"The Reverse Peephole"

Seinfeld episode

Episode no.

Season 9
Episode 12

Directed by

Andy Ackerman

Written by

Spike Feresten

Production code

912

Original air date

January 15, 1998

Guest appearances

Wayne Knight as Newman
Patrick Warburton as David Puddy
Jon Polito as Silvio
Pat Finn as Joe Mayo
Jennette Robbins as Keri
Fitz Houston as Cop
Joe Basile as Delivery Guy
Lauren Bowles as Waitress
Ruth Cohen as Ruthie Cohen (uncredited)

Episode chronology

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"The Cartoon"

Seinfeld (season 9)

List of episodes

"The Reverse Peephole" is the 12th episode of the ninth season^[1](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.

Plot

Elaine, Jerry and George decide to buy a massage chair as a housewarming gift for their friend Joe Mayo. To save money, George buys a chair from Delaware, but it does not arrive in time so they go to Joe Mayo's party without it. Elaine is embarrassed by David Puddy having a fur coat, so when she is placed in charge of the coats, Elaine secretly throws Puddy's fur coat out the window. She later finds out she dispatched Joe's near-identical coat instead, and Joe demands Elaine buy him a new coat.

Kramer and Newman reverse the peepholes on their apartment doors to spot any ambushes inside their rooms. When the super, Silvio, learns they did this without his authorization, he assumes Newman instigated it. He only refrains from evicting Newman because Kramer speaks on his behalf. Kramer notices Newman is having an affair with Silvio's wife, and realizes he and Newman will both be evicted if Silvio finds out.

At Kramer's suggestion, Jerry throws out his wallet and just folds his bills together, saving pocket space. He mocks George for having a wallet that is so stuffed with coupons that it gives him back pain. The massage chair is delivered to George by mistake. When he discovers how good it is for his back pain, he delays giving it to Joe. When Jerry complains about having to carry around his girlfriend's things, Elaine gives him a European carry-all, which resembles a purse.

Kramer mentions to Elaine that Newman recovered Joe's fur coat from a tree. She tries to convince Newman to give her Joe's coat, but he has already given it to Silvio's wife. When he learns of the fur coat, Silvio threatens to evict Kramer and Newman over the affair. To save himself, Kramer claims the fur coat is Jerry's, and gets Jerry to wear it in front of Silvio. Silvio believes him until Elaine walks up and asks why Jerry is wearing Joe's coat. Silvio then plots revenge on Joe. A thief snatches Jerry's carry-all. Jerry calls to a policeman, but the policeman does not know what a European carry-all is, so Jerry has to describe it as his "purse".

Elaine, Jerry, and Kramer back out of participating in their chair gift (Elaine because Joe demanded she buy him a new coat, Jerry because Joe criticized his taste in music, and Kramer because he has no recollection of agreeing to the gift). George plans to return the chair. When he puts a tear-away phone number for a free guitar lesson in his already overstuffed wallet, much of the contents burst out and blow away, including the receipt.

Silvio ambushes Joe from inside his room with a sock of pennies. Seeing how ostentatious Jerry looks in the fur coat, Puddy sells his fur coat and buys a garish leather eight-ball jacket.

Production

The wallet story stemmed from an argument in the Seinfeld writers' room. Spike Feresten, the episode's writer, remarked that wallets had become pointless, and Seinfeld co-creator/writer/star Jerry Seinfeld began arguing the point with him. Feresten won over Seinfeld by dumping out the contents of Seinfeld's wallet and showing him how much of its contents he had no real use for.^[2] George developing back pain from his wallet proved to be true to life; sitting with the massive wallet in his back pocket during the episode's rehearsals and filming caused George actor Jason Alexander to hurt his back.^[2] The wallet bursting open at the episode's climax was accomplished by a stunt man firing an air gun precisely at the wallet.^[2]

The reference to Stein Eriksen was added to the script by Jerry Seinfeld.^[2]

Feresten wrote David Puddy's eight-ball jacket into the show, later stating that he had deliberately tried to make the jacket uncool by associating it with the unfashionable character, telling The New York Times, "Obviously, it didn't work."^[3]

Analysis

Paul Arras, in his book Seinfeld: A Cultural History, praised "The Reverse Peephole" for its commentary on gender norms, writing that it "flips gender markers around by giving men fashion items that are normally viewed as feminine."^[4] Religious historian Ted Merwin cited the episode to highlight the thematic importance of clothing in American Jewish comedy, alongside previous episodes "The Jacket" and "The Puffy Shirt".^[5]

References

External links

Seinfeld episodes

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