The Barber (Seinfeld)

Last updated
"The Barber"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 8
Directed by Tom Cherones
Written by Andy Robin
Production code508
Original air dateNovember 11, 1993 (1993-11-11)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"The Non-Fat Yogurt"
Next 
"The Masseuse"
List of episodes

"The Barber" is the 72nd episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . It is the eighth episode of the fifth season, and first aired on November 11, 1993. [1] The episode deals with Jerry's struggle to get a good haircut without offending his usual barber, who is bad at cutting hair. Meanwhile, George begins showing up to work at a company which he is not sure has actually hired him.

Contents

Plot

At a job interview, George's interviewer, Mr. Tuttle, is cut off mid-sentence by a telephone call, and sends George away without saying whether he has been hired. Tuttle told George that one of the things that make George such an attractive hire is that he can "understand everything immediately," so George is afraid to call and ask for clarification. He decides to just show up, assuming that he has been hired, while Tuttle is out of town. This way, even if he was not hired, he will be ensconced in the company by the time Tuttle returns.

Elaine asks Jerry to get a haircut in order to look nice for an upcoming bachelor auction. Jerry's regular barber, Enzo, is bad at cutting hair and Jerry only continues to use him out of loyalty. Kramer recommends that Jerry see Enzo's nephew Gino on Enzo's day off. Enzo shows up in the shop and, delighted to see Jerry, insists on giving him a haircut even though it is his day off. Enzo tries something new, which turns out to be worse than his usual cut. Kramer arranges a clandestine haircut in Gino's apartment to fix the problem. Enzo turns up unexpectedly, forcing Jerry to hide in the closet after Gino has made only a single snip. Enzo finds Jerry's hair on the floor. He bribes Newman to get a sample of Jerry's hair to compare with. The hairs match. Enzo swears revenge, and confronts Gino and Jerry in Jerry's apartment. However, they catch Edward Scissorhands on the television and stop to watch it. Jerry realizes that the hair sample Enzo used must have been obtained by Newman during his suspicious visit to the apartment.

George, who has no idea what his duties are at his new place of work, is handed the "Pensky file" to work on. George loafs at work for a week. When Mr. Pensky comes to inquire about the progress of his file, he tells George he would like him to work at his company, but is interrupted mid-sentence, leaving George to once again draw his own conclusions. Tuttle returns from vacation. He confirms that George was indeed hired, but is incensed when he learns he has made no progress on the Pensky file. George quits, thinking Pensky has a space for him. However, Pensky explains that he was in the middle of saying that the entire board of the company has been indicted and the company cannot hire anyone.

Because Jerry is self-conscious about his awful haircut, Kramer is sent to the bachelor auction in his place. Unconvinced of Kramer's sex appeal, Elaine starts the bidding for him at $5. Jerry finds Newman in the barber shop, menacingly approaching him with an electric razor. Later in a telephone exchange with Kramer, it is revealed that Newman has been shaved bald.

Music

Throughout this episode, the familiar Seinfeld slap-bass incidental music is replaced with selections from the overture of Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmo Kramer</span> Fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld

Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to simply by his surname, is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998) played by Michael Richards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Seinfeld (character)</span> Main character on the TV show Seinfeld

Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld is the title character and the main protagonist of the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998). The straight man among his group of friends, this semi-fictionalized version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was named after, co-created by, and played by Seinfeld himself. The series revolves around Jerry's misadventures with his best friend George Costanza, neighbor Cosmo Kramer, and ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes. He is usually the voice of reason amid his friends' antics and the focal point of the relationship.

"The Bottle Deposit" is a two-part episode, the 131st and 132nd episodes, and 21st and 22nd episodes of the seventh season, of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, first aired on May 2, 1996. It was originally an hour-long episode, but was split into two parts for syndication.

"The Bizarro Jerry" is the 137th episode of the American television sitcom Seinfeld. This was the third episode of the eighth season, originally airing on the NBC network on October 3, 1996. The title and plot extensively reference Bizarro Superman originally published by DC Comics. This episode introduced the phrase "man-hands.”

"The Revenge" is the seventh episode of the second season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, and the show's 12th episode overall. The story revolves around George Costanza's plot to exact revenge on his boss, with his friend Elaine Benes' help, after he quits his job at Rick Barr Properties and is refused re-employment. Meanwhile, Jerry and his neighbor Kramer get even with a laundromat owner—who they believe has stolen money from Jerry—by pouring cement into one of his washing machines.

"The Pilot" is the two-part season finale of the fourth season of the American sitcom Seinfeld. The 23rd and 24th episode of the fourth season and the 63rd and 64th episodes overall, the episode was written by series co-creator Larry David and directed by Tom Cherones. The episode first aired on May 20, 1993 on NBC.

"The Sniffing Accountant" is the 68th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, being the fourth episode of the series' fifth season. It aired on NBC on October 7, 1993.

"The Chicken Roaster" is the 142nd episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the eighth episode for the eighth season, originally airing on November 14, 1996. The episode's story follows the mishaps which follow when Kenny Rogers Roasters opens a branch in the characters' neighborhood. The restaurant's neon sign shines into Kramer's apartment, disturbing first him and then Jerry after they switch apartments, but Jerry opposes Kramer's efforts to shut the restaurant down since a college friend of his is assistant manager at the branch. Meanwhile, Elaine is in danger of being fired from J. Peterman after she misuses the company account for personal purchases.

"The Andrea Doria" is the 144th episode of American television sitcom Seinfeld. This was the tenth episode for the eighth season, originally airing on NBC on December 19, 1996. In this episode, Jerry helps Newman with getting a transfer by filling in for him on his mail route, Kramer's preference for veterinarians over doctors leads to him exhibiting dog-like behavior, Elaine dates a "bad breaker-upper", and George tries to win the pity of a tenant association so he can get a new apartment.

"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, on NBC. In this episode, George dates a woman while pretending to be a tourist from Arkansas, Kramer starts running a "Peterman Reality Tour" after finding out he is the basis for most of the stories in J. Peterman's autobiography, and Elaine and Mr. Lippman run a business selling only the tops of muffins.

"The Merv Griffin Show" is the 162nd episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the sixth episode of the ninth and final season. It aired on November 6, 1997, and appeared on DVD ten years later. In this episode, Kramer finds the original set for The Merv Griffin Show and uses it to revive the show in his apartment, Elaine contends with a new co-worker who stealthily sidles behind her, and Jerry drugs his girlfriend so that he can play with her collection of toys.

"The Big Salad" is the 88th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the second episode for the sixth season. It aired on September 29, 1994. In this episode, George becomes irritated when he doesn't receive thanks for buying Elaine a salad, Elaine must deal with an annoying store clerk in order to get her boss a rare top-of-the-line pencil, Kramer fears he may be partially responsible for the murder of a dry cleaner, and Jerry comes to suspect there is something wrong with his girlfriend when he learns she was dumped by Newman.

"The Switch" is the 97th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld, and the 11th episode of the show's sixth season. It aired on January 5, 1995. In this episode, Jerry wants to switch from dating a non-laughing woman to dating her roommate, Elaine has difficulty retrieving a tennis racket she loaned out, and George enlists Kramer's mother to spy on his seemingly bulimic girlfriend, leading to him learning Kramer's first name.

"The Label Maker" is the 98th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 12th episode for the sixth season. It aired on January 19, 1995. The episode follows a pair of Super Bowl tickets which are repeatedly gifted from one person to another, while Kramer and Newman take drastic steps to keep each other from cheating at Risk and George fears he is competing for his girlfriend's affections with her roommate. The episode popularized the term "regifting".

"The Highlights of 100" is an hour-long, two-part episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the 14th and 15th episodes for the sixth season, and the 100th and 101st overall episode. It aired on February 2, 1995. It is a clip show to celebrate the series' 100th episode with no new content apart from a 50 second long intro by Jerry Seinfeld. In syndication, it airs as two separate episodes of 30 minutes each, with a second intro at the beginning of the second episode. This is the first episode in the series not to open with a stand-up routine.

"The Doodle" is the 106th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the 20th episode for the sixth season and aired on April 6, 1995. In this episode, Jerry's apartment is infested with fleas, George struggles over his girlfriend's opinion of his physical appearance, Kramer indulges his love for Mackinaw peaches, and Elaine loses a literary manuscript that she is expected to review for a job interview.

"The Shower Head" is the 126th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the sixteenth episode for the seventh season. It aired on February 15, 1996. It had 32.3 million US viewers. This episode focuses on Jerry and George's struggles to get their respective parents to move out of New York. Meanwhile, the tenants of Jerry's apartment building are made miserable by the new low-flow showerheads, and Elaine takes a drug test for work which comes back positive for opium.

"The Cartoon" is the 169th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 13th episode for the ninth and final season. It aired on January 29, 1998. In this episode, aspiring actress Sally Weaver becomes a success with a show where she vilifies Jerry, Elaine struggles to see the humor in a cartoon that appears in The New Yorker, and George is disconcerted when Elaine and Kramer point out that the woman he is dating looks a lot like Jerry.

"The Reverse Peephole" is the 12th episode of the ninth season(the 168th overall) of the television comedy series Seinfeld. It was written by Spike Feresten and directed by Andy Ackerman. In this episode, Jerry gets rid of his wallet and ultimately replaces it with a European carry-all, Kramer and Newman face possible eviction after they reverse the peepholes on their doors and Newman begins an affair with the super's wife, and Elaine has to recover a friend's fur coat which she mistakenly threw out a window.

References

  1. "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved 2 December 2021.