The Big Salad

"**The Big Salad**"
"The Big Salad"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 6; Episode 2
Directed by	Andy Ackerman
Written by	Larry David
Production code	602
Original air date	September 29, 1994
Guest appearances
	Wayne Knight as Newman ; Michelle Forbes as Julie; Jerry Levine as Stationer; Marita Geraghty as Margaret; Barry Nolan as Reporter; Dean Hallo as Gendason; Lauren Bowles as Waitress;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Chaperone"	Next →; "The Pledge Drive"
	List of episodes

Last updated December 17, 2024

"The Big Salad" is the 88th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . This was the second episode for the sixth season.^[1] It aired on September 29, 1994.^[1] 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.

Plot

At Elaine's request, George purchases a "big salad" to go for her from Monk's.^[2] George's girlfriend Julie hands Elaine the salad in Jerry's apartment, and Elaine thanks her. George is displeased that Julie took the credit for the salad, and tells Elaine that he bought it. Elaine is irritated at George for making a point of such a trivial matter, and briefly vents to Julie about this. Julie is so irate that George told Elaine she did not buy the salad that she breaks up with him.

Elaine must find a special mechanical pencil, the Rolamech 1000, for Mr. Pitt. The stationery store clerk makes unwanted romantic advances, so when he asks for her telephone number to call her when he receives the pencil, Elaine gives him Jerry's number instead. The clerk calls Jerry's number several times asking for her. Later, after purchasing the pencil from a different shop, she reluctantly agrees to go out with the clerk out of guilt when she hears that he went to great lengths to obtain the pencil.

Jerry learns that his girlfriend, Margaret, formerly dated Newman, who ended the relationship. Jerry cannot comprehend why Newman dumped someone so clearly "out of his league", so he attempts to find the fault in his girlfriend. Margaret becomes suspicious of his scrutiny and challenges him to kiss her. Jerry is unable to overcome his Newman-fueled misgivings enough to do so, and she dumps him.

Kramer plays golf with ex-Major League Baseball player Steve Gendason, who cleans his ball on the second shot (not on the green), breaking the rules and causing an altercation with Kramer. Later the same day, Steve murders a dry cleaner. Fearing that Steve's anger over their golf altercation may have been a factor in the murder, Kramer helps Steve see his pet fish by driving in his white Ford Bronco in a low-speed chase down the New Jersey Turnpike.

Production

Writer/co-creator Larry David got the idea for the episode when Seinfeld editor Janet Ashikaga asked him to get her "a big salad" for lunch. David bought her the salad, but when Jerry Seinfeld's assistant Carol handed it to her, she thanked Carol instead.^[3]

The Steve Gendason plot, and in particular Margaret's argument about overwhelming circumstantial evidence and the Ford Bronco chase, satirizes the O. J. Simpson murder case. The episode was written just a few weeks after Simpson's real-world Ford Bronco chase.^[4]

This episode is the first to use a new exterior set for its New York street scenes. Exteriors were formerly shot using a collection of three storefronts, but the show moved its outside shots to a new, much more expensive street set in Season 6 that allowed for many new camera angles and framing opportunities.^[3]

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References

1 2 "Seinfeld Season 6 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved 2 December 2021.
↑ "Script, Episode 88 - The Big Salad". Seinology.com. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
1 2 Seinfeld Season 6: Inside Look - "The Big Salad" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.
↑ Seinfeld Season 6: Notes about Nothing - "The Big Salad" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

External links

"The Big Salad" at IMDb

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[tvguide-1] 1 2 "Seinfeld Season 6 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[2] "Script, Episode 88 - The Big Salad". Seinology.com. Retrieved July 12, 2012.

[InsLook-3] 1 2 Seinfeld Season 6: Inside Look - "The Big Salad" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

[4] Seinfeld Season 6: Notes about Nothing - "The Big Salad" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

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v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"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"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode