The Maid

"The Maid" is the 175th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 19th episode of the 9th and final season. It aired on April 30, 1998.

Plot

Jerry hires a maid, Cindy, whom he then starts sleeping with. Elaine discovers she has 57 messages on her answering machine when Kramer attempts to send her a fax. George tries to get a nickname (T-Bone) but a co-worker gets the one he chose instead. George tries reasoning with the new T-Bone to get his nickname. When he throws up his arms in anger over this, his co-workers nickname him Koko. The episode also featured the New York area code 646. When the 212 area code ran out of numbers, 646 was created. Elaine repeatedly gets a piercing high beep in her phone after Kramer signs up to receive restaurant menus by fax with a service called "Now We're Cookin'". Elaine then gets a new number with the 646 area code. She is not happy with the new number because she believes the area code makes it too long to dial. She is proved correct when attempting to give her number to a man in the park. Initially eager, he reads the number, asks if it is in New Jersey. Her response is, "No, it's just like 212 except they multiplied every number by 3… and added 1 to the middle number." He makes an excuse and walks off. When an old woman named Mrs. Krantz dies, Elaine manages to get her old 212 number. Mrs. Krantz's grandson Bobby keeps calling Elaine's apartment, ignorant of the fact that his grandmother is dead, and that Elaine has her number. Kramer's girlfriend moves 'away' (in reality she only moves downtown), leading him to struggle with the drawbacks of a long-distance relationship. Jerry begins to realise that because of their relationship, Cindy is no longer doing any work, but he's still paying her, which leads Kramer to comment 'Uh-oh - you're a John!' When Jerry confronts Cindy, she walks out on the job and the relationship. Jerry later meets Cindy's boss - a parody of a pimp - who threateningly tells Jerry if he doesn't get the money from him, he'll get it from Cindy. Meanwhile Kramer gets lost whilst visiting his girlfriend. When Jerry goes to pick him up, he spots Cindy and slows down to give her her money - unfortunately, a passing policeman mistakes them for a prostitute and a John. Later, a lost Kramer is approached by Cindy's boss and is talked into a maid job, joking about the similarities between the scene and Kramer being approached by a pimp.

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (February 2008)

• The working title for this episode was "The Long-Distance Relationship."
• The blanket Kramer is using while talking to his girlfriend on the phone is a traditional Hudson's Bay Company point blanket.
• This episode is geographically accurate. When Kramer is lost downtown, he explains to Jerry that he is on the corner of "1st and 1st. How can the same street intersect with itself? I must be at the Nexus of the Universe." He continues to tell Jerry that all he sees is an Original Ray's Pizza place. If you look east on the corner of 1st Avenue and 1st Street in Manhattan, you will see an Original Ray's Pizza located on Houston Street.
• In the later half of the episode, when Kramer calls Jerry for help, Jerry ends the call with a direct quote from The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film) "You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you."
• There is a bar located on the corner of 1st Avenue & 1st Street called "The Nexus Lounge" which is named after Kramer's observation of the intersecting streets.
• Cindy mentions that she works with a Coco. She says "Yeah. Coco. That girl's all right." Puddy had referred to Koko the Gorilla in "The Dealership" by saying "Right, Koko. That chimp’s all right. High-five."
• When Kramer is picked up by the "maid pimp" at the end of the episode, he assumes speech and affectations similar to those of the character Stanley Spadowski, the janitor Michael Richards played in the movie UHF.
• The 646 area code, while obviously had been publicly announced, did not actually take effect until July 1, 1999.