The Wife (Seinfeld)

"**The Wife**"
"The Wife"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 5; Episode 17
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Peter Mehlman
Production code	517
Original air date	March 17, 1994
Guest appearances
	Courteney Cox as Meryl; Barney Martin as Morty Seinfeld; Liz Sheridan as Helen Seinfeld; Scott LaRose as Greg; Len Lesser as Uncle Leo; Joseph Ragno as Marty; Rebecca Glenn as Paula; Nick LaTour as Grandpa; Susan Segal as Waitress; Lili Bernard as Anna; Lawrence Mandley as Owner;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Stand In"	Next →; "The Raincoats"
	Seinfeld season 5
	List of episodes

"The Wife" is the 81st episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. The 17th episode of the fifth season, it was originally broadcast on March 17, 1994.^[1] In this episode, Jerry and his girlfriend pretend to be husband and wife, and George is spotted urinating in the shower at the health club, leaving Elaine caught in the middle as the man she is attracted to threatens to report George. Jerry's quasi-wife was played by Courteney Cox, just prior to Cox's breakthrough as a star. For the syndicated repeats, this episode is just one of a few this season to keep Jerry's opening stand-up routine intact.

Plot[edit]

Jerry and his girlfriend Meryl pose as husband and wife so that she can receive a 25% off family discount on dry cleaning. Elaine is attracted to Greg, a man at the health club, but is confused by his mixed signals, such as giving her an open lipped kiss but also wiping off her water bottle when she gives him a drink. Meanwhile, Kramer is losing sleep because Jerry took his favorite quilt to the cleaner, so that he could get the family discount too.

Jerry and Meryl enjoy pretending to be married, keeping up the act even when they are alone. They start to bicker and promptly make up afterwards as if they really were a long time married couple. Eventually he "cheats" on Meryl by taking another woman's laundry to the cleaners. Meryl finds out when she picks up their dry cleaning and sees unfamiliar lingerie mixed in. She confronts Jerry, who tells her he wants a "divorce" so that the other woman can pretend to be his wife and get the discount. Jerry and Meryl amicably break up.

Greg observes George urinating in the shower at the health club. He tells Elaine he intends to report George chiefly as an excuse to talk to the manager, whom he is acutely interested in. After realizing Greg was uninterested in her all along, Elaine helps George by threatening to report Greg for not wiping off his sweat from the machines.

Elaine points out that Kramer is looking pale from lack of sleep, so Kramer goes to a tanning salon because he is going to meet with the parents of his girlfriend Anna. He falls asleep on the tanning bed and becomes very dark. When Kramer arrives to meet Anna's African-American family, they are horrified, thinking he is in blackface.

Production[edit]

After filming, the producers belatedly decided that they wanted the character of Paula to be more exotic, so they hired a voice actress to dub over all of Rebecca Glenn's speech, reciting all the same dialogue in a French accent.^[2]

References[edit]

^ "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
^ Seinfeld Season 5: Notes about Nothing - "The Wife" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

External links[edit]

"The Wife" at IMDb

[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[2] Seinfeld Season 5: Notes about Nothing - "The Wife" (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