with an elderly couple and tells them that her friends would give her US$50 to eat one of their egg rolls, and she is willing to give them US$25 of it. As she softly speaks the offer without moving her lips, and the diners are hard of hearing, they fail to comprehend her. She simply walks away and fails to collect on the wager. George becomes frustrated when other patrons monopolize the phone. When he is finally able to call Tatiana, the answering machine answers his call and George leaves a message. Tatiana calls the restaurant to reach George, but the maitre d' calls "Cartwright" instead of "Costanza". The mysterious woman encounters Jerry, and Jerry remembers she is his uncle's receptionist. Realizing that he has been caught out, he decides that he might as well call his uncle and have dinner with him after all. George and Elaine agree to leave. The maitre d' calls their party as soon as they have left.

Production

Michael Richards, who portrayed Kramer, did not appear in "The Chinese Restaurant" because, during the first few seasons of Seinfeld, his character never leaves his apartment. Richards was disappointed as he felt he was absent from an episode that was crucial for the series.

"The Chinese Restaurant" was written by series co-creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld and directed by Tom Cherones, who directed all of season two's episodes.^[2] David came up with the idea while he and Seinfeld were waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles.^[3][4] It was the first episode in which Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards), Jerry's neighbour, did not appear.^[3] David explained to Richards that the reason for Kramer's absence was because, during Seinfeld's early seasons, the character never leaves his apartment.^[3] This was much to Richards' dismay, as he felt the episode was a breakthrough and as such, essential for the series' development.^[5] In an interview for the Seinfeld first and second season DVD box set he commented "The Chinese restaurant episode was so unique, and I just wanted to be a part of that because it was cutting edge. I knew that was a very important episode; it was so odd."^[3]

When David presented the episode to NBC executives, he received a negative reaction.^[6] The network felt that there was no real story and viewers would not be interested.^[7] Executive Warren Littlefield commented that he thought there were pages missing from the script he had received.^[3] David argued that each character had a storyline; Jerry's story was he recognized a woman but did not know from where, Elaine's story was that she was very hungry and George's story was that he was unable to use the phone.^[5] NBC disagreed and objected to the broadcast of the episode.^[5] To satisfy the executives, staff writer Larry Charles suggested Jerry's storyline to be on his way to Plan 9 from Outer Space, and thus placing the episode in "real time".^[3] When the NBC executives still objected, David threatened to quit the show if the network would force any major changes upon the script.^[5] Seinfeld supported David and NBC eventually allowed them to produce "The Chinese Restuarant" without any significant alterations, although they strongly advised them not go through with it^[5] and postponed the broadcast until near the end of the season.^[5][6][8]

"The Chinese Restaurant" was first read by its cast on December 5, 1990; it was filmed on December 11.^[5] Filming took place at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, where all filming for the second season took place.^[9] As only one location was used, it took roughly half of the time it usually took for an episode to be filmed. Cast members have remarked that the filming was shorter than on any other episode.^[5] A few changes were made; in the first draft of the script, George, Jerry and Elaine entered the restaurant talking about their least favorite holiday. This was changed to a discussion regarding the combination of cops and garbagemen.^[5] Seinfeld also used the replacement discussion the following year when he guest-hosted an episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live.^[5] In the original draft, the three friends also discussed how to prevent the long waiting period in the future, with George suggesting to bring a deck of cards and Jerry to bring a jigsaw puzzle with nothing but penguins.^[5] One scene was cut before broadcast, featuring George explaining to Jerry that he pulled his hamstring while trying to untuck the covers of a hotel bed during his recent stay in Boston.^[10] George can be seen grabbing his hamstring as he walks to the phone. The scene was later included on the Seinfeld seasons one and two DVD boxset.^[5][11]

Michael Mitz portrayed the man who is on the phone when George tries to call Tatiana; Mitz would return in season five as a photographer in "The Puffy Shirt".^[5] Veteran actor James Hong portrayed the maître d'.^[12] The role of the maître d' is one of Hong's most famous roles in the United States.^[13] Judy Kain, known for a recurring role on Married... with Children, guest-starred as Lorraine Catalano, Jerry's uncle's receptionist.^[5] David Tress guest-starred as Mr. Cohen, a guest who enters the restaurant and receives a table without reservation, as he is good friends with the maître d'.^[5] Larry David's voice can be heard among the group of elderly people Elaine offers money for one of their egg-rolls.^[5] Norman Brenner, who worked as Richards' stand-in on the show for all its nine seasons,^[14] appears as an extra; he is sitting by the door of the restaurant at when George, Jerry and Elaine enter, and is still at the same spot when they leave.^[5]

Reception

When the episode initially aired in the United States on NBC on May 23, 1991,^[16] it received a Nielsen Rating of 11.7 and an audience share of 21—this meant that 11.7% of American households watched the episode, and that 21% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into it.^[5] Seinfeld was the eighteenth most-watched show of the week it was broadcast in, and the sixth most-watched show on NBC.^[17] NBC executives held a meeting after the broadcast to determine the fate of the show, and decided it would receive a third season order if the writers would put more effort into episode story lines.^[5]

"The Chinese Restaurant" received very positive responses from critics and is considered one of Seinfeld's first "classic episodes".^[5][18] Kit Boss, critic for the Ocala Star-Banner, commented the episode was "like real life, but with better dialogue".^[19] Various critics and news sources have pointed out that the episode defines the show's "show about nothing" concept.^[20][21] Critics have also noted that aside from being a turning point for the show, the episode also became a turning point for television sitcoms;^[22] one South Florida Sun-Sentinel critic commented that the episode, along with the season four episode "The Contest", "[...] broke new sitcom ground and expanded the lexicon of the '90s."^[1] Vance Durgin of The Orange County Register praised how the show was able to "wrung" so much comedy "out of a simple premise".^[23] The episode was also included in a list compiled by The Star-Ledger called "50 events that shaped TV – and our lives" between 1900 and 1999.^[24] The Charlotte Observer has called "The Chinese Restaurant" the best Seinfeld episode, referring to it "the very epitome of the classic Seinfeld format".^[25]

Critics also praised Louis-Dreyfus' and Alexander's performances; The Age critic Kenneth Nguyen stated that they "characteristically, rock[ed] their line readings".^[26] Michael Flaherty and Mary Kaye Schilling of Entertainment Weekly commented "George is at his pressure-cooker best, but it's Elaine—famished and in high dudgeon—who is the centerpiece", and graded the episode with an A−.^[27]

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Chinese Restaurant

• "The Chinese Restaurant" at the Internet Movie Database