The Muffin Tops

"The Muffin Tops"
Seinfeld episode
Elaine's former boss, Mr. Lippman, working at Top of the Muffin to You!
Episode no.	Season 8 Episode 155
Written by	Spike Feresten
Directed by	Andy Ackerman
Original airdate	May 8, 1997
Guest stars
Melinda Clarke Rena Sofer Richard Fancy
Season 8 episodes
Seinfeld – Season 8 September 1996 – May 1997
"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"
List of Seinfeld episodes

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"The Muffin Tops" is the 155th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 21st episode of the eighth season. It aired on May 8, 1997.

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 Peterman's biography. 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 (Rena Sofer) from the tourist bureau on the street. Jerry shaves his chest hair and worries about it, until he discovers his girlfriend (Melinda Clarke) likes hairless dogs.

Elaine eats only the tops of muffins and 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" on a school bus 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 pop the top from the stump; she also demands that he remove the exclamation point from his sign ("It's not top of the muffin, TO YOU!" to which Lippman replies "No, it is"). 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 a fermented chicken drink and some chicken snacks for the stadium. 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. Jerry's itching makes him run into the forest to scratch his chest; when the moon comes out he howls like the Wolf Man. 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.

Cultural references

• Newman's role as "The Cleaner" is a reference to Harvey Keitel's role as "The Wolf" in Pulp Fiction. He is seen driving an Acura NSX when he arrives at the bakery, which is the same kind of car that "The Wolf" drives. There is a character known as "The Cleaner" played by Harvey Keitel in Point of No Return.
• There is also a reference to the film Wolf with Jerry Seinfeld playing the role played by Jack Nicholson.
• Kramer's "Peterman Reality Tours" are a direct spoof of "Kramer's Reality Tour," conducted by the real-life Kenny Kramer, the former neighbor of Larry David and inspiration for the character Cosmo Kramer.
• The title of J. Peterman's biography, "No Placket Required" is a parody of the Phil Collins album No Jacket Required.
• Originally, George was going to claim to be an employee of the real life Tyson Chicken. However, Tyson Chicken objected to the joke about "alcoholic chicken" and the fictional "Tyler Chicken" was used in its place.

Trivia

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• The actor Reuven Bar-Yotam, who is seen on Kramer's "Peterman Reality Tours" bus, had a cameo appearance as Shlomo in season nine's "The Frogger".
• Elaine's exchange with Lippman regarding the use of exclamation points is a reference to an earlier episode in which Elaine and Lippman had a similar exclamation point related dispute while working at Pendant Publishing. Ironically, in the earlier dispute, Lippman was against the use of exclamation points, whereas Elaine was for it.